by Ruth Houston
They were both sitting on Tristan's bed, resting their backs on the headboard. Tristan saw me first.
"Winter!" he said.
Eva looked up, saw me, then, in one fluid motion, jumped off the bed, crossed the room, and hugged me so hard I couldn't breathe.
"Winter," she said. She was shaking. "Thanks so much for coming. I – I –" Her knees gave out and she collapsed onto the carpet, bringing me down with her.
I was hugging her back hard too. "Eva," I said softly. "I'm sorry about yelling at you."
"God," she replied miserably, swallowing. "Don't be apologizing. It was all my fault. I'm so sorry." Silent tears were trickling down her cheeks.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Tristan, silently offering me a tissue. I took it and handed it to his little sister.
She accepted it, saying, "Thanks," and gave me a shaky, watery smile that broke my heart.
"Eva, I'm so sorry," I said, feeling the corners of my eyes prickling, and we both knew we weren't talking about our little fight anymore, which seemed so insignificant now.
"I am too," she sniffed.
There was nothing left to be said. "Uhm," I explained tentatively a minute later. "Most of your siblings are downstairs. Zack's there too, taking care of them. Matty and Emily, at least."
"What?" Eva said, getting up. "I better go see if they're okay." She sniffed again, then wiped her tears away decisively.
I, still on the floor, looked up at her tall form and nodded. She left the room.
After she left, I looked back to where Tristan was sitting on his bed again, looking out his window. I sat down next to him, in the spot where Eva had previously been occupying.
I didn't say anything, but neither did he. He simply pulled me into the spot between his legs, so that my back was resting against his chest. He closed his eyes and buried his face in my hoodie, resting his head in the spot between my shoulder and where my hood covered his face. Automatically I reached my hand up and ran my fingers through his hair comfortingly, over and over again. The action never failed to soothe him, I had learned after a couple years. I gently massaged his scalp and he took in a great, shuddering breath, groaning softly.
"Winter," he mumbled. "Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse…"
"I know, Tristan, I know," I said, closing my eyes.
That was all he said about the situation for the rest of the time I was in his room. We talked about small, unimportant things, but maybe he preferred that we did. He said next, "How was your chem test today?"
"Absolutely terrible," I replied lightly.
He chuckled a little, and the deep sound vibrated though his chest into my body.
We talked a little bit more, then I remembered. "Hey, how come you never told me about getting that job at Payne's huh? I had to hear it through the grapevine from Martin," I said indignantly.
"Oh god, that's right," Tristan moaned, lifting his head up and leaning us both back so he could rest his head on the headboard of his bed. "Today's my first day. What time is it?"
I checked his digital alarm clock. "4:35."
"I was supposed to be there 35 minutes ago," he said, cursing softly.
"I'll call Martin," I said, pulling my cell phone out of my pocket. I rang him up and told him Tristan wouldn't be making it today. After that we chatted for a minute, and while I talked Tristan started trailing his fingertips along my neck and in the sensitive areas of skin around my ear, knowing I was ticklish there. That little devil.
"Yeah, I know," I said to Martin, then jumped a little (again) when Tristan's fingers hit that spot on the underside of my chin. Reflexively I laughed, then twisted away from him a little.
"Uh, Winter, you okay?" Martin asked me.
"Y-yeah," I giggled. "Tristan!" I hissed, holding my hand over the mouthpiece. "One day I'm going to report you for sexual harassment, I'm not even kidding."
The older guy chuckled a little and stopped his assault on me, curling his arms around my stomach, holding me like a teddy bear. After I hung up, he said, "Maybe we should go downstairs and make sure everything's okay with Zack and Eva and everyone. I think my mom and dad have stopped yelling."
"Yeah," I sighed. "Let's go."
