But I know better than to let myself believe it’s true.
I wouldn’t allow myself that kind of invasion.
I sip at my soda again. “A lot of guys give me the eyes, but it doesn’t always mean something. Stop being all dad-ish. You’ve known Will his whole life. Has he ever tried anything?”
Seeing I wasn’t backing down, he sighed. “No,” he admits.
“And even if he did, would it be so bad?” I press.
Now he goes stoic. “Yes. It certainly would.”
Mom clucks. “Oh, hush. There are worse people she could be with. What about the odd kid that used to live across the street? What was his name again? Derek? Dave?”
I make a disgusted sound. “Damian. He was the biggest asshole ever. He put spiders in my room knowing I was terrified of them!”
“Any boy would be bad,” he informed us, as if I’m meant to accept that.
Taking my soda, I back out of the room. “Like it or not, Dad, I’m going to date someday. Maybe not any time soon, but it’s going to happen. And quite frankly, you don’t have to be so threatened over Will. I’m not a virgin as is, it’s not like he can deflower me.”
Dad’s eyes widened and his face hardened. “Who is he?”
I laugh. “Like I’m going to tell you!” I blast.
Mom whispers something to him to calm him down.
I don’t mean to stir things up or upset him, but the double standard is sickening. My whole life, Doug got to say and do anything he wanted. But me? I was the youngest. The only girl. Apparently, it meant I’m limited to my freedoms.
“Why don’t you go clean up,” she suggests, eyeing me hard. She knows how overprotective Dad can get with me, so it’ll take some time for him to cool off.
So I shrug and head to my room, stripping out of my sticky clothes. Grabbing another pair of cut-off jean shorts and my favorite “Will Dance for Pizza” shirt, I head to the bathroom that’s connected to my room. I jump in the shower, scrubbing off all the access of chocolate and vanilla ice cream from my body. Most of it is in my hair, because Will knows how much I hate when stuff gets in my hair. It’s too thick to get clean in a decent amount of time. I’m tempted to chop it off at some point.
I take my time drying off and combing my tangled hair, but I have trouble reaching the back enough to straighten everything out. When I’m dressed, I hear rustling in my bedroom.
“Mom? Dad?”
I open the door to see Will lounging across my bed with his arms behind his head. He obviously cleaned up, too, because he’s in a new pair of faded blue-jeans and a plain black T-shirt.
“How’d you get in?”
He gestures toward the window, one that’s right next to the large willow tree in the yard. Apparently, it’s perfect climbing material. “You didn’t lock your window.”
“And that gives you permission to break in?”
Grinning, he sits up, his curly dirty-blond hair still wet from his shower. “How many hundreds of times have I done this since we were little? Like it honestly bothers you.”
I sit next to him and hand him my hair brush. “Okay, Mr. Cocky. Since you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful. I have knots thanks to you, so brush my hair.”
“Hey, you’re the one who started the food fight,” he points out, brushing the comb through my hair. “I just ended it.”
I lean against him so he still has room to get the knots out of the strands, but the shower made me tired. My body melts against the warmth of him, so I close my eyes and absorb how good it feels as he plays with my hair.
“You gonna fall asleep on me?” he muses.
“Mmm. Maybe.”
He chuckles and runs the brush through my hair a few more times, careful not to tug. Once I’m tangle free, he sets my neon pink brush down on my comforter and runs his fingers through it. I melt into the front of him then, snuggling into his chest. Putting his arm around my shoulders, he tugs me closer to him, resting his chin on the top of my head.
I soak up the moment, taking his warmth as my own. Our breathing and heartbeats are in sync, our contentment the same. This is what I love. Moments. But, like any time I get too comfortable, I remind myself that all moments have to end.
“It’s probably good that you came through the window anyway. My dad is in freak out mode because I told him I’m not a virgin.”
His body stiffens. “Why would you tell him that?”
I shrug. “He was getting all weird about me hanging out with you, and then things were said. It doesn’t really matter.”
