by Box Set
“Okay,” Victor said. He shrugged and then stuffed his hands into the pockets of his slacks. He nodded toward the BMW. “Well, I came over to take Kota to the mall. Are you going with us?”
Going out with them? To a mall? Could I get away with it? I wanted to go, but I also didn’t want to intrude on plans already made. Would my parents send my sister to look for me and discover I wasn’t around? No. Since we’d moved in, they hardly noticed when I left or came back. They got used to me walking around in the woods. I just needed to be careful. Still, as the guys looked at me and waited for an answer, I felt nervous about going out with them. Would they see me as the third wheel?
“Maybe we can put that off for a few hours,” Kota said, I suppose sensing my hesitation.
“No.” I shook my head, bending down to pet Max, who had been patiently sitting at Kota’s feet. As soon as I started petting him, he rolled back to expose his belly for me to scratch. It also gave me a good deterrent to think of an excuse. “It’s okay. You guys go. I’ve got things to do. I wouldn’t want to slow you two down.” I did want to go, though. I felt silly for wanting to, but I’d never had the opportunity before. Why did I have to be so shy and scared? I wished I could be normal.
Kota crouched next to me, his head turned toward my face. “Do you want to go?”
I shrugged, trying to look casual about it. “It probably doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t be allowed anyway.” Crap. I hadn’t meant to let that slip out.
Out of my peripheral vision, I could sense they were doing that thing again: exchanging looks. Their silent communication amazed me. I wanted to ask how long they knew each other, but just being around them, it felt like they were almost brothers.
“What if we went and asked?” Victor put his hands on his hips. “I mean, we’re not ax murderers.”
I couldn’t help but smile at his words. His fire eyes sparked at what must have been a strange expression in that moment. “It’s complicated. My mom would just say no right off. It won’t matter who asks.”
“We could try,” Kota said.
I twisted my mouth, coming up with a plan. If I wasn’t going to deter them from taking me with them, I wasn’t about to let them into the lion’s den to face off my parents. “If you really want me to go, give me a few minutes,” I said.
“What are you going to do?” Kota asked, his head tilted and looking puzzled.
“She’s going to lie, dummy,” Victor said, the corner of his mouth moving down.
Kota frowned, standing up and rubbing at his chin. I noticed his nails were well manicured. “Really, it’s no big deal if we go talk to them.”
“I think it’s better if I just make a quick appearance and then don’t mention I’m going. They won’t notice I’m missing for a few hours.”
They shared another look and then Victor shrugged and turned back to me. “We’ll wait.”
I stood up and looked at both of them, edging away before turning to walk down the road. Would they really wait for me? Would I come back here and find them gone? I felt pathetic, wanting so bad to try to be cool so they would like me. I didn’t know anyone and here were two guys... incredibly cute guys taking some sort of interest in someone like me. It felt unreal. I was average looking, I thought. I was a shy person. They didn’t have a reason to be interested. They’d been so nice so far, though. I didn’t want to ruin it yet.
“Wait,” Kota said, coming up behind me. I turned and he was pointing to the house. “I forgot. Your shoes are inside.”
I waved my hand in the air between us. “Oh yeah. And my bag.”
He closed the space between us, bringing his face close to mine and whispering to me. “Is it okay for you to bring your bag home? Will they ask questions? Should I go get it?”
I smiled. Why did I feel so warmly fuzzy? Is this what having friends feels like? My expression must have been strange to read to Victor, who stood back at his car, leaning against it, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked puzzled, but kept his lips pursed.
“There’s some back stairs at my house. As long as my sister doesn’t take an interest, it should be okay.”
He nodded and turned to Victor. “Just grabbing her stuff,” he said. Kota crossed the drive to the garage and disappeared inside.
Victor’s fire eyes smoldered at me, as I followed Kota back into his house. My heart thumped against my breast the entire time. I had friends. Was it always this easy for people and I just never took the risk or had the opportunity? Anxiety threaded through me. How badly I wanted to not let this connection be severed. At the same time, it felt surreal. Maybe I was just imagining it and they were just being nice, but come tomorrow, they’d get bored and forget about me.
Would I ever feel comfortable being around other people?
Five minutes later, I had dropped off my bag into my closet, grabbed a pair of sandals, and ran back outside. My dad was already at work. My mom was in her bedroom, and my sister was nowhere to be found.
No one in my family really gave me much notice unless they knew for sure I was with someone they didn't know. I was well known for exploring the woods and this neighborhood was surrounded by a wooded area that went on for quite a distance. The only warning my parents had told me when we first moved into the neighborhood was to not get lost and to not talk to anyone.
I had been right. Just leaving was better than asking. My only worry was someone might spot me getting into the car with the boys.
I exited the house through the side door that opened up to the large double-sided garage. Out in the driveway sat the BMW. I bit my lower lip and made a dash for the car.
Kota got out of the front passenger side. He held the door open for me, looking toward the house. “What did you say to them?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly and hopped into the car, slipping into the smooth leather seat, feeling the coolness of the material on my thighs. The interior did smell brand new.