When we got down there, everything was relatively calm, much to my relief. Anthony was still chatting with Zack, and Emily had fallen asleep on the couch, her head lying in Zack's lap. Matty and Eva were sitting on the ground and were both still watching TV with the volume turned way down, but Eva's face was blank and her eyes were slightly glazed over so I knew she wasn't really watching. Sam had also wandered downstairs too and was now reading A String in the Harp while curled up in an armchair. To mine and Tristan's astonishment, every single Westley sibling down there in the living room was holding a glass of water and taking occasional sips from it, except for Emily, who had set hers on the coffee table before she had fallen asleep.
"Hey, Zack," Tristan said.
"Hey Tristan," Zack greeted him.
I walked around behind the couch on which Zack, Anthony, and Emily were situated. I leaned down and whispered in Zack's ear, "How come everyone has a glass of water?"
He had to twist his neck around to answer in my ear. "Victoria always says that giving an upset person a glass of water helps. It keeps them distracted with something and the water calms them down."
I nodded, rather impressed. "Well, it seems to work." I kneeled down on the ground and rested my forearms horizontally along the top of the back of the couch, to give both of us more comfortable talking positions. Now Zack only had to turn his head to the side.
"Where's my dad?" Tristan asked him.
Zack shrugged. "He stormed out a little while ago. Your mom's in the kitchen still," he replied.
Tristan left the living room for the kitchen, most likely to comfort Denise.
"Thanks for coming with," I said in a low voice to Zack.
"No problem," he said. "Can I ask you something though?"
"Sure," I said.
He moved his lips so close to my ear they actually brushed against one of my earrings. He said, very, very quietly, "Can we leave soon? Not that I don't like Eva and Tristan and Anthony and Matty and Sam and Emily and all, but, Emily's head is really uncomfortable on my lap right now, and I think she's drooling on my jeans."
I grinned, and he chuckled. "Of course. Uhm…" I looked around the room. "Let me…talk to Tristan really quick, and Eva, then we can leave."
Zack nodded and turned back to Anthony. They started up their conversation again, and I didn't like the sly grin Anthony had flashed at me behind Zack's head while we had been talking, so I gave Anthony a light scowl again, to which he grinned even wider. I went into the kitchen, where I offered Denise a few kind and compassionate words, then gave Tristan a heads up that Zack and I were leaving. He nodded and turned back to his mother.
I walked back into the living room and crouched down on the ground next to Eva, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She started. "Hey," she said. "Going now?"
"Yeah, sorry," I said. "Zack needs to leave and I have to go with him because I left my dad's car at his house."
"Okay," she nodded. "Thanks for coming."
"That's what I'm here for anyway, right?" I gave her a small smile.
She smiled back and we hugged again.
"Let's go," I said to Zack.
He and Eva carefully traded spots so that Emily was now resting on Eva's lap. "See you later," I whispered to her, and she nodded back. "Try to get some sleep tonight. Take a melatonin or something." If I knew Eva at all (and I liked to think that I did), she wouldn't get much sleep tonight. She never did when something was bothering her.
Zack and I left, and we drove back to his house. When we pulled into the driveway, I saw a car I had never seen before parked there. I glanced over at Zack – his expression had turned impassive and his lips had thinned. It must have been his parents' car.
"I guess it's pretty useless to ask
you stay for a while, then," he said, looking at me sideways.
I sighed. "I'll come in to say hi to Victoria," I said.
Zack looked at me, then looked at me again. "Thanks," he said, really sounding grateful.
"No problem," I said under my breath as we both got out.
Chapter 19: A New Funny Façade
Zack
"Hey Victoria," Winter said easily, sliding onto one of the bar stools.
"Winter! What a pleasant surprise," the older woman exclaimed, folding up her reading glasses and closing her book. "How are you today?"
"I'm fine, thanks, and you?" came Winter's automatic reply. She glanced around the kitchen and the corners of her mouth curved upwards almost imperceptibly in a secret smile, and I wondered what it was that had caught her fancy.
"I'm fine," Victoria replied. "Are you staying for dinner?" She asked it like Winter hung around for dinner all the time and that today was no exception. I scoffed to myself. Right, Victoria. Remember, our hospitality already got rejected once; who's to say today will be any different?
