Chapter 5
five
Nev
Then
I'm exhausted and totally annoyed. The debate team met after school to practice for a big county debate, but we ended up debating each other on which were the best debate tactics to use for our topics.
It's never easy when you get a bunch of strong-minded and even stronger-willed bookish nerds together in a room.
We got nothing done, and by the time we left school, it was pouring outside.
Nana's car is in the shop … again, so I'm stuck walking home.
I usually don't mind, but the thunderstorm and the annoying hours with my debate team left me in a bad mood.
I just want to be home, warm and dry in Nana's kitchen, eating a cookie and washing it down with milk.
The first half of the walk, the rain is so heavy I worry that a flood of water will wash me down the sidewalk.
Now, an annoyingly cold breeze and drizzle are hanging around to dampen my mood more.
I walk past the small park at the end of town.
It's a place Kinsley and I used to ride our bikes.
I miss those carefree days of bike riding, playing tag and easy homework.
My face is down to avoid the cold wind. I pull the hood of my coat up farther, but the wind knocks it right back off.
I'm reaching for it again, and my face lifts and turns toward the park.
Someone is sleeping on top of the picnic bench under the mulberry tree.
His long legs and big feet dangle off the end of the table.
I recognize the black high-tops. The right toe has been duct taped together because it split open.
Zander's dad refuses to buy him new shoes until the ones he's wearing are disintegrating. It seems that's not far off.
I hurry across the wet grass to the table. "Zander?" I say quietly, but he doesn't stir.
I touch his leg. He sits up with a gasp and then immediately presses his hand against his jaw. "Ow, fuck, what'd you do that for, Nev?"
I shrug. "Just making sure you're alive.
I guess you are, so I'm off." I start to leave, only I know the boy sitting on the table behind me is in trouble.
I saw clothes sticking out from the unzipped pocket of his backpack.
I turn back around. "Wanna come to my house?
I'm sure Nana can help with whatever the heck is going on with your face.
" I keep a smile to myself thinking even swollen and bloodied, he's swoon-worthy.
Zander is probably the most common name doodled on girls' notebooks in school.
Not mine but then I tend to doodle weird things like dragons and aliens.
Zander sits up fully. He gets taller every time I see him. Even with a swollen face, he manages a smile. "Why you out so late, Nevvie? You shouldn't be walking home alone. There are a lot of creeps hanging around."
"You mean like the tall one with a bloody lip and bruised face who's sleeping at the park?
" I ask. I look pointedly at his backpack and then back at him.
I feel like I've known Zander Wilde my whole life, and everything about him is still such a mystery.
One thing I know for sure is his father is a jerk. "Did you get kicked out of the house?"
He reaches back and moves his backpack out of view.
"I can see your underwear sticking out of the pocket," I say.
He turns to look back at it and I laugh.
"Just kidding but I can see the clothes. Unless, I don't know, maybe you're secretly part of the drama club, and you were changing into costume so you needed a change of clothes."
This time his smile makes him flinch. "Shit, me in the drama club. That's a good one."
The light talk is over. I walk closer to him. There's dried blood in his hair and his bottom lip is swollen. A bruise is forming on this cheek. "Just come home for tonight. I'm sure your dad will call you to come back home later. Nana can fix your lip. She's making macaroni and cheese tonight."
He reluctantly pulls his pack onto his broad shoulders. "You should have led with the mac and cheese."
* * *
We finished dinner. Nana did her usual first aid magic, and she had plenty of choice words for Finn Wilde as she patched up his eldest. Nana is at the kitchen table helping Kinsley with her math.
I'm finished with homework and sitting on one of our old chairs reading a book.
Zander is resting back on the couch holding an ice pack to his jaw.
His wet shoes and socks are by the door, and his long legs are stretched out so that his feet disappear under the walnut coffee table.
His eyes are closed, but his thick black lashes keep fluttering letting me know he's not asleep.
My heart has finally settled to a normal pace, which is a good thing because he's spending the night, and I'm sure I can't sleep with a racing heart.
It's something that always happens when Zander is near, and it's darn annoying.
I seem to be reading the same sentence over and over, which is mostly because I can't stop looking up to peer at him over the top of my book.
"What ya reading, Nev?" he asks without opening his eyes.
