Fiona’s always been on the strange side, so I don’t put too much thought into what she said. Instead I reach across the sofa to steal a handful of popcorn from the bag on Kale’s lap because I’m starving. With how tipsy the adults are, I’m guessing this night is going to end with takeout.
Kale’s eyes instantly pop wide as I bump his leg on my way back to the side of the sofa.
“Whoops. Sorry.” Curious to why he looks so terrified, I add, “You okay?”
He mutters a “yes” then tosses the bag onto the table and bolts out of the room like it’s on fire.
“What was that about?” I stuff a few pieces of popcorn into my mouth.
Fiona shrugs. “He’s just weird. Like Ayden. We all are really.” She ravels a strand of her long hair around her finger as she gazes at the lights flashing on the tree. “I’ve always kind of wondered if Lila and Ethan did it on purpose.”
“Did what on purpose?” Ayden inquires as he enters the room carrying a stool, along with two cans of soda.
“If Lila and Ethan purposefully adopted weirdoes.” When Ayden places the stool in front of the tree, Fiona climbs on and stretches her arm toward the top. With a slight sway of her balance, she gets the star on then jumps backwards off the stool. “There. Look at how pretty it is.” She admires the tree with a tip of her head.
Ayden returns to his place beside me, but doesn’t pick his computer up. He hands one of the cans of soda to me then pops the tab on the other. “I think I’m getting tired of researching.”
I tap my finger on top of the can before opening it up. “We can take a break, if that’s what you need.” I take a swig of soda, the fizz tickling my nose. “Anything you want to do in particular?”
“Want to go get your guitar?” he asks. “Then we can go upstairs and play for a little while.”
I grin a goofy grin. “You know the way to my heart, Shy Boy.” He really, really does.
I just wish I knew the way to his.
The next morning as I lie in bed, staring up at the ceiling as the sun begins to rise and warm up my room, I try to think of a good present to get Ayden, one that will cheer him up. Last Christmas I got him a signed album, but this year I want to get him something special. Something that will make him smile like he made me do yesterday when we’d spent over four hours last night jamming out to our favorite songs. It was a nice. I wish we could do that more often.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Lyric, I need to talk to you,” my mother says through the door with another soft rap. “Are you decent?”
“Yeah, you can come in.” I sit up in bed and stretch out my arms as she opens the door and enters.
She’s sporting a holey pair of jeans and a faded black shirt splattered with neon pink, yellow, and green paint. Her auburn hair is pulled up, and her phone is clutched in her hand.
“Man, since when did you become an early bird? You know that’s a sign of getting old,” I joke, glancing at the clock on my nightstand.
She smiles tiredly. “I have to get some pieces done for the art show in a few weeks. And I’ve been up all night, so technically, that doesn’t make me an early bird.”
I plant my feet onto the floor. “Nope, it just makes you a crack-head.”
She sighs her oh Lyric sigh.
“What?” I ask innocently. “Too early for jokes?”
“Or too late.” She sighs again. “Lila and Ethan had to take Ayden to the police station this morning, so you’re going to have to drive yourself to school today. And you need to take Kale with you.”
“Oh.” I fight back a frown. Ayden and I always ride to school together, and we stop by this little coffeehouse that has the best cappuccinos ever. Usually, he drives us in one of the Gregorys’ cars, although my parents occasionally allow me to borrow one of theirs when they’re feeling particularly awesome. It’s our morning ritual and I love it, just like I love seeing him. “Do you know when he’ll be back? I mean, will he be at school at all today?”
“I’m not sure. They weren’t sure how long they’d be there.”
“Do you know why they’re there? What they wanted to talk to Ayden about?”
“I didn’t ask.” She sits down on the bed beside me. “I figure it’s really none of my business unless Lila wants to talk to me about it.” Her stern expression presses that it should be none of my business, either, unless Ayden wants to talk about it with me.
Sometimes I feel like she knows more about Ayden than I do. I’ve overheard Lila whispering stuff about his past to my mom. I’m not sure what since they either shoo me away or leave the room themselves when they noticed I’m listening, and prying it out of my mother was impossible.
“I’m his best friend.” I pick at a loose string on the hem of my pajama shorts. “He should want to talk to me about it, but he never seems to want to.”
She pats my leg. “Unfortunately that’s not how it always works. Sometimes even best friends need to keep stuff from each other. At least until they’re ready to talk about it.”
“Did you keep stuff from Dad? I mean, back when you were best friends.”
Traces of remorse haunt her eyes. “There was a lot of stuff I didn’t tell him. I kept more from him than I wish I would have.”
I hug my knee to my chest. “Then why did you do it?”
She shrugs, uncomfortable. “I was afraid of what I would feel if I said stuff aloud. Afraid that your dad wouldn’t love me anymore if I told him everything about me.”
I rest my chin on my knee. “Just what kind of secrets did you have, Mom? You sound super sketchy right now.”
She shrugs again and her eyes well up. “It doesn’t really matter anymore. What’s in the past is in the past.” Sucking back the tears, she stands up. “You can drive my car to school if you want to, but you’ll have to gas it up.” She starts to leave, dabbing her eyes with her fingertips.
“Mom, wait.” I spring from the bed and hurry over to her. “I’m not sure if I need to tell you this, but it kind of feels like I should, since I’m worried Ayden himself might not tell Lila or Ethan.”
I quickly tell her about the guy standing outside the house, giving her the details of what he looked like, and giving her the sketch I drew of guy the night I first saw him. I omit that Ayden snuck out for a while, not wanting to get him in trouble. He still hasn’t confessed what he was doing and I’ve given up on trying to get the information out of him. For now anyway.