While Winter contemplated the question, Victoria winked at me subtly. Okay, something was definitely wrong here – Victoria never winks. Much less at me.
Winter had missed the exchange, and bit her lip and glanced at me, then looked back at Victoria, who gave her a small, encouraging nod. Suddenly dread crept into my stomach and I knew why Victoria had winked at me – I remembered that I had announced to the whole dinner table last night that Winter and I were…"going steady," I think was the phrase I had used, much to my current embarrassment.
I flushed. "Uhm, gee, Winter –"
She turned to me expectantly. "Hmm?"
Damn it. I found that I had absolutely nothing to say. What exactly had I planned on saying, anyway? "No, sorry, you can't stay for dinner, we only offer a meal to everyone once – well, what'd you expect, you snooze, you lose"? I searched my mind fruitlessly for a way out. Aaarrrrgh, it was too hard to think when she looked at me like that. This sucked.
I sighed, fixing the awkward situation with a simple, "Never mind."
"It would be too much trouble for you, Victoria, to cook for an extra person," Winter said cautiously, "and I don't want to inconvenience you."
Hope lifted me up for a second, but sadly, was shot down by Victoria's, "Nonsense, it wouldn't be any inconvenience at all. Besides, judging from what you ate the last time you came here, you barely eat anything at all."
"That's not true –" Winter denied, looking slightly offended.
"Yeah it is," I interrupted her with a grin. "Just look at how skinny you are." I poked her in the ribs.
She gasped and squirmed away. "I am not skinny," she protested, a delicate crease appearing between her eyebrows. She opened her mouth to say more, but I cut her off.
"You're ticklish," I realized. A slow, evil smirk spread across my face.
A look of horror started to creep across her features. "Not again," she muttered to herself. "Now, Zack," she said to me in a panic-stricken voice, slowly moving to the other side of the bar counter.
"Yes, Winter?" I said sweetly, advancing on her. Like cat and mouse.
"Okay," she said, half-laughing nervously. "Let's be reasonable here… Please… don't – Za-ack –"
I had backed her up against the refrigerator, still grinning wickedly. I faked a lunge, but she bit the bait and moved to one side with a squeal, and I caught her easily, tickling her stomach.
Reflexively, she laughed, attempting to break free from me and shouting, "Zack – (giggle) – c'mon, stop, please, please – (irrepressible laugh) – Zack!"
Still unable to stop her giggles, she elbowed me in the chest – not very effective, but it still managed to distract me enough that she tore away from my grasp and dashed out of the kitchen and into the dining room.
Hot dang, she was fast. In a split second she was through the dining room, across the foyer, and half way up the stairs. That is no mean feat, let me tell you. My house is big. The foyer is the largest room in the whole place. I ran after her in hot pursuit, knowing she was going to lose once she reached the labyrinth of the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms. I had the distinct advantage of home turf. By the time I reached the upstairs landing, though, she was nowhere in sight.
I stopped for a moment and considered. There was no way she was going to go into a bedroom that looked even remotely like it could have been my parents' or Victoria's; I knew she was too polite. The main bathroom then, perhaps?
It was deserted when I peeked in. So she wasn't there either.
I grinned to myself, slinking around a corner noiselessly, and there, up ahead, I saw a flicker of a shadow.
She knew I had her. "Oh, crap –" I heard Winter mutter when she spotted me as she dashed into one of the bedrooms – my bedroom, actually. The room was dark; I didn't have the blinds open today.
I barreled in through the door, tackling her onto the bed and catching her around her middle, continuing my tickling assault on her mercilessly.
She fell onto my comforter with a shriek, protesting the whole time, but also laughing uncontrollably. I realized that I was laughing too. I straddled her, pinning her down by her hips as she writhed underneath me.
"Stop, Zack, please," she gasped, laughing the hardest she had as I hit a certain spot in her side.
"Not yet. In a little bit, but not yet."
