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small, dingy, and Dom himself is at the register. He’s a short, stocky guy with a shaved head and goatee that he seems to think looks pretty cool, apparently not realizing goatees haven’t been cool for a long time. He’s got tattoos running up and down his arms, and he wears a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
    “Howdy,” he says as I come in.
    I nod, hoping he won’t try to talk to me. I don’t come here all that much, but the few times I have, he always tries to talk football and pretend he was some kind of stud at Santa Anna back in the nineties.
    “You look familiar,” he calls after me as I walk to the back cooler. I don’t answer him. This isn’t social hour. I want to get wasted and that’s about it.
    The little chimes on the entrance ring as someone else comes in but I don’t bother looking. I just want to get my beer and be on my way. A twelve pack should do the trick.
    I have a weird feeling as I reach into the cooler and snag one. Part of me worries I’m about to go down the same road as my mom, but I don’t think I could ever let myself be like her. She’s a drunk. She can’t handle her booze. She drinks constantly, all day every day. I’m not like that.
    “Drinking on a school night?” a familiar voice asks.
    I turn and see Derek standing just a few feet away. His arms are folded and he’s shaking his head, a crooked grin on his face.
    “You picked a bad night to follow me around,” I tell him and move forward, ready to knock the dumb smile off his face.
    But he doesn’t step back. “I wasn’t following you, Cam. Don’t you think I have better things to do?”
    “Not really. Fucking loser.”
    For a second his grin fades, but then it comes back. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a girl maneuvering through the wine racks in the corner.
    “I’m here with a friend,” Derek says, following my eye. “See, unlike you, I can keep a girl for more than five minutes.”
    “Good for you.”
    He looks down at the twelve pack in my hand. “Sad night?” he says with mock concern. He pouts out his lower lip. “Awww, fight with the little lady, did we?”
    “Shut your mouth.”
    “Derek, stop it.” The girl he’s with comes into view and I realize it’s Brody’s sister, Kaci. I haven’t seen her in a while. In fact, I can’t remember the last time she was in school. She’s wearing jeans and a light windbreaker. Her blond hair is pulled back in a bun. “Hey, Cam,” she says, sounding genuinely happy to see me.
    “Why are you hanging out with this dickhead?” I ask her. Kaci’s got a bit of a reputation, but still. Derek’s pretty scummy.
    She laughs. “Ehh, he’s not that bad.”
    Derek chuckles. “See Cam? I’m not that bad. Ask Natalia. She’ll tell you allllll about me.”
    My free hand clenches into a fist. “Don’t even say her name again, or so help me, Derek—I’m going to knock you through a wall.”
    “Derek, seriously,” Kaci says. “Stop, you don’t have to be an asshole.”
    “Whatever,” I say. The last thing I need is to get caught up with Derek and Kaci and their drama. With the way I’m feeling right now, nothing but trouble can come from me being around that dude. “You should stay away from him, Kaci,” I say, as I walk toward the front of the store. “Seriously, you’re better than that.”
    At the register, Dom charges me thirty bucks for the beer, tacking on a hefty surcharge for selling to a minor. But that’s how it works, so I don’t complain. At least he doesn’t try and talk to me about football. Honestly, I think he’s a little scared of me.
    I’m definitely giving off a don’t-fuck-with-me vibe.
    I walk outside to the parking lot and open the trunk of my mom’s car, then place the twelve-pack in it. I’m about to open the driver’s side door, when a voice calls my name. I turn around.
    “Cam!” Kaci’s running toward me. When she gets to me, she’s slightly out of breath, her cheeks