by Cait Marie
“Good, I was hoping we’d get to work together.” Kaley put a hand on his arm. “I can’t believe this is our last summer.”
Gavin agreed, telling himself Lila didn’t flinch beside him at the familiar touch. Surely, he just imagined it. “Where are you going to school again?”
“Bennu,” Kaley said.
“Oh, yeah.” Gavin bumped Lila with an elbow. “Maybe you two will see each other around.”
Kaley’s grin widened. “You’re going there too, Lila?”
All of the color left Lila’s face. She mumbled something, excusing herself. Gavin took a step to follow but stopped. It wasn’t his place to make sure she was okay anymore. No matter how much he wanted it to be.
His mom said something to Kaley, who then walked to one of the tables, pulling out her phone as she sat down. Gavin fidgeted with his apron.
“Go,” his mom said.
Gavin met her gaze. “She doesn’t need me.”
“Sweetheart.” His mom moved around him to untie the fabric and took it from him. As she faced him once more, she said, “Kaley and I got the shop tonight. Go talk to Lila.”
“She hates me, Mom.” He’d said the quiet words so many times over the years, but he no longer hid the emotions that went with the statement.
His mom pulled him into a hug. Sometime in the last few years, he’d outgrown her. Yet, her embrace made him feel like a child again. “It really hurts, huh?”
He nodded against her shoulder. “I don’t know what I did.”
She leaned away to look at him. “Then, go find out. You have a couple weeks together. Use the time to work it out.”
Gavin didn’t tell her he’d already planned on trying to do just that. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, agreeing, and headed to the back of the Scoop.
Lila had already left. But that didn’t matter. Despite her argument otherwise, he knew her. He knew exactly where to find her.
5
Tuesday
Fireflies lit the barely visible path as Gavin walked into the woods. The path was once completely flat and clear from constant use. Weeds, leaves from past falls, and sticks now littered the ground. He found his way to the treehouse mostly by memory. It sat directly on the property line of their yards, ensuring it always belonged to both him and Lila.
A faint light above proved his theory right. He climbed the rickety ladder and pushed open the door in the floor of the small space where they’d spent most of their childhood. And man was it small. It had been years since he had gone inside.
“What are you doing here?” Lila asked.
She sat in the corner with her knees drawn up, right where Gavin knew she’d go. He might not have used their hideout in years, but he’d seen her from his window walking into the trees with a lantern more than a few times.
He pulled himself up and closed the door. They used to have enough room to leave it open, but he needed the leg room now. Her soft chuckle while he got as comfortable as possible told him she thought the same thing.
“I think I’ve grown a little since the last time I was up here.” He leaned against the wall beside her, putting the grocery sack he managed to carry up the ladder between them.
“You think?” She pursed her lips, as if fighting a smile. Looking at the bag, she asked, “What is this?”
He smacked her hand as she reached for it. “Not yet. Not until we talk.”
Lila shifted to the adjacent wall to face him more and crossed her legs beneath her. “About what?”
“Why did you run out of work so fast when we were talking to Kaley?”
Lila’s brow scrunched. “I was just tired. It was a rough shift.”
Gavin looked at her for a minute. She had teased him about being tired. Her excuse didn’t add up. “Are you nervous about Bennu?”
She was always so confident and perfect. It was hard imagining her scared of anything, but that was the only other reasoning he could think of. He watched as she picked at her shoestring. When she finally met his gaze and nodded, he wanted nothing more than to reach out and reassure her that everything would be all right.
Instead, he said, “Well, we have two weeks for you to make the most out of your summer. I know you’re iffy about a truce, but I really want to do this. And I think deep down you do too.”
“Gavin…” Her words trailed off.
“Can we please put the past behind us and just focus on having a fun couple of weeks?” The rest of his plan to fix their friendship depended on getting her to agree to the temporary ceasefire.
Lila looked at him, hesitating and biting her bottom lip. She took a deep breath and nodded before sticking out a hand. “Okay… We can be friends for two weeks.”
“You’re killing me, Weston.” He grabbed her hand though, ignoring the electricity flowing into him with the simple touch. “Fine, now you may open the bag.”
He picked it up and tossed it into her lap. She pulled at the plastic, freezing when she looked inside. With a laugh she pulled out the box of pink hair dye and three bags of sour gummy worms.
“We work in an ice cream shop,” she said, throwing him a bag. “Do you not get enough sugar there?”
He gasped and held a hand to his chest in mock betrayal. “How dare you? There is no such thing as enough sugar.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You missed me, and you know it.”
Lila rolled her eyes, lifting the box of hair dye. She flipped it over, looking at the directions in the dim light. He took a chance with the color. The list only said pink. He had searched up and down the aisle for ten minutes before picking that bright bubblegum shade.
“What do you think?” he asked, tearing open the bag in his hand and shoving a few sour worms into his mouth.
Lila looked from the box to Gavin, shaking her head as he ate more candy. Despite the hurt itching to come out with him there in her spot, she didn’t mind his company. Though, she would take that secret to her grave. That’s all she’d wanted for years—for him to show up. How could she push him away when he finally did?
