This Is How It Ends Read Online Free Page B

had said “Wait here,” but he’d also said it would be a quick errand, which had been a total lie. Either that or he and Wynn were lying dead inside, something that seemed possible as I walked toward the trailer. I stood on the front stoop and knocked softly. For a long minute nothing happened. Then I saw dark messy hair and eyes peering through the small window beside the door. The handle rattled and the door opened a crack.
    â€œWho’re you?” The guy squinted at me, his face haggard and unshaven.
    â€œI’m looking for Moose,” I said. “I’ve been waiting for him.”
    The guy grinned, but it looked more like a snarl. One of his front teeth was missing. He turned his head, yelling back into the room, “Moose! You bring this Boy Scout up here with you?”
    Moose was at the door a second later. “I told you to stay in the car,” he hissed.
    The guy opened the door wider, and I saw all of it—the dank living room, crumpled beer cans by a beat-up recliner, a low table littered with ash and papers, lighters and baggies, mismatched curtains dangling from metal rods.
    Wynn was sitting on the couch beside a little woman with matted hair. She looked half-asleep, slumped sideways like she’d fallen over and no one had bothered to pick her up. “C’mon in then, Boy Scout,” the guy offered. “Join the party.”
    I took a step back. “I’ve gotta go, Moose,” I said, looking at him. “Sorry, but my mom’s waiting—”
    â€œDon’t wanna keep Mamma waiting,” the dirty guy agreed. “Ain’t that right, Crystal?”
    He looked back at the woman, but she didn’t stir.
    â€œS’all right, Moose,” the guy said. “S’all good. Take your boyfriend home to his mamma.” He winked in a way that made me hope he never crossed paths with my mamma.
    â€œYou want me to drive?” I asked Moose as I trailed him down the walkway. Wynn, thankfully, had decided to stay. I had no idea if Moose would go back for him or if Wynn would just sleep there beside Crystal. And I didn’t care.
    â€œWhy would I want you to drive?” Moose barked without looking back. He was pissed. “I thought I told you to stay in the car.”
    â€œYeah,” I shot back. “You also said it was a quick pit stop.”
    â€œIt was.”
    â€œYou were in there for almost an hour.”
    â€œNo way.” Moose squinted at his watch, then grunted. “Huh. Time flies when you’re having fun.”
    I never told any of my friends about that night, even after the first time Trip and I picked Natalie up, my heart freezing at the memory of the inside of that sad, dented trailer.
    ***
    Now I trotted down the hall away from where I’d left Nat, back past homeroom, and then slipped through the door to physics just before the bell.
    â€œWelcome, Mr. Larkin. To what do we owe this distinct pleasure?”
    â€œRocks for Jocks was filled?”
    â€œOf course.” Mr. Ruskovich shook his head ruefully. “Sloppy seconds. Story of my life.” He smiled as my classmates laughed. My eyes skated across them, and paused briefly on Sarah. She smiled, making my ears redden, and I looked away. I wondered if she’d seen Nat yet. “Okay, everyone,” Mr. Ruskovich was saying as I slid into my seat. “Today we discuss”—he paused, leaning forward—“particle theory.”
    â€œAgain?” Matty Gretowniak moaned.
    â€œUnless you can tell me what it means, Mr. Gretowniak.”
    â€œThat I’ll have a splitting headache in exactly forty-three minutes,” Matty grumbled.
    â€œThat’s what happens when you only use your brain once a day,” Chuck Lee told him. “It gets rusty. Creeeeeak!”
    â€œOkay, suck-up,” Matty said mildly.
    â€œGentlemen, gentlemen,” Mr. Ruskovich interrupted, holding up his hands. “Please. Save