Then she did another weird thing. She licked me.
“You had a happy meal,” she whispered in horror. “Where’s mine?”
She did that weird eyeball thing at me, something she had inherited from Dad, and stared me down for answers. Just when I thought she was going to lick me again, I answered.
“I didn’t get you a Happy Meal.”
It was the wrong thing to say. You never tell a pregnant woman that you didn’t get her a Happy Meal. Eve’s bottom lip quivered and her eyes welled up. Honestly, if she wasn’t in such a hormonal state, I would have smacked the back of her head. But since she was pregnant, and an emotional mess, I decided against it.
“But I want a Happy Meal!” Tears – real tears - burst out from her eyes.
Ryder just stared at her with bug eyes. “Uh…” he stuttered, stumbling over his words for the right sentence. “It wasn’t even that great of a Happy Meal. Nora only got three fries or something. Plus, all she got was a stuffed Nemo. Five bucks is a rip off, I tell you.”
That only made Eve cry harder. “I want a stuffed Nemo!”
I nudged Ryder in the stomach. “Nice work, moron.”
Ryder frowned at me. “Give her your Nemo.”
“No,” I answered, a little too defensively as I patted my pocket. “I like Nemo.”
Eve went ballistic. I didn’t even know the human body could contain so many tears. It didn’t take long for Patrick to come storming down the stairs in nothing but his boxers, and socks, baseball bat in his curled fists.
“Who’s ass do I have to kick?” he yelled like a madman. He skidded to a halt and scanned the area.
“Wow,” I said, eyes widening. I covered my face with my hands. “Let’s keep this PG, shall we? This is my house, remember? Put some clothes on.”
I mean, it’s not like Patrick had man boobs or one of those scary, hairy chests. For a guy in his mid-twenties, he wasn’t that bad. But he was my sister’s boyfriend and seeing him in boxers and socks grossed me out.
Patrick scooped Eve into his arms and started stroking her hair. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
“I want a Nemo,” Eve whispered, sounding like a little kid.
Patrick looked over my sister’s shoulder and gave us a clueless look. “She wants a Happy Meal,” I translated. “With the orange fish toy.”
Eve’s boyfriend nodded and pulled back. “I’ll get you one, okay?” he said reassuringly. He kissed her quickly, bent down to kiss her belly, and jogged upstairs to get some clothes.
“Pregnancy is scary,” Ryder muttered.
Eight
I was completely disturbed.
“God! Oh, God! Put it away, just put it all away!” I shrieked, stretching as far away as possible and closing my eyes.
Ryder reached out and smacked my forehead with his palm. “Dork, I haven’t even undressed yet.”
I opened one eye and looked at him. “I know. I’m just preparing myself.”
It had been two days in the same clothes without having a shower. I was pretty sure deodorant was no longer able to conceal our smell. So, Ryder and I decided to finally take showers. We pretty much had to cut out of our sweaty uniforms to peel out of them. Mum would have killed me if she saw my shredded uniform lying peacefully on the floor.
Ryder just gave me a filthy look and grabbed the hem of his shirt, slipping it over his head. Since we had already cut a slit through the left side of his uniform, he was able to pull it off easily. As he effortlessly raised the material, my fingers moved with his, delicately brushing against his warm skin.
His warm, toned skin. My eyes skimmed up his chest as he took his shirt off and lingered to the contours of his stomach. Slowly, I scanned up to his chest, then followed the distinct curve of the hollow of his neck towards his defined arms.
Ryder was buff. Last time I had seen him shirtless was when we started high school. And back then, his muscles were like any normal twelve-year-old’s: non-existent.
“Like what you’re seeing?”
Before I could let out a startled gag, he advanced onto his pants and that’s when things got really awkward. I don’t know why, but I just kept staring.Ryder must have felt the heat of my stare because after he unbuckled his belt, he just stared right back, waiting for me to turn around. Realising the creepiness on my behalf, I narrowed my eyes.
