Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1)

by Brittney Musick

  As I passed Skylar and Luke’s rooms, I listened for any signs of life, but there was nothing. I figured they’d probably do like they did on the weekends—when they didn’t have to work—and sleep until at least noon before showing themselves. I shrugged, unbothered, and relished in the fact I’d actually get to take a hot shower.

  After said shower, I dressed and dried my hair before heading back to my room. Even though I’d just left the still steamy bathroom, I weeded through my closet until I found a zip-up hoodie Skylar gave me after discovering it no longer fit her. I figured another diet was soon to come.

  As I was zipping up the hoodie, the phone rang. I recognized the ring and knew it was coming from the line I shared with my siblings. I scanned the room a moment before spotting the phone on my desk, where I’d left it the night before after talking to Tegan before bed.

  I zigzagged around the piles on my floor and grabbed the phone. “Hello?”

  “Hey.” The sound of Jackson’s voice brought a smile to my face. “Did I wake you?”

  “Nope, I was up,” I answered. “I just got out of the shower.”

  “Ooh, are you naked?” I could hear the grin in his voice and blushed furiously.

  “No.” I suddenly felt quite bashful. “I didn’t know you were such a pervert.”

  Jackson laughed. “I was just kidding.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” I wasn’t sure whether or not I believed him, but I decided to change the subject to safer topics. “I’m surprised you’re awake.”

  He’d worked later than usual last night. It had been too late to call when he got home, but I was online, so we’d talked for a few minutes via messenger before I called it a night.

  “So am I.” He yawned, as if to support the statement. “I slept in a few hours. I probably would have slept longer if Clare and Chloe hadn’t been jumping around upstairs.”

  “What were they doing?”

  “Playing on the Wii we got for Christmas,” he sighed. “They were trying to play tennis when I came upstairs to see what was going on. It was not pretty.”

  I laughed. I’d attempted to play a few games on the Wii when I was over at Jackson’s, so I knew just how ridiculous it could get, jumping around the room while getting into the games.

  “Of course, after they got me up, they went upstairs and fell back asleep,” Jackson sighed. “Now I’m up and completely bored.”

  “Me too,” I said, biting my lip. It wasn’t totally a lie either. I’d tried to think of ways to waste the day while I was in the shower, and I’d come up empty. “How bad is your road? If it’s not that bad, maybe you could come over?”

  “A couple of snowplows have been by, so not too bad,” Jackson answered. “Would your parents mind?”

  “No, they’re both at work,” I answered. Then I realized that might sound suggestive, so I added, “But Luke and Skylar are here. At least in body, if not in mind.”

  “I take it they’re still asleep then?” Jackson chuckled.

  “Yeah, they’ll emerge when they need to feed.”

  “Okay.” I could hear the amusement in that one word. “Let me get dressed and I’ll be over.”

  I tried not to sound too giddy when I agreed, but I thought some of it spilled over. “Drive carefully,” I warned before I turned off the phone.

  I crossed the room to my dresser to get a pair of socks. My toes were cold, and I wondered if Mom or Dad forgot to turn the heat back up this morning because it sure didn’t feel like they had. I decided to head downstairs and check while I waited for Jackson, but, as I passed, I noticed Skylar’s door was partway open.

  I popped my head inside, planning to greet her with a “good morning” and let her know Jackson was on his way over, but instead I shrieked as the sight of my half naked sister.

  She was standing in front of the mirror, doing only God knows what, and spun around in alarm. “What?” she looked around, frantically, as if expecting to see an intruder or an army of spiders coming to get her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Why are you standing there half naked with the door wide open?” I closed the door behind me and pressed my back against it.

  Skylar’s shoulders relaxed and the fear left her eyes. It was replaced with annoyance, which she further expressed through her clipped reply. “It’s not as if anyone’s going to see.”

  “Hello?” I waved my hands in front of me. “What am I?”

  “Honestly, Sil,” she laughed. “If you’re afraid of seeing a girl half dressed, I can’t imagine what’ll happen when you see Jackson undressed.”

