Page 37 of The Boy With The Sharp Teeth
"Youdidn't even use it when you lived in LA?" The shock and skepticism wereevident in her tone.
Hishands kneaded at her shoulders, making her sigh. "Oddly enough, no,” hesaid. “At the time, I had a cellphone, something that seems pointless aroundhere since I wake up and see damn near everybody I know each day anyways. Butmy dad had been against social media too. I guess despite being the black wolfof the family, he still kept some of the family principles.”
Sanacould feel him shrug behind her and smiled. Turning in her seat a little, shelooked up and gave him a quizzical expression. "I think you mean blacksheep, not black wolf."
Zachsimply smiled at her.
Settlingback straight, she stared at the water for a moment. Today the water was dark, andthe waves were slow. Moving in and out, they lapped gently at the sand ahead ofthem. "Tell me more about your dad…I mean, if you feel comfortableto," she added.
Hedidn't answer right away. There was a pregnant silence behind her, and shecould feel the muscles in his thighs tense. She regretted asking. Why did sheask?! Of course, this was a sensitive subject. Looking out at the ocean, shetwisted her lips as she thought of a way to change the subject or to take backthe question.
"Mydad was amazing," he finally said, his tone almost reverent. "Therewas nothing he could not do or fix. He was the one who taught me how to work onthings. We used to spend each weekend working on his old car or fixing uppeople's motorcycles for cash. After working all day, we would get cleaned upand take mom out for dinner." Sana could hear the smile in his voice andwanted to turn to look at him, but she didn't. She didn't want to break thesharing moment as he spoke. "Those were some of the best times of my life."
Herheart hurt for him at that. She imagined a tall, older version of Zach standingnext to him and his kind mother. She imagined Zach’s father being handsome butgruff. A powerful man that could strike fear in a man but still held thequalities of a gentleman. Sana smiled to herself, she just imagined anotherversion of Adam Waatese.
"Washe from here?" she asked, pulling herself back to the present and turningin her seat to look at him as she leaned her chin on his thigh.
"Yeah,"he smiled down at her, his hand curving over her head to cup the back of herneck. "I can't imagine it, though. After I got here, my uncle showed mesome old polaroid pictures and everything, but even seeing my dad's face inthem, it all just seemed surreal. I guess that's why he left." Seeing herconfusion, Zach glanced up at the ocean over her head as he explained. "Mydad wasn't the type of man to take orders. He was kind of wild, like lonerwild. He used to tell me that he had to leave from back home because he couldn'tthrive in a pack," he said carefully, his gilded eyes watching andaccessing her for a reaction.
Sananodded. She could understand that. "Like a lone wolf type ofpersonality?"
Zachfroze, blinkingly before scratching his neck with a grin. "Yeah, kind ofexactly like that, actually."
"Hewould say that back home, here, they expected him to lead, to fit a role hewasn't interested in, so he just took my mom who was pregnant with me andleft."
Turningher cheek into his thigh, she considered his words. "Didn’t your mom missbeing around family?"
"Iasked her the same thing once. And she just gave me that soft all-knowing smilething she likes to do that drives me crazy and told me, for love, there isnothing you cannot endure. That answer used to bother the shit out of me, justbecause it sounded so damn corny, but now," Zach glanced down at hermeaningfully. "I suppose it makes a little more sense,"
Feelingherself blush, she turned fully in her seat until she was turned with her kneesfacing inward. Hooking an arm over his thigh, she leaned her head on her armand smiled up at him and gave him an encouraging smile to continue.
Hedid. Grabbing her other hand, he laced his fingers into hers and continued."After my dad died, we both just kind of went on in auto-pilot, I guess.My mom told my uncle she never really considered coming back to Tarki becausesome part of her feared that maybe she wouldn’t be welcome back."
"Buteveryone welcomed you and her back, right?" she asked, her stomachknotting at the thought of anyone not wanting his sweet mother and him back inTarki.
"Yeah,"he gave her a sheepish little smile before averting his gaze back over her headtowards the water. "My mother even drags me to visit my grandparents—herparents—in Antor Falls every other week. They're nice, but sometimes I get thefeeling they think I'm going to be like my dad and leave eventually. I thinkall my family thinks that" he admitted quietly as if saying the thoughtaloud for the first time.