“Whatever...” It sounded weaker than I had intended.
Ryder laughed softly. “Just turn around, Nora.”
His voice was surprisingly gentle. He opened his mouth for a millisecond after saying my name, his eyes gleaming with mischief, but he hesitated. His words were replaced with a smile.
His reaction caught me off guard and I felt my cheeks heat before I spun around on my heel, faced the wall, and closed my eyes. The sound of his zipper being pulled down echoed through the silence of the bathroom and the ruffling of his trousers being removed seemed to be the loudest thing I had ever heard.
I tried thinking of something, anything to distract me from the fact that the boy I was handcuffed to was naked in my house. Ryder shuffled around for a bit before stepping into the shower. The sound of the curtain being closed made me feel extremely uncomfortable, especially when the water started running.
That was when I really started thinking about the awkward situation. I mean, since we were handcuffed, my hand was in the shower with him. What if… I accidentally touched something? The thought haunted me, flashing like a horror motion picture behind my closed eyelids. Quickly, I opened them and stared at the wall opposite me, completely disturbed.
I needed a distraction…and fast.
“Why do boys have nipples?” I blurted.
Ryder stopped moving under the water. “What?”
“Why do guys have nipples? I mean, they have no purpose.” I felt my cheeks heat in embarrassment at the most inappropriate topic of conversation to choose.
“Uh…” He went back to doing whatever he was doing in the shower. “Decoration?”
“Gross,” I answered, cringing.
Silence fell between us as the room started steaming up. The mirror was starting to fog, drops of condensation pearling up on the surface. A thin, humid mist lingered through the air, heating up the room. Using my free hand, I reached up and wiped my forehead. I was seriously flustered and embarrassed and way too focused about what my hand was brushing against.
“Can you imagine if nipples were as big as Oreos?” I blabbered.
Ryder was silent for a moment. “Thanks for seriously ruining Oreos for me.”
“Don’t mention it.” I laughed awkwardly.
Longest five minutes of my life.
~♥♥♥~
The sound of sizzling came from the kitchen, wafting over a delectable scent. Although we were well into winter, the windows were open to circulate the smell. Frosty air blew through the room, harshly biting any bare skin it could find. The sunlight was weak, shining an icy bleakness to mix with the overhead lights of the dining room.
The following morning, Eve was doing her usual sniff at Ryder. He had quickly gotten used to it, so while we sat at the table with toast and eggs, he simply ignored her while she smelled him.
“Did you use my shampoo?” she questioned, picking up a piece of hair and running it under her nose.
Ryder shovelled a forkful of eggs into his mouth, then bit into his toast and shrugged. “Used whatever was in there,” he said around his breakfast.
“Well, you smell like strawberries,” Eve teased.
Ryder just looked briefly up at Eve who had started dancing around the dining room and returned back to his meal. Patrick appeared a moment later, two plates piled with eggs and toast and skilfully steered his girlfriend to the table before she started air humping.
Eve dropped down to her chair and licked her lips as Patrick placed her plate down. Once he had taken his own seat, he asked, “Do you kids need a ride to school?”
“That’d be -”
“Actually, we have a friend p
icking us up,” Ryder interrupted, reaching for his glass of milk.
“We do?” I bit into my toast.
“Caine is giving us a ride,” he answered, before tipping his head back and gulping down his full glass of milk in less than three swallows.
When he finished, he brought the glass down and made a sigh of satisfaction. Stained on his top lip was a layer of milk residue. He looked like such a little boy, completely oblivious to his white moustache hanging low on his upper lip. But the image was soon deleted once he used the back of his hand to smear it off.
“So, remind me again,” Patrick said, “why I lent you guys a good shirt just for you to cut it.”
I held up my wrist. “Hello? Handcuffed. It’s hard to get dressed, you know.”
