36. Ozzy
THIRTY-SIX
ozzy
“Do you need another one?”
She talks too much.
With dark brown curls and pudgy cheeks, Bay’s sister, Mae, is standing underneath me, holding up another metal nail and looking up at me expectantly when she discovered what I was doing out here.
And it’s not for her.
It’s for Bay.
Though, the little annoyance has been supervising me since I got back from Home Depot with a truck full of wood and a bunch of bags. She’s been non-stop with the questions, and this is why I don’t associate with people—especially kids.
I think they’re worse.
Averting my eyes and going back to work, I begin hammering away at the oak planks, securing them to the tree and each other. Looking at Mae makes me feel weird, anyway. And the way she observes me like a bug is something that makes it easy to ignore her.
“You’re gonna fall.”
I hit the nail I’m working on harder, attempting to drone out her talking. It’d be frowned upon to throw tape around her mouth for a few moments of peace, and Bay would more than likely get upset. “I’m gonna tell Bay that you won’t let me help.”
I scoff because she’d need to get her sister out of her room first, and not even a higher power could make that happen right now. And, as much as I wish Mae would go do something else, I’d rather she not disturb her sister.
Levi told me what Bay did for my brother. How she strode into a dangerous place and pulled Reeve out of there. I don’t want her anywhere near De Leon, but I know how much she cares for Reeve.
Not that I still would’ve allowed it if I had known. If I had been paying more attention.
Since coming out of the dark shadows, I’ve tried to give her some space. I observed how irritated she would get when Torin would show up unexpectedly, and I don’t wish to catch that kind of heat, so I backed off a little bit.
Now, I’m starting to see it was a mistake.
“Can I come up?”
“No.” That word from my mouth is immediate because she’d fall, and I don’t want another problem or concern added on when this little girl could go away and play with a doll or something.
“You can hold my hand.”
It doesn’t make the idea any more appealing in my eyes, so I ignore her again.
Or try to.
“I can help.”
Fishing out another nail from the pocket of my jeans, I continue my task to keep my brain busy and to be within earshot of Bay’s voice. She’s safe in South Shore, and she needs to remain in South Shore.
Period.
“I can drill.”
I don’t have one as I keep battering away with my hammer.
“Do you know what you’re doing?”
No.
I’ve never made a treehouse before, but it’s not like I’m going to let Bay’s sisters go in it when it’s not safe.
“Do you want some lemonade?” I sigh. “I have some.”
I readjust my stance, leaning against the thick limb of the tree that’s being used to hold me up and test out the board by shaking it with all my strength. It doesn’t move.
“You’re gonna fall.”
Well then, I guess it wouldn’t be the best place for her to be standing, but I’m not going to plunge downward anyway.
I’m fine.
“Well, if you’re not gonna answer her, then do you want to tell me what you’re doing to my poor tree?”
Bay’s voice licks up my spine, causing me to jolt and tense all at the same time.
My focus snaps toward the grass, finding Bay standing next to the jabbering little girl and peering up at me with a hand on her hip and a drill in the other.
Her black hair is pulled up into a messy bun. She’s wearing a big white tee that hides her curves and everything she has underneath it, too.
I don’t know what De Leon did the other night or what Reeve did, but she’s been off.
She hasn’t left the house in two days.
She’s not talkative.
Not that she was before, but when I do come in the house for a few minutes to check in, she doesn’t say much.
“Come get something to drink, Oz,” she orders softly. “You’ve been out here for hours.”
I hesitate, not wanting to when she’s standing there, but I’m out of boards, and they’re both in my way.
Bay looks at me expectantly, patiently waiting for me to finally move, but I can’t pull myself down from the tree.
I also don’t like how my brain immediately triggered me to follow her instructions without pause. It’s gotten me in trouble before, and I don’t understand women.
“Are you scared of heights?” My eyebrows knit, causing a small smile to illuminate her face. She’s taunting me. “I’ll catch you if you jump.”
She couldn’t because the force would knock her down, and I don’t require any help from anyone.
Mae lifts a clear glass with yellow liquid in it with her short arms. “I have lemonade.”
I don’t want any lemonade.
But the way they’re both looking up at me is making me uneasy and annoyed. I want Bay to trust me, but I don’t have any confidence that she won’t use me to her advantage.