“Wait,” he begins, pulling away from me, “how the hell does talking about me lead to your virginity?”
I watch as he pales.
“Fuck, Tess. Does he think I took your virginity?”
I laugh at his sudden panic. “Chill. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t think that. He just doesn’t like the idea of me being around something with a penis. And that kind of means he just …”
“Hates me?”
“Well …” How do I put this nicely? “He probably wouldn’t mind castrating you if it meant you never having the chance to knock me up.”
Somehow, he got whiter.
I roll my eyes. “Breathe, Will. Deep breaths. In and out. My dad is all talk and no show. He’s really a big teddy bear, but you know how he is with me. I’m his only girl.”
Falling back on the bed, he covers his face with his hands.
Moment officially over.
He muffles a groan and says, “Your dad hates me because of my dick.”
That makes me giggle snort. “He doesn’t hate you.”
“He wants to castrate me.”
“Technically, he didn’t say it out loud.”
He eyes me. “Tess, he wants to chop off my favorite appendage. That’s just … no. Nope. Why am I still here? I still have time to escape!”
“I’m afraid not,” Mom says from my doorway. Dad is glaring at Will from over her shoulder.
Will bolts upright, stumbling off my bed.
Mom laughs. “Relax, William. I won’t let any harm come to you, and I’m sure Tessa won’t either.”
“You and your favorite appendage will be safe with me,” I state, turning to him.
Dad chokes. “You are deliberately trying to give me a heart attack.”
I grin. “No, I’m just trying to make sure Will doesn’t pass out. He’s slightly terrified of you.”
“Good,” Dad mumbles. Mom smacks him.
“I was just checking on Tess,” Will explains quickly.
“Do you mind using the front door from now on?” Mom asks kindly.
Giving her a sheepish smile, he nods.
“One of these days you’re going to hurt yourself climbing up the siding,” she scolds him. “I have no interest in hearing your mother call me explaining why she needed to pay a hospital bill because of it.”
Will draws his bottom lip into his mouth and nibbles on it. It’s a cute habit he’s had since he was little.
“So, what’re you guys up to?” I ask, glancing between the two of them.
Dad is watching Will with intense eyes.
“Dad, lay off,” I warn. “Will might pee his pants if you keep looking at him like that, and my carpet will be totally ruined.”
Will sighs. “That’s what you’re worried about? Your carpet?”
I just shrug.
“Your father,” Mom says, nudging Dad forward, “wanted to apologize for acting the way he did.”
“Debating on retracting said apology on account that he’s in your room,” Dad informs me.
“I knew he was up here,” Mom told him. “I watched him climb up the siding.”
“Should have thrown something at him,” Dad mumbles.
“Erik!”
“Fine, fine.” He sighs. “Tessa, I’m sorry I reacted badly earlier. But you’re my baby girl, and I want to protect you from any potential heartbreak. I know you’re growing up, and that means you’ll be doing … things,
but that doesn’t make it any easier.”
I smile at him. “I’ll always be your baby,” I promise him. “And if it makes you feel better, I can protect myself from any potential heartbreak. But can you maybe lay off Will? We’re not dating. He hasn’t done any wrong to me or anybody, so there’s no point in scaring him off.”
Mom looks between Will and me. “Sweetheart, even if your father tried to run Will off, there’s no way he’d budge.”
Will stares at her. “You’re right about that one,” he admits, giving her a loose shrug. He looks at my Dad. “Call a truce, sir? I understand why you don’t like me, but I want to protect Tessa just as much as you. She won’t get hurt.”
He holds out his hand. He’s a brave one, that Will Harding. But that’s why I love him. Platonically, of course. Or else this whole situation would get really awkward.
Sighing heavily, Dad shakes Will’s hand. “Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of. If she has you, or anybody for that matter, she won’t need me anymore.”