  I paused for a moment, considering it. Instead of freaking out, like Skylar seemed to expect, I suddenly felt very warm all over. I shook the enticing mental image away and returned to the matter at hand.

  “What if it had been Luke who walked by?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. “I don’t think he wants to see you in your bra and panties. I mean, that could very possibly scar him for life.”

  “I think Luke’s delicate sensibilities are safe,” Skylar snorted. “He isn’t likely to drag his lazy ass out of bed for at least a couple more hours. Even then, he’d probably be too worried about band practice to even notice the door was open.” From the way she spat the word “band,” it was obvious Skylar was still miffed about Stevie joining.

  “Fair point,” I conceded, turning and pulling the door open to leave. “But Jackson is on his way over, so I’m going downstairs and I’m going to close the door behind me, and I’d very much appreciated it if you’d at least pretend to have a little modesty.”

  “When you’d get to be so bossy?” Skylar called after me as I slipped out the door, pulling it tightly shut behind me.

  After checking the thermostat and turning it up a couple degrees to ward off the chill in the air, I went back to the living room and did a decent imitation of watching television while really keeping a look out for Jackson.

  As soon as I saw the cobalt blue of his car, I was out of my seat and headed for the door. When I got there, I pulled it open and waved as Jackson climbed out of his car. He looked adorable bundled up in a heavy flannel coat and his hat and scarf.

  “Hey,” I called as he walked up the sidewalk.

  “Hey yourself,” he grinned as he stepped up on the first stair leading up to the front door. I didn’t notice the patch of ice until, suddenly, his arms were moving like a windmill as he started to slip backwards.

  Instinctively, I stepped forward, soaking my socked feet on the wet entry, and grabbed for him. Of course, my intended help only served as a hindrance because Jackson outweighed me by quite a bit. He grabbed onto my shoulders, trying to steady himself, but he couldn’t find his footing again. Instead, I found myself falling forward as he continued to fall back until he landed first on his butt, sending his legs into the air and tangling with mine, before he found himself flat on his back as I landed on top of him with an, “Oomph.”

  It took me a minute to regain my breath. When I did, I scrambled off of him. “Oh. My. God. Are you okay?”

  Jackson sat up, slowly, with a wince. He rubbed the back of his head. “I think someone forgot to salt the steps,” he muttered as I offered him my hand. He took it and slowly stood. He rubbed his backside, grimacing. “I’m pretty sure that’s going to bruise.”

  “Sorry.” I winced at his obvious discomfort and felt all the more guilty because he’d cushioned my fall.

  “It’s not your fault,” he said as I led him into the house, closing the door behind us.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked as I peeled off my sopping socks.

  “Yeah,” he sighed, gingerly removing his coat. “Just sore and wet.”

  I took his coat and hung it in the closet to dry while Jackson toed off his shoes. “I’ll see if Luke has something you can borrow while we dry your clothes.”

  Jackson nodded, leaning back against the front door, and I hurried upstairs, wet socks in hand. I deposited them in the laundry basket before going into my room and cha
nging into some clean, dry clothes before going to Luke’s door. I knocked, but there was no answer, so I knocked again. When I still didn’t hear anything, I cracked the door open, praying I wouldn’t find anything traumatizing, and saw his sleeping form lying in his bed.

  I rolled my eyes at my brother’s sloth-like ways as I pushed the door open the rest of the way and scanned his messy room.

  “Luke,” I whispered, “Jackson needs to borrow some of your clothes.”

  There, I thought, now he can’t say I took his stuff without asking. I skirted around the mess on the floor over to the closet. It was a struggle to push it open, but once I finally got it to move, I was surprised to find Luke actually had his clothes hanging up. I’d been expecting an avalanche of textiles.

  I scanned the items inside for a second, using the lone ray of light from the window to see, before I grabbed a plain blue t-shirt that looked like it would fit Jackson’s long torso. Then I edged over to his dresser and pulled open a couple drawers before I found his jeans. I found a pair of cargo pants that Luke almost never wore. I wasn’t sure if they’d be long enough since Luke was several inches shorter than Jackson, but he’d only have to wear them until his clothes were dry.

