The Year of Falling in Love

  Chapter 11

  Isabella

  By the time we make it to Mapleview, it's almost ten o'clock. Indigo tells me I should probably text Grandma Stephy so she doesn't freak out when she gets home and we aren't there. I send her a text, but she doesn't reply.

  "She's probably still on the plane," Indigo says, ashing her cigarette out the window. "When was her flight supposed to land?"

  "I'm not sure. She said she'd be home by eleven, though."

  "I hope her flight doesn't get delayed. She'll come home all cranky if it does." She slows down the car as the speed limit drops. "What road was this gas station on?"

  I open the notepad app and tell her the address. "I think it's on the east side of town."

  She flicks her cigarette out the window and focuses on the road. "This town is dead. Not a single store is open, and it's only ten o'clock on a Saturday night."

  "Mapleview's like that," I tell her. "It's lower key than Sunnyvale."

  She frowns at the stores bordering the street. All of them are closed up, the only lights coming from the lampposts. "It looks like a ghost town."

  "It kind of is." I type the address into a map app so we can get directions. "I mean, people live here and everything, but it's the kind of place people live when they've done something shady or do stuff that's shady and don't want to be found."

  "Then why's Kai here?"

  "He probably was just visiting someone or something." But I know that's not true. He mentioned something about Big Doug getting him into this mess. I just wish I knew what kind of mess he was in. "Make a right off here." I point at a street sign.

  Indigo does what I say and turns down the side road. The longer we drive, the sketchier the area gets: fewer lampposts line the streets; the stores turn into boarded up warehouses; and people have gathered in parking lots and street corners, doing God knows what. By the time I spot the gas station, I'm ready to grab Kai and say "peace out" to the town.

  "There's his car." I point at it while unbuckling my seatbelt.

  She pulls into the parking lot and parks next to Kai's car. That's when I notice the passenger side window is shattered, the hood is dented, and the headlights look cracked.

  Indigo's eyes practically bulge out of her head as she takes in the condition of Kai's car. "Did he get in a wreck?"

  "I have no idea." Panic sets in. What if he's hurt?

  I jump out of the car and don't stop, even when Indigo shouts at me to wait a minute. By the time I fling the door open and stumble inside the gas station, I'm a nervous wreck, all wild-eyed and trying to catch my breath.

  My gaze skims the gas station. I spot Kai sitting behind the counter at a table, playing poker with an older man, who's wearing a button-down shirt with the gas station logo on it.

  "I think you might be cheating," Kai says to the man, glancing down at the cards he's holding.

  "Quit whining and make your bet," the old man grumbles, "before I make you wait outside."

  Kai adds a few red poker chips to a small pile in the middle of the table. "Yeah, yeah, you've said that, like, twenty times."

  "Well, this time, I mean it," he growls. "Whatcha got? I bet nothing."

  "Ha!" Kai lays down his cards. "A full--" He catches sight of me. "Hey, you made it."

  "Of course I made it." I smile back, but my smile falters when I see the bruises and cuts on his face. One of his eyes is so swollen I wonder if he can see out of it. A cut runs along his hairline, dry blood dots his cheek, and his lip is puffy. "Holy crap, Kai! What happened to your face?"

  "What? It doesn't always look like that?" the old man asks, smirking at Kai. "Is this that girl you were yammering about being in love with?"

  Ummm ... What?

  Kai seems unbothered by what the man said, grinning as he scoots the chair away from the table and stands up. "Quit trying to get me in trouble," he tells the man then turns to me. "I'll explain the face thing in the car."

  "Okay." I keep my eyes on him as he rounds the counter, trying to tell if he's injured anywhere else.

  Blood stains dot his long-sleeved grey shirt and jeans, and his face looks horrible, but other than that, I can't see anything else.

  "Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere else?"

  "You and your questions." He tsks at me, seeming in an oddly good mood considering how beaten up he looks. "You're always so full of them."

  I cross my arms. "You call me from an unknown number, ask me to drive out to Mapleview to a random gas station in the middle of nowhere, and your car is all messed up, not to mention so is your face, so questions are totally justifiable right now."