It’s a weak point.
I can’t navigate through a woman’s mind to see if they’re being honest or manipulative.
“Did you want us to close our eyes?” Bay asks, and I’m not sure why. I don’t have any issues getting down—just them being here. “Because I’m not leaving.”
Of course, she’s not.
And I mildly know I need to get used to it and quickly.
However, I’m not built for conversation and staring contests.
Not anyone staring back at me, at least.
I latch onto those beguiling blue eyes again, and that’s when Bay quirks a brow before wrapping an arm around her little sister’s shoulders and pivoting them both around.
I didn’t need that as I begrudgingly climb down from the old tree and jump the five additional feet to the ground. The ladder was there, but I wanted to get down and fast, wanting her to turn back around but desiring for her to leave more.
She must hear my feet hit the hard ground before Bay twists around again with her sister and gives her a little nudge.
“Go give him the lemonade, then let him work, okay?”
Mae closes the distance between us with no problem, naive to the world and clearly unafraid of me.
She’s obnoxious, but I can’t say I’d want her to be anything else, I guess. But in the world we live in, it would be beneficial for her to be on her guard.
“Here.” Mae holds up the glass for me. “Drink it.”
She’s bossy, too.
Careful not to touch her, I take the beverage and hold it before she runs back toward the house, and Bay remains where she is.
“It’s not poisoned, I promise,” she nudges. “Unless you want a juice box.”
I stare at her, kinda weirded out by how she remembers I like apple juice. Vivian always got me tea, and I hate tea.
“If you don’t drink it, Mae will be back out here again. Because I can guarantee she’s watching you through the door or the window right now. She made it herself, so she’s proud of it.”
It sounds like a trick.
However, what could a kid possibly do to me?
Unenthusiastically, I take a sip of the sugary and sour drink, not ever having it before, and welcome the coolness.
“Are you building a treehouse?” I nod, pulling the glass from my lips as Bay looks up at what I’ve already done. “Are you hungry?”
I shake my head, even though she’s not looking at me.
“Well, dinner is at five-ish.” I’m not sure why she’s telling me that, but I chalk it away as normal-people shit. “When do you want to talk?”
My fingers squeeze the glass I’m holding harder because she told me she was going to talk to me about leaving South Shore.
I’ve just been holding off on it.
“Why?” The question leaves my throat and head before I can stop it. I can take care of myself, but I need to take care of her, too.
“Why, what?” She keeps her blues locked on the tree, and I’m not sure if it’s for my benefit or because she’s that enthralled with it. “Why am I leaving South Shore?”
I bob my head, which she thankfully takes as an answer.
“A lot of reasons.”
I find myself wanting to know every single one of them, but what does she owe me?
Nothing.
I haven’t begun to gain her trust. I’m not part of the inner circle she’s created and that has crumbled in her wake.
I’m a stranger.
One who might be related to Wallace and Torin, but a nobody nonetheless.
“I want to say thank you for everything you’ve done,” she mutters, inhaling a deep breath as she does. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I was forced to be with Ramsey. What you did…what you sacrificed, kept Emilio off me for a moment and…after my dad…I can’t deal with it, so…I appreciate you.”
I welcome the silence that falls around us, but I’m still tense. She’s talking about feelings and appreciation, but I don’t know where to go from here.
I’ve been watching Bay since I discovered who she was. I know this girl, more than I should, but I can’t fully read her mind yet.
I don’t understand her endgame.
“Anyway,” she continues, finally dropping her attention from the tree and glancing back at me. “Whatever you need, you’ve got it.”
I swallow the lump in my throat because there’s so much more I want to ask. Like how could she leave Reeve and Torin?
This is her home.
She was raised here.
“I’ll call you in when dinner is ready,” she says gently. “Do you like fish sticks?”
I lift my shoulders because I’ve never had them before. Cairo wouldn’t be caught dead making frozen food, but I’m not a food snob, so it doesn’t matter.
“Oh,” she coos with a small smile as she starts to make her way back inside the house. “You’re really missing out.”
Then she disappears into the house and leaves me exactly where I wanted to be.
Alone.
However, I kinda liked it when she was here.
But not the kid.