  I crept back out of the room, closing the door behind me, and headed downstairs. Jackson was still waiting by the door. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful. I hoped that meant he wasn’t too sore. He opened his eyes when the step creaked beneath my socked foot.

  I smiled, holding the clothes out to him. “I hope these will fit.”

  “Thanks,” Jackson said, pushing off from the door. His movements were slower and less graceful than usual, I noted, as he made his way down the hall to the bathroom.

  I headed down the hall a moment later and into the kitchen. I opened the cabinet above the stove that Mom always referred to as the “catch all” because it was usually where all of the random items wound up. Standing on tiptoes, I dug around inside for a moment before finding the pain medication I sought. Jackson looked like he’d need it. I also grabbed a couple of cans of pop from the refrigerator and headed into the living room.

  As I was setting the drinks and pain medicine on the coffee table, Jackson appeared at the doorway to the living room with his wet clothes in hand. I looked him over for any obvious signs of injury; he seemed fine. I also noticed that Luke’s clothes seemed to fit him well enough. The cargo pants hung a little low on his hips, but that seemed to help with the length. The shirt was a bit baggy, which wasn’t a huge surprise since Luke—while certainly not fat—was husky compared to Jackson’s lean swimmer’s build.

  “Here,” I said, crossing the room to take his wet clothes. “I’ll put those in the dryer.” He handed them over and I nodded toward the coffee table. “I left a drink and some pain medicine on the coffee table.”

  “Thanks, Sil.” His smile was grim as he walked stiffly over to the couch and sat down gingerly. I watched as he opened one of the Cokes and took a drink before reaching for the pain medicine.

  After getting Jackson’s clothes into the dryer, I hurried back to the living room. “So,” I said, taking the seat next to him on the couch. “You certainly know how to make an entrance.”

  “Yeah,” Jackson laughed, “I totally planned that.”

  I grinned. “I knew it!”

  “I couldn’t resist,” he smirked. “I just love falling on my ass.”

  “Poor baby.” I stuck out my bottom lip in a pout. “So, what do you feel like doing?”

  “I don’t know. I thought I was coming over so you could entertain me.”

  “Is that all I am to you?” I scoffed. “A source of entertainment?”

  “Well, you are also my cute arm candy,” he winked.

  “Nice,” I blushed. “How about a movie?”

  “A movie sounds good. What have you got?”

  “A little bit of everything,” I shrugged. “Any particular genre you’re in the mood for?”

  He shook his head. “Just pick something.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that, Jackson,” I commented as I stood to go look through our collection of DVDs. “My dad usually says that to my mom when he’s planning to sleep through the movie.”

  “Hey, I’m injured, remember?” he grinned. “I need to rest.”

  “Whatever.” Rolling my eyes, I walked over to the shelving unit we used for movies and music and looked through the DVDs for a moment before I picked up one. “Since you’re planning to sleep, I’m choosing High School Musical.”

  Jackson’s eyes grew wide as I carried the DVD over to the entertainment center. “Are you serious?” he laughed.

  “Oh, come on, Jackie,” I grinned, cheerfully. The nickname earned me a heatless glare. “We can sing along.”

  The glare and incredulity was quickly replaced with a look of intrigue. “You know,” he considered, “it just might be worth watching if you’re going to sing along.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “This goes back to being a source of entertainment, right?”

  “You catch on quickly, young grasshopper,” he grinned.

  I shook my head as I put the DVD in the player. Once the disc was in, I grabbed the remote control for the DVD player and walked back to the couch. I slid back into my seat next to Jackson and pulled the knitted afghan off the back of the couch.

  “Cold?” Jackson guessed as I spread the blanket over my legs.

  I nodded. “Are you?”

  “A little.” I unfolded the afghan the rest of the way and covered both of our legs with it before Jackson wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him and he pulled me closer as the movie started to play.

