“Your dad is famous?” I hesitate a bit on the question because his back had stiffened the moment he said those last words, but my mouth just spit the question out.
He presses his lips together and nods. However, he doesn’t explain any further. Instead, he rushes through the kitchen, grabbing a bag of chips, waters, and a box of chocolates. Their pantry screams candy store. I don’t bother to point out the obvious; instead, I follow him outside the apartment, climb another four stories and go through the exit that leads us to the roof.
I sit on a pile of cushions. As I finish settling in, I realize he has disappeared without warning. My belly clenches, not in a good way, but fearing he’ll leave me here stranded. Thankfully, he returns holding a guitar. He sits next to me, takes out a pick from his pocket and begins to strum.
“Any requests?”
“I’ve no idea.” I lift my hands, open palms and shrug. “But I like almost everything. Not sold into the folk music style.”
The corners of his lips lift upward, gifting me a charming smile.
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star…” He continues with the entire song and then switches to some tunes I’m not familiar with. After three obscure melodies, he jumps to well-known songs by the Beatles, U2, Blink 182, Oasis, Panic! At the Disco, and Dreadful Souls. His husky voice strokes my entire skin, and suddenly I’m in a trance, listening to each song he plays while watching the sky. Every strum of his guitar, every word he recites caresses every cell of my body, as if feathery kisses are showering my soul as he captures my heart with the sound of each note.
He opens a door to a place where I can escape outside my own skin. Here, I not only watch the stars, I can walk among them. Seattle is miles away, my family is no longer able to touch me, and it’s only us watching the silver dots as he serenades me with his soul. My head rests against his shoulder while he continues jamming. In only a moment, he erased everything and left me with the taste of what a perfect day is like. I haven’t had one in…I can’t remember, because I can’t concentrate on anything more than what he sings.
“This is one of my favorite things.” He takes a swig of water and points at the twinkling dots that hide behind big blankets of clouds. “Watching the stars, playing my guitar. Now I might add one element to the equation of the perfect closing to a day. You.”
“How can you say that, when you barely know me—or my name?”
Jacob’s strange—nothing like the boys I went out with in high school. The first only held my hand. It lasted three weeks and then we broke up. My second was at sixteen and we had only one thing in common—we enjoyed making out in the alcove behind the auditorium doors. The third took me to prom and was so drunk he couldn’t drive me back home. We had gotten to third base the weekend before, but after the drunken episode, Mom didn’t let me see him again. I wasn’t much for chatting. Usually, when I talk to a guy and have this kind of conversation, we end up in the friend zone. This guy is too pretty to be friend-zoned. Mae would kill me if I tell her I met this tall blond boy with dreamy, blue eyes and we didn’t kiss.
“If I say that my soul knows yours, you’re going to think I’m crazy.” I bite the laugh while squeezing my eyes. Certifiable. “Why are you here and yeah, what’s your name?”
“I don’t know…because my sister told me to do something out of the ordinary.” I extend my hands, palms upward, and shrug. “There’s something about you that I can’t shake, and it makes me want to stick around. Pria, the name’s Pria, Jacob.”
“I like it.” He side glances at me as I say my name and kisses the palm of my hand mouthing it; Pria.
“Exactly. The same reason why I have to find out more about you,” he says lightheartedly, adding a boyish smile. Jacob lays his guitar down. I guess the jam session is over. My pulse slows down as I realize it’s time for me to head home. “There’s a reason we’ve come face to face three times, and why you didn’t call a mental institution, even when I did sound like a maniac.”
Yes, mainly because I’d like to find out if he kisses the way he looks—beautifully. Maeve will kill me if I tell her about the adorable, tall, blond boy with dreamy, blue eyes, and that I didn’t kiss him.
“So, you come up here often?” I tilt my head and move my attention back to the sky. “Watching the never-ending sky?”
