“I guess.”
Mac squeezes my arm softly before taking the stairs two at a time.
I walk to the living room, finding Noland sitting on the floor by the couch with textbooks spread out on the coffee table.
Something wet hits the back of my legs and I squeak, looking down.
You can say I’m not used to having a little dog around. Wrigley’s head would always bump into my ass so I’d know he was around.
Mystique looks up at me until I start walking, and she follows.
I take a seat on the couch, leaving space between Noland and me.
“So, homework.” Long awkward pause. “Are you a junior?”
“Senior.” He grabs a pencil from his bag and sets it down on the table. “How was college? Heard you got kicked out.”
I lace my fingers together. “Honestly?”
He nods.
“I loved it but sometimes I wish I never went. I had scholarships and financial aid so I basically didn’t have to pay anything but I got kicked out the beginning of my senior year so if I want to go back, which I really, really do, I have to pay. I lost everything.”
“Damn, that sucks.”
“Yup. So…do you need help?” I waggle a finger around the mess on the coffee talk. I’m pleased to see the half empty mason jar of my lemonade sitting by the corner.
“Nah, Nix helps me. You can keep me company though. I like your face.”
I sink into the couch and look off to the side. I don’t know if I should feel honored or freaked out.
“You can pet Mystique if you want. She doesn’t bite.”
“I’m okay. Thanks.”
Once you pet a dog, you have to keep petting it or else it’ll start to whimper and I just can’t handle those sad eyes. That commercial of the abused animals gets me every time.
I pull my legs up and crisscross them. Noland’s eyes focus on my thighs. I don’t think I’ll be wearing my short shorts very often around here.
He catches me staring at him watch me. He turns a light shade of red as he looks down at the homework he has to do.
Do I keep talking or something? It’ll be awkward if I don’t. “I love thigh-high socks,” I say, looking down at my thigh tattoo of lily flowers. “The tat looks great with them on.”
“I bet,” I hear him whisper.
Okay, not freaked out by this dude. He’s just a regular teenager that gets squirmy around girls.
We sit in silence until Phoenix comes down, freshly showered with his damp hair. I try to avert my eyes when I see he’s wearing gray sweats because holy shit I don’t think he’s wearing boxers right now and my eyes are glued to his crotch.
Yes, it has been that long and my girly bits are getting all tingly. And if I’m correct, this dude is hung. Jesus, I think I need to start fanning myself soon.
I need to leave. Like, right now. Before I start panting and strip my clothes off.
God, help me.
“Okay. Well…I’m going to head out for a bit.” I stand from the couch and bend over quickly to pet Mystique’s head. She stares at me the whole time as I walk away. I even hear a long whimper.
I should have never touched her.
Chapter Three
Phoenix
Every Saturday my kid brother comes over, does his homework, plays some video games with MacKay and me, and then tells me what is bothering him before Mom picks him up. He’s suffered from ADHD since he was a toddler, and Mom and Dad still try to find the best help for him because the kids at his school are assholes and make him feel ashamed for not being able to focus on something for too long.
Noland used to have really bad anger problems until the day our older sister, Blake said we should get a puppy. Not just any puppy but a damn cute, girly one. I honestly thought my family lost their minds when they considered this. The day Dad brought home Mystique, I feared for that poor dog’s life. Noland was out of control. He’d always get into trouble at school and at home. He’d break things and throw fits. Possibly killing or badly hurting the dog was a no brainer if you actually thought about it. Miraculously, then sixteen-year-old Noland picked up the puppy and smiled. It was a strange thing to witness. Because Noland never smiled at anything.
Two years later, he and Mystique are tighter than he and I ever were. She’s like a therapy dog, showing affection and comfort to everyone she meets.
“Got you, bitch! Try and fucking beat my kill streak now,” Noland shouts, tossing the videogame controller on the coffee table, smirking at me. Mystique barks. Noland apologizes for the language.
