Page 50 of Someone Like You

“She probably did and she’d probably admit to it, too, if asked. With a hefty amount of pride.”

“Lovely.”

I followed Brody up the stairs, thinking that if this was to be my last day on Earth, I’d die a happy man.

15

ISAAC

There was alotof lasagna, and after Brody had heated up the first plate, I told him to go downstairs and get started while I waited for the second. His stomach had been growling non stop for five straight minutes.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” I said, “I’ll be right down. Hopefully you’ll still be alive, but if not, I mean…thanks for saving my life?”

He snorted and headed back down to the basement.

I stared out the kitchen window while the lasagna was heating, watching the fat, white flakes pouring from the sky. Everything was pure white outside, and I was so happy to be snowed in with Brody. The prospect of getting time off from school—time I could spend with Brody—made me feel giddy and excited. I’d meant it when I said he was the best person I’d ever met. Outside of Jordan, I’d never really been this close with anyone. I’d never felt this way about someone else, and I sure as hell had never been so physically aware of and drawn to another person. And the way he looked at me…like he’d never seen anything more desirable. God, it was exhilarating. That, coupled with the words he kept giving me and how gentle he was, howpatient and caring and sweet…I wanted that. All the time. He’d shown me things I’d never thought possible, uncovered parts of me that had been long buried, and it was so, so easy just being in his company. He was funny and smart and persistent and?—

“Wow you’re still alive?”

I blinked and turned my head to see Gavin rifling through the fridge. I didn’t know Gavin very well, had only met him a handful of times, and even then there weren’t many words spoken between us. Quickhellosandwhat’s ups. He was kind of a dude bro and had always struck me as a bit of a jerk, but that was based on his aggressive body language and dismissive attitude. Jordan absolutely hated the guy, though. My mind went back to Jamie’s birthday party, when Jordan had been arguing with him.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

He grabbed a can of soda and kicked the fridge shut with his foot, popped the top, took a long guzzle, then let out a drawn out, satisfied, “Ahhhh.”

Ugh.

He looked me up and down, raised his eyebrows, and said, “Just, you know. You’ve been down there with the freak in his cave. Always figured he was like a serial killer or something. I keep my door locked at night.”

Something soured in my gut at his words. A strong shockwave of anger rippled through me, and my hands curled into tight fists as I turned to him. “What did you just say?”

The microwave beeped loudly. Gavin’s eyes flicked to it, then back to me. He took a step closer, but I was vibrating with anger and adrenaline at this point, my veins pounding under my skin, heating me up and making everything feel too tight.

“I said,” he started, enunciating slowly. “I’m surprised you’re still alive, considering the company you’ve been keeping.” Gavin set his soda on the counter and stared down at me, a hard look in his eyes and a nasty smirk on his lips.

I stepped forward, glaring up at him. “You know,” I said, “It’s usually the people with the smallest dicks who talk the loudest. And I’ve never heard anyone louder than you, Gavin.” That wasn’t true at all, but it sounded good, and I was too angry to come up with something truly clever. I just knew he was the type to let a comment like that get to him.

And get to him it did.

His smirk morphed into a snarl in the blink of an eye, and he crowded my space. I didn’t move an inch, even though he was practically twice my size and could easily beat the shit out of me. I wasn’t about to let him get away with his fucked up, ignorant words. Wasn’t about to let anyone talk shit about Brody, not around me.

Gavin leaned down, brown eyes glittering with menace. He snatched the front of my shirt up in one meaty fist, dragging me to my toes and sending the first wave of alarm skittering through my system. “I always knew you were a freak, too. Anyone who takes it up the ass like a?—”

“What the fuck is going on here?”

Jamie’s voice cut through the tension, but it didn’t dissipate. Gavin and I kept staring each other down, but he slowly released my shirt. Jamie walked into the room and pushed Gavin away from me, looking between us. “I asked what the fuck is going on? Because, Gavin, it looks like you were about to beat the shit out of my friend while spewing homophobic bullshit.”

Jamie wasn’t technically my friend, our friends were friends, but I didn’t say that because I was too busy being grateful for his intervention. Gavin tore his eyes—eyes that were promising violence—from my face and gave Jamie the fakest smile I’d ever seen. “Nothing’s going on, bro. Just two dudes having a little chat. That’s all.”

“No,” I gritted out. “Gavin was talking shit about Brody. That’s what’s going on. He should keep his fucking mouth shut and maybe focus on his own shortcomings. Like his tiny dick.”

“You little shit?—”

“Gavin!” Jamie shouted, and I’d never heard him so angry. “Fuck, Isaac, stop it! Gavin, get the fuck out of here before I lose my shit. And if I ever hear you say something even remotely homophobic again, I’ll get your ass kicked out of this goddamn house.”

“Fuck you, Jamie!” Gavin was truly enraged now, fake smile gone, any semblance of civility stripped away. “You know what, I bet you fucked him too, huh? Is that it? Isaac’s your little butt boy?—”

---