“Never-ending sky? I like that.” Jacob grabs me by the waist, places me between his legs and pulls me closer to him. My back leans against his chest and, in an instant, I’ve landed on cloud nine. “No, I wish. Back at home I used to spend nights camping, or at least inside the reading room. It’s made out of glass and no matter how the weather is outside, you can watch the sky. My father uses it a lot to run lines and practice before he starts filming.”
Intrigued by another piece of his history, I try to recall everything I know about celebrities. Mom is a Hollywood junky; she reads the gossip magazines like they’re the gospel. She prides herself on knowing everyone and everything that pertains to them. Yet, I can’t think of any actor who’s a musician too.
“Is your mom an actress or a musician?”
His limbs tense, as does the rest of his body. He doesn’t respond, but I have the gut feeling I asked something I shouldn’t have.
“It’s just a question. That’s how you get to know another person, right? That lie your brother told about never being out of your house is starting to sound like a true story.” I chuckle, but he doesn’t. This isn’t smoothing over whatever nerve I might’ve touched; it’s making it worse. “Like my dad—he’s a major geek who works for Microsoft, and Mom’s a nurse. However, she only works part-time. We live in Redmond. Mmm, what else? I was homeschooled until third grade, when Mom decided that I had to socialize. But instead of starting in third, I skipped a grade. Which was a good thing, because now I can defer a semester or a year and no one will think I’m too old to be a freshman.”
“I was homeschooled too.” His muscles relax. “Up until now that I can’t graduate online. Stupid parents and their rules.”
He points at the stars and tells me that he used to go camping with his family to watch meteor showers.
“I think my father would’ve been an astronomer if he hadn’t picked finance as a major and ended up becoming a movie star.” He laughs, and I’m confused about his father: the musician, finance guru, and actor. “Well, he’s among stars, right?”
“Mom wanted to be a ballerina.” For no reason, I continue telling him more about my parents, as if I want to complain about them, but end up just talking about who they are and what I know about their past. “However, her parents couldn’t afford to continue her training and told her to put her feet on the ground and become something useful. She became a nurse because it was easier than being a doctor. Dad, well, he’s among computers, so that makes him happy.”
My father and I don’t speak much. We bond while watching television. Law and Order is his favorite show. We can sit in the same room for hours without uttering a word. He’d do his thing while I do mine. That’s Dad—always in his own world, and barely acknowledging our existence. Mom’s attention is solely on Maeve, because I’m old enough to do my thing. Yet, not old enough to live far away from them.
“Why do you have to leave school?” That question sours the sweet moment I let myself have.
Tension vibrates through Twinkle’s skin; her body shakes and I hold her tighter against me, kissing the top of her head. That flowery scent of her makes me feel different. A feeling I’ve never encountered before. Saying I needed to find out more about her wasn’t a cheesy line. Everything about her calls out to my heart, my mind, and my soul. The sound of her voice, the warmth of her smile, the sound of her breathing, and the softness of her body leaning against mine. I want to be tangled up in her. I crave her, and there’s something inside me that wishes I could hold her forever and listen to whatever nonsense she has to say as I play an eternal song for the two of
us.
My body heat rises and my mind races through everything that has happened in only a few hours. Events that feel as if we’ve spent days, months, or even years together. I fiddle with her hair as I search for some answers because I’m confused as hell about all this shit. We only met a few days ago. Fuck, the first two encounters sucked. But none of that appears to be important. Only the now matters, and how I’m going to manage to keep her around. How am I going to shake this sadness she carries? How is it possible I feel this way?
It shouldn’t be possible, but here I am. Matthew swears that each time he fucks it’s special, but then moves to the next one. With this girl, I’m having trouble figuring out how to make our first kiss special, making it count so she wants more. Should I try with other girls?
