Chapter 12 Gianna #3
‘You wish.’ Ryker heads into the house, shaking his head. I wait a beat before moving to follow.
‘What’s going on with you and Ryker?’ Jace’s question stops me in my tracks.
He lets the silence brew, waiting for me to explain, but his expression tells me he already knows. My lips still tingle from the kiss and I feel heat rush to my face.
‘We’re just friends.’ The lie makes my heart flutter a little faster. ‘But, hypothetically, if it were … more, wouldn’t you rather my first boyfriend be him? Better the devil you know?’
‘Boyfriend?’ he exclaims. ‘Christ, Gia. Really? No. No one’s good enough for you.’
I chew on the side of my cheek and twist my rings behind my back.
When I look up again, Jace’s eyes soften.
‘Maybe. Ryker’s a good guy. I just … I promised Pa I’d look after you.
We’ll talk about it after The Prank’s done, alright?
But for now, if you could keep being my baby sister who watches cartoons and needs her soy milk warmed for her cereal, that would be great. ’
I nudge him in the arm, laughing. ‘I haven’t done that in years.’
‘You’re missing out! It’s still the best,’ he says with a hint of sadness in his eyes. We both only do it because Pa did.
‘Do you still miss him too?’ I blurt out, then immediately wish I could shove the words back down my throat.
Jace’s gaze snaps up to meet mine. He remains silent for a beat. I think he’s going to brush it off but then he quietly says, ‘Every day.’
He looks down, scuffing his shoe along an oil patch in the cement. ‘Sometimes it’s hard working on the Mustang without him. Everything I learned about mechanics was from him, but I know he still had so much more to teach me.’
Jace lifts his chin, absently looking up at the sky, but I can tell the memories are flickering through his mind like a movie.
They flash through my mind too. I can still hear the clang of metal waking me up on a Saturday morning.
I’d open the blinds and see Pa and Jace hunched over the hood, dressed in overalls and covered in grease.
I can smell the grilled cheeses Pa would make for lunch, something none of us have had since.
You won’t even find a block of cheese in the fridge anymore.
‘Then why do you work on the car?’ I ask. ‘I mean … if it hurts so much …’
Jace lets out a dejected huff. ‘Because it’s weirdly happy, too.
It’s hard to explain. Ma’s removed everything in the house that reminds her of him, and I get that she doesn’t want to be reminded.
But I don’t want to do that. It feels like forgetting.
So even if it hurts … being in that car or working on it, it’s like still being close to him. ’
I hum a response. I kind of get it.
‘Basketball’s my ticket to getting the things I actually want,’ he continues. ‘It’s not my be all, end all. When I’ve got the money and I’m ready … I want to buy the old speedway.’
His confession shocks me a little. I’ll admit I had fun there with Ryker yesterday, but I think that was more to do with Ryker than the place. ‘What for? It’s dirty, old and completely rundown.’
‘You see dirt.’ Jace shrugs. ‘I see all the fun I had with Pa, and giving others the chance to have it too. Ryker actually loves that place. We’ve had a race or two.’ He smiles.
‘Damn. I’ve never thought of it that way,’ I whisper.
Jace gives me a small smile, then his eyes widen in panic as he snaps his fingers at me. ‘Don’t tell Ma.’
‘I never do.’ I roll my eyes.
‘You want to talk about it more? Pa, or anything else?’ he offers gently, but I don’t miss how his eyes flicker to the watch on his wrist.
I shake my head. ‘Maybe later. Go do the prank, I know you’re itching for it.’
He nods. ‘Just know I’m here. I’ll do anything for you. Always.’
My heart melts. My brother is the best. And I know every word coming out of his mouth right now is true. He’d do anything for me. That’s why I never feel alone.
‘C’mon.’ Jace hooks an arm around me, signalling the conversation is over. ‘Let’s go inside.’
In the kitchen, he takes out two bottles of water from the fridge.
‘Hey,’ he says. ‘This shit with Ryker … just give me a bit of time, yeah? I mean, I just think about what Pa said and … well …’
‘It’s okay.’ I understand what he’s trying to say. ‘I’ll do anything for you too. But I like you better as a brother than as a dad.’
He nods, seemingly considering what I said.
I pad down the hall and, after a warm shower, collect the steaming tea Jace left on the counter for me.
I head to my art room and set up a blank canvas at the living room window.
Outside, I glimpse Jace and Ryker dressed in their all-black outfits with masks in hand.
They cut across the lawn to the waiting Mustang.
I sigh at the stark white canvas, waiting for an idea of colour to hit. Nothing comes. Not even the pink blush in the sky ignites an idea. I hear the Mustang release its fierce howl into the evening before Jace belts it down the road.
Maybe I need to get out for some inspiration.