by Vivian Wood
"Let's ride," was all he said. But it felt like something had loosened between us.
Chapter Fifteen
Jonah
Gabe moved like the bike was an extension of himself, going way too fast. I hung back a little, letting him pull ahead.
He needed to go fast. I needed to know I was doing everything right. That was why we'd done so well as the King Brothers, him pushing us forward, me tying up the loose ends.
Fuck me, I missed it.
Maybe that's why my music wasn't coming? I gripped the handlebars a little tighter, wondering what he'd say if I asked him to help me write. Would he be a dick about it? He'd been a dick about everything else.
We reached the quarry and Gabe spun around, sending up a shower of pebbles. A few riders were already zipping around and sputtered over to size us up, two teenagers by the looks of them.
"What up, G?" they said to my brother, giving him the kind of worshipful glance I was used to seeing in twelve year old girls. "You gonna do some tricks?"
My brother shook his head. "I'm just here to ride."
They looked disappointed, then looked over at me. "That you, Finn?" the one in the orange helmet asked, excited again.
Gabe chuckled. "Nah man. That's Jonah."
The two of them cackled in a way I definitely didn't like. "Jonah?" Orange helmet wheezed. "No way! I thought you said he'd never risk get his pretty face messed up."
Gabe looked at me, instantly wary. Our relationship was a tight knot of hurt and righteous anger, but in the past hour we'd both made the first passes at starting to untangle it. He didn't want to fuck this up.
Neither did I. "Oooh," I sing-songed. "That's a nice burn."
He grinned and another loop of the knot uncoiled, loosening. "Well it's true," he said. "I definitely never thought you'd risk your face. Although I don't think I'd ever called it pretty."
I shoved him with my shoulder. "Are we going to ride or are you going to keep talking?"
"What, you don't want me taking your job?" he shot right back.
I swallowed. What Ruby said was still softly echoing in my head. It was time to sort this out, once and for all. "Gabe, you know I fired Bennett right away, right?"
The teenagers, sensing impending drama, sped away as fast as they could.
Gabe stiffened, but said nothing.. Which I supposed was progress. I took another deep breath. "You all split," I explained. "I was the only one that wanted to keep working. So he caught me up in breach of contract and that's why he was still hanging around." I looked at my brother. "He was just collecting a paycheck off my dime, but I never let him touch a single thing that had to do with my career. And as soon as I could, I paid out the nose to get out of it that contract. Hired these fancy lawyers and everything."
Gabe turned and looked at me. I could see the surprise all over his face and let out a rueful chuckle. "Yeah, you had no idea, did you?"
He licked his lips. "You never told us."
"You wouldn't return my calls," I reminded him.
"He didn't come after me."
"Well he fucking well knew better than that, didn't he?"
I could see the muscle jumping on Gabe's temple. "Stop grinding your teeth," I said automatically.
"Who did you hire then?" he asked.
I sighed. "Leon Jensen."
"Who just let you go."
"Yeah."
Gabe fell silent. The sun was out now, warm enough to melt the dusting of snow that had fallen last night. All around us was the steady drip-drip of melting, with the sun shining through the bare, glistening branches, making every twig a prism. It was pretty, but a weird kind of subtle pretty, one you only noticed if you're watching close enough to deserve it.
It made me think of Ruby.
Then then quiet was shattered by the buzzing whine of Gabe's motor as he kicked it to life. I looked at him as he pulled his helmet back down over his face. "Follow me," he shouted over the noise of his motor. "And stay in my line."
I felt the corner of my mouth twitch and had to catch the smile before he saw me grinning like an idiot. Because he didn't say the words out loud. And he probably never would. But I knew Gabe well enough to understand that this was his stab at an apology. At forgiveness. A slow, dripping melt. Like the trees.
Chapter Sixteen
Jonah
I hurtled after my brother, heart lodged in my throat. I'd forgotten this sensation, how fast everything moves. Driving a car, you're removed from your surroundings, divorced from the speed. It's almost like you're sitting in your living room. But on a bike, you're right out in the open with the noise of the wind in your ears and the slap of pebbles and rocks against your leg.
Gabe was leading us up a path that kept climbing. I'd never been up here. Usually riders stayed down the the bowl of the man-made canyon, racing as fast as they could through the open terrain. But up here the trees were closing in thickly along the side of the single-track. The overhanging branches were making me nervous as hell, but Gabe was only leading us further into the woods.
"Where the fuck are we going?" I shouted over the whine of our bikes.
"There's a jump!" Gabe called back, darting a look over his shoulder. The trees were whizzing by in an impossibly fast blur.
Sick panic built in my throat, but I couldn't tell Gabe that. He'd never listened to my warnings. Not about his ex, Noelle. Not about breaking up the band. Not about anything.
I kicked the throttle faster, trying to catch up with him. If I couldn't stop him, at least I could keep an eye on him.
My bike seemed to have a mind of its own. I was barely controlling it, my tires only making infrequent contact with the dirt as we leaped over boulders and tree roots. "Gabe!" I called after a bad landing sent me spinning out. Some instinct I didn't know I still had kicked in, and I leaned into the skid, whipping around in a tight spiral before I righted myself. Shooting out like a stone from a slingshot, I hurtled to my brother who seemed to be slowing down. Was he realizing how idiotic this was?
