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No answer. He remains silent, his eyes close in a slow blink. He steps back and I slip past him to make my way over the fence. But his words stop me from jumping down. “Oh, and Rubiana. Behave or I’ll retaliate.”
My temper rises and I look at his handsome face, wondering where things went wrong with him. “Don’t threaten me, Ky. I have dealt with worse assholes than you. You wouldn’t even scratch the surface.”
It just hurts that he just became one of those assholes on a long list of them in my life.
Rubi
I’M MAKING MYway downstairs after getting Hope his breakfast. I walk into the kitchen where the smell of coffee hits my nose, and notice Tyler is emptying out this machine with a little white cup.
“Good morning.”
He smiles. “Good morning. I hope you slept well.”
I chuckle. “Like the dead,” I tease.
His smile falters because in truth, I cried myself to sleep in the closet. I felt alone, and if it wasn’t for Hope purring and rubbing himself on my face, I don’t think sleep would have ever come. My eyes must look red and puffy. I must look like shit, and Tyler notices.
“What is that?” I point to the machine he was just closing.
He raises a brow and then looks at me, realizing I have no idea what it is. I have never seen one before, and I’m curious. It must be a fancy coffeemaker of some sort since I obviously smell it.
“It’s called a Keurig.” He walks over and opens a lid and reaches next to the machine where there is a carousel of the same little white cups. “These are called pods, and you slip one inside like this.” He slides it in and closes it. He pulls out a plastic reservoir that holds water. “This is where you pour water. You grab an empty mug, place it on the tray, and depending on how much coffee or how big the mug is, you press the respective cup size and press start.”
He shows me the steps and presses start and the machine makes a whirring noise, and then the coffee pours out. Fresh and hot. It smells amazing.
He gives me a grin, like he’s some sort of magician, and I suddenly feel embarrassed. He must think I’m from another planet. “I’m sorry. You must think I’m so dumb or something.”
“Not at all. I didn’t know how to use it when my mom bought it, to be honest.” He walks over to the fridge when the machine stops and pulls out different flavors of creamer. He opens two of them and holds it close. “Which one? Caramel or coconut?”
I lean close and smell each one and decide I like the coconut one better. “Coconut.”
“Good choice. I like that one too.”
He pours some in and stirs it before handing it to me. I take a sip and close my eyes. The flavors of the coffee and coconut creamer explode on my tongue, warming me up instantly. “Thank you. I think I’m love with this thing.”
“You can make yourself a cup anytime. I’ll make sure we buy extra coconut creamer.”
I don’t know what changed, but Tyler has been very nice to me lately. Every day he asks if I want breakfast, and smiles when I walk down to meet him at his truck for a ride to school. He doesn’t treat me bad like he did when I first arrived. I even overhead him tell one of his football friends that I was his half-sister. He wouldn’t acknowledge me before, and now he is more accepting that I’m here. I wonder what changed. I wonder why Ky is saying I’m ruining his best friend’s life.
After the short drive to school, Tyler parks his truck in the parking lot, and then from the corner of my eye I see Ky’s car pull in the space next to us, and my stomach clenches. I open the door to the truck and see Ky in his car with Jen, and they have the top down.
“Thank you for the ride to school.” She smiles and bites her lip, attempting to be sexy. “And for this morning.”
My eyes scan the beautiful car with the top down. I remember when we were kids Ky and I talked about wanting a car like this when he was older. He promised I would ride in it with him like we were Batman and Robin. I was supposed to be Robin, and the only one who would ride in it with him.
“What’s your favorite car?”
I grin, tilting my head and looking up to the blue sky, loving the way the clouds make funny shapes. “My favorite is a convertible.”
I watch Ky’s expression and he grins. “The cars that don’t have a roof.”
I nod yeah. “I love the fact that you can see the sky, maybe the stars at night. The wind blowing in your hair. I think it’s cool that you can close it if you want to. It’s like you have a choice.”
“What color?” he asks.
“Um, I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far. I don’t have a favorite. Not yet, anyway. Besides, I have to learn to drive it first.”
“I would want it black. Like Batman.”
