by Mia Belle
“Lia,” Aidan continues, “I don’t care if you don’t see me as a friend, but like I said, I see you as one. So if you ever want to talk or hang out or whatever, just tell me.”
I nod, focusing on the movie screen before me. I don’t know what’s happening here, but I don’t hate it. I don’t have this crazy need to flee from Aidan. It’s like my heart is urging me not to shut him out, to lower my walls a little.
But what about the other two? How do I feel about Zane and Caleb?
I don’t have time to mull over this because the movie starts. I agree with Caleb that comedy movies rarely make me laugh, but this one is different. Either because it’s a really funny movie, or being in the theater with three guys laughing all around me brings out my own laughter.
About fifteen minutes in, Zane bends closer to me, reaching into the popcorn bucket. I feel his eyes on me.
He laughs softly, still close to me but it’s not as stifling as I thought it’d be. He smells nice. A mixture of boy smell and soap. “Mission accomplished,” he whispers. That’s when I realize I have a smile on my face.
I turn to him, my smile dropping. I have no idea how he can see so well in here. It’s like he has night vision.
“No,” he says. “Don’t stop smiling. I knew it would look good on you, but I didn’t know how good.” He takes my hand that’s on the armrest and interlocks his fingers with mine.
I focus on him, but he keeps his eyes on the screen. I want to pull away, but I also don’t. It actually feels nice to hold his hand. I thought the same with Josh, and while it should freak me out, it oddly doesn’t. I don’t know what Zane wants from me, and I have no idea if he’s a good guy or a jerk, but is it crazy that I want to find out? I want to learn more about my new neighbors. I guess I want…I don’t want to be alone anymore.
Maybe it’s true that Sophie has ditched me. I don’t know. But right now, in this theater, three guys are with me. They invited me. They trust me enough to hang out with me.
And I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t say it makes me feel good. Special, even.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Zane
Mission accomplished was what I told Lia two hours ago while we watched the movie. Though I seemed confident to her, I wasn’t really sure I’d get her to smile. But she did. And damn, her face glowed like the sun hid behind her eyes.
When I took her hand, I expected her to pull away. But she didn’t. We stayed like that until the movie ended, and once the lights turned on, she tugged hers out of mine. I was disappointed, but hey, I got her to smile, didn’t I?
Now the four of us head for the diner next door to the theater. It’s pretty packed, but as soon as the waitress sees Aidan’s smile, she leads us to a booth in the back. Man, that guy could have any girl eating out of the palm of his hand. But he never takes advantage of those good looks of his.
“Zane,” Caleb calls from the back. I was so preoccupied with my thoughts I didn’t notice the guys and Lia are already seated at our booth.
After I drop down next to Aidan, the waitress, a girl our age who doesn’t to go to our school, hands us menus. She probably attends that private school. She beams at my adoptive brother. It’s like the rest of us don’t exist.
“I’ll have a burger and fries,” I tell her, but her focus is still on Aidan. “Hello? Did you hear me?”
She finally pins her eyes on me, and they light up like she sees me for the first time. Then she glimpses Caleb. “Wow. You guys are hot.” She checks out Lia and frowns. I wonder if she’s coming up with all these conclusions about us. Not that I give a damn what she thinks about me. There’s only one girl who matters, and she’s sitting right across from me. If I would move my foot, it’d touch hers. I’m tempted, but figure I touched her a bit too much today and I don’t want her to shut off completely.
“You guys go to Willow Lake High?” the waitress asks. When we tell her we do, she giggles, twirling her light brown hair around her finger. “Maybe I should transfer.”
Aidan gives her a pleasant smile. Caleb’s eyes roam around the place, paranoid as usual. I press my back against the seat, crossing my arms over my chest. “Are you going to take our order or not?”
Aidan shoots me a look. He hates when I’m rude. Do I have to remind him that we need to keep a low profile? To not let anyone get too close?
