Page 22 of All Your Lies
One time we had to jump in the pool in the dead of winter. It was brutal. I thought I was going to shiver the skin off my bones, and my dad almost strangled the guys for the stupid dare.
“Now’s the time to work on it so we can kick both Gage’s and Marco’s asses,” I say with a determined smile.
“You think we’ll ever hear from Gage again?” Rosie asks, frowning.
“I used to say yes, but I don’t know anymore.”
Gage got out almost a year ago, and we still haven’t heard from him. He disappeared without a trace. Just walked out the door of Metro Correctional Center on his release day and poof, gone.
To this day, I miss him. The day he went away felt like a piece of my heart got ripped out of my chest. I mourned him that day and every day since.
He was just as important as Rosie was to me. Maybe more so in some ways. He gave the best hugs, the ones you felt in yoursoul. The kind you never wanted to end, like holding a lifeline. And his smile. His smile was magical and always made his deep-blue eyes sparkle like the sun hitting the sea.
We get our food and dig in. Rosie ordered their loaded nachos while I chose the boring chicken strips and fries. It’s the safest thing on the menu, and I know there won’t be any surprises. I’ve had an aversion to sauces and extra flavors on food my whole life. Sometimes less is more, and that can be said for many things.
I finish mine in record time and look up at Rosie, who’s also done. We grab our drinks and head over to an empty table to play. It takes more coordination than I have, but I’m getting better. Soon, we finish one game. She wins, of course, and racks the balls to start another game.
“Mind if I join?” a deep voice asks from behind me.
“Aw man, how’d you find us, Marco?” Rosie asks.
I turn around and see the body attached to the voice. Handsome in a boy-next-door type of way with short dark brown hair and light blue eyes. He’s tall and lean because of sports. He stands with a confidence about him that’s infectious and makes me want to lean closer.
I haven’t seen him since he started attending the college Rosie and I are now also attending. He’s making this his final year before diving into the family business with the rest of us, and I hope to grow closer to him before that happens. Dad told me the marriage contract between our families was signed, so he and I are a done deal.
“I’m always looking out for my girls.” His grin makes me smile, while Rosie scrunches up her nose like she smells something awful.
“Don’t look too closely. I want to have fun while I’m here,” Rosie says.
Her father gave her one year of college before she goes back to marry Manuel. She still hasn’t warmed up to the idea, and I don’t blame her.
We decide to play another game. Two against one since he thinks he can smoke us both.
It’s my turn, and I totally miss the ball.
“Can I help?” Marco asks.
I’m not sure how he’s going to help since he’s never offered before, but I say yes anyway. I can’t help but feel curious and slightly pleased by his attention. It’s a welcome change from his usual brush-off.
He tells me to line the stick up to the ball, and I do. I’m bent over the table when I feel him behind me, bending with me and putting his hands over mine.
My eyes widen, but I don’t dare to raise my gaze toward Rosie. I’m sure I’m about as red as a tomato.
Marco is leaning on top of me. He whispers in my ear exactly how I need to hold the stick, then helps me take the shot. It goes right into the pocket, and I jump up, giving him a high five, and then Rosie.
That was intense. I take a huge breath to compose myself before I turn back toward him and thank him. He gives me a smile and a brief nod.
We play for another hour, then decide to head back to the dorm. Marco walks us back since he deems it unsafe, for which I’m grateful.
Rosie and I have heard horror stories about walking alone at night through college campuses. Mainly from our parents being overprotective, but I still heed their warnings, and after that one night after my swim meet, I’ve been extra cautious.
We never found the white van that stopped in front of me the night I was run off the road. The guy who Dad killed belonged to a disgruntled local gang who disagreed with acertain decision, and they set their sights on me. The scar that stretches from the corner of my eyebrow to the top of my ear serves as a constant tingling reminder of the consequences of my carelessness. I need to stay vigilant and ready but still live life, which feels like a battle I’m never going to conquer.
We walk into the building to our dorm, Rosie first, when Marco grabs my hand to stop me.
“Go on up, Rosie. Alexa will be up in a minute. We’re just going to have a quick chat.”
My heart stops. What does he want to talk about?
