“I gave you the room in front, so you could have the sun rising over you,” Kellin says, dropping my hand and opening the door.
I don’t look in the room, but instead at him. “Thank you.”
Kellin’s gaze falls to his feet before it comes back to meet mine. “Only the best for you, Ree.”
I take a deep breath and step passed him into the room. The air rushes out of my chest as I look around me. The room is a light gray, highlighted by soft pink curtains and a pink chevron bedspread. It’s simple but elegant. On the wall above my bed is an abstract of sheet music, the notes dancing off of their proper lines and across the page. Beside the white dresser is a black acoustic guitar.
“Seriously?” I ask as I walk up to it, running my fingers across the strings before looking up above the dresser it sits in front of. There, above my jewelry box, are three canvases, one of him teaching me the guitar, another of my father playing guitar, and lastly Lindy and I spinning.
“Do you like it?” Kellin asks, and I turn to face him. He’s biting his lip as he watches me carefully, his hands stuck in his front pockets. “I wasn’t sure if you’d like the pink.”
I rush forward, jumping into his arms. “It’s perfect.”
Kellin catches me, spinning before placing me back on the ground.
“Perfect,” he says.
“So is your room like an epic mess or something?” I ask as I pull away from him, my face flushed.
“Not exactly,” Kellin begins, but before he can explain, I run across the hall and open the door.
I stop in the middle of his room. Everything, even his sheets, are white. There’s a desk, but other than that there’s no furniture.
“Really?” I ask as I turn to face him leaning against the door frame.
“I spent a lot of time on getting your rooms and the rest of the house ready,” he replies.
“Where are your guitars?” I ask.
“In the garage,” he replies.
“Wouldn’t you want them in here?”
He shrugs. “That would take up a lot of space.”
“When my dad gets here, I’m making him bring me to the store, and then I’m locking you out of your room. You can unpack my stuff while I fix,” I spin my finger around; “this.”
“Fine.” Kellin throws his hands up. “Not like I’m going to fight the bossy boss.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Don’t test me Mr.”
“Eww,” Lindy comments as she looks over his shoulder. “What happened when you came to this room?”
“I was more concerned with pleasing the two princesses than myself,” Kellin shoots back, rolling his eyes.
“I’m going to fix it, don’t worry,” I reply as I slip passed Kellin and follow Lindy down the stairs.
“Let him live in his bland whiteness,” she says as we reach the last step.
I shake my head. “Nope. He’s going to unpack my stuff, and I am going to paint his room…and get him some new sheets.”
Kellin stops mid-step and turns to face us. “You did mark the…”
“Unforgivables?” Lindy interrupts with a smirk.
Kellin swallows, moving his head from shoulder to shoulder as he taps his hand against his thigh.
“Yes, my underwear box is clearly marked — ‘Kellin’s Nightmare.'”
“More like fantasy,” Lindy whispers under her breath.
Kellin glares at her as I stand in the middle looking between them. I glance out the window and see Dad pulling my car into the driveway.
“Dad’s here! See you guys later!” I reply as I rush out of the room.
Chapter 5
Lindy’s words play over and over in my head: Kellin’s fantasy. Could he be as attracted to me as I am to him? I swallow hard as I lean my head against the glass of the passenger side window. I’ve seen the girls Kellin dates, and they do not look like me. They’re preppy but have just a hint of rebellious grit thrown in. They wear lots of pinks, dark purple, and black clothes and have bright colored hair. I chew my lip as my eyes go to my mousy brown locks that hang over my shoulders. Those girls stand out. I don’t. There’s no way Kellin has this in his fantasies.
Dad clears his throat, and I look over at him. His brows furrow as he stares at me, mouth in a thin line. “You okay, Bugs?”
My shoulders lift. “Just thinking.”
His puts the station wagon in park and turns to face me. “About?”
How I want Kellin to think I’m hot.
I purse my lips, shaking my head. “Nothing really.”