Kota looked over the top of the car, studying the house. In silence, I pleaded with him. Just get in and let’s go, I thought. It’ll be fine unless someone spots us. I knew they really couldn’t understand why I needed to sneak out. If they tried to ask my parents or forced the issue, this friendship between us would be over before it ever got a chance.
His eyes swept over the two-story gray home. There was a wide concrete porch out front, a two-car garage on the outside, a screened-in porch in the back, and a separate shed toward the end of the driveway. The yard was at least an acre. It was a little bigger than the rest of the homes in the neighborhood, but not overly so. I wondered what he thought of a girl who would live in such a place and yet dashed off in the middle of the night. I assumed he probably thought I was a complete brat, unhappy with not getting my own way. I wanted to tell him how untrue that was. The house was big, but it was hollow. A prison that my mother felt was protection, but kept me from being a normal teenager for years.
He turned away from the house at last and climbed into the back seat. The breath I’d been holding escaped from between my lips. In the back of my mind, I knew someday I’d have to explain my family to Kota if I wanted to remain friends with him. He was smart and would catch on. Would he tell Victor or other kids at school how strange I was? Would they refuse to have anything to do with me if they knew the truth?
Victor put the car into reverse. My eyes locked directly on the house, and I could only hope I wouldn’t be spotted. I couldn't explain to my parents what this was. There was no way to prove to my mother that Kota and Victor weren’t going to rape me or force heroin into my system. Of course, I didn’t have proof, but I’d always known most people weren’t really like that. Not everyone in the world was evil, like my mother told me nearly every day for over fifteen years. No matter what, my family could never know about Kota and Victor. When I had time to get the boys to like me better, I’d try to explain it to them.
Was it silly wanting someone to like me so much as much as I wanted Kota and Victor to like me? It was the first t
ime I ever had friends. It felt so important now, something that last night wasn’t even on my mind.
No matter what, I had to keep this separation, putting up a wall between my family life and my private life outside of the house.
Silas
Victor drove the half circle that was Sunnyvale Court and was out on the highway within a few minutes. He met up with the interstate a couple miles away, heading east into Charleston. I had no idea where this mall was. Two rules broken. I was with strangers and I was lost.
In my excitement, I hadn’t paid attention to the conversation between Victor and Kota.
“Is he answering?” Victor said, adjusting the rear view mirror as he sped down the road.
“Hey, you ready?” Kota asked. I turned to see he had pulled out a cell phone; one palm was against his ear and the other pressing the phone to his head. “We’re almost there.”
“Who are we getting?” I asked Victor.
“An ax murderer.” He grinned, the fire in his eyes lighting up. He glanced over at me. “Will you please buckle in? It’s bad enough we kidnapped you.”
I hid my smile from him, rather liking the idea that these cute guys kidnapped me. That meant they wanted me around, right? My heart was racing at this adventure. Not wanting to get too carried away, I reached for the seat belt and strapped myself in.
Victor started playing with the radio, scanning through stations.
“That’s good,” Kota said at a rock station. Victor ignored him and skipped to another one. “That one’s fine, too.” I didn’t know if Kota was interested in the music or more worried that Victor wasn’t really paying attention to his driving. He seemed nervous.
Victor frowned, flipping away from the station. Soon he landed on one that was playing an orchestral piece. He stopped and turned up the volume, the violin tempo rapid. “Will this put you to sleep?” Victor asked me.
“I love Vivaldi.”
His mouth popped open, his hand temporarily letting go of the steering wheel. “What did you say?”
My eyes went wide and I nodded to the wheel. He recovered and took it over again. “I said I like Vivaldi. Summer is okay,” I said, motioning to the radio that was playing the piece. “I like Winter best though.”
Victor’s lips pursed but his eyes held that same fire. He glanced up at the mirror and I knew he was sharing another look with Kota. I was trying to figure out this secret language they shared. Did he think I was weird because I knew some classical music or even admitted that I liked it? Maybe this was a test. Would I ever be able to understand?
We pulled off the interstate and took a short drive into an apartment complex. I was leaning against the window, feeling the sun on my face. There was an empty swimming pool near the front and tennis courts and a large pond in the middle with two fountains. The whole place looked more like a resort.
“Will you stop being cute? Your nose is smudging the window. My god, you’re worse than a puppy,” Victor said, making a slow turn through the complex.
I blushed and sat back. Victor glanced back at me, a playful smirk on his face. His request had me wondering if he was displeased but he didn’t appear to be. “Sorry,” I said.
“She’s new,” Kota said. “She’s going to be interested in stuff.”
“I got that, Sherlock, thank you,” Victor said, tilting his head slightly as he talked to his friend, glancing at him in the mirror. He pulled up to a row of cars at the last building of the complex and then yanked the stick to park his car. “Let’s go get Silas.”
“Who’s Silas?” I asked, unbuckling, feeling goofy since I just put the thing on. I wasn’t even sure if he had been talking to me, but I didn’t want to wait in the car. My skin was tingling with being free. With friends. Out in their car. It was hard not to be so excited.