My heart quivers at the thought. “Daddy, that’s not true. I’ll always need you. Just not for certain stuff. If it makes you feel better, I’ll always need you to fix my car when somethings wrong, or when I need you to kill a spider, or when I have one of those stupid build-it-yourself projects, or—”
“I got it.” He laughs. “And I’m going to hold you to those, okay? I need to feel at least partially useful while you’re still around.”
I get up and give him a big hug. “I don’t go back to college for another month. There’s plenty of time for you to protect me from evil spiders and build random shelves for me.”
He kisses the top of my head. “I love you, baby.”
I smile into his chest. “Love you, too, Dad.”
I jump up and down impatiently, waiting for Will to catch up, but he’s walking so slowly that I’m pretty sure an eighty-year-old woman on a walker passed him. Twice.
Needless to say, he isn’t as excited about this as I am.
“Hurry up,” I whine, gripping my bag. It’s extra heavy today because it has all my camera supplies in it, so my shoulder hurts from the extra weight. Will offered to carry it for me, but I told him I was perfectly capable of carrying my own stuff. Mostly, I just don’t trust anyone with my camera.
Selfish, but true.
“Come on, come on, come on,” I press, glancing up at the cloudy sky. Rain isn’t in the forecast for the day, but you can never trust New York weather. It’s more bipolar than my psycho cat Ollie, and that says something.
Will is finally in front of me, looking like he’s here only because I threatened his entire family’s lives. He always claims that I’m dramatic, but his expression ever since he met me outside my house says plenty.
“You didn’t have to come if you were going to be miserable,” I point out, looking both ways before walking across the street.
The building we need to go to is a little run down, abandoned warehouse. Well, usually it’s abandoned. Today there’s a huge gathering in it from a local band that made it big a year ago, and I’m photographing it for the paper.
Really, I’m photographing it to get close to band members. I may not have known the members of Relentless that well when they were in school, but I do love their music.
As does half of the female population.
What most of the people here don’t have is memories with the band pre-fame. Relentless started out as a garage band with big dreams. An indie-rock sound that worked for them, even when they switched from doing covers to their own music. I may not have been there every step of the way, but I admired them from afar, even before they signed with a label and got a deal.
“How can I leave you alone when you have access to the band I know you’re obsessed with?” Will questions, following me into the building. “You’ll probably be restrained from fangirling and make a total fool of yourself.”
I sigh. “I can’t deny that I won’t fangirl,” I say casually. “However, I will not make a fool of myself. I am a lot of things, William. A fool is not one of them.”
He snorts. “That’s debatable.”
“Shut your face.” I smack his arm. “You’re just jealous it isn’t your favorite band playing. If some hot chick was playing, you’d be drooling in the crowd with the rest of your species.”
I know Will is on my case about my love for Relentless because of the front man Ian Wells. Also known as Will’s ex friend from high school. Things went downhill my senior year. They were both already out of school, but their friendship was festering. Ian was focused on his music, and Will was focused on his family’s farm. They used to play music together, Will being on the guitar during their first practices. He never talked about wanting to be part of a band, but he stuck around to play a few songs when he could.
Whatever happened to them, it wasn’t good. One day they talked, and the next … nothing.
“So you’re saying that you’re just here for the guys?” His voice is clipped.
I put my hands on my hips. “I am offended you think so little of me!”
“Coming from the girl who just referred to the male population as a ‘species’,” he retorts dryly.
I pass him my bag to hold as I get my camera out. Putting the strap around my neck, I shoot him a playful wink. “I’m just simply stating that you’d be the same way if, say, Selena Gomez was here.”
He grins, seriousness easing and playfulness taking its place. “She is hot.”
“I’d go gay for her.”
“I call dibs,” he informs me.
I sigh dramatically. “She’d probably go for you anyway. I don’t think she’d go gay for me. I hardly think she knows I exist. It’s almost too bad for her.”
Will shakes his head, setting my bag down on the table behind us. “Your ego is too much sometimes, Tess.”
