Under the Dusty Sky (Holloway Farms)

off the wall and argue, but someone grabs my shoulder and I turn to face Asher.
    “ You should go, man. I’ll handle this.” He steps up to the door and knocks. “Gracie, it’s me.”
    Asher shoots a glance at me over his shoulder, and I start down the stairs. Gracie lets him in, and her shrieky muffled voice sounds through the old wooden walls.
    “ You knew! You asshole. You knew?” Then the sound cuts out.
    I feel absolutely exhausted by the time I get to the bottom of the stairs and do not want to deal with the smug look on my sister’s face. She’s leaning against the railing, her arms crossed and eyebrows raised.
    “ She’s just like all the others, Bentley. Don’t waste your time.”
    “ Shut up, Sasha.” I blow right by her without stopping until I’m outside. I head back to the tractor. I need to be distracted.
    Sasha’s right. On the outside, Gracie is like all the others. But it’s not who she is. She’s hiding something behind these perfect memories, behind this fear of love, behind the wall of complete selfish bitch. Part of me wants to stay and figure it out, to see if I can get her to open up. Part of me doesn’t want to go down that road again. I need to leave. For my own sanity. I need to believe I can’t get Gracie to drop the act.

CHAPTER 23
    Graceland
    It’s hard to keep a smile on while we drive to town. Asher knows, Archer suspects, Hunter’s gone, Ben’s a liar, Dad’s sneaking around. Guys suck. Whether they’re related or not.
    The only reason I’m even allowed to go to Mel’s party is because Dad knows how pissed I am at him. Asher tries to talk to me a couple times, but I just continue to stare out the window. When we pull up to Mel and Kels’ house I’m out of the truck before it even comes to a complete stop.
    The night air is muggy and hot. There is a storm coming, and I hope it’s a massive tornado that picks me up and takes me far, far away. The dark grey clouds on the horizon tell me it’s just a storm, though. I push through the big red wooden door. The air inside the house is even stickier and so hot I can barely breathe. The stench of alcohol and pizza grease floods my senses, but almost as soon as I enter, I know what I’m here for. I know what I need to do. Who I need to find.
    The imperfect glares . There is no perfect. This isn’t a movie, or some stupid book where everything always ends up okay. This is real life. This is how it’s supposed to be. At a party with someone I’ve known my whole life. Someone I trust. Someone I don’t love. Someone who can’t leave me because they’ve never invested in me. Someone who doesn’t give me the Ben Feeling.
    Asher steps into the house behind me and Archer behind him with a bag of beer he took from Dad. I fish into it and pull out a can.
    “ Gracie Marie,” Archer starts, but my glare silences him. I’m allowed one beer. I crack it defiantly and turn toward the music coming from the huge living room. The dark furniture is pushed to the walls, and there’s about ten people dancing in the middle of the room. The kitchen is to the left, and I see Lacy sitting on the counter. Her hands are in Asher’s hair, and her forehead is pressed against his. He leans against the counter between her legs, his hands on her knees. Her smile takes up her whole face. I don’t ever remember her smiling like that. I’ve never seen her look like that, and momentarily, I hate her for it. I hate my brother for being so damn dedicated to her. I hate that my first reaction is hate. Who cares if they’re going to break up? Who cares if it fails? Who cares if one of them leaves? That smile looks like it might be worth it. For her that is.
    As soon as Lacy sees me, she straightens up, and the smile falls from her face. I look at her, trying to seem as apologetic as I can. But she’s done with me, so I turn and weave my way to the middle of the dance floor. Kels screeches and hugs me like we haven’t seen each other in months. I hug her back, and she starts dancing with me, swinging my arms and twirling me sloppily around the floor. I laugh and try to keep my balance and not spill my beer, all while keeping my eye out for him.
    In mid twirl I see Dermott. He’s leaning against the back wall next to Julia. He looks good. For a second I get that feeling in my stomach I used to get with him. Like I want his lips on mine, his hands on me, even though he doesn’t make me smile like Lacy does with Ash. His eyes are on me,