  Humor dances in his eyes. "Am I in trouble?"

  I have to work really hard to appear angry. "Yes. At least until you start explaining."

  He starts to suck his lip between his teeth, but there's a small gash on it, and he winces. "Are you going to punish me if I don't?"

  I feel a flush heating my cheeks. "How can you joke right now when it looks like your face got into a fight with a rock and lost big time?"

  "Actually, it was a sumo-sized dude and a crowbar." His shoulders sag. "Look, I know I messed up, but joking is the only thing keeping me from losing it."

  His honesty throws me off. Usually, Kai jokes about everything and hardly ever admits his true feelings.

  "Do we need to get anything before we go?" I glance around the store. "Maybe some band-aids and an icepack?"

  He cups his cheek with his hand, as if he's in pain. "An ice pack sounds nice."

  "All right, let me grab some stuff, and I'll meet you in the car." I start for the back of the store.

  He trails behind me down an aisle. "I just got my ass mugged right outside, and that was in broad daylight, so I'm not about to let you wander around by yourself when it's dark."

  I open the freezer door and grab a bottle of water. "Mugged by a sumo wrestler?"

  "I know it sounds crazy, but it really happened." He dazes off, looking like he doesn't quite believe it himself. "I walked away from my car for, like, five seconds, and this guy shows up, breaks my window, steals ... something out of my car, then hits me over the head with a crowbar. I blacked out, and when I woke up, my car was all jacked up. He even destroyed the battery and slashed the tires. Stupid crazy bastard."

  A few things run through my mind at once, but the biggest thing that stands out is, "He hit you over the head with a crowbar?" I reach for his head. "Do you have a concussion?"

  "I'm not sure." He squints his eyes as my fingers brush across his hairline. "What does a concussion feel like?"

  "I don't know. I've never had one before." Okay. Now I'm really starting to get worried. "I think we should take you to the hospital."

  "No," he says firmly. "No hospitals. No doctors. My parents can't know about this."

  "They're going to find out when you show up, looking like that." I gesture at his face.

  He touches the corner of his eye and winces. "I know it's bad, but I can't tell them. They already ... my dad ... I'm not going home. I'll just crash at Big Doug's house or something until my face heals." He doesn't seem too thrilled about that idea, though.

  "That could take at least a week. Won't your mom and dad get mad when you don't come home for that long?" Isn't that what normal parents do?

  "They won't care," he says. "They'll be glad I'm not there."

  I remember the night I saw Kai's dad yell at him and smack him on the back of the head. While it wasn't very hard, it still didn't sit right with me. It makes me wonder if that's why he doesn't want to go home. Perhaps he's worried his dad will hit him or something. And then there's that thing Kyler said in the car about how his dad wants him to play sports. Clearly their dad's a demanding guy, the complete opposite of my barely-there father.

  I think about how scared I was to go home last night, how Kai stayed up and watched movies with me, and how we ended up falling asleep on the couch together when I thought I wasn't even going to be able to sleep at all.

&n
bsp; "You can stay with me if you need to."

  "At your grandma's house?"

  "She won't care. She's nice. She'll probably make you sleep on the couch, but it's pretty comfortable. And she makes breakfast in the morning."

  As he considers my offer, a series of emotions flash across his face: hesitancy, confusion, gratitude, and ultimately, hilarity. "Are you going to sleep on the couch with me?"

  I roll my eyes. "No. You have to be a big boy and sleep all by yourself."

  He juts out his lip, sulking. "But I slept on the couch with you. Doesn't that mean you have to return the favor?"

  I smash my lips together to keep from smiling and encouraging him more. "I'll return the favor another time. My grandma's cool and everything, but not that cool."

  Grinning, he reaches forward and traces his finger down the brim of my nose. "I'm going to make sure you follow through with that."

  His touch makes me feel like a swallowed a jaw full of very alive, very excited butterflies. All from a freakin' touch.

  Afraid my voice will come out all wobbly, I say nothing and search the store for an icepack. I end up settling on a cup full of ice and grab a couple of napkins to clean up the blood with. The band-aids are a no go, so I pick up a couple of candy bars and a soda, hoping a little sugar rush might help him feel better.

