The Year of Falling in Love

  I give Kai's arm a soft pinch since he starts to drift to sleep again.

  "Grandma, do you know anything about concussions?"

  "Why?" she asks warily.

  I explain to her how Kai was mugged and hit over the head with a crowbar, and now he refuses to go to the hospital because he's worried his parents will get mad at him. When she questions why he's so worried his parents will get angry with him, I don't know what to tell her.

  "Was he not supposed to be in Mapleview?" she asks. "Did his parents not know he was out there?"

  "I don't know." I look down at Kai lying on his side, his face nuzzled in my lap. I have the craziest urge to run my fingers through his hair, do the same thing he did to me just minutes ago. I restrain the urge, though, telling myself I don't have a concussion, so I don't have an excuse to touch him like that. "I think he just doesn't get along very well with his parents. I think he's just worried his dad will get mad at him for the car getting ruined and stuff."

  "His dad sounds like an asshole," she says matter-of-factly. "If he got mugged, then it wasn't his fault."

  "His dad is kind of an asshole. He kind of reminds me of Lynn, only not so out to get you. He's just kind of a mean, angry guy." Poor Kai. I absentmindedly slip a few fingers through his hair, but then quickly pull away. Whoa. What am I doing?

  "Don't stop," he mumbles, reaching for my hand and moving it back on his head. "That feels so good."

  I stare down at my hand with uncertainty. Should I do it? Isn't it weird?

  "Just do it," Indigo urges. "He probably won't remember it in the morning, so you won't have to worry about things being awkward, but he'll be grateful for it tonight."

  Maybe not awkward for him, but I just spent the day with his brother and let him kiss me on the corner of my mouth. And now what? I'm going to sit back here with Kai and play with his hair? Isn't that crossing a line? But since he's hurt, I somehow rationalize that it's okay and lightly run my fingers through his hair.

  It's so soft...

  "Isa, what's going on?" Grandma Stephy says through the phone, startling me.

  I completely forgot I was talking to her.

  "Nothing." No, it's definitely something. "What should I do about the concussion? Do you think he'll be okay if I don't take him to a doctor?"

  "I'm not sure. I don't know much about concussions." She pauses. "I have a friend who's a retired doctor. He lives a few buildings down. Let me give him a call and see if he's still awake. Maybe he can help us out."

  I recline back in the seat with my fingers still in Kai's hair. "Thanks, Grandma."

  "You can thank me by getting your ass home. I'll feel better when you're here."

  Yeah, me, too, but mostly because I just want to make sure Kai's okay.

  By the time I hang up, we're almost to the apartment complex. Kai still has his head on my lap when we turn into the parking lot, and I'm still combing my fingers through his hair. I don't know why, but I'm starting to find the movement almost as soothing as he does.

  "Kai," I whisper as Indigo shuts off the engine. "We're here." When he doesn't respond, I talk more loudly, leaning closer. "Kai, we're at my grandma's house. You have to get up so we can go inside."

  The only answer I get is the soft sound of his breathing.

  "Kai." I pinch him. Nothing. Panic. Panic. Panic. "Kai, you have to wake up."

  "I am awake," he groans. "So quit yelling."

  Relief waves over me at the sound of his voice. "Come on. I'll help you walk in, but I can't carry you."

  He rolls to his back, and his eyelids flutter as he opens his eyes. He blinks up at me, dazed and confused. "Where are we?"

  "At my grandma's," I tell him. "Remember, I said you could stay here."

  He doesn't seem to have a clue what I'm talking about but sits up, anyway. He remains quiet as he opens the door and stumbles outside into the cool night air. I hurry and hop out, chasing after him as he wanders across the grass, heading in the wrong direction.

  "Nope, this way." I catch his arm and haul him in the opposite direction.

  He follows me, blinking around at the surroundings, being strangely quiet for Kai. I don't relax when I get him inside. If anything, I freak out even more. In the light, he looks so much worse. His eyes are bloodshot, his expression dazed. Thankfully, my grandma's doctor friend is already there.