“Goes to our school,” Kota said after he got out. He pointed toward the last door on the second floor. “Head on up.”
When we got to the second floor, Victor tugged me by the arm. “Stand here,” he said, pointing to the spot just in front of Silas’s door. I moved where he told me to. He buzzed the doorbell and stepped back, pulling Kota with him against the wall.
I just realized he was leaving me to face Silas alone, when the door opened. The guy was at least a head and a half taller than Kota. His hair was a deep black, shining with a light behind him reflecting on it. His eyes were a deep brown, almost black in the shadow of the overhang over the apartment. His jaw was firm, squared. His muscles under his black Red Sox t-shirt were prominent. Even his dark blue Levis looked bulky at the thighs. He was raw power.
I was speechless. I wasn’t sure what to say or how to respond. Silas stared down at me, looking confused.
“Do you have the wrong place?” he asked. His voice was deep, nearly reverberating through me.
“What a pick up line,” Victor piped in.
Silas twisted where he stood to see Victor leaning against the wall, his arms folded at his chest. Kota stood behind him, looking as if he wasn’t sure if he should be laughing and had the palm of his hand up against the back of his head, half shrugging.
“Who’s she?” Silas demanded.
“I’m Sang,” I said.
Silas turned to me and raised a thick dark eyebrow. “Huh?” The way he peered down at me, I knew it wasn’t his fault, but he made me feel so small. “Say that again.” I picked up that he had an accent. It was very slight. I want to say European. His thick lips curled in a way when he talked that had me wanting to ask him to say more things, too.
“My name is Sang,” I said.
“She moved into a house down the road from mine,” Kota explained. “She’s coming along.”
Silas’s forehead wrinkled and he blew out an impatient huff, but shrugged and waved me off. “Let me close the door.” As he stood in front of his door, I could see how broad his shoulders were. There was a slight gruff look to his face, as if he didn’t shave that morning. It made him look a lot more handsome, but it also made him look older. Since he was so tall, too, it was hard to imagine we were in the same grade.
“We’ve got to work on your people skills,” Victor said as we headed back to his car. “You’re supposed to at least say hello when you answer the door.”
“She looked lost,” Silas said. I kept taking peeks at his face. His features were striking. Soulful deep eyes and an olive complexion. He looked over at me and I blushed at getting caught staring. “I didn’t scare you, did I?” he asked.
I shook my head, although a little too quickly. I wanted to say something convincing, but the truth was he did kind of scare me. I didn’t want to admit it, but being in a dark alley with him and not knowing who he was would have probably been enough to make me pee my pants.
He only looked partially relieved, and I wasn’t quite sure if he believed me.
Back at the car, Kota opened the passenger door, looking intently at me, waiting for me to get in.
“Silas should take the front seat,” I said. “He’s got longer legs.”
“I don’t mind,” Silas said.
“Neither do I.” I didn’t mean to be so persistent, but if I was going to get them to like me, I had to do nice things. I didn’t need to be coddled because I was the girl. Also, I had no idea how far away this mall was. What if he was bottled up for an hour?
He tilted his head from side to side, as if weighing out the situation. Something softened in his face.
“Someone get in,” Victor called. He was already behind the wheel.
Kota moved away from the door and when I didn’t budge, Silas got into the front seat. I was actually relieved. I would have felt terrible to see Silas have to get behind me and have to scrunch his knees.
I sat next to Kota, this time remembering to plug in my seat belt. Kota did the same and we were off.
Silas immediately reached for the radio to fiddle with it, but Victor slapped at his hand. “Hey, when you drive, you get to pick.”
“Sang wouldn’t like this stuf
f,” he said.
“She already said she did.”
Silas raised an eyebrow and turned to me. “Is he shitting me?”
I raised my fingers to my mouth, the tips playing with my lower lip. “I, uh...”
“She likes it,” Kota said for me.
“But I like rock, too,” I said quickly. “And some other stuff. I like a lot of different types of music.”
Silas shot Victor a cocky smile. “You’re outnumbered. Kota likes rock.”
“Kota likes anything.”
I gave a sideways glance to Kota. He slipped a conspiratorial grin and I smiled back, silently amused at the conversation.
The two continued to argue about the radio, switching between stations at every other song. Victor groaned about squeaky guitars and Silas complained about being put to sleep by a piano. They were all so different. How in the world did they become friends?
I was watching out the window at the trees and cars that we passed, trying to remember the direction Victor was taking. The palm trees were the most striking to me. Having lived up north for so long, it was strange to me. Everything was green and the sky appeared to be a slightly different shade of blue, lighter, crisp and full of promise.
Soon the interstate had signs promising a mall and the car was pulling into the lot of a shopping center that looked bigger than any of the handful I’d ever seen.
As soon as the car was parked, Silas jumped out and opened my door for me. I blushed, thanked him, and stepped away so he could shut it.
We walked in through the closest department store together. Kota held open the first set of doors for all of us, Silas held open the second set. I smiled to myself about it. I wondered if it was normal, or if they were trying to be nice, since I was new.