  After we pay, he waves good-bye to the cashier, and then we head out to the car. Kai grabs a thin folder and his jacket out of his car before sliding into the backseat of my Grandma Stephy's car.

  Indigo rotates around in the seat, takes in the sight of his face, and her jaw drops. "Whoa. You look like shit."

  "Gee, thanks," he says dryly then sighs. "But seriously, thanks for coming and picking my sorry ass up. It was really cool of you."

  "No worries." Indigo starts the engine. "You're okay, right?"

  "I am now." He wiggles around, knocking his back against the seat. "I think this seat is busted." He reaches over and fiddles with a latch, folding the back of the seat forward and peering into the trunk. "Your grandma really needs to get this fixed."

  "She won't," I say, sliding into the seat beside him. "She'll say it's old and has character and that fixing it would be ruining it."

  Kai shoves the seat back, his eyes landing on me. "You don't have to sit back here with me. I promise I can handle sitting by myself for a couple of hours without getting into trouble."

  "I don't know about that. You're kind of a handful." I set the bag of stuff I bought onto the floor and pull the door shut. "I'm going to try and clean up your face, okay?"

  "Aw, my very own naughty nurse." He presses a hand against his chest. "I've always wanted one of those."

  Indigo giggles as she drives out of the parking lot. "I forgot how adorable he is."

  "Don't encourage him," I warn her. To Kai, I say, "I'm not your naughty nurse. I'm just trying to get you bandaged up, and then I'll try to see if I can find info about concussions."

  He rubs his lips together, suppressing a smile. "Don't ruin my fun. Right now, I'm totally picturing you in a tight, short, white dress." His gaze drags up my legs. "With knee-highs that go all the way up those long legs of yours. It looks really good on you, by the way."

  Tingles spill across my skin, but I quickly shrug them off. I'm not sure whether to be happy he's in a good mood despite everything going on or worried that maybe it's a concussion making him act like this.

  "Lean back in the seat," I instruct as I dig out the napkins and water. "I'm going to clean the blood off your face. Then you can press one of the soda bottles to your cheek while I do an internet search on concussions. Whatever you do, don't go to sleep, though. I think I remember reading something in health class about needing to stay awake after a concussion or something."

  He pouts. "What if I'm tired, though?"

  I wag a finger at him. "I don't care if you're tired. Keep your eyes open. If I even so much as see them starting to shut, I'll pinch you."

  He lifts his hand to cover his mouth and hide his smile. "You're cute when you're bossy."

  I suck a discreet inhale through my nose, trying to remain nonchalant. But I can't help thinking about Kyler and how, earlier today, he called my freckles cute. While I know Kai's just messing around with me, it still feels uncomfortable to have both of them call me cute in the same day.

  After I settle my breathing down, I twist the lid off the bottle of water and pour a couple of drops onto a few napkins. "So, are you going to tell me what you were doing out in Mapleview?" I gently press the napkin to a dried spot of blood on his cheek.

  He flinches but doesn't move his head, keeping his eyes trained on me. "I was doing something for Big Doug."

  "What kind of something?" I delicately run the napkin against his cheek, slowly moving it toward his jawline.

  "Just something."

  "Something sketchy? Because Mapleview doesn't have the best rep for being a good place for people to go to do good things."

  "Are you judging me?" He hugs the folder to his chest like a teddy bear, looking hurt.

  "What? God, no... I'm just worried about you." I inch closer to him, press a couple of fingers to his other cheek, and tilt his head so I can clean off the blood on the other side of his face. "This morning, when we were in the hallway, you started to tell me something bad was going on with you and that T guy, but you never got a chance to finish."

  "Because Kyler interrupted," he grumbles, scowling.

  "I know. I wish he wouldn't have. I wanted to--want to make sure you're okay."

  "I'm okay." His gaze is so intense, so fixed solely on me, that my fingers tremble. "You guys hung out all day?"

  I reluctantly nod. "Well, until about seven."

  "What did you guys do?" he asks, not really sounding like he's sure he wants to know.