The truth was, as soon as she said they could be friends for two weeks, she believed it herself. She didn’t want to hate him. It was exhausting, and she didn’t want to fight anymore. He sat quietly waiting for her response. Glancing back down to the bright pink shade of dye, she finally allowed herself to smile. “It’s perfect.”
“Yeah?”
She met his gaze. “Yes. It’s almost exactly what I had in mind.” Butterflies filled her stomach as he beamed across the small space at her. The color was too light for her brown hair. She’d need to bleach it to turn out anywhere near the color in the picture, but she couldn’t tell him that. For once, she wanted to keep the happy mood. And it would still redden her hair some. “Will you help me?”
“Of course,” he said, pulling the grocery bag open to put everything back inside. He squeezed in close to her to lift the door up and then dropped down to the ground. “Come on.”
Laughing, she turned to use the ladder. She stopped to grab the lantern and passed it down to him before closing the door. When her feet hit the grass, she took the light back. “I didn’t mean right this second.”
“Why not?” He led the way back to their yards. Night had fallen, encompassing them in darkness. She lifted the lantern higher, willing the panic to subside. Gavin slowed to walk beside her. “Your house or mine?”
Lila stopped. “Um… actually, can we go to yours? My mom is out for the evening, and I don’t know how my dad is going to handle pink hair.”
“Fine, but if he gets mad, I was not involved.”
She laughed. Neither of her parents would truly care, but of the two, her dad was the strict one. “Deal.”
They made their way into his empty house, as familiar as her own. Flicking on a kitchen light, he grabbed two Cokes before leading her upstairs. She turned off the lantern and sat it on his nightstand. As he placed the bag of candy beside it, she looked around his room.
> All of the movie posters of superheroes and cartoons had been replaced with bands. A solid blue comforter covered his bed, and a desk took up the place where a bin of toys once sat in the corner. She stepped closer to look at the collage of photos on the wall above it.
Dozens of pictures showed Gavin smiling and having fun with Dylan and other kids from school. At the lake, in a field, at baseball games. A pit formed in her stomach. She had pictures with Beth Ann, but most had been taken from one of their houses or at the Scoop. She never went to any of the games or participated in extra curriculars, so she didn’t have any mementos from such activities. In the corner, an older photo caught her attention. With huge grins, Lila and Gavin stood hand in hand behind their shared eighth birthday cake.
Gavin watched as Lila lifted a hand to the photo on the wall. He didn’t need to move closer to know which one, but he walked up next to her anyway. When he reached her, she dropped her hand.
“This is why I made that list.” Her quiet voice made him lean closer. She turned, and he saw the tears brimming her eyes. He fought the need to wrap his arms around her. “I don’t have photos like this. I want to create memories like these, so I have something to look back on.”
“Screw it,” he muttered under his breath before pulling her into a hug.
She stood stiff as a board in his arms. He smiled when she finally relaxed into him and returned the embrace. After a moment, she said, “I spent so much time focused on school and the future that I forgot to enjoy the present.”
He reluctantly let go. “Let’s do this then.”
Smiling, she went to grab the box of hair dye. She tore it open and dumped the contents onto his bed. “Okay, we need to mix the color first.”
“Don’t you need to wash your hair?”
Lila shook her head. “No, it works better unwashed.”
Gavin shrugged and sat on the bed, looking at the different items from the box. Lila pulled on the gloves and poured the color into the developer. At least that’s what the directions he briefly looked through said.
“You know how to do this?” His phone dinged, and he dug it out of his pocket.
“I used to help Beth Ann dye hers all the time,” she replied.
Gavin read the text from Dylan.
Dylan: What are you up to? Wanna hit the cages?
Gavin: Can’t tonight. Busy…
Dylan: Oh?
Gavin: Hanging out with Lila.
Dylan sent a GIF of a man pulling out popcorn, and Gavin laughed.
“What?” Lila asked, shaking the bottle of color.
Gavin shot off a quick message saying he’d explain later then turned on some music before tossing his phone on the bed beside him. “What do you need me to do?”
Lila set the bottle on the nightstand. “I need a towel. Something your mom won’t mind getting ruined.”
He got up and walked to the bathroom attached to his room. He left the light on when he returned, knowing they’d use it soon. Draping the towel over a shoulder, he pulled open a dresser drawer and grabbed an old t-shirt.
When he handed both over, she looked surprised. “I didn’t think about my clothes. Thanks.”
As she changed in the bathroom, he read through the instructions again. It seemed pretty straightforward if she planned to do all her hair the same color. The door opened, and the sight of her in his old baseball shirt stirred feelings he’d fought off for so long. Clearing his throat, he grabbed the pink bottle and stood.
She wrapped the towel over her shoulders, pulling her long hair out, then took the bottle and used the mirror above his sink to start at her roots. He leaned against the door with crossed arms as he watched her soak piece by piece with the dye. After getting the front and sides, she met his gaze in the mirror. “Help me with the back?
Pushing off the doorframe, he moved to stand behind her. He took the bottle and mimicked how she had done the rest of her hair. The pink looked a lot darker than it did on the box, and he wondered if it dried lighter. Once the bottle was empty, he threaded his fingers through her hair, making sure it was all covered.
