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I smiled at the compliment. “Thank you.” I wanted to say something in return but nothing sounded cool enough. He was wearing another pair of jeans and a baseball t-shirt. “What’s your favorite team?” I managed to get out.
He looked at me. “For what sport?”
“Baseball.”
“Red Sox, mostly. Depends on who’s on the team.”
“What was up with their pitcher last year? The one from Japan? He played for two games and then they traded him.”
His broad mouth turned up at the corner. “You were watching?”
“Not all the time but I catch it every now and again. I’ll watch the World Series,” I said. “My grandfather used to watch every game.”
“Have you ever been to one? A pro game?” Silas asked.
I leaned with my back against the car and fumbled with the phone in my pocket. “Nope.”
He smiled. “We should go some time. Though I think the closest professional team is in Atlanta. Maybe North Carolina.”
I felt my lips parting and I was looking at him. Again I wasn’t sure if he was asking me on a date or as friends or if he was just talking in general. I cursed to myself for being so out of touch with people that I couldn’t tell the difference.
“I’d like that,” I said. It was all I could think to say.
Silas moved to stand in front of me, the toes of his tennis shoes matched up with mine in my sandals. “Sang?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“You’re not mad at me, are you?”
My mouth popped open in surprise and I pulled my hand from my pocket to lightly touch at the base of my throat. “What for? Why would I be mad at you?”
He shifted on his feet, looking away. The breeze picked up at some of the strands of his black hair, and it drifted into his eyes. “I left you alone at the mall. Those guys... If Kota hadn’t found you... And then your mom and the vinegar.” He huffed and turned away, his hands digging into his pockets. “I’m sorry.”
“Silas,” I said softly. He knew. Did Kota tell him? They were best friends since forever, I remembered. Someone told him. I should have realized it would happened. They were honest with each other. With effort, I touched his arm. This is what friends do, right? The move was so awkward for me, I wasn’t sure how long I should be doing it. “I’m not mad at you. I’m fine. Really. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the vinegar. I was worried about you.”
He turned his face back to me. He didn’t seem surprised by my touch, but he was blushing. “You worried about me?”
I nodded. “After all the trouble I caused at the mall, I was worried you wouldn’t like me. I was happy you called. My mother... I can’t help what she does and it wasn’t your fault. But I’m fine. My voice is fine.”
A soft shimmer washed over his eyes. “You thought I wouldn’t like you because of that stupid kid?”
I tried to warm my smile up for him although I was shaking from being nervous. “You were nice to me,” I said. “Next time I go with you to the mall, I’ll stick close by. We shouldn’t have left you two alone. I was worried then, too. I thought maybe you’d gotten hurt. We should have stayed and helped you.”
He laughed, reaching for my hand that was still touching his arm and gave it a light squeeze. “What would you do in a fight?”
I smirked and tugged my hand but he held strong to me. I tried to playfully punch at him with my other hand to get him to let go. He snatched up my other wrist. He twisted me until my back was pressed up against his chest. With my arms crossed, I was pinned against him. I felt his breath on the back of my head, and his lips moving against my hair.
“Would you know what to do?” he asked me, his deep voice dropping an octave. “If I was someone you didn’t know, would you be able to get away?”
I didn’t want to get away, I thought. I felt the heat of his body pressed up against me. I was barely tall enough to rest my head against his chest. I did squirm. I pretended to want to be released. While it was warm outside, it didn’t matter to me. In my heart, this felt so good, like a warm blanket on a cold day. No, it was much better than a blanket. It left my whole body tingling and feeling alive. My heart was in my ears and thumping loudly. “I’d have to stomp on your feet,” I replied.
He chuckled. “Try it.”
“No!”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to hurt you, Silas.”
His body tensed behind me. I stopped wriggling. We stood together like that for what seemed like an eon in the moment. Slowly he let go of me. I turned to face him. His large brown eyes fixed on mine. His fingers flexed and he reached out toward my face for a moment but stopped short. His arms dropped to his side. He smiled down at me.
“You’re not like other girls, Sang.”
I frowned softly. How could he say that about me? Did I do something wrong? “I am a girl, though. I know my family is a little weird but I’m normal enough.” I was lying through my teeth. I didn’t feel normal at all. I just desperately wanted to be like everyone else. I didn’t want parents who were agoraphobic. I was doing my best to be as average as everyone else so I could be accepted. Was I failing?
“You’re far from normal,” he said quietly.
My eyes went wide. “You think I’m strange?”
“Yeah,” he said, blinking at me. “I mean, different.”
I scoffed.
“It’s not a bad thing.”
I shrugged, stuffing my hands into my pocket again. I didn’t know what to say to him. He just called me weird. Weird like my family. Weird was what unwanted people were. Weird stopped me from having friends for such a long time.
His brows creased and he blew out a perplexed breath of air. “I have to get going.”
“Okay.” I was still a little hurt but I was sorry to see him go.
He fished his keys out of his pocket and opened his car door. “I’ll see you tomorrow at registration,” he said. He got in, started his car and drove off.
I walked home alone.
That night, the house was fairly quiet. My parents
were in bed. Marie’s light was off. No one had noticed I was gone all day. I was grateful for it.
I took out what I was going to wear for registration the next day, a light blue skirt and a nicer white blouse that buttoned up in the front and had a soft collar. It was thanks to Gabriel’s suggestions and the pictures I sent to him of what was in my closet. He had an opinion about every piece I owned. I had a list, thanks to Kota, of the classes I wanted to take. When there was nothing else to do, I was sprawled out on the floor. It was after eleven at night and I still wasn’t sleepy. I crawled to the corner of my room near the window, looking through the apps on the phone just to see what was available for free. I didn’t want to download anything that would lead to more expenses for the guys.
The phone vibrated in my hand.
Nathan: “Are you awake?”
Sang: “Yes.”
Nathan: “Are you in your room?”
The question got me to sit up.
Sang: “Yup.”
Nathan: “Your window is the second one from the left?”
Where was this going? And how did he know?
Sang: “If you’re facing the house from the street, yes. Above the porch.”
I waited for an answer. When nothing came back after a while I sent another text.
Sang: “Why did you want to know?”
Silence again.
Sang: “Nathan?”
I was just about to give up on him when I heard a gentle tap at my window. It startled me so badly that I jumped sideways, dropping my phone, my head twisting toward the window.
With my light on, I couldn’t see if anyone was there. I got up off the floor, approaching it slowly, my hand still on my heart, until I was close enough to where I was blocking the light from the window. At first all I saw was the silhouette. Nathan was kneeling on the roof, looking inside.
