It was about three-thirty in the afternoon when Nick’s phone did something he rarely heard from it. It started vibrating from an incoming phone call. He stopped typing immediately before taking out his phone and glancing at it. Evelyn was calling. He was terrified something bad might have happened. No one called him unless it was an emergency.

“Evelyn? Everything alright?”

“Yeah. We’re doing great. I wanted to call and update you on the trip. It’s got to be hard not being on the group chat.”

“Oh.” Nick leaned back in his chair, strangely touched. “Yeah, I’d love an update.”

Evelyn started talking, explaining they were in Texas now, passing through El Paso. She and Derek were now getting rolls about every half hour. They had to line it up to where both of them rolled fairly high in order to make it work, which hadn’t been easy.

“And thankfully this last roll I had was for advantage, so they must be getting better at doing whatever they’re doing.”

“That’s nice,” Nick said.

She then explained how Alejandra called Derek with all the information Clarissa saw. The tigers were still in Texas. They’d found a rundown gas station to sleep for the hotter part of the day, which worked perfectly for them.

“Which means we might not need to go to Mexico at all. That would be nice. It’d be so much less complicated.”

“It’s also good to know the saber-tooth tigers are still alive,” Nick said.

“Right!? I thought so too. She hasn’t seen any stronger creature around them, either. But we’re still not ruling anything out.”

She talked a bit more about the podcast she was listening to with Tyler on unconventional tips for being a game master, also the sights they were seeing. Or sort of seeing, as they were speeding past. Nick smiled, listening to her talk. She started rambling, which he didn’t mind. It was nice that his sister wanted to keep him updated. Nick was trying to do the math in his head. They left at about seven; they were already in Texas. Now it was a matter of finding the tigers, killing one, then heading straight home.

If they did this soon, they could be home by late tonight. Or at least tomorrow sometime. That was if everything went well. If he knew CCNC, things were always up to chance.

Evelyn was winding down, her rambling not as fast. Nick smiled. “Hey, Evie. Just be careful, okay? It’s still dangerous out there.”

“I know. But we’ll get this done soon. Then we’ll have one finished thing off Ezekiel’s cure,” Evelyn said.

“You have the silver. So that’s two,” Nick said.

“Eh, one and a half. We don’t know how to grind the silver into powder.”

“Fair enough,” Nick said, checking his watch.

“Alright, well, I better go.”

“Thanks for updating me. And if something bad happens, I want to know. I’ll think of an excuse for Dad later.”

“Alright. See you, Nick.”

Nick hung up, then felt his heart rate spike. What he just said returned to his mind out of context. It would sound horrible for someone overhearing them. He spun around to see if anyone had heard, but it was empty. He let out a breath. Sometimes he hated being so paranoid.

***

Derek popped another handful of sunflower seeds into his mouth. “I’m telling you, the shells are great!”

Rafael shook his head, thankful for Derek and his ability to talk about anything and everything. It was a great distraction from the battle ahead. “I didn’t even think the shells were edible. Pretty sure they’re a health hazard.”

“Meh,” Derek said through a mouthful of shelled sunflower seeds. “I’ve been eating them my whole life and haven’t had issues.”

“Maybe not big issues, but I doubt they’re digestible. Next thing you’re going to tell me is the shells on pistachios can be eaten, too.”

Derek shook his head. “Absolutely not. Those things are way too hard. Sunflower shells, though, are delicious.” He used his finger to pick at his teeth. “They do have a habit of getting stuck in my teeth, though.”

Rafael snorted, watching the empty scenery pass by. It was so odd after seeing the El Paso skyline. Rafael cracked another sunflower shell and popped the seed into his mouth. “You don’t have that problem if you get rid of them.”

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“It’s not a problem if you enjoy them enough.” Derek fished around his teeth with his tongue.

Rafael had his arm leaned against the window, a few fingers in his hair as he glanced at Derek. “Yeah. Okay.”

“So! You and Hazel!” Derek said. Rafael frowned, trying not to feel uncomfortable. He looked out at the empty vastness of Texas. “Oh, come on. We are about to stop for dinner. We’ve been riding in the car for hours together on a life-or-death mission to save Ezekiel! The bros hanging out again. You’re seriously not going to talk about Hazel? At all?”

Rafael sighed as Quetzal crawled into his lap. “Maybe I don’t talk about her because…” Derek waited, fingers bouncing on the steering wheel in anticipation. Rafael rubbed his forehead. “Because I don’t…” He didn’t quite know how to phrase it.

Derek swallowed his sunflower seeds, shell and all. “Is it about Evelyn?”

Rafael kept his gaze out the window, though his eye twitched. “No. I mean, yes. Well…”

Derek’s eyebrows rose, excited. “Am I stumbling on something here?”

Rafael grumbled, petting Quetzal. “You were the worst at sniffing out drama.”

“On the contrary. I’m the best at sniffing it out,” Derek said. “But from what I observed, you clearly don’t like Evelyn anymore in that way.”

“Nope.” Rafael kept his eyes on the open country. “I ruined that for myself.”