Sanatightened her grip around his hand. "I think it would be ok if you wantedto leave,” she said, smiling at the look of surprise he gave her at that."If that is what you truly wanted,” she explained, “but it doesn’t meanyou have to follow exactly in your father's footsteps and cut offallties. If there is nothing stopping you from visiting, then you can always stayin touch. I mean, that's if you want to leave Tarki, of course."
Zachdidn't say anything. Looking back out to the water, they sat in silence.
Feelinga little nervous that she might have misspoken, Sana searched for somethingelse to say and change the subject. "So, tell me about all the things youno-doubt got into while you lived in LA. I know there are lots, and I'm readyto be shocked and maybe even horrified."
Pullinghis gaze from the water, Zach gave her an unreadable expression before clappinghis hands together and rubbing them together. "What did I not get into ismore like it,” he said with a mischievous grin. “Let's see where tobegin," he held his hand to his chin in exaggerated thought. "Have Itold you about my time racing motorcycles by the pier in Long Beach?"
Hishand reached for hers as he began his heart racing story.
~*~
Sanawas sitting in the dining room trying to concentrate on organizing the picturesshe had printed earlier that morning. With two large stacks of five by six prints,she was trying to look at them with a discerning eye despite the racket of theTV. As soon as her mother and grandmother had left the house, her brother andfather had jumped at the chance to watch a movie in the living room. On anyother occasion sitting down to watch a movie would be exactly what she wanted,but not today. Eyeing the flashing scenes of monsters fighting in some sort ofdense metropolis, causing massive amounts of damage and filling the living roomwith their exaggerated roars and sounds, Sana rolled her eyes. This low-budgetnonsense was not the type of movie she could get into. Besides, they had allseen it before. Once was definitely enough in her book.
Lookingback at the photo in her hand, she tried to view the image of the floatingboats in the pier with the same eye her photography teacher looked at photos.Studying the composition and the depth of the subjects, Sana compared it toanother almost identical photo from the stack when she felt the sudden tinglingawareness down her spine. Looking up, she scanned the sunny dining room andskimmed past the kitchen doorway and over to the open foyer and stairs. Herheart suddenly stopped in her chest. Standing in the area where the foyer metthe hallway which led to the downstairs bedrooms was Zach. Behind him, shecould see the open door to her bedroom, something she knew for a fact sheclosed earlier and knew he had come through her unlatched window. Visibly calmdespite the proximity of her father only a few yards away around the corner andin the living room, Zach's golden eyes glimmered in the sunlight streaming inthrough the front door's tall decorative windows. Hooking a finger towards her,he silently commanded her over.
Sanacould not move. Her heart and her mind felt frozen in place as she desperatelytried to process what she was seeing. Why was he in her house? Wouldn’t he knowthe blowup he would cause if her dad happened to get up from the sofa and stepout of the living room for the bathroom or something from the kitchen?! Unableand very unwilling to even picture the scene, Sana shook her head firmly atZach and gave him a pleading look to leave.
Acrease formed between his black brows as they lowered menacingly over his eyes.For a moment, he just stared at her before something sinister crossed over hisgaze. With a slow rise of his booted foot, Zach took a purposeful step forward,causing the wooden floorboard to creak. Like a shot, she was out of her chair,noisily sliding it back in vain hopes of covering up the sound. Quickly and asnaturally as possible, she crossed the dining room and into the foyer, her eyesdashing back and forth from the back of her father and brother's head and toZach's retreating figure. Stepping behind the safety of the stairwell, Sanafrowned as Zach stepped into the hall bathroom and turned, clearly waiting forher to follow.
Pausingwhere she stood, she looked at him standing in the beams of sunlight thatpierced through the small bathroom window high on the wall. With the high afternoonsun and the cool gray shadows of the bathroom, Zach stood unnaturally silentbeyond the partially opened door, watching and waiting for her. There wassomething off, Sana knew. From the way the muscle ticked in his strong jaw andthe way his shoulders sat taut and pulled back, she knew without a doubt he wasangry about something.
