Page 82 of Faded Rhythm

Finally, he gives up the fight.

“Five minutes,” he says as he steps out of his slides. “Yall got me out here looking crazy,” he mumbles as he steps on. Then he stands there with his arms folded while the girls jump back up. I bring up the rear and the girls start jumping, which makes him bounce slightly. He makes a bored face at me until the girls grab his arms.

They’re holding his hands now, then they form a circle.

“Jump!” Rae squeals, and they’re off, bouncing together in a silly, joyous rhythm. Julian looks awkward at first, then a grin breaks out. A grin that makes him look like a completely different man. A boy, even, free and full of light.

He lets out a giggle that stuns me and they bounce around in a circle. I sit in the corner, knees pulled up to my chest, and watch as his armor cracks and joy creeps in, discreetly wiping a tear from my cheek, wishing it could be like this forever.

It takes forever to get the colorful syrup stains off the girls’ faces, but I manage to do that and get them down for a nap. After all the sugar they had, I doubt they’ll sleep, but I need a minute to breathe.

Julian’s in the foyer standing next to a stack of boxes.

“I meant to have this all unpacked before y’all came back in,” he said, grabbing a box cutter off the table. “I didn’t plan on getting held hostage in a bouncy house.”

I laugh. “Yes, you looked miserable. But I don’t care if you have boxes. We’re guests in your home, Julian. Please don’t feel like you have to make things perfect for us.”

“Nah, I know that,” he says as he cuts into the first box. “This stuff is for you.”

“Me?”

Now, I’m intrigued.

He pulls out a slim white box and hands it to me. “That’s your new phone. No tracking.”

“Thank you.” I clutch it against my chest. “And the rest of this?”

“Hang on.” He opens box after box, pulling out their contents and stacking them up on the hall table. Books. Lots of books.

“Wait a minute.” I step forward squinting at the spines. “These are…” I trail off as I recognize the titles.

“Yeah, I knew you liked to read,” he says as he heaves another stack onto the table. “You have an account on this website called Goodreads…and I don’t know why I’m telling you that like you don’t know. Anyway, I just got some of the books off your to-be-read list.”

He says this casually like he’s discussing the weather. “Well, that’s closer toallthan some. I don’t know. Anyway, happy reading, Sable.”

I thrown my arms around him. The box cutter clatters to the floor.

“Whoa! Be careful,” he laughs, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Damn, you really like books, huh?”

I kiss his cheek. “I really like that you thought of me,” I say, staring into his eyes. “Seriously. This means so much.”

He nods. “I really like seeing you happy. It makes me happy.”

I press my lips to his, soft and lingering.

And then I hear a gasp.

“What are you doing?”

Julian is off me before I even get my eyes open. Kelice and Rae are standing there with their mouths open, and I feel like my parents just caught me making out in the basement after school.

“Um…” I clear my throat. “King isn’t really our cousin,” I say slowly. “He’s just a really good friend who’s helping me right now.”

Both girls stare at us, blinking.

“And his name is Julian.”

Rae looks at Kelice, then back at me. “We wanted fruit snacks. Can we have some fruit snacks?”

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