Next to Never is LIVE!!

Next to Never and The Next Flame Cove... 🎧PUNK 57 is NOW AVAILABLE IN AUDIO!🎧

Next to Never is LIVE!!

QUINN

“Dylan!” Jared bellows to her somewhere in the house. “You need to leave! Jax wants you to do more practice runs before you’re up!”

“Ugh,” she groans, walking in from the dining room. “I’ve been doing practice runs since I was twelve. I think I got it.”

Madoc tosses something to Kade, nearly hitting me in the face, and Tate, Fallon, and Juliet all rush back down the stairs, one of them kissing me on the forehead as they pass.

I close my eyes and ball my fists. “Can you just stop for a minute?” I bark. “I have something I need to show you.”

“Well, then, hurry,” Jared snips, finishing James’ shoe.

“I found this book,” I tell him. “Or it was sent to me, I mean. I’m pretty sure it’s about Mom and Dad. It’s like their love story or something.”

“What?” Tate asks, scrunching up her face in confusion as she puts on her sunglasses and Fallon sprays sunscreen on Madoc’s and Kade’s necks as they walk by.

“Look.” I take out the hardcover and hand it to Jared, opening to the bookmarked page so that I can point to the names that are eerily close to my parents’. “Kat and Jase.”

Tate comes over to look at it, but Jared couldn’t look less interested. He hands the book back and pats his jeans, probably for his keys and wallet.

“And they have teenage sons, Jared and Madoc,” I point out. “They live in a small town in Illinois, she had a baby with some asshole, he’s married, their sons are friends, and Jared is in love with the girl next door who he picks on every day at school.” I glance at Tate and then back to Jared. “Did you really do that?”

Jared just laughs to himself, pulling his phone off the charger in the nearby living room and sliding it into his back pocket. “Who would write a book about our parents? It doesn’t mean anything.”

Everyone gathers the rest of their things, pulls on shoes, and heads for the front door.

“Let’s go!” Jared yells.

I groan under my breath and grind my teeth.

Dammit!

I spin around and head to the porch, calling after him as everyone drifts across the lawn. “Did you tell Mom that women were high maintenance bitches that needed to be walked more than once a day?”

Everyone suddenly stops and Jared freezes. I
hear a few gasps, and I think there’s a snort from Kade.

I see the muscles in Jared’s back tighten through his T-shirt, everyone is absolutely silent, and I’m tempted to smile.

Yeaaaaaah. I have your attention now, don’t I?

;)