16. Joshua
Chapter 16
Joshua
“ I s she okay?” Maddie asks as I close the door behind me.
I ruffle Maddie’s hair. “Yeah, brat. She’s okay.”
I fell asleep with Cassidy in my arms. Maybe I was exhausted from taking care of Cole, Parker and then her.
At one point, I thought I most likely caught the sickness already. I’d been around the three infected all day. But I woke up feeling great. Cassidy resting against my chest. I harnessed all my ninja abilities to sneak out without waking her up.
I find Rina in the kitchen making breakfast as Maddie bounces over to the living room to watch TV.
“Hey,” Rina says.
“Morning.”
“How are they feeling?”
“The boys were doing better by around two am when I went to go check on them. Cassidy seems to be on the upswing, too.”
She nods, pouring coffee into a mug and sliding it to me. “Thanks.”
She looks over at Maddie and then back at me. “Can I talk to you about something? In private?”
I still. “Uh… sure.”
She motions to the back patio and I follow her out telling Maddie I’ll be right back.
I take a seat across from her on the patio furniture. I notice she isn’t wearing the giant stone on her left hand.
She slides the hand onto her lap when she sees me eyeing it.
“Redmond cheated on me,” she says in a rush.
“Oh shit. I-I’m so sorry, Rina.”
“Yeah,” she says. “And when I found out, I texted Keelan. He came to my room the other night. And things got a little out of hand.”
Oh my god, why is she telling me this?
“You guys are grown adults, Rina. You have every right to–"
“I’m still marrying him, Hicks.”
I shake my head trying to make sense of what she’s saying.
“Um… Redmond? The guy that cheated on you?”
She shrugs.
“Why?”
“Because… I’m thirty-one, Hicks. And I’m done playing games. I’m ready to settle down. Have a family.”
“And you can’t do that with Keelan?”
She looks at me, eyes wide. “You tell me.”
“Why are you asking me ?”
“You’re his roommate and his teammate. You see him day in and day out. You know him better than most.”
“Ryker’s his best friend.”
“I’m asking you… not Ryker.”
“Rina…”
“I’m about to marry someone, Hicks. A guy who made a mistake, granted–I did too–but we’re moving on and planning on getting married. I just need to know… is Keelan ready to settle down?”
I drag a hand over my face. “Can’t you ask him?”
She shakes his head. “No. He’ll tell me what I need to hear just to make sure I don’t end up with Redmond. I know he will.”
“Well maybe you shouldn’t be with Redmond. Maybe you already know that’s not the answer.”
“Redmond wants kids… now, Hicks. And honestly,” she pauses. “So do I.”
“So you’re going to marry him?...Just to have kids? Listen to yourself, Ri.”
She sighs and cracks her neck before pushing the chair back and rising. “Thanks for the talk, Hicks. I think I got the answer I needed.”
“Did you?” I ask her retreating figure. “Give him a chance, Rina. Don’t make a long-term decision based on short-term circumstances.”
She scoffs. “Maybe take your own advice, Hicks.” She pauses with her hand on the doorknob and says over her shoulder. “For what it’s worth–I’ve enjoyed working with you. I hope your next team treats you well.”
She pushes the door open and leaves me alone on the back porch.
Fuck. What just happened?
A sparrow floats down to the table and pecks at some crumbs left behind.
Take my own advice? Is she talking about Cassidy? This is totally different.
I’m leaving.
Keelan is here. So is she. Neither of them are going anywhere. What the hell is wrong with those two?
I push off the chair.
It’s not the same. At all.
Two days after the bug took out the boys and Cassidy, they’re all back to their normal selves.
Cole is listening to music on his headphones. Though now he’s sitting on the pool lounge next to me. Cassidy, Maddie, and Parker are playing in the pool when Keelan slides the back door shut. It rattles behind him.
“Uh… you okay there?”
“I’m fine,” he says, tossing his towel onto an empty chair and stripping out his Hawaiian shirt.
Cole and I exchange glances before going back to our phones.
“Izzy and Ryker are coming by,” Keelan says, before diving head first into the deep end. Cassidy looks over at me with a puzzled look. I shrug.
I can almost guarantee whatever has Keelan in a mood is Rina-related. And if Izzy and Ryker are coming–it’s probably because they know something.
I brace myself for what’s likely going to be a come to Jesus meeting for our team captain.
A few minutes later a car rumbles in the driveway. Ryker opens the side gate and ushers the very pregnant Izzy in.
“Hey!” I wave at them.
Izzy waddles over, Ryker holding her from the side.
“Dude… did you pop overnight?” She sits down on the chair next to me and huffs.
“Just got back from my doctor’s appointment. I’m officially two weeks away from popping out a baby.”
“Congrats,” I smile at her.
She returns it and greets everyone in the pool. Ryker sets their beach bag down next to Izzy’s feet. Izzy’s swollen feet. Damn. Poor girl.
“Stop staring at my fiancee’s feet, Hicks. It’s weird,” Ryker says.