  He's an older guy, probably in his seventies, with salt and pepper hair. He seems nice enough as he tells Kai to sit down on the sofa then pulls a chair up and asks him a series of questions. Kai answers the best he can. Then the doctor checks his reflexes. I decide to mention to the doctor that I think Kai also hurt his ribs so he'll check them out, too. I don't bother mentioning that it was from yesterday, because I don't even want to try explaining why Kai's getting beaten up so much. I couldn't even if I tried since Kai hasn't explained what happened yet.

  "I'm sure he's fine," Indigo tries to reassure me.

  "Yeah, I know." But I don't know for sure. I don't know much of anything anymore. I'm becoming the most clueless girl in the world. Isabella Anders, the clueless girl who doesn't know who her mother is, who plays with a guys' hair after she kind of, sort of kissed another guy, who's so worried sick right now she feels like she's going to puke.

  Indigo offers me some cookies. "You need to eat."

  I grab a handful and stuff them into my mouth, but I barely taste them. "I'll feel better when I know he's okay."

  "I wonder why that is." Her accusing gaze bores a hole into the side of my head, but I refuse to look at her.

  After the doctor finishes, he gets up from the chair and addresses Grandma Stephy. "He has a mild concussion, and that cut on his head might need a couple of stitches." He looks at me. "I tried to tell him he might need to get it taken care of, but he says he's fine. I don't have anything to stitch him up here, so I suggest trying to get him to go in the morning. As for the ribs, he may have broken one, but there's not much I can do for that. He'll just need to take it easy. He could go in and get an x-ray to confirm it, but that's about it."

  I nod, but considering how adamant Kai was about not going to the hospital, I don't think I will be able to persuade him.

  The doctor makes a list of symptoms to watch out for and says that, if he shows any signs of them, take him to the hospital right away. Then he gathers his stuff, and my Grandma Stephy walks him out.

  Kai's gaze collides with mine from across the room and he pats the cushion beside him. "Come and sit with me and play with my hair some more." He seems more alert than he did in the car, but the wounds on his face are more prominent under the light.

  When I dither, Indigo nudges me in the back with her elbow, shoving me forward. "Go and take care of your man candy."

  I shoot her a dirty look, but she only laughs at me.

  Shaking my head, I pad across the room and sit down on the chair beside Kai. "Do you need anything? The doctor said you could take a couple of painkillers, and I think my grandma might have an ice pack in the freezer."

  He lies down and puts his head on my lap again. "I just want to rest like this."

  "Is my lap that comfortable?" I joke, smiling down at him.

  He bobs his head up and down, looking up at me, all serious and intense, like he gets sometimes. "It's better than a pillow."

  "I highly doubt that."

  "Ha. Then you clearly haven't rested in your lap before."

  "That's kind of impossible."

  "Maybe." He drapes his arm across his forehead, shielding his eyes from the light as he stares up at me. "You should try my lap, then. It might be as comfortable."

  "How would we ever know for sure, though? It's not like we can compare."

  "True. But I think we should at least try." He starts to sit up; I guess so I can lie on his lap.

  I place my hand on his chest and guide him back down. "We can try that tomorrow. Tonight, you rest."

  "You promise?"

  "Promise what?"

  "That tomorr
ow you'll put your head in my lap."

  I think about how Indigo and the doctor said Kai might not remember much about tonight. "Sure."

  He smiles up at me. "You're so pretty, like seriously, gorgeous. I've thought that for a while."

  Indigo chokes on a laugh, spitting pieces of cookie all over the carpet. "He's even charming when he's completely out of it."

  He's more charming if you ask me, but even though he's kind of a flirt normally, he's never flat-out told me I'm gorgeous.

  Unsure what else to say, I trace a line with my fingertip around the cut on his forehead. "You should listen to the doctor and go to get stitches. He said you could end up with a noticeable scar if you don't, and it'll take more time to heal."

  He waves me off. "Scars are cool."

  "Not on your face."

  "Uh-huh. It shows you're tough, that you've done crazy stuff. And it helps you remember when you did that crazy stuff."

  "Do you really want to remember the crazy stuff that happened tonight?"

  His expression sinks. "Isa, I think I messed up." He reaches up, circles his finger around my wrists, and lifts my hand away from his face. At first, I think it's because I'm hurting him, but then he positions it on his scruffy, swollen cheek and sighs. "With this T guy ... with what happened tonight ... with the stuff I haven't told you yet ..."

