Page 6 of Blood Ties
You shouldn’t be here, I want to tell them. But I don’t. I keep my head down and my mouth shut, like always.
“Now, if y’all wanna go right to sleep, you’re welcome to it. But I, for one, could use a drink,” Knox says. Our “guests” exchange glances.
“We’ve got some beer in the car,” the big guy says.
“Got some things other than beer, too,” the other says with a grin, pushing his glasses up.
“Now we’re talkin’,” Knox says. “I’ll grab the whiskey.”
They filter out of the room, one by one, chatter fading as they head outside again. All except me and the dark-haired girl. She leans against the doorway and watches me with her unreadable eyes. She really is awfully pretty, so pretty it’s hard to look at her for too long without my stomach twisting into knots.
“I’m Riley. Sorry for invading your house,” she says. “We really didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
I shrug, avoid eye contact. “‘S fine,” I mumble, though it’s a lie. “I’m just gonna...” I jerk my head toward the stairs.
“We’re not trying to chase you out of your own space,” she says. “Why don’t you have a drink with us? We definitely owe you some beer for the late-night drop-in.”
Spending time with these people — getting to know them — is the last thing I want. But when I glance up to meet her eyes with anoon my lips, something in her gaze stops me.
It isn’t just that she’s beautiful. Though, God, she is. It’s the way she looks at me, head slightly tilted and a genuine smile on her lips, those soft blue eyes crinkled at the corner. I’ve seen girls look at Knox like that, but never at me.
Before I know what I’m doing, I dip my head in a nod. “Sure. One drink.”
*
ONE DRINK SOON TURNSinto three, and then the shots start flowing. Soon we’re all sprawled in the living room, the coffee table covered with half-full bottles and empty cans. I’m embarrassed about the state of the house. I keep the place as clean as I can, but there’s no hiding the sun-bleached carpet or worn-down leather couch or the empty spot on the entertainment center where the TV used to sit. Everything here is old, including my hand-me-down clothes, while the strangers are so new and shiny it’s almost blinding.
But nobody comments. The girls sit close together on the couch while I perch on the edge, trying to take up as little space as possible. Knox takes Dad’s armchair, and Caleb and Felix are both cross-legged on the carpet. Terrible music thumps from someone’s phone on the table between us; it’s way too upbeat for my taste.
Conversation seems to flow easily for everyone but me. But even though I’m quiet, just watching it all unfold, I’m having an okay time. Knox is in a good mood, and the strangers prove to be pretty decent. It’s fascinating, watching how the outsiders behave. Getting a taste of what normal life must be like.
They talk about college classes, part-time jobs, a music festival they’re headed to. The sorts of things I’ve only really seen in shows on TV. Before Dad broke it, I mean.
It’s a lot of information to hold on to, especially with a buzz brewing. Most of what they say slips right back out of my brain. But I pay attention whenever Riley speaks, hoarding tidbits of information about her like precious trinkets. She’s majoring in education; she works part-time as a tutor; she lives in an apartment with May. She’s not dating either of the guys as far as I can tell.
“What about you?” Riley asks.
With a start, I realize she’s talking to me. Her blonde friend is between us, but she’s sitting forward, while Riley leans back to look at me. I do the same. “What?”
“You’re around our age, right?”
I take a second to remember. “I’m 22.”
“So a year older than me. You’re not going to college?”
“Oh, uh...” I shake my head. “Nah. Not for me.” I’ve never been to school at all, but I’m not about to admit that. Riley is still looking at me, clearly expecting me to say more, so I add, “I work for my dad.”
“A mechanic like him and Knox?”
“Not exactly...” I shrug, picking at the label on my beer. The bottle is sweating, or maybe that’s my hands. “I mostly work in the scrapyard. And take care of the animals around the farm... I dunno, just, whatever he needs me to do.”
“Animals?” The blonde girl, May, leans in to join our conversation. “You guys have animals?”
“Yeah...” Knox is talking with the two guys, but he keeps glancing at me. As if I’m not already hyper-aware of how easy it would be to say something stupid. “We have chickens and pigs.”
Both girls gasp. “Oh my god,” May says. “Can we see them? Please?”
“Uh...” Now I’m definitely sweating. The animal pens are way too close to the barn, where the butcher's room is. Plus Uncle Frank’s shack. God only knows what he keeps in that place. “Probably shouldn’t. Sorry.”
