Burn It All Down by Nicolas DiDomizio

Author:Nicolas DiDomizio [Didomizio, Nicolas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: 2021-05-25T00:00:00+00:00

nineteen

Somehow the wagon is still dangling up there.

“We thought about moving all the furniture out of the room,” Will explains. He’s clean and preppy in a pair of Nantucket Red shorts and a white linen button-down with the sleeves rolled up. There’s a whisper of light-brown chest hair showing, which — was that there last night? Because damn. It’s hot. “But it seems too risky to stand under that thing for even a second.”

“I’m so sorry.” I bury my idiot face in my hands. “I feel like such a piece of shit.”

“I’m telling you, it’s fine. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened. That thing has always made me nervous. My mom, too. She’ll probably be relieved that she finally has an excuse to make Dad get rid of it.”

The energy in this space has transformed overnight. There’s emptiness where all the drunk bodies used to be. Silence in place of music. And I no longer have that liberating buzz. Without it, I have to wonder if coming here was a mistake. Somehow I feel like I’m actively telling a giant lie just by existing around Will.

“Nice cut, by the way!” he says. “When did you —”

“My mom,” I tell him. “She’s a hairdresser.”

“She does good work. You look handsome.”

“No, I don’t.” Of course my kneejerk reaction to receiving a compliment of any kind would be to immediately invalidate it. “I mean… thanks.”

Will tilts his head and gives me one of those scrunch-faced looks of his.

I clear my throat. “So where is everyone?” I ask. “This place feels like a ghost town compared to last night.”

“I’m surprised you remember last night.” He playfully grabs my shoulder. His hand has a better grip than I would’ve expected. I don’t hate it. “Pretty much everyone went home this morning. I think Wagongate freaked them out. Robbie’s the only one who stayed. He and Shayla are down at the dock. They convinced our dad’s maintenance guy to dewinterize his boat early because of the weather.”

“Oh.” I almost forgot I was dealing with a rich person. No wonder he’s not stressing out more about the wagon. His dad has a maintenance guy, for Christ’s sake. “That’s cool.”

We stand around in silence for a few seconds. I take a moment to observe all the kitchen finishes — hickory wood cabinets, stone tile backsplash, butcher block island. And so much open counter space! Nonna would kill for a kitchen like this.

“You seem uncomfortable,” Will finally says. “Is this weird? Do you want a drink or something?” He looks at the clock display on the stove. “I guess it’s only one o’clock, but you know. Spring break.” His eyes wander for a moment. “Unless you’re too hungover.”

“I’m not an amateur,” I say. “I’d love a drink.”

He smirks and pulls out two tall cans of Goose Island IPA. I’ve never heard of this beer, but I have to assume it’s fancy. (Is it actually not fancy and in fact totally plain? Listen, I’m not a beer aficionado and Luke was a Basic Budweiser Bitch.

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