Besides, from what I can tell, he likes Lia. I don’t know if he likes her as a friend or more, but I’m not going to let him hurt her. He’s never done that to a girl before, but he’s never been this messed up in the head. Losing football, and then his popularity did quite a number on him.
The girl forces a bright smile, totally ignoring me, and addresses Aidan. “What would you like?”
We order and she gives Aidan a flirty smile before slipping away. I also notice the flaring of her nostrils as her eyes flick to Lia.
We discuss the movie as we wait for our food. What we liked and didn’t like. Lia’s not smiling anymore, but there’s something different about her eyes. Though they’re still sad, there’s a tiny gleam in there, too. It’s easy to miss, but I can see it. Maybe because I get her.
Her gaze flashes to mine. “Why are you staring at me?”
“Did you have a good time?”
“I guess.”
It had to be more fun than “I guess,” but I’m not going to push her. The guys look like they want to say more, but must think better of it.
Caleb plays with the salt shaker. “Even though I wasn’t into the idea, I’m glad we ended up picking that movie. I haven’t laughed that much in a while.” He swallows. “Guess I needed it.”
“We all needed it,” I say.
He nods, swallowing again. Aidan claps him on the back. “We should do that again. What you say, Lia?”
“I don’t know.”
I sit forward. “Don’t you like hanging out with us?”
“Dude, you can’t force her to hang out with us,” Caleb says.
“I’m not—”
“You practically forced her to come to the movie.”
“No, I didn’t.” My eyes shift to her. “Did I?”
“Not really. And anyway, I’m glad I came. You’re right about distracting myself, but the distraction eventually disappears and you’re back to where you were. So what’s the point?”
“Come on, Amelia,” I say. “Admit you had fun hanging out with us.” I lift a brow. “See, we’re not so bad, are we?”
She doesn’t say anything, but I notice her lips are stretched into a small, minuscule smile. Damn, even seeing that tiny smile makes my heart skip a beat. I want to show her that I’m not this dirty teen guy who only wants one thing from her. I don’t know what that Josh guy did to her, but it caused her to hate guys. I want her to know not all of us are bad.
The waitress returns with our food and we dig in. This is the first time we’ve been here and the food’s great.
My phone pings with a text, and when I slide it out, I nearly choke over my fries.
We need to talk.
Shit. No way. He’s been out of my life for three years, and now he’s contacting me out of the blue? Hell no.
“Everything okay?” Aidan asks.
I slip my phone into my back pocket. “Yep.”
Though he doesn’t seem convinced, he decides to drop it. The guys are aware of my background, but we don’t really talk about it. There’s not much to say, anyway. I carry the shit with me every day, but there’s no point in lingering on it. It happened, it sucked, but it’s time to move on. To look forward to what’s to come. Not that I have a clue about what I want to do with my life.
For now, I’m happy to hang out with my brother, my cousin, and the girl with the prettiest green eyes and the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lia
Something happened to Zane ever since he checked his phone at the diner. He always has this darkness in his eyes, but it seemed to have multiplied by a hundred a
fter he read his text. And he was quiet throughout the meal, only adding here and there to the conversation.
When I decided to tag along with the guys to the movie, I figured it would be boring and lame, but I actually had a good time. At the diner, too. The guys are different from what I thought. They listened to everything I had to say, never once making me feel stupid or less than them. Unlike…
I shut my eyes. I know not all guys are like that. Sophie and my dad have reiterated this over and over again. But I can’t just forget what he did to me.
My gaze drops to the scars on my wrists. They’re going to be there forever, a constant reminder of what that jerk did to me. Of what I tried to do to myself.
When it happened, I told myself I had nothing to keep me going. Yes, my mom and dad were alive and they would have been crushed—no, broken—but I just didn’t care. If not for my mom finding me, I wouldn’t be here today.