  My forehead furrows. "What stuff haven't you told me?"

  His lips part, his eyes flooding with worry, but before he can say anything, my grandma walks in. She takes one look at me and Kai on the sofa then shakes her head.

  "All right, the boy sleeps on the couch," she announces, pointing at the hallway. "Isa, you're sleeping in the back guestroom. You can set an alarm to come and check on him in a couple of hours." She snatches ahold of the handle of a suitcase propped against a wall near the door. "I'm going to go and take a shower. Isa, before you get into bed, you and I need to talk." With that, she walks out of the room, dragging her suitcase with her. Indigo starts to open her mouth, but before she can say anything, grandma calls out, "Indigo, give Isa a moment to kiss her cute boyfriend goodnight."

  Indigo chokes on another mouthful of cookie while mortification sweeps across my face. Oh, my God, did she seriously just say that?

  My embarrassment only amplifies when Kai chuckles. "She thinks we're dating," he singsongs with his eyes closed, sounding completely entertained by the idea. "And that I'm cute."

  "She thinks everyone's cute," I tell him, wanting to crawl into a hole and die.

  His eyelids slowly open, and he squints against the light as he focuses on my face. "Yeah, but does she think every guy's your boyfriend?"

  I almost say, "Yeah, she does. She's said similar things about Kyler." Thank God, I manage to stop myself; otherwise, I would've made the situation even more awkward.

  "You should let me up so you can get some rest," I tell Kai. "I'll come and check on you in a bit."

  He grunts a protest but sits up and lets me off the sofa. I go to the linen closet and get him a blanket and a pillow. By the time I return, he's fast asleep on his side. I slip the pillow under his head and then cover him with a blanket before heading for the hallway.

  Indigo is in the kitchen, getting a soda from the fridge. She looks up at me as I pass by. "That was sweet of you. It kind of seems like something a girlfriend would do for her boyfriend."

  I scowl at her but smile so she knows I'm not really mad. "I'm not going to just leave him there without a blanket. Grandma lets her house get super cold at night."

  "That's because she has hot flashes." She pops the tab on the can of soda. "It gets really bad when Harry sleeps over. The two of them go at it like rabbits all night and then crank down the heater when they're done because they get too hot."

  I cover my ears with my hands. "TMI."

  She laughs, takes a sip of her soda, and then motions for me to follow her as she heads for her bedroom. "We better get to sleep. We're still going shopping tomorrow, even if you gripe that you're too tired."

  "Maybe we should go next weekend when stuff's calmed down."

  "Nope. I've got my heart set on a new pair of shoes, and my heart always gets what it wants." She slips an elastic off her wrist and twists her hair up in a messy bun. "Besides, the last thing you need to do is sit around in this house, thinking about stuff. You need to get out, and get some fresh air--breathe some Sunnyvale-free air."

  "Fine, I'll go." I sigh. "But Kai's probably going to have to go with us since I told him he could stay here for a while."

  "I'm completely fine with that. He seems nice and fun. Honestly, if he wasn't so in love with you, I'd probably try to date him."

  I feel the slightest ping of jealousy at the idea of Indigo and Kai dating. "He's not in love with me." Although, according to the cranky, old man in the gas station, he is. But Kai probably had a concussion the whole time he talked to him and probably wasn't making a lot of sense.

  "Are you being serious right now?" She stops in front of her bedroom door. "Because, if you are, then I've clearly taught you nothing." She points a finger toward the end of the hallway. "Take it from me, that boy's in love with you. All that stuff he said in the car ..." She gets this swoony, goofy smile on her face. "Oh, my God, what I'd give for a guy to say something like that to me."

  "He has a concussion. He didn't even know what he was saying."

  "He might not remember what he said, but everything he did say tells me he's thought about you before: about knowing your number, about no one being good enough for you, about how gorgeous and amazing you are."

  I squirm self-consciously. "I really don't think you're right." But deep down, a tiny part of me wishes she is. I don't know what to do with the feeling. Or if I should do anything with the feeling at all.