“Maeve, my sister, has Cystic Fibrosis.” She breaks the stupid thoughts swirling in my mind. Her head leans against my chest and I create a shelter for her inside my arms. “Her lungs are delicate. Her entire system is fragile and we have to give her the proper care so she can stay with us longer. Mom does the best she can, but Mae needs someone to be with her around the clock. We can’t hire a nurse and Mom can’t quit her job because we need the money. That leaves me as the one to take charge and watch my sister until she’s healthy again—or as healthy as she can be.”
We remain quiet as I cradle her in my arms, trying to pretend that I can pull out the hurt inside her heart. I dry the few tears that leave her eyes with my sleeve. There really isn’t much I can say to her story. She loves her sister and would do anything for her. If I could make a wish it would be to erase the sour taste and make her feel safe again.
“Mae told me to stick around campus as long as I could. At least for one night. To enjoy my freedom while it lasts.” Pria laughs, a laugh that transforms into a series of sobbing chuckles. “My sister is awesome. I love her and want her to be around forever. If she can live at least another fifty years, I’ll be eternally grateful. For that, we have to be careful about everything, and give up whatever we need to give up.”
Pria was right—there’s nothing I can do at the moment. I’m unable to help. I can only offer her a shoulder to cry on, or a joke to forget about the outside world. Tonight, it’s only us.
“Shh,” I comfort her. “Let’s not talk about your family. What would happen if you stayed with me for an entire weekend?”
In one weekend I can make her fall in love with me, can’t I? At least convince her that we can see each other on a regular basis—date. AJ can give me pointers on how not to fuck up this chance. I release a small laugh. It never fails: when I think of her, my phone rings.
“Hey baby,” I answer by the second ring. “What up?”
“I hate my life. My roommate left me outside. If it wasn’t disgusting, I’d ignore the scarf tied on the door handle and I’d interrupt their coital fest.” Her angry voice sounds funny, as she is yell-whispering over the phone. “Fucking bitch, I seriously have to find another job that’ll pay enough for me to rent an apartment. What are you two up to?”
“AJ, stop thinking about selling your music and say yes to creating the company. That’s going to be our income if we play our cards right with Papi.” She huffs and doesn’t say anything. “Tonight Matthew’s learning what the kids like these days, and hating me.” I laugh because he’s going to be pissed that I took our only car. Buying one car for the two of us had been the worst idea we’ve had so far. “Long story that I can’t get into right now, Princess. In fact, I gotta go.”
“Wow, so much for brotherly love. You have a girl there, don’t you?” Damn triplet connection. Sometimes I hate it. “If you get laid, let me know.”
“I do love you, but I seriously need to go, Princess.”
“Who was that?” Twinkle asks.
“My sister. Her roommate locked her out again.” I can’t help but laugh because AJ’s always in some kind of weird situation. “I’m all for being a good sibling, but I’m not entertaining her tonight.”
“What’s your sister studying?”
“Music. The damn stupid girl is in Texas studying music.” I shake my head at the freaking anger I carry.
Five kick-ass schools accepted her and she chose the one that had the worst music program. Only AJ would turn down Juilliard, all because of Porter. If my parents knew, they’d kick his ass and send her to a much better school.
“She’s a musical genius, like our father, Chris. She has his genes.” I try not to sound bitter, but AJ doesn’t have to practice as much as I do. I spend hours and hours and only play half as well as Chris or AJ. “But she also wants to be a teacher. She’s good with children and teaching. When we go to Albany, our cousins’ children stay glued to her. They adore her.”
“Why didn’t you study music?”
“Not sure. I’m good at math, business and all that shit.” I bring up my qualifications as a student. “Matthew is good at everything and we both decided to try a degree that can be learned online. Dad didn’t have a musical education and he’s awesome. In fact, he’s our teacher.”
I don’t give her more specifics about MJ wanting to study English but giving it up because I convinced him to follow me. Or that my musician father isn’t my biological father, or how I want so bad to be like him when I grow up.
“This is too personal, isn’t it?”
