Page 26 of When Fate Breaks
I look back at Blake and see his throat bob, a deep line of thought etched between his brows. “Well it sounds like it was meant to be, then.”
I stiffen, my teeth going into my bottom lip. “Yeah,” I nod. “Maybe.” When Blake doesn’t respond, just continuing to stare at me, I push off the doorframe. “Well, goodnight.”
“Hey, can I ask you one more thing?”
I pause with my hand on the doorknob, looking over my shoulder. “Yeah?”
Blake’s serious expression melts into a look of amusement, his brows scrunching. “Apple Jacks?” he questions. “I mean, really?”
“Shut up,” I chuckle, rolling my eyes as I let myself back into the house.
6
THIRTEEN YEARS AGO
“Hold on, just a sec!”
“Putting away your action figures?” Dad calls back, knocking harder.
“No, you son of a–” Kyle Di Fazio’s voice is drowned out by the sound of the heavy front door creaking open.
“Always the warmest of welcomes,” Dad says, shaking his head with a laugh.
“Shove it, Jacks,” Kyle says, pushing Dad’s shoulder. “Lovely to see you,ladies,” he directs at Mom, Steph, and me standing on the porch behind Dad. “Come on in.” He stands aside, allowing us into the house, hugging each of us on our way in.
It’s the first weekend of April and the last weekend of Spring Break. Even though we had seen Grammy on a few different occasions, it had been years since we made it back to Lake Placid to visit with her at home. With Steph and me being out of school this week and my parents finally finding a new manager for the hardware store that they could trust to hold the fort down for an extended period of time, we actually managed to plan for a few days with Grammy and, naturally, an afternoon with the Di Fazios.
“Hey, Annie,” Kyle smiles as he pulls me in last. “How’s high school treating you?”
“Basically like junior high,” I respond, returning his smile. With Ramer being so small, the shift to high school wasn’t all that extreme. My classes still consisted of the same one hundred students, just in a slightly larger building and a little further down the street. “But it’s getting better as it goes, I guess. Just two more months until I’m officially an upperclassman. We’re in the home stretch.”
“Aw, come on now. I’m sure you’re excited, but try to just enjoy the ride,” Kyle says, patting the top of my head. “It’ll be over before you know it.”
Yeah, that’s kind of the idea.
“I know, I know,” I nod, giving him a smile before following the rest of my family inside. When I make it to the living room, I see that the TV is playing the lottery drawing. Dad and I glance at each other and then down at the coffee table at the same time, seeing a ticket torn in half just as Kyle enters the room.
“Next week?” Dad asks.
“Next week,” Kyle confirms.
“Where’s everyone at?” Mom questions.
“Somebody called in earlier today, so Emily is hung up at the shop,” Kyle responds.
Emily has worked at this old two-story used book shop in town called The Book Nook for the past decade. From what I’ve heard, it’s supposed to look like something out of a movie, with exposed brick in the walls and antique wooden bookshelves stretching for miles. Emily has also mentioned other things over the years like secret reading nooks and a complimentary coffee bar. It’s safe to say that I’ve always been dying to go see it.
“She’ll be there another hour or so,” Kyle continues. “Blake is in the back working on–”
“Hey,” a husky voice I don’t quite recognize snaps my attention to the side. Standing in the back doorway, flannel covered arms crossed and long torso leaning against the doorframe, is Blake. Khaki shorts hang low on his hips, a t-shirt version of his blue Jays baseball jersey covering his chest. My eyes trail up, seeing sweat lightly soaking the top of his t-shirt and shining across his face. His hair is a lot longer, the brown curls swooping out from underneath the baseball cap turned backward on his head.
“Blake!” My mom’s voice rings through my ears as she scrambles forward, throwing her arms up. Blake pushes off the doorframe and meets her halfway, returning her hug. Mom pulls back, keeping her hands on Blake’s shoulders. “Look at you! You’ve got me up on my tip-toes here. How did that happen?” Blake chuckles shyly. “How are you?” Mom asks him.
“I’m great, Miss Heidi.” His voice makes me do a double-take for the second time.When did it get so deep?“It’s nice to see you,” he says to my mom. “Hey, Steph,” he calls, waving to her over Mom’s shoulder. He finally turns to me, taking a step in my direction. I have to crane my neck backwards to meet his blue-green eyes. Considering I’m not a short girl, he has to be well over six feet now.
“Hi, Evangeline,” Blake says, his lips pulling up at one side.
“Hi,” I reply. I feel a shiver work its way down my back and I hug myself, rubbing my arms over the sleeves of my sweater. I look around Blake to see the back door still hanging open, letting in the chilly breeze.
