by C. L. Stone
“There should be a charger,” Victor said. “In the trunk.”
I remained sitting and rolled my head back, gazing absently at the ceiling. While normally I’d want to help, I had a sinking feeling of déjà vu. Second car in two days I was in and it broke down.
Nathan grabbed a battery charger and opened the front hood. From where I was, I couldn’t see what was happening.
When several long minutes passed without seeing them, I got out of the car to check on them.
Victor was looking on his phone at a repair guide. “Yeah, it’s saying this charger should have a green line that blinks.”
“What does red mean?” Nathan asked. He had a black box in his hand, and two cables with clamps, one red and one black. He snapped a clamp in Victor’s direction. “Tell me it means it just needs warming up.”
“Means it’s dead,” Victor said. “Needs charging.”
Nathan blew a perplexed raspberry. “Kota’s usually on top of this.”
“It’s Dr. Green’s car, and he’s been busy.”
“So we have to plug this in? How long will that take?”
“I’ll check the garage,” Victor said. “There might be another one. Wait here.”
It took several minutes, and a security guard who came out because he was curious, to determine it was not in need of charging because the car battery was, indeed, very dead.
The security man, a tall, broad Hispanic man, fiddled with the battery, pulling it out of where it had been positioned. “These batteries don’t last too long in the South. It says five-year warranty, but in the heat of the summer down here, it really means it’ll last three years.”
“Thanks, Jason,” Victor said. “I guess we’ll have to leave it here for a little bit and get another one brought over.” Victor snapped a picture of the actual battery to get the information of what sort it was while Jason held it. He took it from Jason and continued, “Tell the others I said hi.”
Jason waved to us and walked away, saying something into a cell phone as he left. I assumed it was to the others on the security team.
Nathan leaned against the side of the car. “Who do we call?”
“We don’t really have time for this,” Victor said, setting the battery down beside the car and closing the hood of the sedan. He gazed up at the house.
“Can’t North come and fix it?” I asked.
“He’s busy,” Victor said without looking back at me. “And we can do it, it’s just we need a car to go do it. But also we need to just get out of here and come back for it later.” He headed toward the house. “Stay here, let me ask.”
Nathan made a face, squinting off into the direction of the house as the sun came out from behind a cloud. “He’s going to go ask his mom, isn’t he?”
Heat ran through my body, a blush from head to toe.
Victor already asking for another favor.
♥♥♥
Victor quickly returned, keys in hand.
Although he seemed displeased.
“You alright?” Nathan asked.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” He motioned to the garage again. “But we have to take the stupid V28.”
The bright yellow car had only two seats. And since no one wanted to stay behind and risk another encounter with Mrs. Morgan, Nathan drove, and I was on the floor of the car at Victor’s feet, with half my torso and head in his lap. We had to. I was smallest and we couldn’t drive around with it obvious I was in Victor’s lap.
“Kota will yell at us,” I murmured.
“We won’t tell,” Victor said, patting my head. He ran his fingers through my hair, tucking loose curls behind my ears.
“Say what you want about your parents,” Nathan said, and he shifted gears, taking it a little faster as he got onto the highway, “but this car... is kinda cool.”
“Don’t get too used to it,” Victor said. “I already traded a favor with her to just borrow it now.”
“What’s that?” Nathan asked.
“Just promised to contribute to concerts while I’m figuring things out. If they’ll have me back.”
That didn’t seem too bad, at least for now. But wouldn’t that perpetuate the issue he was having?
“How far do we have to go?” I asked. I had my head twisted so I faced Nathan’s hand shifting the stick. It was a little too uncomfortable.
The other alternative to face, in the position I was in, was unthinkable at the moment.
“Maybe just to the Taylor house?” Nathan asked, keeping his eyes on the road.
“Can’t stop,” Victor said. “We have to go all the way to Summerville. The meet-up is tonight and we all need to be there. ...But maybe we stop at the diner and walk the rest of the way.”
I sucked in a breath, gently resting my head against Victor’s thigh, and just tried to not think too much.
Now we were down three cars: Victor’s, Dr. Green’s, and Kota’s. I was having bad luck with cars.
Affrettando
(Hurrying, pressing onwards)
Sang
We parked the V28 at the diner, although by the time I managed to wedge myself out and walk off, it had garnered a lot of attention. Customers coming in and out paused to look at the sports car, and a few took pictures, with some standing in front of it and smiling.
“We can’t keep this car,” Victor moaned on our way to the path in the woods behind the diner and get to Kota’s house. “Anywhere we go, it’ll be like this.”
“I think your car is more famous than you are,” Nathan said with a chuckle.
I grinned at Nathan’s joke.
Once we got to the gate behind Nathan’s house, we paused, looking at it.
Nathan grimaced. “Well, guess we can’t just cut through like we used to.”
“These walking trails aren’t going to be as kept up if we’re in a different house,” I said.
“It’s really weird,” Victor said.
We all stood there silently a little longer, as the realization of what had transpired and the future we would be facing sunk in.
I’d already moved once in the year, down here to South Carolina, with my family. Since then, everything had upended itself. They were now going through the same thing. Their whole lives were changing.