“Nervous about college?” he asks, putting his hand over mine and squeezing. His gray-blue eyes are a mirror image of mine, and they soften as he gives me a worried smile. “You’re going to do great — and you have Kell and Lindy there for you every step of the way. Although, your Mom and I do wish you were closer.”
“You’re not excited about being empty-nesters?” I ask, cocking my head at him.
He chuckles to himself but shakes his head. “Of course not.”
I raise one eyebrow, and he nods to the store. “So what do you need so badly that I couldn’t even come inside to say hi?”
We get out of the car and head towards the doors of the big box store.
“Kellin spent so much time making the rest of the house perfect that his room is a white disaster. There’s nothing Kellin about it,” I reply as I push the red shopping cart.
Dad nods. “You do know Kellin best, so what’s the idea?”
“We need some sort of furnishing to spruce up the place, new bedspread, paint, some art for the walls…and something to hang one of his acoustics and one of his electric guitars up,” I say, and I glance over at Dad. He’s smirking at me. “What?”
He shakes his head. “You really do care about him, don’t you?”
I swallow, looking straight ahead as I head to the home furnishing department. “Of course I do, he’s my best friend’s brother, and he’s my friend too.”
“And that’s it?” Dad asks, and his eyebrows go up into his forehead. He always seems to talk with his eyebrows, and I know when he’s trying to get a rise out of me, which he definitely is now.
I nod as I grab a gray and black plaid comforter set and then turn to the accent pillows.
Dad coughs again. “Dudes will not put accent pillows on their bed, Ree.”
“Right,” I say, pouting as I look around for something to give the room a bit of color. My eyes land on a bright red bean bag chair. I point at it and look at Dad. “Chair?”
Dad winks at me, and I grab it.
“I think we’re going to need another one of these,” Dad says, looking down at the overflowing red cart.
He leaves me and I end up looking at paint colors. I pick out a navy blue and then grab two yellow side tables for next to Kellin’s bed before Dad returns.
“What’s left?” he asks as he looks at the two full carts. “And who’s footing this bill?”
“Kellin dressed up my room, so I’ll pay,” I reply, smiling up at Dad. “Good thing you made me get that job at the creamery this summer.”
“Again…just friends?” Dad says, and his eyebrows wiggle. “I mean if you like him, you can tell me. I don’t mind that he’s older if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Dad!” I say, dragging out the syllables. “I don’t talk about boys with Mom, what makes you think I’ll talk about them to you?”
Dad shrugs. “Well, if you do, I approve. He’s a good kid. Better than a lot of guys his age.”
I bite my lip as we head to the section that has wall art. He doesn’t know Kellin has a reputation with girls, but most of all, he doesn’t realize Kellin’s a complete rebel. I wonder if he knew about the tattoos and piercings what he’d think. I smile over at Dad.
“Thanks for your approval, but it’s not needed. What I do need is your help with all this,” I say, signaling to the wall of options. Dad points at a three-dimensional white paper deer’s head, and I roll my eyes. “H
ell, no.”
Dad shrugs and points to an abstract wooden arrow. “What about this? It might look good hung over his bed?”
“Now you’re thinking!” I say, and he puts it in the cart. I pick out two abstract paintings of waves while Dad goes to get hooks for the guitars, and then we head to the checkout line. Dad cringes when the total comes up, but I just swipe my debit card. He’s quiet as we walk out to the car.
“You’re all grown up,” Dad says, shaking his head as I take the bags and put them in the back of the car. “I didn’t even know you had a debit card.”
I smile up at him. “As soon as I turned eighteen I asked Mom to bring me to the bank so I could open separate accounts from the ones you guys had for me.”
“You keep a checkbook register?” he asks as he plops the bean bag chair on top of everything.
“Dad, they have an app for that,” I reply, and he heaves a sigh as he shuts the trunk.
“Don’t they have one for everything nowadays?” Dad says as we get into the car. “Where would we be without those crazy smiley faces?”
“Emojis?” I ask as I try to contain my laughter.