“Does it hurt?” I look up at her.
She sighs. “I mean, it’s not comfortable. I feel like a walking beluga and I haven’t slept in months… but no, Hicks, it doesn’t hurt.”
Ryker looks out into the pool and in a low voice says, “So… how is he?”
“Lando?”
“No… your dick. Of course, Lando,” he deadpans, then shakes his head. “Landry… I mean, Keelan!”
I laugh. Glad that my nickname for our team captain is catching on. “He’s been better.”
“They’re eloping,” Izzy says.
I cock my head. “Rina and soccer douche?”
She nods, solemnly, turning to look at her brother floating on the water staring up at the sky. His shades pulled over his eyes.
“Rina Bonner,” she scrunches her nose. “I can’t get used to it.”
I laugh to myself and I see small grin on my teen brother’s face. We’re thinking the same thing.
“Stop it,” Izzy says, wagging a finger at us. “Grow up, Hicks.”
“Ok, but in all seriousness–how do you spell it?”
“Not how you think it is,” she says, sliding her feet out of her sandals.
“We’ll need to get his mind off of it. He needs a project. Anything in the house need renovating?” she suggests.
“It just went through a renovation.”
“How about your car?” Ryker asks. “Maybe he can help you with it?”
“This is Keelan Landry we’re talking about here. He pays people to do everything.”
“Well, he can’t just stay in drowning in his tears all week. He’s going to drive himself crazy.”
Cassidy pulls herself out of the water. I watch as the water drips down from her hair and onto her curves as she steps up the ladder.
Her skin is more tan after the beach trip and she’s wearing a swimsuit that… I don’t recall seeing before. It’s bright and yellow and I think that’s my favorite color on her.
She reaches for the towel at the end of my lounge chair. “Hey guys,” she breathes out. “What’s wrong with Keelan?” she motions toward the free-floating Debbie downer.
“Rina,” we all say.
“Ah,” is all she says, like that’s the answer to everything.
“My friend Lillian is taking me out on Thursday night. Maybe he should come with us.”
Izzy perks up. “Where are you going?”
Cassidy shrugs. “I don’t know yet. But apparently it’s a cure for heartache.”
She glances over at me for split second.
“Well, sign him up,” Izzy says. “Because right now, if you were to google the word heartache , my brother’s picture would be the first thing to pop up.
“I’ll let Lillian know.”
She asked me for Thursday night off the second she felt well enough. I had no idea it was for a heartache cure. She conveniently left the details out of the request.
“Lillian, the girl who almost married Fergie’s brother?” I ask her.
She nods. “Yep. That’s the one.”
“What’s she doing these days?”
Cassidy furrows her brows, “Why?”
“Just wondering.”
“She’s living her best single life,” she says, sitting on the edge of Cole’s chair.
“Alright, so we got a potential car reno, heartache cures, and skate night. Hopefully all those things come together to help get him out of… whatever that is," Ryker says.
We all look at Keelan who’s slowly dunking his head into the water and then slowly rising, spitting out water. Only to do it again.
“What’s skate night?” Cassidy asks.
“You didn’t tell her?” Ryker says looking at me.
“She was sick as a dog.” I turn to Cassidy. “You know the synthetic rink Keelan has in the basement?”
“Yeah?”
“The team’s coming over to dance. Skate a bit. Shoot some pucks. Pretend we’re a beer league.”
“Oh.”
“The whole team,” Ryker adds.
Cassidy’s eyes widen. “Oh.”
“So… basically a giant party. You’ll get to meet everyone.”
I lean over to Cole. “You too, Pole. If you want to hang out with us old folk.”
He rolls his eyes at me.
“I knew you could hear me.”
Maddie and Parker both start complaining that they want to get out. I sit up to get them but Cassidy puts a hand up. “I got them.”
She grabs the other two towels and brings them over to the kids. “Whose ready for snacks and a midday movie?”
“I’m going with them,” Cole says, grabbing his things and following Cassidy.
The two kids jump up and down and she helps them out, wrapping them each in a towel.
I can feel eyes on the side of my face.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Ryker and Izzy both say at the same time exchanging looks.
“Nothing happened.”
“Oh, we know,” Izzy says.
“What do you mean, we know ?”
She shrugs. “Girls talk.”
“And what did she say?”
She laughs.
“Isabella-almost-Balinger… what did she say?”
“I can’t tell you, Hicks. Girl code.” She makes a scout’s honor sign with her right hand.
It’s frustrating. We’re in this weird limbo where we both clearly know we’re both attracted to each other. But we can’t make any moves. One, because if I do, she’ll almost certainly leave and the kids will never let me forget it. They actually like Cassidy. And two, I’m trying to be a better person here.
What she says is rejection is me trying to prove to her that she’s more than just a forgettable lay for me. And as backward as that feels–it has to work. She asked me to prove it. This is me fucking proving the shit out of it.
I like her. And I don’t want to ruin things between us.
So I keep my distance.
But I don’t know how long I’ll be able to.