Like me, they wanted their lives to change, but having it change, and so suddenly, it was jarring.
“We won’t need to cut through woods once we’re in a new place,” I said, trying to be helpful.
“You know what will be great?” Victor said, turning away from the fence line. “Not having to drive all the way to different cities around here just to get to each other.”
Nathan smirked. “I thought you were going to say no surprise visits by parents.”
“And how impossible will it be for Volto to mess with us if we’re together in one house?” I asked.
“And if a car breaks down,” Nathan followed us, as we took a different way around, a little longer, to get to Kota’s, “it’s not so bad. Someone else is there. All the cars are there.”
We tried going over more good things, and maybe we needed to do that more often. It did help me feel better.
At Kota’s house, we were greeted by Gabriel and Luke. No one else was around. Max padded along near us as we entered the house, vying for attention from anyone who would pet him by nuzzling his nose into knees and legs.
“Where is everyone?” Victor asked as we collectively climbed the back stairs of Kota’s house to get to Kota’s bedroom. The dog followed along.
“We’re off duty... but also on duty tonight,” Gabriel said. He wore only jeans, as if he’d been getting ready but came down to greet us.
“Yeah,” Luke said. His long blond hair was wet and combed down and hanging around his face. He had on pajama pants and a white T-shirt. “We’re under orders to take you two out.” He waggled a finger toward Victor and me. “You two got the luck of the draw.”
“What about me?” Nathan asked. “I don’t get to go?�
�
“We only have four tickets,” Gabriel said.
Nathan harrumphed and rolled his eyes. He reached to put Max on the head. “Looks like it’s just you and me, buddy. They’re leaving us behind.”
“North will be here soon,” Gabriel said and retreated to the bathroom. “Give me a second. I’m getting ready.” He winked at me. “You’re next.” He closed the door.
Gabriel and Luke had a mischievous plan, and it involved me getting dressed in the most punk outfit that Gabriel had ever put together for me.
I stood in the middle of Kota’s bedroom, on the blue carpet, eyeballing the wallpaper. Victor monitored while Gabriel put the finishing touches on me.
“I don’t know,” Victor said, sitting on Kota’s bed, leaning back on his elbows but looking over at us. “It’s not really... her.”
“Of course it’s her,” Gabriel said. He put a leather bracelet on each of my wrists. “What are you talking about?”
There wasn’t a mirror that I could see from where I was, but as it stood, I was wearing all black. Black skirt, black T-shirt, black long socks and black boots. He let me use the hairclip, just because it was black.
I even wore a black collar.
Gabriel picked up a second collar, also black, and put it around his neck. He wore jeans and a T-shirt, all black as well.
Victor had dug up a dark gray cotton button-down shirt from the closet, and only barely gave in to wearing his usual black pants when he couldn’t find anything else black he could fit into comfortably and Gabriel insisted.
Victor raked his fingers through his hair, combing the locks back. “Maybe I’ve seen North wear all black for too long. It feels like... she’s pretending to be North or something. I don’t know how to describe it.”
“North didn’t invent black,” Gabriel said and then grinned. “Besides, this is a trend right now.”
Victor raised his eyebrow. “Where exactly is wearing all black a trend?”
“South Korea. And it’s more complicated than that.” Gabriel stepped back from me and twirled his finger. “Do a quick spin for me. Just want to make sure...”
I did, and while the skirt poofed out a bit when I turned, it didn’t fly up too far to reveal anything. Underneath, I was wearing very short shorts, just in case.
He presented a thumbs up to me. “Perfect. Fucking perfect.” He squinted at me. “Except for that.”
He pointed right at my neck.
Was there still a bruise? I quickly touched the spot, embarrassed.
Gabriel smirked. “Kota... I mean Victor... sorry. Someone broke the rules. Ground them.”
Victor eased over, and I took a step back, shaking my head. “Don’t,” I said, covering my neck.
“Yeah, don’t,” Luke said.
“There’s no rule about hickies,” Victor said gently. He reached for my hand, removing it. “Don’t worry.”
Gabriel’s mouth opened, jaw going slack. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Although we should be more mindful,” Victor said. “You know, for Mr. Buble perhaps.”
I sighed.
Gabriel groaned. “I bet it was fucking Silas.”
My cheeks reddened.
Gabriel bobbed his head. “I knew it. Knows it’ll get under my skin...”
“Where are we going, anyway?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“The concert that starts at eight.” Gabriel started putting another set of clothes out. “It’ll be over by ten. We should be on the lookout while inside. After that, we’ve got guard duty for North while he makes the trade for the missing trunk.” He looked over his shoulder at Victor. “And it’s a punk band. So we need black.”
“How very practical, then,” Victor said, with a small smirk. “So the concert is really just a pre-requisite for the handoff?”
“I mean, it was your birthday gift, so you automatically get to go. They just happened to pick it, right?” He slapped Victor on the back once as he passed him to fetch another item. “So happy birthday. Maybe we can get the band to sing you a birthday song.”
Near the bed, Kota’s computer chair had been pulled away from the desk. Gabriel laid clothing out on it he pulled from a suitcase he’d rolled in earlier. He knelt down and looked in at his collection, shifting through it. “This would be a lot easier if we had that house. All this carrying stuff I don’t need because I don’t know...”