  Apparently, Jackson wasn’t the only one who needed to rest because my eyes were heavy and falling shut before Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens were finished singing “Start of Something New.”

  I was roused from my peaceful slumber with my head against Jackson’s chest when I heard the doorbell ring. I looked at the television and saw that the High School Musical gang was singing about all of them being in something together.

  I lifted my head slightly as Jackson let out a light snore. I made a mental note to remember to tease him about it later. Dad also snored, but he was much louder. His snores sounded like a huge rumbling, and Mom hated when he fell asleep on the couch while watching a movie or TV show. He got so loud it made it hard to hear anything but him. Sometimes she’d just keep turning the television up until it got so loud he woke up.

  I wondered who was at the door, but I couldn’t bring myself to actually move. I was too comfortable and sleepy; I wanted to stay just where I was snuggled up to Jackson.

  The sound of footsteps on the stairs came as a relief. I assumed it was Skylar, coming to answer the door. It was probably for her anyway because I doubted Luke was out of bed yet. I laid my head back down on Jackson’s chest and closed my eyes to go back to sleep only to awake moments later to the sound of Skylar’s voice.

  “Aw, aren’t they so cute?”

  I groaned, lifted my head, and glared sleepily at her before noting that Scott was there; obviously, he’d been the one at the door. I wasn’t overly surprised to see him. He and Skylar had been talking more regularly since Christmas break. I wasn’t sure if they were just friends or if they were trying to be something more once again. Since Skylar seemed to be in a better mood—Oxide aside—my guess was the latter.

  Scott waved and smiled a little at me before moving to sit on the loveseat. Skylar took the seat beside him and turned her attention to the television screen. She scrunched up her nose. “What on earth are you watching?”

  “High School Musical,” I muttered, rubbing my sleepy eyes while trying, unsuccessfully, to stifle a yawn.

  Skylar glanced at Scott with an expression that seemed to ask if he had any idea what that was; he simply shrugged.

  I rolled my eyes as I forced myself to sit up. I then nudged Jackson in the shoulder. He looked so peaceful, and I figured he must be a heavy sleeper—or
just really exhausted— if he could sleep through the sound of my sister’s loud mouth. I didn’t want to wake him, but I figured since I couldn’t sleep and he was supposed to be there to visit with me, he should have to suffer through the invasion of Skylar and her sort of, maybe boyfriend too.

  When nudging him didn’t work, I grabbed his shoulder and shook it. “Jackson.” I shook him lightly as I said his name.

  I glanced over at Scott and Skylar; they were both watching and I felt myself blush. For some reason, waking Jackson felt incredibly intimate and doing so under someone else’s watchful eyes was somewhat embarrassing. I shook him again, harder, and after a moment, he finally lifted his head as a snore died in his throat as his eyes popped opened.

  He was groggy and disoriented at first, and I smiled at the cuteness that was a sleepy Jackson. “Hey, sleepyhead,” I greeted, motioning off to the side toward Skylar and Scott. “We have company.”

  “Oh, hey,” he yawned, sitting up. “What’s up?”

  “Not much,” Scott shrugged. “Can you believe this snow?”

  “Was it bad around you?” Jackson asked. “After the plow went by a couple of times, it was nothing on my street. I couldn’t believe they let us out for the day.”

  “Me either,” Skylar said. “The street was covered this morning, though. We had a two-hour delay at first, but they cancelled it when the plows hadn’t been down half the roads yet. Mom and Dad had to dig their way out of the drive.”

  “Bet Dad wasn’t too pleased about that,” I grinned.

  “He was cursing something fierce,” Skylar replied. “Mom made me come downstairs and back the car out of the drive while they were digging.”

  “Oh,” I said, nodding. She must have read my mind because I was wondering how she knew.

  “Yeah,” Skylar sighed. She glanced back at the television screen. “So, what is this crap you two are watching?”

  Jackson was quick to say, “Silly picked it,” placing the blame on me.

  “Gee, thanks.” I made a face at him. “If I recall, you were no help whatsoever and just said ‘just pick something.’”