Holden
Chapter Three
“Ithink I met my future wife.” I know I’m grinning like a fool when I say it, despite Harrison groaning before I’ve finished the entire sentence.
Okay, I’m aware that it’s probably too early for me to know that for sure, but there is something about Lizette that’s kept her at the forefront of my mind since we met.
“Oh brother,” Harrison responds. He rubs his forehead with the tips of his fingers.
Hayden laughs at Harrison’s response and shakes his head.
“I’m one hundred percent serious.” I grin as I shuffle the deck of cards I’m holding, then deal us five cards each. As soon as Henry gets here, we’re ready to start our game.
“Holden, you’re twenty years old, and you live in a frat house. You should be having fun with your fraternity brothers. Maybe go on some dates. Go to parties, for God’s sake. Not meeting your soulmate.” Harrison glances over at Hayden. “No offense.”
Hayden shrugs. “None taken. I’m good with where Charlie and I are at.” He glances over at me, and his expression turns serious. “But I can’t say I disagree with Harrison. You just met Library Girl and barely spoke with her. If you like her, ask her out for coffee. Get to know her.”
“First, her name is Lizette, not Library Girl. And we’ve spoken, some. It’s hard because you’re supposed to be quiet in a library, so I have to wait until the end of the night to say much.”
“Regardless, you should skip next weekend’s hangout with us and go to a frat party,” Harrison says.
“I’m sorry, did I just hear right?” The three of us look over at the door.
Henry is standing there holding a couple of pizzas, with Heath and a red-faced, puffy-eyed Georgie in tow.
Georgie immediately goes to the couch and sits with her legs drawn close to her chest, almost as if she’s trying to make herself as small as possible. As usual, she has a book in her hand.
“Hi, everyone. I hope it’s okay that I crashed Crazy Eights night.” Georgie’s voice is soft and timid, nothing like her usual bubbly, energetic self.
The three of us at the table—Hayden, Harrison, and I—say our hellos, and I get up to hug Heath. Our sixteen-year-old brother rarely comes to our Saturday-night brother hangouts. He’s usually too cool for his older brothers, so I’m thrilled to see him. He hugs me back, albeit a bit awkwardly.
Minutes later, we’ve all got our pizza and drinks atop the card table we have set up for the game and, noticing that Georgie hasn’t gone to get any food yet, I walk back to the kitchen.
I grab two slices of pizza and then rifle through the refrigerator until I find the orange soda I know she loves.
When I take it over to her, she glances up with surprise in her eyes.
“I don’t have to eat, and you didn’t have to do that.”
“Of course, you have to eat, and I’m happy to do it. Don’t all the gentlemen in those romance novels you’re reading do this kind of thing? I’m just practicing for my future.” I grin at her, and I’m pleased when a small giggle escapes her.
“Thank you, Holden.”
“No problem, kiddo.” I ruffle her hair, and she pulls away, but she’s smiling.
When I turn and walk back to the table, I don’t miss Heath staring at me.
“She could’ve gotten her own,” he says quietly enough that she won’t hear.
“Yeah,” I reply. “Or she could’ve been too upset and uncertain to get her own. Plus, it’s the nice thing to do.”
“Well, then I could’ve gotten it for her.” He frowns at me.
“But you didn’t, little bro. You need to read some of those romance books your best friend there reads, and you’ll know how girls want guys to act.” I wink at him, and he gives me his classic Heath eye roll and looks away.
Over the next few minutes, though, he frequently looks over at Georgie with a mixture of concern and adoration in his eyes. I wonder when he’ll recognize that maybe he feels more than friendship for her.
We spend the next hour and a half playing our Crazy Eights marathon, and the results are the usual: Harrison is the winner. Then he taunts Henry that it’s a skill-based game, and they go back and forth for a while.
While the rest of us sit at the table and talk for a while, Heath has gotten his head out of his ass and gone to sit by Georgie. He must cheer her up a little because she’s smiling.
“So, when I walked in, you guys were trying to convince our younger brother here to go to frat parties?” Henry asks.
“Yeah, over going to the library every night because he thinks he’s in love with the librarian,” Hayden chimes in.
“She’s not a librarian. She’s a student who works there. It would be creepy if I were in love with the librarian since she’s like seventy-five,” I respond.
Hayden chuckles and shakes his head.
“All right. Tell us about her,” Henry says.
I picture Lizette, and I feel a smile teasing at the corners of my mouth.
“Well, she’s super smart, even though I don’t think she realizes it. She’s responsible and funny. She’s quiet, but not in a shy way. More like she thinks before she speaks. When she does get talking, every word that comes out of her mouth is perfect.”
“Oh geez, Holden. That’s the kind of stuff I’m talking about,” Harrison says. “That’s infatuation.”
“Whatever. You’re not there. Anyway, she’s really pretty. She has blonde hair and mesmerizing green eyes.”
Henry is studying me but says nothing. Harrison frowns, and I know that look—he’s concerned.
“I know you think I should be enjoying frat life, but I don’t want to go to frat parties. They’re not my thing. Everybody’s just drinking, spilling beer everywhere, and then hooking up. I didn’t really expect that. I thought…”
When I don’t finish, Henry prods, “Thought what?”