  I shrug, turning on the ceiling light to get a better look at the cut on his forehead. "Played basketball for a little bit. Then we went to the football field and played flag football with his friends."

  "Ew," Indigo says, and I realize she's been listening to our entire conversation. "Football? That's what you guys did all day?"

  It makes me a tiny bit uneasy that she's paying so much attention to Kai and me. Indigo is too observant for her own good, and she's got a soft spot for Kai. She's determined Kai and I belong together, even though she's never met Kyler, and is very blunt about her opinion.

  "It wasn't that bad. I even scored the winning touchdown." I examine Kai's face to make sure I got all the blood off.

  As I'm leaning over him, he starts combing his fingers through my hair. The movement, while subtle, centers all of my attention there. I become hyperaware that his face is two inches from my neck, the warmth of his breath tickling my skin.

  "Touchdown or not, it still had to suck balls playing with his friends. They're such dicks, and I know they've been mean to you in the past." He makes a face. "I bet they were super nice to you now, though, just like Kyler, because you're hot. They don't even know you, not like I know you," he murmurs, fixated on playing with my hair. "Your hair's so soft. It reminds me of velvet."

  I sit back to get a good look at him. "I think I need to look up symptoms of a concussion."

  "I'm fine," he insists, resting his head back against the seat and lowering his eyelids. "Totally ... fine ..."

  Panicking, I pinch his arm.

  His eyelids pop open, and he glares at me. "Ow. That hurt."

  "I warned you I'd do it." I take out my phone. "Now keep your eyes open while I look this up."

  "Yes, boss," he mumbles, resting his head on my shoulder.

  Indigo catches my eye in the rearview mirror, and even though I can't see her mouth, I know she's smiling. Me, not so much. I'm starting to get worried. Kai's acting like he's drunk or something. Maybe he is. But he doesn't have alcohol breath or anything.

  It takes me fifteen minutes of fighting with an in and out signal before I can pull up a useful webpage. I have to pinch Kai three times to keep him awake, and e
ach time he responds, he makes less sense. Confusion is a symptom, and he's definitely confused. When I ask him questions about the last couple of hours, he can't even remember how he started playing poker with the cashier at the gas station.

  "What about right after you were hit by that guy?" I ask him. "Can you remember what happened then?"

  "Yeah, I blacked out for a minute, woke up, called you because I have your number memorized." He presses two fingers to his temple. "It's all up here. Every single number engrained into my mind ... And I knew, if I called you, you'd help me without judging me." He strokes my cheek with his fingers. "You're so nice like that. Too nice, honestly. Too nice to be with me or my brother or anyone. No one's worthy."

  At this point, his touches and rambling doesn't faze me. He clearly has a head injury, and while he doesn't want to go to the hospital, I'm not sure I feel okay with not taking him. Not knowing what else to do, I call Grandma Stephy.

  "Where are you?" she asks the moment she picks up.

  "Didn't you get my message?" I ask. "I left you one."

  "Yeah, but it doesn't mean I'm just going to be okay coming home to an empty house after everything that happened today." She sounds mad. "And I tried to call you a ton of times, but your phone kept going to voicemail."

  "Sorry." I feel bad for making her worry. "We were in Mapleview, picking up one of my friends who needed a ride. It was kind of a last minute thing. His car ... broke down, and he was stuck there.

  "Are you heading home now?" she asks, calming down.

  "Yeah, we're about fifteen minutes ..." I stammer over my words as Kai lies down and puts his head in my lap. "Um, yeah, we're about fifteen minutes out."

  "Good," she says. "I don't like you being out this late, especially with everything going on."

  I think about all the crazy stuff she let Indigo and me do while we were overseas. It doesn't make sense that she'd be worried about us being out late now.

  "Is there something going on that I don't know about? Are my parents really not okay with me staying there?"

  "What? No," she says. "I may omit the truth sometimes, but I'd never flat out lie to you."

  I want to believe her--I really do--but considering she let me believe Lynn was my mom for all those years, I'm not completely convinced she's being one hundred percent truthful. I also know she would lie to me if she thought she was protecting me from something. But trying to get into it with her over the phone won't do any good, and I need to focus on the problem lying on my lap right now.