In Honor Read Online Free PDF Page A

of us so fast, it was like they’d never been friends to begin with. With Rusty passing us by without so much as a glance and Finn getting ready for boot camp instead of college, nothing could have been more surprising or more wrong. Until now.
    I pushed the thought away and set my eyes on the horizon. Between the heat of the day and the heat seeping through the floorboards from the engine, my feet were burning inside the boots I’d pulled on without thinking, so I took a gulp of water that had now turned warm and worked on slipping them off while driving. The left one wasn’t so hard. I just had to dig the heel into the floor and slide my foot out. The relief was immediate, but so was the smell of leather and foot sweat. I glanced over at Rusty and inched the window down the last bit. My gas-pedal foot was trickier. I moved it off to the side and put my bare toes on the pedal so both feet were on it, then I gingerly lifted my booted foot and used one hand to yank it off.
    The car swerved, and I overcorrected, tossing Rusty into the door. “What the hell?” He sat up rubbing his head and looked around, trying to get his bearings. “What happened?” He didn’t wait for me to answer, but sniffed. “Ugh. Didn’t anyone ever teach you to wear socks?”
    I looked at him out the corner of my eye, being careful to keep the car steady, and turned the music down. He leaned his head toward the open window. “You got any aspirin?”
    “Nope,” I said. And I was glad.
    “Water?”
    I glanced down at the almost-empty bottle in the cup holder next to me and motioned at it. “That’s it, right there.” He grabbed it without waiting for my permission and swallowed the last sip.
    “I didn’t say you could drink it. That was supposed to last me until the next stop.”
    He rolled his eyes, then rubbed his forehead. “I’ll buy you a new one when we get there.”
    I sighed and popped in a piece of gum, then threw one at him. “Here. Your breath stinks.”
    He unwrapped it, bent it into his mouth, then leaned his head toward the window again, eyes closed, chewing slowly. “Your feet stink.”
    “You’re smelling yourself.” He didn’t say anything. “What were you drinking, anyway? You’re sweatin’ it.” I tucked my free foot beneath the seat. He grimaced and slung one arm over his face, dismissing the question.
    Yep. Bringing him had been a horrible idea. I reached for the tape deck and turned the volume up full, determined to drown out anything else he had to say, and it was perfect that Kyra was singing a song about a no-good, small-town guy who was just plain mean. I couldn’t have cued it up better myself.
    Rusty lifted his arm off his face and gave me exactly the kind of look I’d expected. I was satisfied for less than a second before he leaned forward and hit the eject button and yanked out the cassette adapter. He held it up, my iPod dangling like it was some sacrilegious thing, and I grabbed for it.
    “Hey—”
    He shook it. “An iPod ? This is a 1967 Chevy Impala. Are you f’in kiddin’ me?”
    I flinched as he wrapped the cord around it and stashed it in the glove box, shaking his head at my disregard for the old rules. I knew what he was gonna say before he said it. Somewhere along the line, he and Finn had decided that the only music that could be played in the car was classic rock. The kind they turned up and sang along to and that I associated with people my aunt’s age but was probably even older than that. Secretly, I liked a few of the songs, but I never would have admitted it.
    “Never do that again.” Rusty leaned forward and found their old radio station immediately, which I was surprised at, since we were almost to the New Mexico state line. He turned it up louder than I’d had it, and I recognized the song. I could feel him looking over at me, grinning like he’d just put me in my place. I rolled my eyes, but for just a second it felt like a flash of old times.
    After an