Page 23 of Camera Stays On

Because he was a constant dick?

I looked away and shrugged. “I dunno.”

“You can’t be doing this.” She clicked her tongue. “One day, it’ll be just the two of you. What then?”

“We fight to the death!” Sawyer cackled, raising his hand.

“No! No, no, no.” She sighed again. “Let’s get photos so you can be off. Where’s Purdy?”

“I’ll go get her.” Sawyer rushed out of the house, filming as he went, and I sat down on the bench by the door.

“Oh, sweetie.” My mom came over and patted my back. “Why didn’t you ask someone to go with you? Isn’t there a girl at school you like?”

Not one that’s available.

“These things aren’t my kind of fun,” I said lamely. “I’m just a babysitter, and you know it.”

“Oh, that’s not true.” She rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Sawyer came in, tugging Purdy behind him. My heart stopped for a split second as I took her in. She looked like a princess in her poofy black dress with sequins and a giant bow in the front.

“Very retro! I love it!” Our mom beamed. “You look pretty, Purdy. Now, let’s get some photos so you can all go have fun! Sawyer, turn the camera off.”

“Sorry, Ma—camera stays on.”

With a cold look, she yanked it from his hand and set it down beside her, then started snapping away with hers.

Begrudgingly, I smiled for the camera and then stepped aside to let her get photos of the happy couple. It felt like torture watching him pin the cheap flower to her chest. Ma didn’t care. She loved Purdy, and she was their biggest fan. She was already planning their wedding and baby names.

I was planning to leave before that happened.

Whether it was this town or the fucking planet.

Finally, she let us go, and we climbed into my truck—with Purdy in the middle and Sawyer holding his damn video camera, recording it all. Her dress brushed against my thigh, and I had to focus on my breathing as she adjusted it.

“Sorry, Ash.”

“No problem, Purdy,” I muttered.

The winter formal was barely worth the fifteen-dollar ticket. They’d lined the gymnasium with blue and silver balloons, interspersed with giant paper snowflakes and tinsel. They had the head of the yearbook committee, Nathan, serving as DJ, and three teachers lined up at the punch table, watching to make sure no one spiked it.

On the dance floor, people danced. I wasn’t much for it, and I hadn’t brought a date, so I grabbed some punch and stood off to the side, waiting for my friends to show. We were juniors this year and kind of over this stuff now. Eventually, some came through, and I made my way to their tables, where we sat and shot the shit for the next hour.

I made sure to keep an eye on Sawyer, like I’d been told. In reality, my gaze found Purdy more often than my brother, but they came hand in hand most days, so it still counted. Every time I glanced over, Sawyer was recording with one hand and holding her with the other, while Purdy looked more and more annoyed. Halfway through the night, I caught sight of Purdy waving her arms. I perked up and turned fully to look.

“The two of them fighting again?” my friend Beckett asked.

“Looks like it,” I muttered and stood to go see what the issue was. Just as I was walking up, Sawyer took a step in the other direction. He saw me and pivoted back.

“Me and my friends got a bottle of vodka.”

“And I told him I’m not going.” Purdy crossed her arms.

“That’s fine,” Sawyer snapped. “Stay here, Ash can take you home.” He stormed off to his group of sophomore losers. They took off through the side doors, leaving all their girlfriends behind.

“You okay?” I asked Purdy once he was gone. She looked up at me, her pretty brown eyes wide and shiny with tears.

“N-N-No.” She sighed as her chin began to tremble. “My boyfriend d-d-ditched me to go get drunk and film themselves doing snowboard trick shots in the sn-sn-snow.”