“It takes time to find a house,” Victor said. “We haven’t looked at any yet.”
“There’s a house down the road,” he said. “For sale. Let’s just get that one.”
“You’re not thinking practical, there,” Victor said. “We’ve got to plan it.” He motioned to me and waved a hand at Gabriel. “Tell him, Sang. It’s got to be the right one.”
They talked about it like they were talking about buying an outfit. I shrugged. “I’ve never shopped for a house. I don’t know where to start. But we need room for all of us.”
“We should start with figuring out if we want to stay in the tri-city area, or outside of it, or somewhere else,” Victor said.
“Well, we’d have to make it near Charleston for now,” Gabriel said.
“But where? One of the islands? Downtown? In a place like Lily has? That’s more secluded, outside of town.”
There was a thud starting at the bottom of the steps and then footsteps coming up. I spun a bit to catch Kota coming in. Jeans, green T-shirt, although the shirt was grease-stained. He stopped at the top of the steps and then looked me over. “What’s all that?” he asked.
“Concert,” I said, although I blushed and shyly looked away for a minute, not because of what I was wearing, but because... of a lot of things lately. His broken car. His mom. What did he know? Was he mad? Despite myself, I forced my gaze in his direction. I couldn’t shy away from him forever.
Kota lifted an eyebrow and looked over at Victor.
Victor waved his hands. “Not mine.”
Luke came out of the bathroom, sans everything but a pair of boxers. “Is it my turn?”
“It’s the rock concert,” Gabriel said to Kota. “Is everyone on the same page? We’re doing the meet with North and Mr. Buble. The concert is before we’re supposed to show up but since we have tickets, we’ll enjoy but also scope out if the thieves could be there, maybe people we recognize.” He stood up and holding a pair of jeans. The jeans were cut at various places, some very close to the butt. He presented them to Luke. “Try this on.”
“Black isn’t really my color,” Luke said. He looked over at me and then reached for the jeans. “Are we all matching again?”
“We’re blending in,” Gabriel said. “What part of rock concert isn’t informative? We wear black. We scream at the band. We go deaf at the extremely loud guitar solos.”
“And this is fun?” Victor asked, an eyebrow cocked.
“Hey,” Gabriel said, reaching to punch him lightly in the bicep. “I don’t snore at your performances. I take in the experience and appreciate the art that it is. This is art in a different form.” He held out a shirt for Luke.
“Mosh pits are art?” Victor asked, now obviously using a teasing tone.
“Isn’t that where you smash up against people in a circle?” I asked them. I’d heard about it some but from videos online, I couldn’t tell if it was dancing or running into other people.
“No mosh pits for you,” Kota said.
“Aw,” Luke whined. “Kota’s no fun.” He took the shirt from Gabriel and went to the bathroom to change, although I wasn’t sure why as he was mostly naked.
Victor laughed. “Who’s playing, anyway?”
Gabriel blinked rapidly and then shrugged. “Hell if I know. Seemed popular.”
The bathroom door opened and Luke reappeared, decked out in ripped black jeans and a black tank shirt and open hoodie, he looked different, with his hair tied back completely in a ponytail high on the back of his head. All the black made him appear leaner than he was, but his face was be
autiful. “We ready?” he asked.
“You just need some eyeliner,” Gabriel said.
“Let’s get going,” Luke said. “If we leave now, we can take the Jeep.”
Gabriel spun around and smirked. “Hell yeah.”
Uh oh. “Did North actually say we can take it?” I asked. “Or...”
“He will,” Luke said and winked at me. “Once you ask him.”
Kota seemed to sense my hesitation. “We’re a little low on vehicles, but taking the Jeep makes the most sense. They should be there to meet with you after. I’ve got to take Nathan from here. We’re getting what’s left from his house before his dad puts the house up for sale. There’s going to be an estate sale for the furniture, so he needs his stuff out now.”
Oh. We really needed to get on finding a house.
Still, I had to be the one to ask North if it was okay to take his Jeep. I rolled my eyes and then pulled out my cell phone I had in my bra. “Well, let’s see what North says.”
Victor motioned to Kota. “Then you guys get the sports car.” He handed Kota the keys.
Kota took them. “Where is it?”
“It’s at the diner.”
“Which one?”
“Trust me. You’ll know.”
♥♥♥
North made me swear the boys would do nothing but go to the concert, that we’d wear our seatbelts, and we’d leave the concert before the final song so we’d get back into the lot in time for the tradeoff. Even then, he seemed reluctant to let Luke take it anywhere.
“I’d rather you drive it,” North had told me.
“I don’t drive.”
“Remind me to teach you. And in a better car.”
I had no desire to entertain the idea of being taught to drive, at least not right now.
Luke drove with Gabriel in the front seat. I sat next to Victor in the back.
Before we left, I excused myself and went to find the bracelet Victor gave to me once. The guys sometimes got me jewelry of different sorts and I kept not wearing them. I was a little worried I’d lose them.
But for tonight, I wanted to wear it. A small chain with a heart charm. Victor got it for me very close to the start.