“You’re right, Jacob. We barely know the basics.” She straightens to a sitting position, but I don’t let her get out of my grasp. “Like my favorite colors are periwinkle blue and rose-petal pink. My favorite show will forever be Gilmore Girls, even when my family swears it’s Law and Order. My favorite movie is Pleasantville, and I’m a Harry Potter fan. There—just the basic facts of life.”
Pleasantville? I don’t remember what that movie was all about. The rest was self-explanatory.
“What about you?”
“Color, I guess black. And movies, any Never End. The Lord of the Rings is my favorite book series. I don’t have a favorite television show. And what is Pleasantville?”
She gives me a brief synopsis of the movie, where two teenagers end up inside a sitcom based in the fifties. The life of the characters is black and white, and the town slowly changes into colors as the characters experience some personal transformation or emotion.
“There are days I feel trapped in an emotionless house,” she clarifies. “I wish to either disappear into another life, or to come up with a way that my parents might change from always focusing on my sister’s illness and ways to make money to an emotional life where they care about…others.”
The passion her words express and the sadness entwined within them makes me dip to her heart-shaped lips. My mouth doesn’t wait for an approval; it simply takes charge.
I’ve kissed before—a couple of girls. Nothing too hot; more like pecks. The moment I touch her lips, my mouth parts, and my tongue begs for her to give me entrance. She tastes like sugar, but with a kick of spice. Once we pull apart, I stare into her bright eyes. They remind me of the night sky. A dark background illuminated by a twinkle.
“You’re an entire song about to be written, a song I’ll play for eternity, Twinkle.” I kiss her again; this time is longer and warmer. “Can you hear the notes? As your soul touches mine, we create sounds that become music as we move. Our melodies will transcend the stars, they’ll remain in what you called the never-ending sky.”
The shit my parents talked about may be real. That warm feeling inside your heart, when your soul awakens as you meet someone. The right someone. I think this is it. It’s as if I’ve known Pria since the beginning of time. Gabe and Chris hit it off while eating burgers. They became friends. With this girl, it is similar, and the shit I told her when we met at the bookstore is true. We’re destined to be together.
“That sounds…like a dream that will never happen. We’re not even opposites; we’re two parallel lines that crossed by mistake,
but in a couple of days will continue on their own way. Of course, I wouldn’t mind staying with you, or believing that everything you said may be true. But life isn’t so simple. In fact, it sucks. Some days I wish my life was different.”
I caress her wrist while listening.
“I fear that when Mae dies, Mom will drift away because she’ll have lost the daughter she’s been fighting for so long.” She closes her eyes, snuggling closer to me, so close I think we’re one person. “It’s frightening to think that they’ll leave me with the guy who stares at any screen and ignores me. College was my way out, and it’s lasted only weeks. It never fails though; after I’m done with these self-pity parties, I regret all these selfish thoughts. Because if they weren’t so invested in my sister, she wouldn’t be with us, and I love Mae. My life won’t have a meaning if she leaves me. I’ll be all alone.”
With my thumb, I clear some of the tears that run down the side of her face. From time to time I’ve encountered that fear of losing my loved ones. It terrifies me to think what’d happen if I lose my parents, Ainsley or Matthew. Twinkle lives with that agony every day, expecting it could happen any time.
“From now on, watch the sky—it can be our private place that no one will take away from us.” I raise my hand and paint a line from one star to the other, forming an imaginary heart. “My grandfather lives in the Northeast. In Albany, New York. I love that man. The three of us adore him. We don’t get to see him often. Every time we do, though, the night before we leave his house or he heads back home, he shows us the stars and tells us that no matter where we are, we share the same sky. Even when it’s cloudy and we think nothing is there, he’s always there and he’s thinking of us. So every night, you look at the sky, and remember, I’m thinking of you, Twinkle. Creating music for you, holding you in my arms every night, and taking away the pain. We’re soulmates, remember?”
She sobs while snorting with laughter. Cute.
Uncharted (Unexpected Book 3) Page 6