Since we had destroyed our uniforms, Ryder and I were in casual gear. Ryder had to borrow some clothes from Patrick, which I’m pretty sure he was grateful for, especially after he saw what kind of clothes my dad was into. Patrick was only twenty-three and although most of his fashion choice preppy for work, he had the odd shirt or two around. We had to cut a slit through the side of the dark T-shirt so Ryder could put it on. It was either that, or wear one of my tube tops.
After taking a quick sip from my orange juice, there was a honk at the door. Ryder scraped back his chair and picked up his bag. “That’s our ride.”
Grabbing my books and a jacket, I followed Ryder out the door, and there was Caine, music vibrating through his car. He leaned over and rolled down the tinted window, honking once more as he watched us walk out the door.
“Shut up, man,” Ryder called. “We’re coming.”
“God, what’s the rush?” I grumbled as Ryder tugged me along.
“We have to stop somewhere,” he answered as he threw the door open.
I had a sickening feel in my stomach. “Where?” I dared to ask.
He just looked at me and said nothing, but the answer was clear in his eyes. I shook my head and restrained from his pull. Oh, no. There was no way I was going to go there.
Nine
June Collins. The woman could make nuns swear and cause full grown men to cry. She was a grade A bitch with the icy attitude to match.
Now, don’t get me wrong. She wasn’t always like this. In fact, she used to be one of those carefree mums who wore her hair in a lazy ponytail on the weekends and walked around barefoot in summer. She used to be the kind of parent that would hide behind doors, water gun in her hands, waiting for her children to walk around the corner.
June Collins was fun.
Then Ryder’s dad cheated on her and she changed. A lot. After the divorce, Mr. Collins left the house and went to live with his girlfriend that looked young enough to still be in school. Mrs. Collins immediately dropped Ryder off at her mother’s and disappeared for a few months.
And when she came back, she was a whole different person. I remember in year seven, before Ryder and I had broken up, I called her ‘Mrs. Collins’ and she looked like she was going to bite my face off. It wasn’t my fault though. I mean, I was aware of the divorce and everything, but I didn’t know what her maiden name was. I used to call her June. But when she came back looking like she’d just come back from boot camp, my confidence to call her by her first name dulled.
Ryder pulled out his keys and unlocked the front door. I was so scared. I tiptoed into the house and craned my neck like an ostrich trying to see if she was around. Ryder turned and saw me creeping around his house like a some sort of burglar, so he rolled his eyes at me and kicked the front door closed.
And that was all the noise he needed to make to have Mrs. Collins head towards the front door. The instant she started walking in our direction, I knew she was on the move. The sound of her heels clicking against the wooden floor echoed through the empty space of the house and a few seconds later, she appeared. Instantly, my back straightened, as if good posture would make me invisible to the woman.
“Ryder,” she greeted, walking towards her son.
She paused for a moment, realising he wasn’t alone. Her blue eyes flickered to me and quickly scanned my appearance. I suddenly felt extremely exposed and savage, wearing a tube as a shirt. Mrs. Collins adjusted her work blazer and smoothed down her pencil skirt.
“Nora,” she said, her tone as cold as ice. Then she turned towards her son. “I didn’t expect to see you here. Why haven’t you been home?”
“We’ve been doing a school project,” I answered for him.
“Excuse me, Nora, but I don’t remember addressing you,” she snapped, tone clipped.
I shrunk into the background.
“We’re doing a school project,” Ryder repeated, stepping forward to kiss his mother’s cheek.
She arched her lips tightly, her lips thinning to a barely-there smile as she kept her eyes on me. When Ryder stepped back, she said nothing. She just continued to stare, her hand reaching up to her ear lobe to fiddle with her pearl earring. It was something she did unconsciously when she was thinking.
“When will you come home?” she questioned, after a moment of silence.
“Tonight, if you want,” Ryder replied.
My eyes widened. Since Mrs. Collins had directed her attention to her son, I tried to catch his attention in the corners of his eyes. I kept my arms to my sides but waved my hands around in alert, probably looking like a penguin in a failed attempt to fly. When that didn’t work, I started making faces at him, crossing my eyes, tilting my head to the side, frowning and sticking my tongue out but he kept his focus on his mother.