No. When the trees cleared, I immediately saw what he wanted to do. "No," I said, as loud as I could.
Gabe only grinned. "No one's asking you to do it."
I glanced back out over the jump, heart thudding in my throat. "No way, that's fucking impossible, dude."
"For you maybe. I did it the other day."
I leaned out and looked again. The jump was over a carved out hollow, looking like a bite had been taken out of the earth. We were at the edge of a sharply cut ravine filled with scrubby brush and the carcass of an old refrigerator. "It's at least five stories down," I said.
"Yeah and the jump is eighty feet with a short ramp," Gabe said, readjusting his helmet. "I've done this a billion times."
"So why do you need to do it again?" I asked sharply.
"To watch your face," he said, kicking his bike into gear and lifted a gloved middle finger.
"You asshole!" I shouted over the whine of his bike as he circled back through the trees. I thought about pulling into his path, forcing him to crash into me rather than do this.
But it wasn't my fucking decision now was it? I'd tried to stop him from making mistakes so many times and all it had got me was his scorn. He always saw me as standing in the way of his good time.
I moved the bike back. Making sure I was out of his way for sure this time.
The whine of the bike grew higher-pitched as he kicked up the speed. I clenched my handlebars, white knuckled. I was feeling something very close to terror when I saw Gabe come shooting through the trees, a streak of white lighting, and then he was airborne.
His form was perfect. His aim was true. He landed on the far side of the ravine with whoop of triumph and spun around to raise his fist to me, shouting something I couldn't hear.
The thudding adrenaline in my ears had me yelling and swearing. Cursing him and cheering him, laughing and swearing like a sailor. Even from this far off, I could see the bliss in the lines of his body. It had always been th
is way. The only way he could calm his body was by putting it at risk.
He zoomed off into the trees and I heard the whine of his bike as he circled around the ravine and came back to this side. I was still shouting when he pulled up next to me. "You crazy fucking asshole!" I laughed. "I'm telling mom!"
He grinned. "No you aren't."
"No you're right, I'm not. But seriously, you're insane." I took a breath. "And also really good."
"Yeah, I know." But there was pride in his voice.
"I had no idea you had gotten to this level."
"Yeah well, that's because you haven't watched the show."
I felt a twinge of guilt. "Well that's because I didn't want to feel embarrassed for you," I bluffed. "Now that I know you're not some kind of sad wannabe, I might tune in."
Gabe smiled and adjusted his helmet. "Why do you think they call me the King of Pain?" he asked, but rode off before I could get a chance to answer. He streaked through the trees again and now that I wasn't so on edge, I could really see how he knew what he was doing. I should have fucking trusted him. I should have been watching his show all this time, there was no excuse.
I promised myself I would do just that, the second he went airborne.
He kicked out one leg, showboating. But the kick threw his bike off balance.
He hit the ground at an angle instead of head on. I heard a shout of pain and then the bike went over.
"Fuck," I breathed, yanking my helmet back on again.
It seemed like the trail around the jump took forever even though I was going as fast as I dared. The whole time I rode, the wind in my ears sounded like my brother sobbing in pain.
When I reached the other side, he was lying perilously close to the edge of the ravine, his left arm clutched in his right. I skidded to a stop. "Gabe!"
He let out a noise somewhere between a moan and a hiss. "Think I broke my fucking arm," he said through clenched teeth.
"Of course you fucking did," I snapped.
He jerked a little and glared up at me and I swallowed the rest of my I-told-you-sos. "Here," I said, going for his bike. But it was a twisted, sad thing, the handlebars wrenched permanently to the left. If he could ever ride it again, it would only be in circle. "You're going to have to get on mine," I realized.
He looked offended. "You want me to ride bitch?"
"You got another idea how we get out of here?" I demanded.
He stood up, still clutching his arm. "I can walk," he said, hiding a wince.
"We're miles from the entrance and you need a fucking doctor. Sit your ass down on this bike." When he hesitated, I resorted to begging. "Come on, listen to me Gabe. I'll go slow and easy, okay?"
He pressed his lips together. I felt a sinking sensation in my chest. "You really don't trust me anymore, do you?" I asked him.
He looked at me, caught. "I trust you," he grunted through the pain. "You always think you're doing the right thing. Whether or not it turns out right, you mean well at least."
I opened my mouth and then closed it. "We'll talk about that later," I decided, helping him over to my bike. "Wrap your arm here. Tuck the left one up as best you can." I got on and twisted the throttle.
Gabe grunted when I started us moving, but he managed to hold back anything else. Instead of retracing our steps, I took the shortcut down into the ravine, following a deer trail through the scrub until we came out into the main part of the quarry where the two kids were still racing around. They saw us coming and made a beeline for my bike. "G! What happened to your bike, man...?" they started to say before noticing the angle his arm was bending at. "Oh shit man, that looks fucking bad! Gross!"