He looked up to find her squeezing her mouth shut. “What? Am I doing it wrong?”
Her laughter echoed in the small bathroom. “Gavin…”
“What?”
She bit the corner of her lip, hesitating. “Your hands.” When he didn’t respond, she added, “You’re supposed to wear gloves.”
Realization struck him. He hadn’t even thought about her gloves before diving in. She stepped to the side as he turned the sink on with his wrist and stuck his hands beneath the water. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
His hands were pink. Really pink.
Lila laughed and walked out to his bedroom while he scrubbed his fingers. Even his nails were pink. She returned with the plastic grocery bag. “It’s dye, what did you expect?”
“You couldn’t have told me before you asked for help?” He turned off the water and faced her.
Her face lit up with a smile, and he shook his head fighting his own amusement. She simply shrugged. “Since your hands are already pink, help me with this bag.”
He looked at her with a raised brow. She explained that she needed to let it sit for twenty-five minutes, and the bag would stop it from dripping everywhere. He did as she said, pulling the bag around her hair and head like a cap, and let out a burst of laughter as she tied it in place. She looked ridiculous.
“Where’s your phone?” he asked.
She pointed to the nightstand in his room, and he quickly grabbed it and ran back. He swiped the lockscreen over to the camera, flipped it to selfie mode, and stood next to her.
“Time to capture the memories,” he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. He held that hand up by her face to show the pink color, and they both grinned as he took a picture.
Lila walked out of his bathroom, toweling off her new pink hair. Well, it had a bit of a pink tint, but it looked a lot darker than the box. He lifted it up from the bed and glanced from her to the picture. “It’s not the same color.”
Her nose scrunched up for a second. “My hair was too dark. You have to bleach it first to have the light color appear right.”
He scratched the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“No, it’s fine.” She shrugged and moved to hang the towel up. “It’s pink-ish, and I actually really like how it turned out. We’ll be able to tell better when it’s completely dry. Do you think I could use your mom’s dryer?”
“Definitely.” He led her down the hall to his parents’ room and to the adjoining bathroom.
Lila grabbed the dryer from the counter and got to work. He watched for a couple minutes before turning to the bedroom. It was much larger than his own, with a cozy warmth to it, but it felt off with his dad’s constant absence. Gavin didn’t fully understand his dad’s job, something about flying around to different corporations and helping them with their marketing strategies when they were on the verge of going bankrupt. Apparently, he was important in the business world and good at his job.
Gavin walked to the short dresser and picked up a picture frame. He and Lila sat between his parents at the Scoop—all smiling at the camera with genuine happiness. That was before the yelling started. He barely remembered the time before his dad cared more about random businesses than his own family.
A hand touched his arm, and he looked down to Lila at his side. He hadn’t even heard the hair dryer turn off. She nodded toward the photo. “He’s gone a lot now, isn’t he?”
Of course, she knew. She might not have had a huge part in his life the past seven years, but Lila worked with his mom nearly every day for the last three of those. It made sense she knew about his dad, but that didn’t make it easier. Gavin hid that part of his life from everyone at school. Only Dylan had an idea of the situation. But he didn’t know the full extent.
“I miss him,” Gavin whispered. “I know it’s better this way, but…”
“He�
�s still your dad.” Lila took his hand, and he looked at her in shock as he set the picture down. She didn’t let go though. Instead, she squeezed his fingers and said, “You’re allowed to miss him. It wasn’t always bad.”
“She’s right.” They both turned to find his mom standing in the doorway with a sad smile as she added, “I miss him too.”
Lila let go of him to move to his mom. She didn’t hesitate to wrap the older woman in a hug. Gavin stepped closer, putting a hand on his mom’s shoulder. They never really talked about it, and he didn’t know where to begin.
Before he could say anything, she straightened. “All right, so what are we doing up here?” She raised a hand to Lila’s hair. “Did you just do this?”
“Yeah, I was using your hair dryer. I hope that’s okay,” Lila said.
“Of course,” his mom said. When she turned to Gavin, none of the previous sorrow filled her eyes. Amusement replaced it, growing as she burst into laughter and grabbed his hand. “Oh my God, Gavin. Why didn’t you wear gloves?”
He shot a glare at Lila, who’d joined in to laugh at him.
“Well, I love the color,” his mom said, glancing back to Lila.
It had lightened but still wasn’t the color on the box. He agreed though, the redder hair looked great on her.
His mom flipped off the bathroom light. “Come on,” she motioned for them to get out of her room, “let’s go downstairs, and I will make us all some popcorn.”
“I should really get going,” Lila said as they moved down to the kitchen. “We have the morning shift.”
“Stay,” Gavin said before he could think it through. “Just for a little while.”
His mom took out a bag of popcorn and tossed it into the microwave. They both knew Lila wouldn’t be able to pass up her favorite snack. And sure enough, as the buttery smell filled the air, she agreed to stick around a little longer.
She texted her parents as they moved to the living room. Gavin sat beside her on the couch, leaving enough room for the bowl to sit between them. When his mom told them goodnight, claiming the need to shower, he turned on the TV to fill the silence.
