Fury by Fisher Amelie Page B

worst. But all it takes is the conscious decision of one. One person can move mountains.”
    “What if they fail?” I asked.
    She eyed me. “Dig yourself out and move on to the next. Your hands may bleed, but they’ll be made all the stronger for the effort. Failures and trials are designed to make you that much more resilient. They callus the weak parts of you and leave the strong.”
    I nodded my acceptance and we kept walking. A loud pickup truck whipped around the corner. My arm shot out to keep Finley from moving any farther. The truck came to an abrupt stop and obnoxious music came spilling out of the windows as they rolled them down. It was the teenage boys from earlier.
    “ Oh jeez ,” Finley said under her breath.
    “Hey, Finley. What’s up?” the driver asked, eyeing me up and down.
    “Hey, Patrick,” Finley answered. She gestured toward me. “Ethan’s truck’s battery died.”
    “You need a jump?” he asked.
    Finley looked at me for an answer. “Thanks, yeah, that’d be cool,” I told him.
    Patrick drove his truck and parked a few feet from the front of mine, and Finley and I walked back to meet him. There was a guy in the passenger seat and two in the bed of the truck but they stayed put, staring at their phones. Patrick got out and opened his hood while I fished behind the bench for my cables. After we got everything hooked, I attempted the engine but it didn’t even turn over once. We decided to let the cables stay connected for a while before trying again.
    “So, uh, you guys are together or something?” he asked after a few moments.
    What in the world is up with that question tonight?
                  Finley giggled. “No,” she offered, looking at me and smiling. “Ethan and I are very good friends, though.” She ran her palm down my arm and squeezed when she reached my fingers before letting her hand drop back down. I nearly closed my eyes at the relief her brief touch gave me. Hearing Finley admit that we were friends out loud after our discussion at the lake was yet another balm to my soul.
    Patrick eyed me, sabotaging the reprieve her fingers gave me.
                  “ Oh ,” he responded, as if she meant anything other than its true meaning.
                  “Finley’s not that kind of girl,” I defended, narrowing my eyes at him. My chest began to burn in anger for her.
                  Patrick leaned against the side of his truck, looking out into the field behind the restaurant. A small smile laid across his face. I could already tell Patrick was the kind of guy who needed a good ass-kicking to wipe out that annoying cockiness most guys his age developed. Now, I know I wasn’t much older than him but, to be honest with you, I’d lived a pretty rough life. Maturity came at thirteen and slammed into me with such ferocity it threw me across the field called experience at astonishing speed. I came up on the other side never really having had the opportunity to revel in anything young. At times, I felt like I was born old.
                  Patrick stared at me hard. “I see.”
    I was so close to ripping off the cables and telling him he was no longer needed but Finley looked so tired, I couldn’t do that to her. Instead, I gritted my teeth and sidled closer to her.
                  I tried the engine again but to no avail then again with Patrick revving his engine, but nothing.
                  “I think I just need a new battery altogether,” I said with a sigh, running my hands through my hair. “I’m so sorry, Fin.”
                  She yawned then laughed. “It’s okay. What do we need to do?” she asked, standing between the driver’s side door and me, her arm resting on the window.
                  “I think we’ll need to hitch a ride with dumbass over there.”
                  Finley laughed under her breath then sighed. “All