Read Never Eighteen for Free Online Page B

what I came to do, did my best. It's all I can do.
    I get into the car and tell Kaylee to drive. Once we're down the street, I cry. Maybe it was too much, seeing Allie, hearing her story, being a witness to her loneliness, her sadness. For the first time that day, I feel truly overwhelmed.

Chapter Nine
     
    "How could someone do that to her?" I cry. "To Allie? He ruined her, Kaylee. He fucking ruined her. I don't know if she'll ever be the same."
    Kaylee pulls over, stops the car. "Austin, we should go home."
    I ignore her. "How can you do that to another human being? People like that selfish fuck, they don't understand. They don't see how valuable a person's life is! He treated her like a
thing,
Kaylee. Something to be used and just thrown away like a fast food wrapper."
    "Austin, I really think I should take you home."
    "No!" My tears are still flowing. My mind is beginning to disagree with my mouth. I think maybe she's right. Maybe it's too much. I wonder if I'm really making any kind of difference at all. I throw my head back onto the headrest, shut my eyes, breathe deep. Reevaluate. Kaylee stays quiet. I decide. "No," I repeat.
    She unbuckles, slides over, wraps her arms around me. I lay my head on her chest. Her hair tickles my head and face. I listen to her heartbeat, listen to her breathe. God I love her! But I know I'll never have her, and it kills me. She holds me closer still. I don't want the moment to end, but I know it has to. I still have much to do.
    I let the tears dry, then sit up, calm down. "Thanks." I gaze into those beautiful blue eyes. Eyes so bright, they're almost blinding, like looking directly into the sun.
    "That's what friends are for," she says. Her choice of words makes me sad, but the label fits, friendship being all we've ever had.
    "So, what do you want to do?" she asks once I'm calm.
    "I want to keep going," I say.
    "Are you absolutely sure? That seemed kind of rough," she says.
    "It was worth it. I'm sure."
    "Okay, so, where are we going?"
    "Seattle," I answer.
    "Sweet," she says, then hesitates. "There will be some fun involved, right? It won't be more fear and tears, will it?"
    "All fun," I answer.
    "Great!"
    "With maybe just a little fear," I add.
    She drops an eyebrow. "Well, then let the fear and fun begin," she says while turning the key, reigniting Candy, who in turn sparks and sputters and then calms to a dull roar.
    Kaylee flips on the radio for the first time that day. She pushes buttons until she finds a song she likes. She sings. It's a song about a girl named Shawty slapping her own ass. "What
is
this?" I ask.
    "You've never heard this song?"
    I look at her and shake my head. "Never heard it before. That's not real music anyway," I say as I begin to push the buttons on her stereo.
    "Hey! My car, my music," she says.
    I keep pushing buttons. "Kaylee, seriously, let me find an actual song with music and lyrics and meaning. Why do I care if Shawty's slapping her ass or whatever? You'll thank me later. Trust me." I flip until I hear a song I know. It's just starting, which is good, because it's one of my favorites. "Now, this is music," I say.
    It's one of my favorite bands. The singer sings of love and death, and I hum along and smile. I turn to look at Kaylee, to ask her what she thinks. She's facing forward, ramrod straight, watching the freeway ahead, tears streaming down her face. "Turn it off," she says.
    "But, Kaylee—"
    "I said turn it off! Shit, Austin!" I comply without another word, and we sit in silence the rest the way to Seattle.
    She parks the car and I reach into my wallet to pay for the spot. She gets out, puts the money in the proper slot, comes back to the car, and leans in. "Sorry," she says.
    I get out myself, come around to her side, hug her, and say, "It's okay."
    "That song was just so sad. It makes me think," she says.
    "It's not sad. It's about two people being together for eternity. What's sad about that?"
    She brushes away another tear forming in the