"Oh, god, p – please, stop –"
"Hmm, I think I'll sing a little song," I said lightly, grinning devilishly and pretending like I hadn't heard her. I continued my attack on her stomach. "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, everybody's nerves, I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves and this is how it goes, oh…"
"Oh I'll tell you about getting on people's nerves," she managed to get out while giggling hilariously. She threw her head back on my pillow as I intensified the torture. "Please, Zack – Zack!" she screamed with laughter.
"Let me hear you say it," I said, smirking, poking her in the ribs one last time and giving her a moment to catch her breath.
"Say what?" she managed to choke out. Her hair was slightly disheveled and fanned out on my pillow, and she blew on a wayward lock that flopped over her face. It flopped right back.
"Oh, you just had to make things harder on yourself, didn't you?" I smirked again.
"Oh, no – I mean – Zack, stop please," she laughed breathlessly. "Mercy! Okay, mercy. Please," she tacked on at the end, after seeming to think twice.
"Okay," I said. "Because I'm a merciful person, I'll stop."
I collapsed on top of her, tired from our chase. I didn't want to completely squash her under my weight though, so I propped myself up on my elbows, grinning down at her. Winter's chest rose and fell unevenly, and we were both breathing hard.
"Oh my god," she said, closing her eyes. She still sounded winded. "That's the second time someone's tickled me today. I am going to freaking kill you."
"Now?"
"Not now," she said, opening her eyes and trying her best to glare at me. "But soon. Just you watch out. A dagger in your ribs, some poison in your drink…" The threat was softened though because I could see the corners of her lips just itching to turn upwards.
I laughed. "I dare you," I whispered, brushing away that stray piece of hair and relaxing my weight on her.
She didn't seem to mind, and smiled at me tiredly before closing her eyes once again. I tucked that piece of hair behind her ear and allowed my fingertip to trace her soft skin, behind her ear, this time not stopping there and traveling down the gentle angle of her jaw, to her lips…
Her dark eyes held my gaze as I ran my touch over her bottom lip. Time froze for a moment as I stopped at the corner of her mouth, our faces mere inches apart.
"You are so beautiful," I breathed. The words left my mouth of their own accord, but the result was worth it. Winter blushed prettily and couldn't seem to come up with a retort, for once.
I got the same rush of adr
enaline I had felt from our almost-kiss yesterday, and wondered what it would be like to actually finish it this time. Suddenly my heart was pounding in my ribcage and I couldn't get a full breath in. Through half-closed eyes I saw that Winter's eyes had slid shut as well as my lips hovered above hers, barely a fraction of a millimeter away. Our lips brushed once in the chastest kiss I had ever experienced, but electricity swept through my whole body, making my skin tingle just from that brief touch. We opened our eyes simultaneously and I just knew from looking into her eyes that she had felt it too. I wondered hazily what she would do if I kissed her again as my gaze strayed to her slightly parted lips.
Someone cleared their throat.
I continued to study her as her fingers curled gently around the baby hairs at the nape of my neck. Our eyes closed again and I leaned toward her to reconnect our lips. Sadly, we never made it.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Talk about killing a moment. Let me tell you something now. You've probably heard it all before, but just let me re-iterate: life is entirely unfair. I closed my eyes very briefly, wishing I could encase the earlier moment in a glass orb so I could keep it and take it out to replay it whenever I wanted.
It was my father. Another bit of advice: when you're going to start kissing a beautiful girl, don't leave the door open to spectators. Especially spectators of the adult sort. "Uh…hey, father," I said, rather stupidly.
Winter had turned her head into my shirt, hiding there. "Oh, lord," I heard her whisper hoarsely.
"Oh, honestly Joshua, let them be," came the light, musical voice of my mother. There was a bit of laughter in her voice. "Don't you remember what it was like to be a teenager?" She closed the door for me and I heard her pulling my father downstairs, though he was grumbling the entire time.
All earlier notions of my not squishing Winter with my body had clean left my brain by now. My elbows gave and I was shaking as I let my head rest in the curve of her neck. Winter's fingers were still in my hair, and I let them stay there.