I let that one slide because he kicked my ass on this game and I deserve it. “You only beat me because I let you win,” I say, standing up. “Now go help Mackenzie in the kitchen. You can’t order him to make your food.”
“It’s a sandwich,” Noland whines. “Anyone can make it.”
“Exactly, so go make it.” He needs to be responsible for the things he does and wants. It’s what he’s been working on for the past two years. He always had us do things for him, and if we didn’t do them, well, we’d have to get out the broom and sweep up whatever mess he started.
Mystique shoots up off of the floor where she’s stretched out and runs out of the living room, scratching the front door. Noland goes after her.
I walk toward the window, and peek at who is out there.
Luna. With those sexy as fuck thigh-highs.
That girl is an enigma. Aside from everything I’ve learned about her from Mackenzie, you’d think I could read her like an open book, but nope. She is nothing like the girl I pictured from MacKay’s stories. He made her seem open and bubbly, fearless, and adventurous. All I see so far is a shy girl who hides behind her dark hair, wears short shorts that shows off killer legs (obviously, I’ve seen the legs), and seems almost uncomfortable around people. And you would never guess that she’s deaf because, you guessed it, she hides behind the curtain of hair!
I told her about my friendship with Mackenzie and got silence in return.
I didn’t get one peep about her from her. It’s all from Mackenzie’s mouth.
I don’t get it.
When MacKay asked if I was cool about letting her live here, I said why the hell not. When his family set up her room and told me not to mention them doing it, I didn’t think anything of it either. They’re close, I’ve heard the stories. And then she moves in and it’s like she doesn’t even live here. Okay, I know its only been a day but there is literally nothing of hers around. The bathroom is full of our crap, I was expecting an explosion of pink shit. I have four sisters, I know what a girl’s bathroom can look like, trust me. She hasn’t claimed a shelf of the fridge or complained about all the unhealthy food taking up space in said fridge.
Luna takes a few steps into the house and I see her with a few grocery bags.
Oh, thank god. Operation Claiming Fridge Space is now in effect.
She spots me in the living room, smiles shyly then walks into the kitchen. “You will never guess who I saw driving by on my way back,” Luna tells MacKay, who is busy trying to match plastic lid covers with their containers. He always ripped apart the color-coded system I had in place so now it’s his problem to figure out which one is for what.
“Who?” he asks, giving her his full attention.
I’ve never seen the kind of connection these two have with anybody else. I don’t know if it’s strictly sexual or if they’re kind of dating, but something is going on there. It’s in the eyes and the body language. They don’t have to speak to understand the other.
That much I gathered since she moved in.
“Wren Lowden,” she says, face hard, eyes lowered.
There’s a pregnant pause that catches my attention.
Mackenzie looks over his shoulder at me then glances back at Luna, his jaw clenched.
Now I want to know who this guy is.
“That piece of shit you hung out with after I graduated?”
Luna nods and drops the grocery
bags on the kitchen island. She starts pulling out bell peppers, onions, and carrots, along with some boxed items.
“He has a piece of shit Honda and gained like eighty pounds. Guess he misjudged his future.” Luna opens the fridge and is about to put the peppers away when she stops and looks all over. “Hm, do you guys split the fridge or can this go anywhere?”
Noland struts over to the fridge and it would look so manly of him if Mystique didn’t follow with her adorable little self. “Nix is a pain with the top shelf so stay clear of that.” He grabs sandwich meat containers and stands way too close to Luna that she has to back up. “But it’s nice to mess with him so just put your stuff up there.”
Her light brown eyes flick to mine then dart back to the fridge. “No, it’s okay.” Luna waits for Noland to grab whatever he needs for his sandwich then she starts finding space for her things.
“If you claim a shelf, we won’t touch your shit,” I add.
“I’m good. I don’t want to mess up whatever you guys have already.”
“Luna, just pick a shelf.”
“Yeah, Lu, pick a shelf,” Mackenzie interjects with a teasing smile.
