Mateo #2
He grins and pops a cube of cheese into his mouth.
'So, what do you usually do now? Homework?"
Cooper narrows his eyes, leans forward on his elbow, and rests his chin in his hands.
"Do you think I have homework?"
"You did it during school already, didn't you?"
"I could stop going to school tomorrow and still pass the next two years."
"Got it. You're a genius," I say, standing from the stool. "So no homework and no games, huh? Want to watch a movie and then help me pick an assistant?"
He nods and cleans up our snack. I attempt to help, but end up dropping a glass in the process, and he shoos me to the living room so he can clean it up.
Abuela and Abuelo would've loved the shit out of this kid. I don't know why the thought hits me with such conviction. Probably because I was once a little punk too.
Life on crutches is lonely, and it's been nice having him around.
Although I'd never admit it aloud. Mom's busy filming the holiday episodes for her cooking show, and Dad's taken up golf.
When he isn't golfing, he's volunteering with the local youth and high school baseball teams. He never did like sitting still, but I'm surprised he's taken to golf.
Mom said it's because Uncle Frank invited him to a charity tournament in Montana next week.
Which makes way more sense than him playing golf because he enjoys it. It's beating Uncle Frank that matters.
"What's a booby trap?" Cooper asks later while we watch The Goonies.
I pause the movie.
"Really, Einstein?" I ask, turning my head to look at him.
"What? I've never seen this movie before," he says.
"It's not something they created just for this movie."
He stares at me, clearly waiting for further explanation.
"It's when you set up a small trap using an everyday object. And when somebody does something expected with the object, it triggers a trap to catch them or hurt them."
He nods and reaches for his water but doesn't pick it up. His brow furrows.
"Could the trap be a good thing?" he asks.
"I suppose. It's more of a trick. You trick someone into doing something normal, and it triggers an event you orchestrated."
The house is dark and still. Dad fell asleep on the couch and followed Mom upstairs to bed when she got home.
I told Dad I'd stay up with Coop and wait for Jade. But Coop also fell asleep, which is good, because smarty pants or not, he still has school tomorrow.
After our movie he helped me sort through resumes of potential assistants.
Except now he has me questioning whether I need one at all.
I open the document he started with the list of job duties.
Is there a legitimate reason I can't do any of these myself?
I arranged for my car to be shipped the other night.
I can handle buying airline tickets and booking hotels.
I can schedule my own shit and add it to my calendar.
Not that there's anything to schedule. Physical therapy, Mondays and Wednesdays and Sunday dinner. Fucking depressing. I went from a packed calendar to squares of nothing.
The walls are closing in more every day though.
The inability to drive myself anywhere is frustrating.
Maybe what I need is a part-time, temporary assistant?
One who can help with the few administrative things I need, but who can also drive me to PT?
Mom insisted they'd be able to help me if I came home, and yet nobody's ever around.
Her and Dad's schedules are packed, and Cooper and I both agree that Addie's an awful driver.
He said Jade's foot goes through the floor when she drives. Sounds about right.
Headlights filter through the curtains, and I straighten in the recliner. They're home. The digital lock on the front door beeps and whirs right before the door opens. Light footsteps make their way to the living room.
Jade.
Her long hair is now tied up in a messy bun with a few pieces falling in her eyes. She tucks them behind her ears and drags her hands over her face. Defeat cloaks her features and she sinks onto the couch beside Cooper, careful not to disturb him.
Her eyes squeeze shut, and I clear my throat.
"Rough night?" I ask.
"Fucking Kevin," she answers through gritted teeth.
"Yeah, fuck that guy," I say, because I lack all other coherent thought when I'm in her presence.
"He knows you, you know," she says, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her thighs.
The movement causes her tits to overflow the lace of her top and dude, what the fuck?
I pick up the controller from the table and hold it in my lap as if I'm going to play.
Hopefully, it looks casual because my body reacts to her in ways I don't want her to see.
She turns to me, her dark eyes burning holes in my retinas.
"Kevin?" she asks impatiently.
Oh, right, a Kevin that knows me.
"I've only ever known one Kevin, and he's a douche. He was a douche when we were kids. I imagine he's worse now."
"Sounds like Kevin. He's a regular."
"A regular pain in the ass?"
"That too."
I nod. "I heard a while back that his wife cheated on him with his dad."
Her eyes go wide, and she covers her mouth as she laughs.
"No way."
"I don't know if there's any truth to it." I shrug. "Where's Addie?" I ask, only now realizing she didn't come home with Jade.
"She had me take her car. She's headed to a party and said she'd Uber home."
"She do that a lot?"
Jade eyes me warily and stands to her full height, which with the heeled shit-kicker boots she's wearing, must be close to six feet. If I stood up right now and pressed my body to hers, I bet we would align perfectly. I could push her against the wall, or hell, she could push me.
"When did he zonk out?"
I shift in the recliner and grab my phone from the table to check the time, careful to hide the screen from her. She doesn't need to know I was stalking her…again. Or rather, attempting to.
"About an hour ago?"
Her rough exterior smooths as she takes his glasses off and carefully places them in the zippered pocket in his bag. She slings the bag over her shoulder and takes a deep breath before sliding her arms beneath his sleeping body.
"Thank you," she whispers through tight lips as if it pains her.
"I'm sorry," I say, using the power lift to help me stand. "That I can't help you do that, I mean."
"It's my life," she says, lifting him and walking out of the room.
The front door closes before I'm able to get my crutches beneath me.
She spoke to me without picking on me, without yelling at me.
It was a legitimate conversation, and I made her laugh.
Okay, really, it was Kevin who made her laugh.
Totally true, by the way, a friend from high school told me last week about Kevin's ex-wife, who is now his stepmom, being pregnant with his half-brother.
Sounds crazy, but no one could make that shit up.
That's beside the point, though. We spoke. Had an actual conversation. Baby steps or not, I need to cool it. I don't want to add worrying about Addie strangling me in my sleep when she finds out I have the hots for her best friend to my list.
Or do I?