“Would you need a drink or something?”
Coughing awkwardly, I tried to act nonchalant.
“Nah,” I said, racking my mind for an excuse. Then suddenly blurted, “I just need to pee.”
Mrs. Collins raised an eyebrow at me. “You always did have a weak bladder.”
“Um… Thank you?” I said hesitantly.
She waved a dismissive hand and walked away. “Please be quick, Nora.”
God, that woman was so… intimidating.
When she disappeared, I muttered, “You got one scary mother…”
~♥♥♥~
After Ryder collected a few things, we went to school. We had about ten minutes to spare before first period started, so we headed towards the lockers. Ryder’s first.
The halls were pretty empty, other than the random student or two huddling around trying to find a heater vent to cuddle up to. As we approached the rows of lockers, I saw shadows lurking around the corner, hushed whispers mumbling through the hall.
A moment later, a pretty blonde stepped out, taking one last glance at whoever she was talking to before walking briskly away. She looked like a junior student, tall, but with a young face. Eyes focused blankly in front of her, she brushed past us, hardly acknowledging our existence. After she had departed through the side exit, the harsh winds outside slammed the heavy doors back into place.
Returning my attention back in front of me, I saw Chris across the hall. Instantly, he smiled.
“Nora,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets as he headed over.
“Hey, Chris!” Instantly, my hand shot up and started waving dorkily. Quickly, I plastered it to my side.
He chuckled as he approached us, eyes shooting to Ryder’s and darkening before focusing on mine and melting into something more sincere. His tie was loose, top button of his white shirt undone as if he had rushed to school that morning.
“Ready for our date tonight?” he asked.
“Absolutely.” I tried not to sound so enthusiastic.
“I see your….situation still hasn’t been resolved.” He nodded towards Ryder.
I felt Ryder tense next to me.
“Unfortunately,” I answered.
Ryder opened his mouth, eyes dark, but Chris was already making a move to leave.
“Well, I should go,” he said apologetically. “Algebra just isn’t the same without me.” Then he leaned in and kissed my cheek. “I’m sorry, Nora. I can??
?t wait to see you tonight.” His gaze followed down my arm and towards my wrist where it was locked with Ryder’s. “Can’t wait to see you too, Collins. This should be interesting.” He gave Ryder a look, then walked away.
Ryder continued to glare at him as he pushed past and disappeared down the hall. I heard him let out a grunt once he was out of view before we headed towards his locker. Dreamily, I rested against the one next to his. Ryder jerked open his locker so fast, I wasn’t even sure if he spun the lock or just forced it open. The door swung open, nearly smacking me in the face. Quickly, I moved out of the way, barely avoiding a locker face-attack.
“Calm down, will you?” I said, watching as he pulled out some books and slammed the door closed again. “What’s got you all worked up?”
“Look,” he hissed, “he’s trouble.”
I laughed. “You sure have no shame in showing your jealousy, do you?”
Ryder shook his head, slamming his fist against the rows of lockers in frustration. With a loud, quick bang, he spun and looked at me. His usual faintly tinted blue eyes had darkened into something filled with passion and rage, like the sky before a thunderstorm. His jaw was tight. I was pretty sure he had just put a dent into someone’s locker but I didn’t dare keep my eyes off him.
“Why do you care?” I whispered, feeling small.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t, Nora. I stopped caring about you that night at the game. I just don’t want your girly mess when he breaks your heart.”
Venom laced his words and I was stunned into silence. Looking down, away from his intense stare, I stared at the floor, suddenly finding a huge interest in the dirty ground. A moment later, Ryder spoke.
“Let’s just go to class,” he muttered, turning as he tugged me along.
I stayed almost silent through the rest of the day until my date with Chris, where I was determined to prove that he wasn’t a bad guy. That Ryder had just misunderstood him. That Ryder just didn’t know him and put so much hate on him because he wasn’t part of the same group.