Page 10 of Walk on the Wilde Side
He reluctantly pulls his pack onto his broad shoulders. "You should have led with the mac and cheese."
We finished dinner. Nana did her usual first aid magic, and she had plenty of choice words for Finn Wilde as she patched up his eldest. Nana is at the kitchen table helping Kinsley with her math. I'm finished with homework and sitting on one of our old chairs reading a book. Zander is resting back on the couch holding an ice pack to his jaw. His wet shoes and socks are by the door, and his long legs are stretched out so that his feet disappear under the walnut coffee table. His eyes are closed, but his thick black lashes keep fluttering letting me know he's not asleep. My heart has finally settled to a normal pace, which is a good thing because he's spending the night, and I'm sure I can't sleep with a racing heart. It's something that always happens when Zander is near, and it's darn annoying.
I seem to be reading the same sentence over and over, which is mostly because I can't stop looking up to peer at him over the top of my book.
"What ya reading, Nev?" he asks without opening his eyes.
I look at the cover to remind myself of the title. I wish that I was reading something cooler and more sophisticated than a mermaid romance. "It's call Deep Blue," I say quickly. I'm thankful the title doesn't give it away. Unfortunately, the beautiful mermaid on the cover doesn't exactly say cool and sophisticated. She's wearing a sparkly blue bikini top, and her golden hair flows around her like folds of gold satin. A white shell bracelet is tied around her wrist.
Zander opens his eyes and looks at the book cover. He smiles and it pains him.
"Ha! That's what you get for making fun of my book," I say.
"I wasn't gonna make fun of it. I thought it might be about sharks, so I was going to ask you to read it aloud. So, mermaids, eh? Does Nevada Mason, the smartest girl in school, believe in mermaids?"
I shrug. "Sometimes it's nice to think these fantasy creatures exist. Takes me out of reality."
He leans his head back and closes his eyes again. "Good point. You like unicorns, too?"
"See, you are making fun of me and no, unicorns are stupid. They are literally horses with bony forehead protrusions."
His long body vibrates with quiet laughter. Headlights flash through the front window and a truck rumbles outside. Zander sits up straighter, and his mouth pulls tight. His hands curl into fists. A horn blasts from the driveway. "It's my dad."
Nana is marching out of the kitchen. She pulls off the apron she's wearing, balls it up and throws it on the corner of the table. She holds her hand up to Zander. "You stay right there."
Nana swings open the door. Cool, wet air blasts into our cozy front room. The porch light illuminates her. As tiny as she is, she looks big and menacing as she stands under the light with her arms crossed.
"Finnegan Wilde, you turn that truck around and get the hell out of here. You'll wake the dead with that loud engine. Zander is staying with us tonight."
"Just send the boy out, Ellen. He doesn't need to take up any more of your time."
"I told you to leave, Finn. And if you don't, I'm going to go pull out my old shotgun and shoot out every window in that damn truck. And if I ever see any of your boys' faces look like this again, I'll skip the windows and just shoot you point-blank."
"C'mon, Ellen, it's called tough love."
"It's called child abuse, and if you weren't paying off all the crooked cops in this town I'd call social services on you … again. Now get out of here. Zander is staying with us tonight."
"Nosy old witch," Finn grumbles. The rest of his cussing is drowned out by the noisy truck. His tires screech as he races away.
I'm reluctant to look at Zander, mostly because I hate to see him hurting, and he's hurting badly this time, both mentally and physically. I'm still holding my book as a shield, but I finally lift my eyes to peer over the top of it. His eyes are closed, and his swollen lips are pulled down at the corners. Nana slams the door shut and marches self-importantly toward the kitchen. She's muttering angrily about Finn. She stops before stepping into the kitchen and swings around. She's wearing a lighter expression and what I call her Nana smile, the one she uses whenever I'm upset and she's trying to cheer me up.
"Do you two want some ice cream?" she asks. "I can make some chocolate syrup to go with it."
The simple question erases all the gritty drama of the last few minutes, and we both sit up straighter. "I'd love some ice cream," I say before looking at Zander.
His eyes are open now and there's less anguish in his expression, although I know there's still plenty of it buried deep down in his heart. "Sure, that'd be great, El Honey." His voice is scratchy and low. "El Honey?" he says as she turns to leave.
Nana looks back. She's still wearing her Nana smile. "Yes, sweetie?"
"Thanks."
She winks at him and returns to the kitchen.
Zander and I are alone again, and suddenly, the quiet between us feels awkward. Zander has always been this massive, explosive presence in my otherwise quiet, mostly humdrum life, and I can't explain why, but something tells me it's always going to feel that way. He'll always be a massive, explosive presence in my life.
"I could make you one of those," he says quickly, shyly.
I look at him over the book again. It's amazing how protective a damn book can be. "Make what? A hot fudge sundae?"