I look at the cover to remind myself of the title.
I wish that I was reading something cooler and more sophisticated than a mermaid romance.
"It's call Deep Blue," I say quickly. I'm thankful the title doesn't give it away.
Unfortunately, the beautiful mermaid on the cover doesn't exactly say cool and sophisticated.
She's wearing a sparkly blue bikini top, and her golden hair flows around her like folds of gold satin.
A white shell bracelet is tied around her wrist.
Zander opens his eyes and looks at the book cover. He smiles and it pains him.
"Ha! That's what you get for making fun of my book," I say.
"I wasn't gonna make fun of it. I thought it might be about sharks, so I was going to ask you to read it aloud. So, mermaids, eh? Does Nevada Mason, the smartest girl in school, believe in mermaids?"
I shrug. "Sometimes it's nice to think these fantasy creatures exist. Takes me out of reality."
He leans his head back and closes his eyes again. "Good point. You like unicorns, too?"
"See, you are making fun of me and no, unicorns are stupid. They are literally horses with bony forehead protrusions."
His long body vibrates with quiet laughter. Headlights flash through the front window and a truck rumbles outside. Zander sits up straighter, and his mouth pulls tight. His hands curl into fists. A horn blasts from the driveway. "It's my dad."
Nana is marching out of the kitchen. She pulls off the apron she's wearing, balls it up and throws it on the corner of the table. She holds her hand up to Zander. "You stay right there."
Nana swings open the door. Cool, wet air blasts into our cozy front room. The porch light illuminates her. As tiny as she is, she looks big and menacing as she stands under the light with her arms crossed.
"Finnegan Wilde, you turn that truck around and get the hell out of here. You'll wake the dead with that loud engine. Zander is staying with us tonight."
"Just send the boy out, Ellen. He doesn't need to take up any more of your time."
"I told you to leave, Finn. And if you don't, I'm going to go pull out my old shotgun and shoot out every window in that damn truck. And if I ever see any of your boys' faces look like this again, I'll skip the windows and just shoot you point-blank."
"C'mon, Ellen, it's called tough love."
"It's called child abuse, and if you weren't paying off all the crooked cops in this town I'd call social services on you … again. Now get out of here. Zander is staying with us tonight."
"Nosy old witch," Finn grumbles. The rest of his cussing is drowned out by the noisy truck. His tires screech as he races away.
I'm reluctant to look at Zander, mostly because I hate to see him hurting, and he's hurting badly this time, both mentally and physically.
I'm still holding my book as a shield, but I finally lift my eyes to peer over the top of it.
His eyes are closed, and his swollen lips are pulled down at the corners.
Nana slams the door shut and marches self-importantly toward the kitchen.
She's muttering angrily about Finn. She stops before stepping into the kitchen and swings around.
She's wearing a lighter expression and what I call her Nana smile, the one she uses whenever I'm upset and she's trying to cheer me up.
"Do you two want some ice cream?" she asks. "I can make some chocolate syrup to go with it."
The simple question erases all the gritty drama of the last few minutes, and we both sit up straighter. "I'd love some ice cream," I say before looking at Zander.
His eyes are open now and there's less anguish in his expression, although I know there's still plenty of it buried deep down in his heart. "Sure, that'd be great, El Honey." His voice is scratchy and low. "El Honey?" he says as she turns to leave.
Nana looks back. She's still wearing her Nana smile. "Yes, sweetie?"
"Thanks."
She winks at him and returns to the kitchen.
Zander and I are alone again, and suddenly, the quiet between us feels awkward.
Zander has always been this massive, explosive presence in my otherwise quiet, mostly humdrum life, and I can't explain why, but something tells me it's always going to feel that way.
He'll always be a massive, explosive presence in my life.
"I could make you one of those," he says quickly, shyly.
I look at him over the book again. It's amazing how protective a damn book can be. "Make what? A hot fudge sundae?"
He chuckles. "No, one of those mermaid bracelets."
I finally lower my shield and glance at the cover to reacquaint myself with the mermaid jewelry. I'm not entirely sure I'm the shell bracelet type, but something tells me, if Zander makes me one, I'll wear it until I die.
"Cool," I say casually and return to my book so I can read the same darn sentence a million times.