I shrug and look to the side. “I thought it would be more like hanging out with brothers.”
I see their faces fall, and I instantly regret saying anything. The last thing I want is for them to feel bad about my choices or my feelings.
I glance over at Harrison for his reaction, since he’s the one who helped me get everything together for college, and he’s watching me thoughtfully.
After a few uncomfortable seconds, he nods. “Let’s talk more later, and we can think about whether you want to try to get into an apartment for next year. Okay?”
I nod.
“All I ask otherwise is that you’re careful with this girl.”
“Yeah, back to the girl... we don’t need another Ruby situation,” Hayden adds. His face is dead serious now.
The Ruby situation. She was my first and only girlfriend.
I like the idea of finding my person, and I’ve never been looking to rack up numbers of sexual conquests.
For me, there's been Ruby and then one other girl—one time—since I’ve been at school.
Ruby broke me for a while, but I like to think I’m smart enough to use better judgment next time around.
I’m not sure how to get out of the awkward situation as suddenly quiet falls over the room. I glance around, and even Heath and Georgie are paying attention to the conversation.
Jesus, my love life shouldn’t be so concerning to everyone else. I guess that’s the thing about our family: caring is part of it all. Still, it’s uncomfortable, and I’d like to change the subject.
“I gotta pee. Is the bathroom working again, or do I have to go outside like be—”
“Please tell me that when I have to pee, I don’t have to go outside.” The worry in Georgie’s voice is notable.
Heath smiles at her. “C’mon, G. You’ve peed outside before...”
“First of all, that was supposed to be our secret. Second, that time was an absolute necessity.”
“Settle down, everyone. The bathroom is working,” Henry says. He pauses and looks around the room. “This place will get there. It’s just gonna take a little time.”
Nostalgia floods my brain, so I stand and walk to the bathroom, the sounds of my brothers discussing the state of the cabin fading the farther I get from them.
Years ago, after buying the many acres of land the cabin sits on, Dad started fixing it up whenever there was spare time and money.
He had big plans for this place. Both of those were tough to come by with five growing boys.
Some of my best memories are from when Dad would bring us boys here for camping trips.
We’d usually start outside in a tent, but end up sleeping in here on the floor with a fire going in the fireplace. We were rugged little boys, and we didn’t care about the musty smell back then. Heck, we still don’t care that it lingers a bit.
This place was Dad’s dream. It reminds us of him, and it’s become a symbol of brotherhood and unity since we hang out here regularly.
When I return from using the restroom, all four of my brothers are at the table, and Georgie’s alone on the couch. I walk over and sit next to her. She gives me a sidelong glance.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“I think it’s pretty obvious. I’m trying to read over your shoulder to see what we’re reading.”
“We’re?” she asks, amusement in her voice.
“Yeah, I’ll read it with you.”
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” Her face reddens.
“Why?”
“I mean, some scenes can get a little risqué.”
“Okay, so yeah, that does creep me out a little bit, seeing as you’re my brother’s best friend and you’re only sixteen. Are you even allowed to read these kinds of books yet?”
She rolls her eyes and slowly shakes her head with faux annoyance.
“I’m almost seventeen, and it’s stupid to censor what people read—”
“Whoa, whoa. I’m not trying to censor you. Though I’m wondering if there are any that don’t have sex in them that we could read. You know, like a buddy read.”
She fixes her gaze on me with narrowed eyes and watches me for several long seconds.
“Okay, if you’re serious, I can shoot you the name of a book tomorrow, and we can get started. Does that work for you?”
I suspect she thinks I’ll back down. I won’t.
“Yep. Works for me.”
“All right, sounds good.” Georgie grins at me. “But could you get away from me right now? Because this book is not something I want you to see.”
She giggles, and I smile at her.
I stand. “I’ll let you get back to your love story.” I use dramatic air quotes when I say love story.
“You’re such a dork,” she teases.
She tugs on my pant leg before I can walk away.
“Holden?” Her voice is softer now. “Ignore what they’re saying about Library Girl. If you really like her, then get to know her. It doesn’t matter how old you are when you find your person.”
For a split second, I swear her eyes dart over to Heath.
“People finally understand when they find their person. You’re just being more mature than them.”
She smiles at me, and I wonder for a second why my little brother doesn’t see that his best friend would be a catch.
“Thanks for saying that. I appreciate it. We’ll see. I don’t need their blessing. I can rub it in their faces when the time comes.”
As I turn to walk around the couch, I catch sight of a red mark on her cheek.
It’s not huge, but it’s there, and anger fills me.
I force myself to keep walking so she doesn’t see the change in my demeanor.
I don’t want to embarrass her. I need to talk to Heath, though, because if that jackass of a stepfather is hurting her again...
“Holden, come on over. We’re gonna do a best-of-five rematch,” Harrison calls. “Henry’s being a poor loser... again.”
I grin and join them at the table.
We spend the rest of the night playing cards, and even though we sometimes annoy each other, I’m grateful this is the family I was born into. I need to do better about making sure I don’t add any more worries to their already full plates.