I scoffed at Uncle Konrad’s words. “Why would I be?” I sat there for a second, then conceded with a sigh: “But if that’s what they want, I’ll figure something out. I’ll ask her soon.”

The three of us fell into a silence as we looked out at the gray ocean. It’d been a perfect morning for surfing, and it was getting bright enough outside that more people would be coming out soon. But we’d been coming here as long as I could remember; my dad and uncle long before that. We knew the perfect time to come for the waves and to have as much of the ocean as we wanted without many others around.

Uncle Konrad let out a sharp laugh, and my lips curved up in a smile at what was coming. It happened every time we surfed, and I knew today would be no different. Just like it was no different that Brian mentioned “Chachi” every time I was around him.

“Brandon. Remember that first day I went out surfing with all of you? Chase was being a dick about Harper, and you both started throwing punches that only lasted for a minute before all your housemates were pulling you two off each other.”

Dad sighed, and a wide smile covered his face. “Those were some damn good fights. Didn’t like them or him that much while they were happening, but I miss those times.”

“You two looked like a couple of chicks fighting over the last pair of shoes at a store.”

Dad barked out a laugh and looked over to me. “Have I ever told you about the first time I met Chase?”

“At McGowan’s? McGowan set you both up in the ring to show everyone the new fighter he’d found in you.”

Dad’s eyes got a faraway look, and his smile softened. “Good fucking day.”

Looking down at a tattoo on my right inner forearm, I stared at it for a second before saying, “Why don’t you tell me again? It’s been awhile since I’ve heard that one.”

Uncle Konrad knocked into my side, and I turned my head for a moment to see him offer me a grateful smile just as Dad started in on the story. Looking back at the tattoo on my right arm, I didn’t once take my eyes off it as I listened to a story I’d heard hundreds of times, and had no doubt I would hear hundreds more. A story about a guy I knew as well as I knew myself, and a guy I would never get the opportunity to meet.

July 17

Kennedy

I STEPPED THROUGH the door of Kira’s and my condo and immediately knew something was wrong. Not with our place, everything still looked exactly how it had when I’d left earlier . . . but there was definitely something. I’d only been out for a walk for forty-five minutes, and I couldn’t begin to figure out what could have changed in that time. I started walking in the direction of my room to get ready for work, but turned and headed toward Kira’s instead.

Kira’s mood hadn’t changed at all—or if it had, it was only getting worse. I only saw her for a split second after we got home from work yesterday afternoon, and once again, she wouldn’t talk to me. I didn’t know if she was eating, I didn’t know if Zane had called her last weekend, I didn’t know anything because she refused to talk to me unless it was to ask me to leave her alone.

With a knock on her shut door, I let myself in and my face fell when I found Kira curled up in a ball on her bed—again.

“I don’t want to go to work,” she responded automatically.

“Uh . . . okay? Did you call Brandon, or do you need me to?”

When she didn’t respond in any way, I walked over and sat on her bed so we were facing each other.

“What’s going on with you, sis?”

Her eyes filled with unshed tears as she shook her head.

“Is it Zane?” When there was no confirmation or denial, I suggested, “If it’s so hard for you, why doesn’t he just come here to visit you at least?”

Seconds after my last question, a hard sob tore through Kira’s throat and she buried her face in her hands as she cried.

I wasn’t sure how to react or what to say. Kira had cried over him so many times that I’d stopped being surprised. But she hadn’t once offered up any piece of information for me to know what exactly it was she was crying about this time. Kicking off my shoes, I curled onto the bed so I was again facing her and put one of my hands on her arm until the crying eventually stopped and she was looking at me again. Well, looking in my direction—I wasn’t positive she was actually seeing me, though.

“You ready to tell me now?” I asked a couple minutes later. “We tell each other everything, Kira, and it has been at least a week of you walking around like there’s no more life in you. You just got past something like this a month ago, you can’t go through it again and expect me not to do something about it this time.”

Again, no response from her.

“I’m not sure if I should call Mom, or Zane, or . . . I don’t know.”

“Don’t call Zane,” she whispered hoarsely.

Her sudden demand startled me enough that it took me a few moments to figure out what to say. “Okay, I won’t. Do I need to call Mom?”

“He probably wouldn’t answer anyway,” she mumbled before clearing her throat. “No, don’t call Mom . . . and don’t call Dad either. The three of you would probably have a celebration over it, and I don’t need to hear how happy you all are.”

“Happy?” I laughed hesitantly. “Is this because of Liam? Because I’ve been spending time with him?”

Kira exhaled heavily and shook her head again, but this time I waited because there was nothing else I could think of that might be wrong. “Zane is cheating on me.”

My head jerked back. “What? Kira, no, he’s not. It’s just hard because of the—”

“No, Kennedy, he’s cheating on me. I know he is, he’s not trying to be secretive about it.” Her eyes welled up again, but she spoke through the tears. “Well, I don’t even know if you can consider it cheating anymore. He broke up with me a week ago.”

I was too shocked to even know how to respond to what she’d just told me, but now I understood why she thought I would have a celebration with our parents. Kira had been the only person in our family to actually like Zane.

“I knew this would happen,” she muttered. “As soon as Dad told me that we needed to leave for California, I knew.”

“You couldn’t have known, I mean . . .” I drifted off, once again not knowing what to say. “How could you know he would do something like this?”

“Because I wouldn’t be around to keep him interested anymore.”

“That’s bullshit, Kira. Keep him interested? You’ve been together for years! If anything, the distance should have made your relationship stronger . . . isn’t that what they say? Distance makes the heart . . . I don’t know. Whatever that stupid saying says?”

“Grow fonder,” she finished for me on a huff. “Not with Zane. He needs . . . well, he needs to have someone within reach. Someone he can touch. Someone to satisfy him when he wants it. That’s the only reason he went to the same college with us. I practically bribed him into going there.”

“What? I thought he was just following you to be with you.”

Kira shook her head. “That’s why I was always near him in Florida, I was afraid he’d lose interest if I wasn’t around.”