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I swallowed and rushed out of her room. I went back to the kitchen, grabbing the plate of grilled cheese and three bottles of water from the fridge and a bag of potato chips, taking them upstairs.
My door was closed, locked. I had to put the water and chips down to find the pushpin in the wall, opening the door one handed.
When I peeked into the room, the boys weren’t there. I replaced the push pin and picked up the water and chips. I dropped everything on top of the trunk by the wall and closed the door again. “Gabriel?” I whispered.
Scuffling noises broke out from the attic and a moment later, Gabriel and Luke peeked out from around the bookshelf. They looked relieved.
“I thought it might have been your mom,” Gabriel whispered.
I pressed a button on the stereo, turning the volume up on the music to help mask our noises. I picked up the grilled cheese and passed them the plate.
Behind the bookshelf, we collected on the floor. Since my mother was awake, it meant we had to be extra quiet now. We ate together. I took the burnt one and pulled the burned side off to eat it open faced. Gabriel liked the apples.
When we were done, Gabriel sat cross legged on the bed near the window and I curled up on the other end with the pillow. Luke remained behind the bookshelf on the carpet. Gabriel checked fashion blogs with the extra laptop. Luke was doing his work. I started texting everyone with the new phone.
Sang: Silas! What are you doing?
Silas: North’s giving me a lecture about spark plugs. Save me.
Sang: North.
North: What?
Sang: Just checking. Tell Silas I said hi and that I think spark plugs are interesting.
North: You’re still full of shit.
Sang: Do you still like me?
North: Yes. Do you still like me?
Sang: Yes.
Sang: Kota, I made grilled cheese. My mom woke up.
Kota: Did she notice anything?
Sang: She doesn’t remember. She asked when I called the doctor for the IV but she didn’t seem too surprised by it. She did ask about my throat but I lied and said I was sick.
Kota: If she forgets what happened, don’t remind her. Keep me updated.
Sang: Nathan, are you awake?
Nathan: Nope.
Sang: Sleep texting?
Nathan: Yes.
Sang: That’s a talent.
Nathan: I want to come hang out.
Sang: Will everyone take turns?
Nathan: Yup. I think that’s the plan. Don’t get caught before it’s my turn. If you get into trouble, run over here.
Sang: Thank you, Victor.
Victor: You’re very welcome. Keep it close.
Sign Language
After another hour, I slid off the bed onto the floor to go back downstairs. I collected the plate and the empty water bottles.
Downstairs, my mom was asleep again. The yogurt remained unopened. I slipped in quietly to take it back. I didn’t want it to spoil and have her eat it. I found some crackers and left them for her.
When I cleaned up the mess in the kitchen and rambled back upstairs, Gabriel was sleeping in my bed again. Luke was still behind the bookshelf. With the door to the attic open, it made the room warmer. I hit the ceiling fan to help cool things off a little.
I angled my way behind the bookshelf and sat next to Luke on the floor. He was putting together some final touches to his map about the second floor. He wasn’t just doing exit points and a basic outline. He had images of furniture around the house as well. He tapped in the size of the platform in the attic. I had my cheek nearly pressed to his shoulder as I watched him work.
“I didn’t know the platform of the attic space met with the upstairs closet,” I whispered.
“It’s really convenient for us,” Luke whispered back.
“Why?”
He turned his head, pressing his nose to the top of my head. “It’s a secret.”
“Will you tell me?”
His nose rubbed against my hair. “Not this time.”
I pouted. “Is it bad?”
“No.” He shifted until he could thread an arm around my shoulder. His fingertips traced along my collarbone. He worked one handed with the laptop. “I shouldn’t say secret. It’s more like a surprise.”
“You guys are full of secrets.”
“You are, too. Hidden hearts. I heard you know how to read Korean. Plus the sign language.”
“I only know the alphabet,” I reminded him.
“I could show you more, if you want.”
“Where did you learn how to do it?”
His fingers rested at the curve of my throat. “When I first met North, he wouldn’t talk to me. He wouldn’t talk to Uncle, either. I’d say good morning, and he’d walk by me like he didn’t hear me. I thought maybe he was deaf. I learned sign language because I thought he’d know it if he was. I spent two weeks practicing with Kota.”
“You didn’t just ask him if he was deaf?” I asked.
“He wouldn’t talk at all,” Luke said. “I’d ask him a question and it was like he’d drift and wouldn’t answer.”
I sat up and his arm fell away. I was sorry I did it because it was cozy. “You had a brother you didn’t know anything about?”
“I didn’t know he existed. One day when I was eleven, he showed up in the middle of the night. My uncle said we were step brothers but he wouldn’t tell me why or where he came from. That was it. North moved in.”
I couldn’t imagine an 11 or 12-year-old North, quiet and alone. How did he go from traveling around Europe with his father to ending up on Luke’s and their uncle’s doorstep? And he was so vocal now. “Wha
t happened when you tried to talk to him using sign language?”
“He glared at me like I was an idiot.” Luke grinned. “So it didn’t work, but I picked up something new. I used to practice with Kota for a while just for fun but it’s been a few years since I’ve actually used it.” He placed the laptop on the floor. He sat cross legged in front of me. “Let me show you.”
I wanted to ask him how he got North to talk but the topic seemed out of place now. I sat in front of him and he wrapped his hands around my thighs, dragging me across the floor until our knees were touching. I hid a wince as my tailbone struck funny and pain crept up my lower spine. Thankfully he was so focused on where he wanted to place me that he didn’t notice.
When he was satisfied with where I was, he started signing. “This is asking what your favorite color is.”
He showed me the motions and I mimicked as best as I could. When I did one incorrectly, he repeated the motion again and re-positioned my hands. He started with some easier things, like asking about music and movies and showing me how to answer.
When he signed the word for ‘cute’, Gabriel flipped over on the bed. He shoved the blanket away from his face, watching through sleepy eyes.
“So when you do this,” Luke said, motioning with his hands, “you’re saying, ‘You are really cute.’”
I mimicked.
“Why thank you,” he said, winking at me.
I smirked at him.
“Try to guess what this is.” He made different gestures with his hands but at the end he shook his hands in front of himself to indicate it was a question.
I tilted my head at him. “What are you asking?”
He grinned, but his eyes sparked something mischievous. “Say yes.”
“Yes?” I whispered carefully, making hand signs to say it.
“What did you just get her to do?” Gabriel said, yawning.
Luke smirked. He held up five fingers. Since it was out of context, I didn’t quite understand. It took a few moments before I remembered he kept score any time someone at school asked me to marry them.
“God damn it,” Gabriel said, and he must have realized the same thing. He grabbed at my arm, pulling me toward the bed. “You can’t do that shit to her.”
