Filed to story: My Life with the Walter Boys Book (I & II) PDF Free
It was wildly jarring after all his angry silence, but when I considered the past few days, I realized Cole’s attitude toward me had shifted slightly. While not friendly by any means, he’d been significantly less cold when we ran into each other around the house, and he even passed me the ketchup bottle at dinner last night. The timing of Cole’s change didn’t go unnoticed; it lined up with the conversation I had with his twin too well to be a coincidence, but in the grand scheme of things, did it really matter if Danny was responsible? If it meant I could finally stop walking on eggshells around Cole, I was grateful.
Seven
Seven
Colorado at night, especially on the ranch, was nothing like New York City. Once daylight faded away, the near-total darkness that replaced it was all-encompassing. The lack of streetlamps, neon signs, and passing headlights used to unnerve me, but now I found it calming.
I was sitting on one of the porch chairs, knees tucked up against my chest and a blanket wrapped around my shoulders, when the front door inched open. A figure slipped out through the gap, then eased the door back into place as quietly as possible.
My eyes were adjusted to the dark, and even though I couldn’t be sure, I had a pretty good idea of who was sneaking out based on their silhouette. “Lee?” I called quietly.
The figure jumped, and something heavy thunked against the floor. “Holy shit!” he hissed. “Jackie, is that you?”
“Yeah, hold on.” I turned on my phone light and revealed Lee, whose skateboard was lying upside down at his feet, wheels spinning.
“Why are you sitting in the dark?” he asked, face scrunched into a scowl. “That’s creepy as hell.”
My mind flashed back to the night of the block party when Isaac scared me, and I had responded in a manner similar to Lee’s. I was even sitting in the same chair Isaac had been. Thankfully, Lee hadn’t hurled his skateboard at my head. “Just sitting. I couldn’t sleep.”
Today had been a strange combination of good and bad. Election results were announced during student council, and Erin won by a landslide. Everyone loved the shirts I ordered, and I was proud of our success, but I struggled to enjoy it once I remembered that today was my parents’ wedding anniversary. I’d been too wrapped up in the campaign to remember, but when I got back from school and saw the date marked on my calendar, the air whooshed out of my lungs like I’d been sucker punched in the stomach. This week had been my best in ages, because for the first time since the start of summer, I was starting to feel like my old self again. That’s what made grief so difficult to overcome; no matter how much effort you put in to moving on, it was always lurking below the surface, ready to pop up at any moment and leave you reeling.
The porch light flipped on before Lee could respond. He scooped up his board and disappeared around the corner in a blink. Shortly thereafter, Katherine stepped outside in her robe and slippers, looking sleep rumpled.
“Jackie?” she said through a yawn. “I heard a noise. Was that you?”
“Yeah, I dropped my phone.” I held it up as evidence. “I’m sorry for waking you.”
“No problem, honey. Is everything all right?”
“Just some trouble sleeping.”
She frowned. When I moved in with Parker, Katherine was adamant about making sure I was comfortable with the change. Not only did she check in with me on a regular basis, but she made me promise to let her know if it ever became a problem. “It’s not because of the new room arrangements, is it?” she asked for the hundredth time. “Because if—“
“No, I swear.” Her frown deepened, so I offered her a watery smile and added, “It’s my parents’ anniversary today. I promise I’m fine. I’m thinking about them, that’s all.”
Katherine’s expression softened. “Do you want to talk about it?”
If Lee wasn’t hiding around the corner, I might have taken her up on her offer. Instead, I shook my head. Sometimes all you could do to alleviate the pain was sit with it, count your breaths through it, accept it. This felt like one of those times.
“Okay, but I’m always here to listen if you change your mind.” She leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “Good night, Jackie.”
Once she was gone, Lee reappeared wearing a grateful look. “Thanks for covering for me.”
“It was my fault you dropped your board, so it only seemed fair,” I said as I fought off a yawn. Deciding it was time to head inside as well,
I stood up and stretched. The blanket around my shoulders slipped off and pooled at me feet.
“Where are you sneaking off to anyway?” I asked, eyeing Lee. He was lingering by the front steps, repeatedly checking his phone for new texts.
“Skating with some friends,” he answered with a rare smile.
I glanced at my own phone and was surprised by how late it was. “At one o’clock in the morning?”
His eyes glinted with a hint of mischief. “You know that new subdivision going up by the quarry? One of the houses has a giant in-ground pool that isn’t filled in yet. It’s the perfect skate bowl. Figured we should go at night considering the whole breaking and entering thing.” Right as he finished his explanation, headlights appeared at the end of the driveway. “Well, that’s my ride.”
“Have fun,” I said, bending over to scoop up my makeshift shawl. Goose bumps had spread down my arms in its absence.
Lee paused halfway down the steps and looked back at me. “Hey, Jackie?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m not sure if Isaac said anything already, but we’re both grateful that you agreed to share a room with Parker. I want you to know that I—” He stopped and shook his head. “Never mind. I hope you get some sleep.”
***
Parker’s first rugby game was accompanied by a wave of crisp fall air—the first of the season. The leaves were beginning to show signs of changing color, spots of yellow and orange peeking through what only days before was a canopy of green. I’d originally pulled on a cozy sweater, but Cole was insistent that I wear one of his old crewnecks, the Walter name plastered over the back. I’d spent the entire drive over with my nose buried in the collar, breathing in his familiar scent.
The Walters never packed light, even for a rugby game. The two cars were stuffed full of camping chairs, a cooler of drinks, a stash of blankets, and a huge bag of sunflower seeds to snack on. We unloaded the cars, and I searched the field for any sign of Cole. As Parker’s coach, he’d arrived early to run the girls through their pregame warm-ups.
I quickly located him at the edge of the field, his hands cupped around his mouth as he shouted something to his players while they went through a series of warm-up stretches. He looked over his shoulder a moment later, eyes finding mine in less than a heartbeat. My pulse stuttered in anticipation. Cole shouted one final command at the team and then jogged in our direction, the whistle around his neck swinging back and forth with the movement.
“Here, Jackie, you can use Parker’s chair. It’s a little small, but you should fit,” said Katherine from beside me, pulling the dark blue camping chair from the back of the car.
I smiled at her in appreciation and secured the strap of its carrier over my shoulder. “What else can I grab?”
“Just a blanket in case you get cold.” Katherine had barely finished her sentence before she was running after Zack and Benny, who’d spent the entire drive bickering about who would win a hot dog eating contest—Kirby or Shaggy Rogers. Now they were sprawled across the grass, struggling to pin the other to the ground.
“I can keep you warm.” Cole’s voice was barely a whisper in my ear, but it was enough to make me jump.
Heart racing, I turned to face him with a half-hearted glare. “You should ask Isaac what happens to people who startle me, Cole. Next time, my instincts might kick in, and I won’t be held responsible for any damage done to your pretty face.”
He smirked at this. “You think I’m pretty?”
I rolled my eyes. “You think you’re pretty.”
“I think you’re pretty.”