Her eyes scan every crevice until they land on the smallest compartment on the door. On the very bottom. She bends over and takes a bottle of ketchup out of it. She looks at me. “I’ll have this one then.”
I walk over to the fridge and clear out the second top shelf because this is just ridiculous and if she’s going to live her she needs to live here. I’m not picky and I’m not an asshole. I want her to feel comfortable enough to want things around here.
Luna somehow falls sideways and knocks the back of her head against the fridge door.
“Are you okay?” All three of us ask, circling over her.
She rubs the back of her head and stands. “Yeah, can you just…” Her eyes lock on mine, and fucking hell, that look is new. Bolder. Finally something other than uncomfortable. “Can you keep your dick away from my face? Seriously. I haven’t had sex in awhile and it’s right there…up for the taking.”
My eyes widen. Did I hear that right?
“And can you please, for the love of God, trim your beard! You look like a serial killer and you scare me!”
I have no idea what has gotten into her but whatever it is, it vanishes within milliseconds because Luna’s light brown eyes get bigger every second she continues to stare at me. She now looks mortified. Like a little mouse that was searching for crumbs while everyone in the house slept but then got caught by surprise when someone turned the lights on.
“I’m so sorry,” she mumbles, pushing me out of the way, disappearing upstairs.
An orange Tupperware lid hits me square in the chest. I look over at Mackenzie. “Didn’t I tell you about the beard last month?”
I roll my eyes. I have a bet going on with a coworker of mine. We’re trying to see who can deal with the beard the longest. We’re two months and thirteen days in. We literally have nothing better to do at work. Being stuck in a cube all day is as fun as it sounds. I’m being sarcastic if you didn’t catch it.
Well, considering I freak out my new roommate, it looks like Trevor will be fifty bucks and a six-pack of beer richer on Monday. The guy doesn’t even need it. He’s been saving his money since his first job. He just works at the company because he likes to feel important. Staying at home, doing nothing doesn’t appeal to him.
“Well, that was entertaining,” Noland says, taking a big bite of his sandwich.
I stare at the mess on the kitchen island. How this kid can make such a disaster when everything is in a container is beyond me.
“Clean this up. Mackenzie’s parents are coming soon.”
I walk toward the basement door, flicking on the lights before I head down.
Once I throw my dirty clothes in the washer, I head back upstairs to find the kitchen spotless, MacKay gone, and Noland getting Mystique ready for a walk. “Lock the door?” he asks.
I shake my head. “We’re here, it’s fine.”
After darting into the house after my run this morning, I caught Noland up on how we can’t keep the door unlocked for him anymore. Mom drops him off in the morning while she does her errands, which is right around the time Mackenzie and I go for a run. He lets himself in because we leave the door unlocked, and eats all our food until we get back.
Seeing as how Luna likes to start her mornings in complete silence, I can only imagine how scared she was having a stranger walk right into the house. I can’t believe I forgot to lock the door. MacKay even reminded me before he headed out to stretch.
I felt like the biggest dumbass.
Noland’s gone for ten minutes and the house is eerily silent. I drop onto the couch and find Mystique’s wet nose smears all over the coffee table. That dog, I wish I could train her to not rub her nose on the glass.
I stand once again and find the disinfecting wipes in the kitchen. Then I preoccupy my time with cleaning and doing laundry.
***
Mom comes by for twenty minutes before she has to leave, taking Noland and Mystique with her. In those twenty minutes, she throws in a few concerns she has because I’m still single. Mom is a hopeless romantic, as are the rest of us but we can control ourselves, and she wants all her children to be married at some point. Sooner rather than later. I just want to be twenty-two and enjoy my life the way it is. Marriage is far from my mind at this point in my life.
We’ll be seeing each other for a longer period of time in May when my oldest sister, Eliza gets married so I hit pause on that conversation. Right now, Mom is going crazy with the wedding plans because both Eliza and the groom-to-be Jacob can’t decide on anything and left all decisions to be made by our mother, the queen of wedding planning. Mom has a gift that people love.
