Chapter 3
“I…I think I’m leaving school, Red. Mom’s going to be so pissed.” I winced, already hearing her voice cue up in my head. “I just- I just can’t do it anymore, the stress is killing me. I don’t know what I will do, but I’m just hoping she’ll let me come back home while I figure things out.” I groaned, closing my eyes again so I didn’t tear up. I hadn’t really told anyone my ill-conceived dropout plans yet, and it was a relief to finally voice them, but it still made my stomach flip.
A smooth, cool grasp around the warm skin of my knee made my eyes pop back open. Red was leaning forward, looking at me with the same sincerity I’d heard in his voice. This was weird, my annoying stepbrother was being…kind? “Jules, honestly, I think she misses you more than you think. Yeah, she’ll probably give you some shit about it, but even I can see school is sapping your will to live, she’s gotta see that too. And you’re so smart, you’ll find a job in no time.” He gave a light squeeze of his thick glass digits on my knee before he leaned back with a reassuring smile, ice clinking more softly now.
“Are you…I mean is this...okay for you?” I asked lamely, gesturing at the sauna’s interior. I wasn’t sure how to handle that much empathy from someone I had practically thought of as a nemesis.
Red chuckled, the sound unexpectedly appealing, bouncing off of glass and wood. “It’d take a lot more than this to melt my glass, don’t worry. Your concern is touching, Jules.”
I blushed, grinning from embarrassment. “Come on man, I don’t know how…you know…how it all works.” I flapped a hand in his direction, indicating his giant glass pitcher of a body. “I didn’t know what was considered offensive to ask, and I always figured if it was something you wanted people to know, you’d have told me.”
He returned my grin, shrugging. “If a stranger asked? Maybe. But you’re no stranger, Jules. You can ask me anything you want to.”
Well, okay then. I wasn’t thinking about the line of questioning he was implying with that smirk, but hell—how often had I walked in on him watching his practically-porn cartoons? It was time for some good-natured table-turning, now that Red was a captive audience.
I grinned wickedly, raising an eyebrow. “So what do you look like und-” We both jumped as a loud thunk outside the sauna rattled the wall, followed by the crinkling of a lot of half-dry leaves floating down. I gasped, jumping off the bench and pressing my face to the glass doors of the sauna. “Oh shit!”
Red turned, his bulk offering him less mobility in the tight confines of the sauna, following my gaze. A giant, rotted limb had fallen off the big maple tree, taking down a large section of the second-floor gutter and wedging itself between the house and the sauna in the process. I yanked on the inner door handle, eyes widening as it moved an inch and stopped short. Faint clinking sounded behind me as Red got to his feet and glanced at the huge broken branch.
“Well that sucks. Doesn’t look like it damaged the sauna at least, Dad would be pissed if it had, but we’ll be able to get the gutters back up without calling a service, I think. Can you open the door? We should probably call them and let them know what happened.” Red sounded really disappointed: had he really been enjoying talking with me that much? I’d probably been saved by the tree in the middle of asking that ridiculously personal question, but the petty part of me had wanted to see Red sweat a little. Speaking of sweating, it was getting really hot in here. I pulled my thick black hair over a shoulder and fanned myself, catching my breath before trying the door again. I grunted, leaning my whole weight backwards with the handle in both hands, but the door refused to budge more than that scant inch. I threw a panicked look at Red over my shoulder. Glass squeaked as his arm rubbed against mine, prickling sweat soothed by his cool condensation as he gripped the handle and we pulled together. No dice.
“Jesus. Jesus, Red, we’re trapped in here. When do you think mom and Dan are getting back? Soon, right? It’s gotta be soon.” I swallowed hard, fighting panic, the sauna’s heat feeling even more oppressive now that I knew I couldn’t escape it.
The growing knot in my chest abruptly loosened as Red’s cool hands settled lightly on my shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay Jules. Are you claustrophobic, or is it just the heat getting to you? I put it on a low setting because I’m not, you know, a very good judge on temperature. If you’re too warm, you can sit next to me until they get back and get us out of here, right? They aren’t going to be more than an hour or two, even if they get appetizers. We’re going to be fine.”
His voice washed over me, soothing my panic as I rested my forehead on the glass door with a groan. “Thank you. I’m not claustrophobic, I think it was just the heat getting my blood pressure up. I might sit with you, if that’s okay.” I tensed as the weight of my hair lifted, cool, condensation-covered glass settling against the back of my neck like a slightly-melted ice pack. Red held my heavy hank of hair in a loose fist a few inches off my nape, pressing his wrist against the overheated skin beneath it.
“That okay, Jules? I thought it might help. Let me know if I’m pulling your hair or anything.” I should really tell him to move back, to drop my hair. This was an oddly intimate position, especially when the faint chill of Red’s skin was only inches away from my entire back. But it felt…nice. It had been a long time since I’d been physically close with anyone, barring the greeting hugs from mom and Dan when I’d arrived home. My crazy courseload hadn’t given me any breathing room for boyfriends, or even friends, really. Red was my stepbrother, and siblings sat next to each other on the couch and stuff, so it was kind of the same thing?
But you didn’t grow up together, did you, my brain helpfully supplied. He’s not actually related to you, and you’ve felt like he’s flirting with you more than once. I shook off the nasty little voice in my head with a frisson of guilt. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. These were extenuating circumstances.
“Come on, let’s sit back down while we wait, might as well get comfortable. Well, as comfortable as possible, anyway.” I stepped away from the door, but Red didn’t drop my hair. In fact, if anything, he got a slightly firmer grip on it. He was taller than me, so there wasn’t any real tension or pinching, but for some reason I didn’t tell him to let go. I could have been imagining it, but it was almost like he was using his grip to steer me back to his bench, guiding me to sit down against the back wall. Rather than making me tense or irritated, I found it relaxing. What the hell was wrong with me?