I wouldn’t have met three guys who are making it their mission to be nice to me. Why? Because they see me as a broken girl who lost her mother and her best friend? No, that’s not it. They genuinely seem to care about me.
No guy has ever cared about me that way. That’s why it freaks me out a little, but also makes me feel good. Important. Like I’m somebody.
My phone rings with a video chat from Sophie. “Hey,” I say. “What’s up?” There’s a lot of noise coming from her end and there seems to be many people around her. “Where are you?” I also notice she’s wearing a crap-ton of makeup.
“At a party,” she squeals. “Alexis invited me.” Her face transforms from joy to guilt in a manner of seconds. It’s obvious that invitation wasn’t extended to me. Not that I would expect Alexis to invite me anywhere.
“Sounds like fun,” I say.
She continues to talk about it, and I try to listen. Honestly, I’m not really interested in the awesomeness that is Alexis. But the good thing about this is that my best friend is still talking to me. Even if it is about the girl who can’t stand me.
“She told me she’s this close to catching Aidan’s attention,” she says. “She asked him to go to the party with her today, but he said he has other plans.”
“Why does she try so hard when he’s made it clear he doesn’t want her?” I say. I don’t really like the image of my neighbor and enemy together.
Sophie frowns. “He’s playing hard to get.”
I flop down on my bed, squishing my pillow under my head. “And the fact that you both like the same guy doesn’t bother you?”
“I mean, yeah. It’ll hurt me if he chooses her over me—”
“You do realize you’re making decisions for him, right? He has the right to reject Alexis. He can do much better than her, anyway.”
Her face fills with pain and a little betrayal. “And me, too? You’re saying I’m not good enough for him? What do you know about him, anyway? The guys live next door to you, but you act like they’re miles away. Hello! I’d kill to be so close to them.”
Then come over, my mind urges me to say. But I hold back. Using the guys as an excuse to pull Sophie away from Alexis is a terrible idea.
“Sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean that. Just…I don’t want to see you get hurt. You tend to fantasize about guys you like and when they don’t like you back…”
“He’s going to like me,” she snaps.
“Fine. Maybe.”
She sighs again and starts talking about something funny Alexis did, when a piece of paper on the floor near the window catches my attention. I sweep it off the floor. It’s the drawing Zane made. Of me. The smile on my face is so pronounced it fills up the entire page.
“I knew it would look good on you, but I didn’t know how good,” Zane’s words at the theater ring in my head.
A jolt zaps down my spine, but I force myself to ignore it. Why should I care what he thinks?
“Lia?” Sophie asks. “You’ve been staring at something for so long I thought you froze.”
I blink, snapping back in. “Oh, it’s nothing.” I make sure to keep the page away from my phone so she can’t see it. “I was just thinking about something. It’s not important.”
“Okay. Well, I need to get back to the party. Talk to you later?”
I nod and she disconnects. I don’t take my eyes off the drawing as I back up to my bed and sit down. I still have no idea what his deal is, why he cares so much about my happiness. He convinced me to go to the movie with him and the others because he didn’t want me to be alone.
I glance at my window. My blinds are lifted only little, but I can see into his room. He’s not there. I don’t see his sketchpad anywhere.
It’s weird, but I kind of want him to climb into his window and give me one of his lazy smiles.
Chapter Thirty
Caleb
“You really don’t have to do that, Caleb,” Julia says.
I’m making waffles. The others have yet to wake up. They always sleep in on the weekends. Craig already left to work. It sucks that he has to work on Sundays, but we need the money.
I’ve just informed my aunt about my idea to start a baking business. “Julia, I want to help out,” I tell her. “We’re in this mess because of me and the least I could do is bring in some cash. Craig had to give up his job as a lawyer and you had to quit yours. I mean, you had this great job and you were just promoted. And I wrecked it all.”
She takes my hand. “I told you we’re doing okay. Yes, I’m no longer a big shot executive, but that’s okay. I’d rather you and Aidan and Zane be safe and protected.” Her eyes fill with kindness. “You don’t have to take care of us. We need to take care of you.”