If only she accepted money for her help, she’d live more comfortably. But no, Mom feels like she doesn’t need the money, she just wants to make everyone’s special day magical. I call bullshit. She needs to accept that money and stop having people take advantage of her. Dad tells her all the time. Mom is stubborn as fuck though.
Around seven, the doorbell rings.
Luna runs downstairs to answer it.
The MacKay’s are here.
I so want to fake feeling sick but Linda has spotted me and I’m already receiving the look I get for even thinking of ditching her and her husband. She’s a witch, I tell you. She knows everything.
I love the MacKay’s like they’re my family but the fact that I can’t sign makes me feel like a failure. The only way to talk to Mackenzie’s dad is by signing. We never have conversations between the two of us. His wife or son has to translate everything. I only know how to sign the basic greetings. I’ve never learned more.
“Luna, honey! Oh, it’s been so long!” Linda crushes Luna against her petite body. They’re so comfortable with each other it reminds me of my mom with my sisters.
Mackenzie’s dad, Dean, claps his son on the back as they hug. His eyes find mine and he nods his greeting like we usually do. He must feel so uncomfortable around me.
Luna tears herself off Linda then turns toward Dean, her eyes shiny and bright.
Her hands come up and I’m completely lost with all the hand gestures, all the silent words being said. Mackenzie laughs at something then leaves them to talk–sign–alone.
I walk toward Linda and embrace my second mother. Ever since Mackenzie made me meet his parents during Christmas break freshman year of college, Linda has treated me like she does her own son. I do love her homemade chili, which both men in her life think is too spicy so I was instantly liked. “Can I be honest and say this beard is making me uncomfortable?”
“You’re not the first person to say this,” I answer. I maintain keeping the beard from looking like shit but I guess it’s just not working. I tried though. It’s almost five inches long.
“Thank God!” She kisses my cheek and grabs onto my arm. “Now I need you and Mac to help Dean bring Luna’s things
inside. They’re in the truck.”
I raise a brow. “Luna’s stuff?”
“Yes, her pottery wheel and tools. They’ve been in our house since she went away to college.”
Why wouldn’t they be at her parents’ house?
“Come on, now. We have no time to waste.”
And so here I go, helping out Mackenzie and Dean bring in Luna’s things, and setting them up in the basement.
***
The MacKay’s bring homemade food with them so we’re all digging into Linda’s delicious meatloaf and potatoes. Dean keeps looking up at Luna, who is sitting beside Mackenzie, across from me. He and his son look so much alike. Both are tall and lean with a side of geeky. It’s the glasses.
Dean wasn’t always deaf. It happened when he was in a car accident at the age of twenty-five. Mackenzie told me the story about how the accident happened and I swear I cried like a little bitch when I excused myself to the bathroom. It’s why I call him MacKay most of the time. Dean was working when Linda went into labor so he raced to the hospital. The details still kill me, but the reason why Mac’s name is Mackenzie is because they thought they were having a girl and Dean set-up the nursery with that name everywhere. Classic mix-up of having a tiny dick at a very young age.
When Dean woke up from surgery two days later, Linda was wheeled into his room, and he said one word; Mackenzie. He couldn’t even hear himself call out his own child’s name. Linda didn’t have the heart to change it. Twenty-three years later and the MacKay’s don’t let being deaf be a problem. They communicate just like a regular hearing family would. I’m the odd one out in this moment so I stay quiet and talk when I need to.
I’m treated the same as Mackenzie and Luna but I know that Dean would prefer if I could sign on my own and understand what he’s telling me.
Linda waves the basket of fresh bread rolls at me but I wave them away. “If I eat anymore, I’ll have to run for hours tomorrow.”
She looks toward her husband and signs something. I look at MacKay. He chokes on his food. Luna narrows her eyes at Linda then looks down, her cheeks turning red.
A Sky Full of Secrets Page 3