“Well, if it helps, I doubt Evelyn ever had feelings for you.”

“Yeah.” Rafael absently rubbed his jaw. “Kind of figured that out too.”

Derek, a blessing of a friend that Rafael deeply missed, did not let silence last and changed the subject. “How long have you been dating Hazel?”

“Four months, now,” Rafael said.

“Sick! For high school, that’s practically a forever commitment,” Derek said. Rafael said nothing as he scratched under Quetzal’s chin. Silence finally descended. For two seconds. Derek really was great at not letting it last. “So… are you forever?”

Rafael sighed as Quetzal’s leg twitched. “I’d like to be.”

“Then what’s the issue?”

“It’s…”

“She’s Hazel Jones,” Derek finished for him.

Rafael didn’t realize it, but Derek was right. That was the main issue he’d have every time he thought of his girlfriend. “Exactly. What the hell is she doing with an idiot like me? I’m nothing special. It’s not like I’m the star quarterback.”

Derek shrugged. “Linebacker is still pretty damn important.”

Rafael sat up a little straighter. “Still. Rodrigo Lòpez exists. And is single again.”

Derek grunted. “Six-foot two guy? Full of muscle?”

His shoulders gave a defeated slump. “Why didn’t Hazel choose him?”

“Well, I mean… she’s Hazel Jones. She has to settle with whatever guy she chooses no matter who it is.”

Rafael couldn’t help it and snorted. “I’m serious, Derek.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, man. I’m being serious, too.” Derek shrugged. “She’s the most popular girl in school, and the kicker is, she doesn’t know. That lack of realization has skyrocketed her popularity into legend status. She’s kind. Compassionate. Has a body that would make Aphrodite jealous.” That time, Derek did pause long enough for Rafael to shoot him a look.

“We both agreed to wait six months to make sure this even lasted before doing anything too physical,” Rafael said.

Derek nodded. “Which makes sense, considering who Hazel Jones is. Seriously, dude. You absolutely do not deserve her. None of us mere mortals do.”

Rafael shook his head. “You are the worst person to talk about this with.”

“I know.” Derek turned on his blinker as they eased off the freeway. “You should really talk to Hazel Jones about it instead.”

He sighed, knowing his friend was right. He had spent every day with her, waiting for her to change her mind. Waiting for her to realize the scum he was. And yet she remained. After listening to his insecurities, his fears about dating her when he was so poor. Then to have her stick by his side as everything about Evelyn came out. That’s what it all came down to. He spent all of their dating months waiting for her to be disgusted by him. Now that everything was out, now that she witnessed all his dirty secrets, he was trying to understand why their relationship remained.

Was it out of the goodness of her heart? Could people be that good? Was there something else? Could there be some strange, sinister motive? Was Hazel capable of being sinister? He doubted it. He didn’t want to admit it, but he always had a sense of unease around Hazel from his own insecurities. Now that everything came out, it frightened him that he still felt that unease.

His phone started vibrating with Tyler’s incoming call, which meant he probably found a place to eat.

“Hey, Tyler,” Rafael said.

“Hey! We’re here at a gas station. Evelyn’s gone to get dinner, and she said she’s more than happy to go somewhere else while you have time with Derek and I to eat.”

“Oh. Oh, that’s… kind.”

“It is. She said she had lunch. You can have dinner,” Tyler said.

Quetzal jumped off his lap to scuttle toward the back seat. Rafael struggled with his phone as he pulled it away, hitting the speaker phone button with his thumb. “Tell her I’ll go somewhere else. I don’t want her out alone somewhere two states away from home. I don’t mind eating dinner alone, too. Where are you at?”

“There looks like a mom and pop burrito place here connected to the gas station, and everyone raved about it, so Evelyn’s going to get some food. It’s called The Burrito Barn,” Tyler said.

Derek made a face. “Look, guys, are we sure about this? A burrito place? As part of the gas station?”

“Not all restaurants connected to a gas station are shady.” It was Evelyn. It sounded like she got back into the car. Rafael shut his mouth, done talking for the duration of the phone call.

“Everyone at the gas station raves about it because they need to. To keep their job,” Derek said.

“Are you afraid? Too spicy for you?” Evelyn asked in her overly innocent voice.

Derek’s nostrils flared. “Goddammit, Evelyn, you know how to get me to eat food, don’t you?”

Evelyn laughed. “I’ve got a mild one and a spicy one. You tell me which one to leave in the bag.”

“You know what, Evie? I might take the mild one to see you eat your words,” Derek said.

Evelyn laughed. “I’ll see you later, Derek.”

Rafael let Derek say goodbye before he hung up. He dropped the phone in his lap, then folded his arms and kept his gaze out the window.

Derek turned onto a road. “I’m actually quite proud of Evelyn for talking with you on speakerphone. She didn’t sound scared at all.”

“She probably didn’t know I was listening,” Rafael said.

They rode in silence. A silence that was uncomfortable. Derek gave him a side eye, but said nothing. Rafael said nothing, either.