I make a new batch of waffles. We don’t need it, but I need to focus on something—anything. “I know I don’t have to, but I want to. You and Craig have been so great to me.” I shrug. “And since you’re having a hard time finding a job, I thought we could work on this together.”
She grabs a waffle from the stack on the table and takes a bite, motioning for me to join her. I shake my head. Thinking about my dad and everything that’s happened always chases away my appetite.
“Of course I’d love to do this with you, but are you sure you really want this? It takes a lot of time and money to start a business.”
“Yeah, I know. Just figured I’d bring it up.”
She stands up and gently kisses the top of my head. “You’re a good kid, Caleb. I’ll think about it and talk it over with Craig.”
“Thanks.”
“But I want to make sure you’re not only doing this because you feel like you need to provide.”
I turn away from her, focusing on the waffles. “I’m not going to lie. Nothing you say can stop me from wanting to help.” I throw my hands up. “You could have dumped me in foster care, but you didn’t.”
“We don’t throw family away.”
I’m quiet for a little bit. “You think…” I shake my head, my voice shaking a little. “Nothing. Never mind.”
“What is it?”
I shut my eyes for a bit before focusing on her. “I’m worried I’ll end up like him.”
She pats my arm, gazing into my eyes. “You’re not a murderer, Caleb.”
I don’t say anything.
Her hand squeezes my shoulder. “It’ll be okay. I promise.”
I want to believe her, but I doubt I can. My dad and I are so alike, it’s crazy. We both love magic, we look nearly identical, except he’s got some wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. And we both love to cook. I remember how he and I would stay up late experimenting in the kitchen when I was little.
It was the same with magic. Dad taught me everything he knew. But once he got arrested, I didn’t want to look at magic again. I don’t know why it’s not the same with cooking. I should hate it, but I don’t. Maybe because cooking also reminds me of my mom. She was the baker in the family, and I want to keep her memory alive through the food I make.
“Hey.” Julia squeezes my arm. “You okay? I think I
lost you for a second.”
I force a smile. “Trying to be.”
She wraps her arm over my shoulder, drawing me close. “Always remember that you have us. You don’t have to go through this alone.”
I nod. “Thanks.”
She peers at the time. “Shoot. I wanted to stop by the grocery before the Sunday craze. This town only has one supermarket and it’s always packed on Sundays.” She frowns. “But I was also planning on cleaning up the house, catching up on laundry, and tweaking my resume.”
“I’ll go shopping,” I offer.
“Caleb…”
“And I’ll make lunch. Take care of what you need to take care of and don’t worry about anything. I’ve got it.”
She frowns, reaching up to brush some blond strands of hair out of my eyes. “You’re just a kid, Caleb. You should be having fun.”
“Shopping and cooking is fun for me.” And a nice distraction.
“You’re sixteen. You have your whole life ahead of you.” She hesitates, her fingers continuing to brush my hair away. It’s so long that I don’t really know what to do with it. I don’t want to cut it. Maybe because I like to hide behind it. “I don’t want to be all parent-y on you, but I feel like I should. Have fun. Be a kid.”
I shake my head. “I can’t. Not when he’s on the loose.”
She’s quiet for a few seconds. “I know you’re worried. We’re all worried. But we can’t stop living. Yes, we need to be careful and not draw attention to ourselves. I know it’s hard for you and the others to keep a low profile.”
“Especially Aidan. He wants friends.”
Her eyes fill with sympathy and a little guilt. “I know.” She sighs. “Craig and I are trying to do the right thing, though I wonder if there even is a right thing. It’s just that some people—”
“Can’t be trusted, I know. Friends are overrated, anyway.”
She bites her lip. “Everyone needs friends. But I promise you this will all be over and we can return to our lives.” She smiles encouragingly. “You boys need to stick together, to be there for one another.”