“Whatever they’re called. I’m just glad you and your friends kept speaking English and didn’t decide to shorten every single word to something that no one with a brain knows what it is,” he replies with a shake of his head. “I mean, what the hell does it mean to ‘ship’ something if it’s not to put it in the mail?”
“I think it’s short for worship?” I reply with a shrug.
One of Dad’s eyebrows goes up, and I can’t help but laugh.
I really have no clue, but I’m betting Lindy would.
~~~
“Keep your eyes closed,” I say as I lead Kellin into his freshly painted and designed room. “Okay, open them!”
Kellin’s mouth goes slack as he looks around. “This is incredible.”
I shrug. “You deserve it after everything you did to get the house ready for Lindy and me.”
Kellin pulls me into his arms and kisses the top of my head. “You really didn’t have to.”
“Of course I did!” I reply looking up at him.
He inhales, and his breath seems to catch in his throat. He swallows hard and then turns to look back at the room.
“You even knew which guitars to take from the garage,” he says as he walks forward and runs his fingers over the strings of his light blue acoustic.
“I guess I know you pretty well,” I reply, shrugging as I go to sit on his bed.
Kellin runs his hands through his hair and turns, chewing on the inside of his lip. “You know me better than anyone.”
“What is the best friend of your sister for?” I reply, and he sits down next to me, taking my hand into his.
“You’re more than just my sister’s best friend, Ree. You’re mine.”
My breath sticks in my throat as I look up at him and his eyes flicker over my face. My stomach flutters, and somehow I manage to say, “What about Temp and Schmidt?”
Kellin’s eyes drop, and he scoffs. “Those are the guys,” he replies, and his gaze comes back to my face as he covers his lip piercing with his upper lip before continuing. “No one gets me like you do.”
“Those are the guys,” he replies, and his gaze comes back to my face as he covers his lip piercing with his upper lip before continuing. “No one gets me like you do.”
I fight the temptation to reach up and touch his cheek. Instead, I laugh, and it comes out a bit high pitched. My brain struggles to catch up with exactly how I’m feeling and I have to take a deep breath to ground myself.
“Don’t tell Lindy, but I feel the same way about you. You get me,” I reply, and he leans forward, taking my face in his hands as he kisses my forehead.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” he says, and I smile at him.
“Me too, but we should probably go back downstairs. My dad will be wondering what’s going on,” I reply, nodding to the door.
I don’t want to go back downstairs, but I’m afraid if we stay alone much longer my brain will completely stop working, and I’ll do something stupid. My eyes drop to his lips. Like kiss him. Kellin nods, and his eyes fall to my lips as I lick them. His jaw clenches, and he stands so I can’t see his face.
“You go ahead,” he says, looking over his shoulder at me. “I just need a second to take this all in.”
“Okay,” I reply, heading out of his room. When I reach the door, I can’t help but glance at him. He has his back to me, and his head is tipped back with his arms bracing it. I hear him in inhale deeply. I don’t have time to wonder exactly what his personal struggle is because Lindy calls my name up the stairs.
“Hey,” she says, and I avoid having to think about my own emotional turmoil over him.
My face flushes as I walk away, leaving Kellin with his thoughts.
Chapter 6
I stare at the massive building complex around me, and my mouth goes dry. I don’t know how I’m supposed to be able to find my way around this place. The map made it look so much simpler. We went to a large high school with a ten building spread that was meant to make it more like a college prep school, but in comparison to this, it’s nothing. I suddenly wish I hadn’t told Lindy I could find my way to my first class by myself because I’m pretty damn sure I can’t. I stare down at the map and then around me as the panic sets in. I glance at my cell phone. It’s almost time for my class, and I have no clue where I am.
“Hey!” Kellin’s voice comes from behind me.
I turn, and I know my face shows my internal panic as his brows furrow over his eyes.
“You okay?” he asks.
I grit my teeth and look at the sky. “I’m completely and utterly lost, and I was supposed to be in class…” I look down at my cell phone. “A minute ago.”
