Page 47 of Hooked on Trouble

Josh leans toward his sister, who winces and tilts away.

“Here we go,” their mother says.

“Don’t do it,” Nico warns, his tone more playful than I’d expect.

I study each of them, unsure what’s about to go down. Then Josh smears spilled gravy across Nikki’s cheek.

“Bastard.” She digs two fingers into the mashed potatoes and plops a mound on Josh’s nose.

The youngest boy, Jack, erupts into giggles. Colin tries to play it cool, snorting to himself. Nico drops his fork on his plate and leans back. “Bunch of idiots.”

“Idiots?” Josh grabs a slice of roast beef and places it on his head. “Who you calling an idiot?”

A high-pitched laugh bursts from quiet Colin, the exact reaction Josh was after. Nico’s mother slaps a hand over her mouth, her cackle pushing through, and Nikki gets up to walk around, wiping giddy tears from her eyes and gravy from her cheek.

I sit, mesmerized.

“They haven’t done this in years.” Nico’s mother fans her face as she catches her breath. She glances at me, sheepish. “You must think we’re heathens.”

“Not even close.” This is rolling in mud and singing in the shower and dancing in the rain. This is family.

My grin nearly splits my face.

Nico watches me from across the table. My brooding giant has been quiet tonight. Talking here and there, but zoning out with a scowl etched on his face, too. When not frowning, he turns his watchful gaze my way. While his family is relaxed around me, it’s as though he’s working something out. It could be that call at the motel. Nerves. Anxiety. A heavy reckoning weighing on him. But I have a feeling I’m at the center of this particular silence. Like he’s assessing how I fit into this family photograph. Judging me again maybe.

I’d never do anything to disrupt the fragile balance in this home. Nico says he trusts that. Trusts me. This evening was his way of showing me just how much. But what if Rose is involved in something shady? Living on Hastings isn’t a good sign. I stiffened when Ruby mentioned the address. Nico did, too. If she’s wrapped up in something bad and I try to help her, he could cut me off. Force me to choose between him and my sister.

Unaware of the storm gathering in my chest, he leans forward and says, “Thank you.” His eyes are bright against his dark skin, layers of sky, indigo, and electric blue swirling together. And there, just there, under his happiness is gratitude. Peace maybe.

“For what?” I ask.

“For being you.”

Boom goes my heart. And the storm dissipates.

Josh dumps the meat from his head onto his plate and wipes at his dark hair. “I should go shower.”

If Nico grew out his hair, I bet it would look like that—thick and shaggy with a slight wave.

As Josh pushes his chair back, Nikki makes a throaty sound. “Perfect timing, as usual.” She fans a hand over the dirty dishes.

“It’s my party. The guest of honor doesn’t clean.” He squeezes past Nico’s chair, clocks his brother on the back of the head, then ducks under the doorway to the hall.

“Actually,” Nikki says, “you guys mind if I take off, too?” Her attention darts toward her older brother. They share the same light eyes, but hers look brighter. Or maybe that’s because they’re offset by dark, puffy circles. “A friend is playing guitar at a pub, and I thought I’d catch a few songs.”

Nico’s good humor dampens. “You sure that’s smart?”

Nikki twists a strand of brown hair around her finger and chews her lip. “It’s fine. I’ll be back in an hour.”

He holds her stare. “An hour.”

“That’s what I said, warden.” Although sarcastic, there’s no malice behind her words.

She kisses her boys good-bye, and my boy broods.

With dinner done, Colin and Jack head outside to goof around with the skateboard, and I’m relegated to the living room while Nico helps his mother clean up. I relax into their couch and take in the small space. The burns on the carpet remind me of my childhood home, the water stains on the ceiling familiar, too. The more time I spend with Nico, the more I realize we have in common. But my family would never bust a gut laughing together.

They also wouldn’t hang one of my sketches.