“Oh please,” I reply. “You love my ego. Why else would you be here? It isn’t to keep me in line, Will. I mean, it isn’t exactly a secret that you’re not a fan of Relentless.” Or Ian. “You just can’t get enough of me. Admit it. You think I’m amazeballs.”
“Amazeballs isn’t a word.” He totally ignores my throw about the band. Typical.
“It is now.”
“You can’t just make up your own word,” he disagrees, looking around the crowded venue. It’s staggering to see the turnout; the warehouse is packed tightly with bodies here to support the former townies.
“I just did,” I answer simply.
“You’re impossible.”
My snarky response is cut short by the band walking out.
I squeal when I see Ian come on the stage with the rest of the band following. My lips stretch into a huge smile, seeing how their confidence illuminates the room. The crowd buzzes and cheers, most girls scream, and then there’s Will. He rubs his ear like his eardrum is damaged, giving me a skeptical look. Ignoring him, I snap a few photos.
Part of me thinks that the three-year split between them is plenty of time to get over their feud, but the expression on his face tells me he’s still not over it. The dude looks like someone just kicked his puppy, his lips pursed, his eyes narrowed.
“He’s just a dude,” he grumbles.
I gape at him. “Ian Wells is not ‘just a dude.’ Ian Wells made it big. They’ve got an album out! They had a headlining tour!”
It isn’t like he doesn’t already know this. Sure, he avoids everything Relentless related when he can, but I don’t give him the opportunity. It isn’t like I rub it in his face that I’m a fan, but I can’t contain my excitement when I read about something they accomplished online.
And yeah, I watch most interviews with them. I follow them on Instagram, Twitter, and I stalk their Facebook page. Honestly, they could use help when it comes to their online presence. Especially on Facebook, based on the scattered postings.
Either way, I know pretty much everything there is to know about them since their name made it last year. Their song “Relentless” made the top
ten best-sellers lists, and made the top one hundred on the billboard charts. Overall, their album sold over 100,000 copies on iTunes in the first three months, a good feat for a band considered only B-listers.
He doesn’t seem impressed. “Tessa, these guys were at our school less than three years ago. They’re just a garage band who hit some luck.”
I turn back to the band, shaking my head and snapping some more pictures as they get ready to play.
Clearly, Will doesn’t understand how impressive Relentless is. It’s like telling him their stats goes in one ear and out the other. Nobody ever leaves this middle-of-nowhere town of Clinton and becomes as successful as they have. Barely anyone leaves at all, except for heading off to college. And even then, just like Will and me, we’re only forty-five minutes away. The likelihood of us staying away from our families? From the only town we’ve ever known? It’s not likely. The familiarity and comfort zone of your hometown makes you settles, just like the dust in the town.
I can’t picture leaving, even if I tried. Too much has happened that has made me realize the only true safe place I have is near my parents and Will. Where they are, I am.
Maybe that’s why I love Ian and his band so much. They’re all older than me, Ian and Will having graduated two years before me. The rest of the guys, Dylan Hilton, Sebastian Everly, and Ben Darling, all graduating a year before me. It wasn’t until Dylan, Bash, and Ben graduated when Ian started getting calls about gigs outside of town. They would perform in different locations in the town limits—The Triangle Pub in town, the gazebo in the park, the school talent shows, and community events. Slowly, their name spread. People came from outside of town to figure out what the buzz was, and liked what they saw. Videos went up online, a YouTube channel was made just for Relentless’s performances, and the views racked up.
Eventually, Relentless grew into exactly what Ian and the guys hoped it would.
I envy the fact that they knew what they wanted to do. It seemed like everybody around me had a plan. My brother always knew he wanted to go into farming, same with my father and Will. My mother always knew she wanted to work in medicine, either as a vet or nurse. Meanwhile, I’m almost done with my four years of college with no idea what to do with my liberal arts degree. My focus is in communication, with a minor in English. Creatively, I love a lot of mediums. Photography being my favorite, with writing coming in a close second. Figuring out what to do with that? A different story.
The Summer We Changed (Relentless Book 1) Page 2