Kellin scratches his scuff as he readjusts his messenger bag. “Where are you heading?”
I show him my schedule. “Managerial Accounting – Sim Hall, 3B.”
“No problem, I’m heading to Sim Hall for an accounting class too,” he replies, nodding over his shoulder. “It’s this way.”
I blink at him a few times as the thought of him taking an accounting class registers, and then quickly after that, the fact I have no clue what he’s majoring in, even though he’s almost done with his degree.
“Professor Bryant is pretty good. He can talk kind of fast, though,” Kellin says as we make our way across the campus and up to a brick building that pretty much looks like every other brick building.
“Great,” I reply as I look around me, the panic still there. I stop in my tracks as Kellin holds the door for me. “Kell, I don’t think I can do this. I’m so confused, and I haven’t even started a class yet.”
“You’ll be fine, Ree.”
“I don’t even know where I am, or how we got here!” I reply, throwing up my arms.
Kellin grabs my hands and squeezes. “Ree, deep breathes. You’re going to do amazing. When was the last time you failed at anything?”
I swallow. I do fail at things. I just don’t make it known that I struggle with every single math class I’ve ever taken, and accounting is no exception.
“You’re on the second floor–I’ll meet you after my class, and I’ll get you to all your classes for the day. How does that sound?” he asks, cocking his head at me with his hands still entwined in mine.
I realize at some point I’ve stopped breathing, but I’m not sure if it’s nerves or the way Kellin is taking care of me, or the way his green eyes are flecked with dark hints of brown. I take a shaky breath and nod. “That’d be amazing.”
Kellin pulls me into a hug. “Alright, you’re on the second floor, third door on your left. I’ll see you in an hour and a half?”
I nod, and he pulls away, giving me a smile over his shoulder before slipping into his classroom.
The day passes in a blur of class after class, with Kellin waiting in the hallway, or at the front of the building in bet
ween each. At the end of my last lesson, I keep looking up at the clock, tapping my pencil against my desk as I wonder if Kellin will be waiting for me even though I should be able to find my way back to our rental house. When the teacher finally dismisses us, I shove my new textbooks into my bag and rush out of the room. I slow down as I reach the building doors and push them open to find Kellin sitting on the wall in front of the building. My stomach turns. There’s a girl there with him; a very pretty girl. I stop in my tracks as the thought registers that this shouldn’t bug me, but the way the girl flips her blonde curls over her shoulder and places a hand on Kellin’s shoulder makes my jaw go tight. It isn’t the first time I’ve instantly hated one of the many girls that cling to his every word, but this is the first time I’ve realized I’m jealous. He’s waiting for me, not her, but I’m his little sisters best friend, and I sure as hell don’t look like that. I glance down at my baggy t-shirt and jeans, sucking my lip into my mouth as my eyes rise back to look at the girl. She isn’t as shapely as me, but who would know that when I bury it beneath all this cotton? I sigh. It’s always been easier for me just to throw something on, but this girl obviously thinks through her outfits. I start walking again, and Kellin sees me from the corner of his eyes.
His lips turn from the fake smile he’s been giving the girl into a genuine grin, curling up at one edge and dimpling his cheek. My shoulders relax, and I return the smile.
“Hey, Ree,” Kellin says, pulling me into a hug that makes the girl’s mouth twitch.
“Thanks for waiting for me, Kell,” I reply, ignoring the fact the girl is even there.
She coughs, and Kellin’s face tinges red before he turns back to her. “Reese, meet Mia, Mia meet Reese.”
Mia looks me up and down, and the smile on her face widens as she blinks at me a few times. She apparently doesn’t feel I’m competition, but more of a sympathy case. I swallow.
Kellin is helping me because he feels like I’m also a little sister to him.
Maybe that’s it. My insides bubble and I clench my fists until my nails bit into my palms.
Best friend’s brother. I remind myself. Why am I constantly reminding myself of this now? Kellin and I have been friends for years.
Rebel Cause (Boys of Fallout Book 3) Page 3