  "Of course you don't because you're stupid fucking family stripped every ounce of confidence away from you." Her expression softens. "Sorry, I didn't mean for that to come out so rude."

  "You weren't being rude. They've messed me up. I know that." I swallow the lump in my throat and turn toward the guest bedroom across from Indigo's. "I should probably get ready for bed then go and talk to Grandma, or else I'm going to get no sleep."

  She sighs but lets me leave. When I get into the room, I close the door and recline against it. All I want to do is lie down in the bed and go to sleep, forget this day and yesterday ever happened. But I have a feeling these last twenty-four hours of revelations and stress are just the beginning.

  After I pull on a tank top and a pair of red, plaid pajama bottoms, I pad down the hallway and rap on Grandma Stephy's door.

  "What're you knocking for?" she calls out. "Open the door and get your butt in here."

  I twist the doorknob and enter. She's sitting on the foot of her bed, dressed in a matching shirt and bottom pajama set. A lamp is on and the door to the attached bathroom is open, allowing lingering steam to dampen the air.

  "What did you want to talk to me about?" I ask. "Is it about Kai sleeping here? Because I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal."

  She waves me off, patting the spot beside her. "I don't care about that. Although, I am curious how you ended up with him when you told me you were with Kyler this afternoon."

  "It's a long story," I say through a yawn. "I'm glad you're cool with Kai staying here, though, because I kind of told him he could crash on the sofa for a week."

  "Am I running a motel now?"

  "I'm sorry. I know it's a lot--taking me in and letting Indigo live here--but he doesn't want to go home until his face heals, and I didn't want him to be homeless."

  "He has nowhere else he can stay?"

  I shrug, not wanting to lie to her but not wanting to tell her yes, either. For some reason, and I can't really explain why, I don't like the idea of Kai crashing at Big Doug's place. Maybe it's because whatever he was in Mapleview for had something to do with Big Doug. Or maybe it's because I'm not even sure where Big Doug lives. The only time I ever met him was in that rundown pool h
ouse, and the thought of Kai sleeping there wigs me out.

  "I don't care if he stays here, just as long as he sleeps on the couch and you sleep in the bedroom." She gives me a stern look.

  Just what does she think is going to happen?

  "You know he's just a friend, right?"

  "Friend or not, I still don't want you two canoodling. He looks like the kind of guy who would do that."

  "He's not as bad as he looks. He's just had a rough night. We all have those. I had one last night, and he was there for me."

  She puts her interrogation face on, crossing her arms and staring me down. "What do you mean he was there for you? Did you sleep at his house last night?"

  "No." The lie shows through my voice. "Okay, fine. I did, but nothing happened. We just watched movies until we fell asleep. It's not like I could go home."

  "You could've called Indigo to come and get you," she says. "You can always call us, Isa, no matter what."

  "I know that, but ..." I shrug, unsure what else to say. "Kai helped calm me down, and I don't know ... I didn't really think much about calling anyone else."

  "Hmmm..." She presses her lips together, studying me closely.

  Her scrutiny makes me all squirrely. What the hell is she looking for?

  "Well, I'm glad you had someone there for you," she finally says. "But from now on, no more spending the night with boys, got it?"

  I salute her. "Yes, ma'am. And thanks for letting me stay here. And Kai. And for calling your doctor friend and my parents. Really, just thanks for everything. I promise I'm going to make this up to you."

  "Don't worry about that." She draws me in for a hug. "Right now, all I want you to do is worry about graduating high school and deciding which boy you want to date. I know it seems fun to date more than one, but trust me when I say it can get pretty complicated."

  Great. Now she's got it in her head that I'm dating Kyler and Kai. I could argue with her, but I don't see the point. She'll just keep saying the same things until I agree with her, and I have bigger problems to worry about.

  "About my dad." I lean back to look at her. "On the phone, you said his company was in trouble. What'd you mean by that?"

  "I don't know the whole story, but I know they've been doing some iffy stuff, and now the company is under investigation. I threw it in his face on the phone because I knew it'd scare him enough to back off. The last thing he needs is police digging around in his personal life on top of his business." She smoothes her hand over my head. "I don't want you worrying about that stuff. Like I said, I just want you to focus on being a teenager."