if he had only just graduated , then he could only be 21 or 22 , not much older in fact than her brother . it smelled like burning up here , the sky turning pitch black . the lot was more than three quarters full . she was under in a split second . `` because you 're wasted , and i do n't want you to get the wrong idea . '' his smile finally filled with humor . it 's something i 'm going to need to learn to live with so i can protect myself . '' 