Gabe always gave me shit about loving the spotlight, but he was the one eating up the attention right now. I made a mental note to rag on him about this later, once his arm was in a cast. "I assure you," Gabe said to the teenagers. "It feels worse." He managed a grin then turned to me, suddenly excited. "Did you see the jump before it though, Jonah? If I didn't fuck my arm up, I was going to try a 360 next."
And that was how I knew the last bit of ice had melted between us. Because he'd been showing off for me. Showing off for his big brother. Wanting me to be proud.
"You ever do one on the show?" I asked.
"Episode 6," he said immediately.
I nodded. "I'll be sure to watch it then." Then I smirked. "So you cut your face and now broke your arm, you've had a productive day."
He winced and then grinned.
"What should I tell mom we were up to?" I wondered. "Should I tell her you broke your arm cleaning the bathtub or something?"
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, please."
"Can we go to the fucking hospital now, King of Pain?"
"Yeah," he sighed. "Take me to the hospital."
I revved the motor and then carefully set out to take care of my brother.
Chapter Seventeen
Ruby
My classroom was a well-oiled machine by now. The kids knew what I expected, my student teacher was seasoned, my lesson plans were perfect. Sure I was young, the parents always commented on that when we met for conferences, but I was completely confident in my authority over those sixteen kids in my class.
The thirty-three kids in the Spring Play were another thing entirely.
When I entered the auditorium, the stage was a mass of wiggling bodies. Double my classroom size and every one of them pushing, pulling and tugging. I was used to my docile little kindergarteners who were still small enough to scoop up into my arms if I needed to. But these kids ranged all the way up to huge, burly fifth graders, some of whom could already look me in the eye. One kid in the back looked like he was already entering puberty.
I swallowed and put on my best 'teacher voice.' "All right let's settle down!" I called.
Only a few kids looked my way, the rest paid no attention. "Listen up!" I yelled, raising one hand over my head in the universal signal of "you'd better pay attention to me, I'm your teacher."
Maddy Keely from my classroom immediately followed my lead and lifted her hand up, as did Dee's daughter Kayleigh. But the rest of them still shoved and laughed.
This could't stand. I marched down the auditorium aisle and lifted the lid to the grand piano sitting there.
Then I raised my hands over my head and smashed them both down on the keys.
The crashing, discordant chord echoed through the auditorium and made the kids freeze in place, and a few of them of them clapped their hands over their ears.
"Thank you," I said in my normal voice. "It's time to get started."
The kids looked at me, confused. "Who are you?"
"I'm Miss Riley. You know me."
"Why are you here?"
'That's a very good question,' I didn't say. Instead I smiled. "I'm the new director."
"Where's Mr. King?" one of the second graders asked.
"He's dead, dummy," came the swift reply.
I swallowed. "Quiet, please," I said. "Yes, I'm filling in for Mr. King." The very idea of it seemed completely wrong, but here I was all the same. "Now I've read over the script, and I'm assuming you all know your lines for the first scene?"
A few nods, some tentative, some enthusiastic. "Okay then." I took a deep breath and sat down at the piano bench.
I'd been up nearly all of last night going over the script Gid had written. I'd read all his notes on the kids he'd cast, the little asides like, "Tommy farts a lot, put him in back," and "Brayden's got the best voice and knows it, try to keep his ego in check." I scanned the group of kids, trying to match names with faces, and then I saw her. Hanging near the wings, ready to bolt. "Hi there Lydia," I called, waving for her to come over.
She bent her head and hurried to me, her long denim skirt swishing. I could hear a few whispers as she crossed in front of the other kids and my heart tugged. "Hi there, could you come help me a second?"
She was shy, I saw that right away. Just looking me in the eye made her turn beet red. I crouched down to
her level. "Hey do you have any little brothers or sisters?" I asked.
Lydia shook her head. I was surprised to hear that. Chosen families were known for their big packs of kids. Claire joked that they were trying to take over the town through breeding. "Okay but you help watch the rest of the kids in your neighborhood, right?"
"Parish," she corrected.
"I'm sorry, right." But she was talking to me now and that was a start. "Do you think you could watch some of those kindergartners over there for me?" I said, pointing to Maddy and Kayleigh who were attempting to turn somersaults on the hard stage floor. "I need an assistant."
Her eyes shone. Clearly this was the right tact to have taken with her. "I can do that," she said, formally.
"Make sure they're listening, which means you need to listen too, right?"
"Correct," she replied.
I smiled and squeezed her arm. "Thank you Lydia. I'm glad you're here."
Lydia gave me a small, tentative smile and then went over to Maddy and Kayleigh and immediately engaged them in a hand clapping game. I took a sip of my ice-cold coffee and felt marginally more capable.
Then I looked down at the sheet music and all feelings of competence fled. "Alright, listen up!" I called, my voice hoarse. "I want to run through the first number, just singing, no dancing, okay? Let me just hear how it goes. I'll play the melody one time, just so you remember it - " and I learn it, I didn't say, "then you'll sing it for me, sound good?"
"Thank you!" they chorused. Clearly Gid had taught them about how the theater world responded to directions. I wished he was here.
Blinking, I sat down. Smoothing my sweaty palms down the front my slacks, I sat there a second, staring at the music in front of me.