Page 77 of My Life with the Walter Boys
She rushed down the stairs toward the sound of the voices, and I followed quickly after her, but by the time we reached the living room George was already pulling Cole and Alex apart.
“What is wrong with you two?” he demanded, glaring at both of his sons. He had a tight grip on both of their shirts as he held them away from each other. Alex was sporting a bloody lip but had a smug smile on his face, while Cole looked like he was going to explode.
“He started it,” Alex said. “Went all crazy and just attacked me out of nowhere. No clue what I did to piss him off.” From the pleased tone of his voice, I knew Alex wasn’t telling the whole truth.
“Well?” George asked, turning to Cole. “Is that true?”
“He was being a punk.”
“And that counts as a good reason to punch your brother? God, Cole, I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately,” George said and shook his head. “If this happens again, you’re going to be mucking the horse stalls for the next month. You hear me?”
Cole nodded his head and George released both boys. When he was gone, Cole got right back up in Alex’s face. “You think you’re so cool now, don’t you?” he hissed. “Just remember, you only took the first round. We both know from experience that I always win.”
The grin on Alex’s face faltered, and I saw something dark flash in his eyes.
“Guys?” I asked hesitantly, but as soon as Cole heard my voice he was gone, storming out of the room without another word.
“Dammmnn,” I heard Lee say.
Turning around, I found that most of the boys had gathered behind me to watch the scene.
“Shit,” Isaac hissed back. “Wasn’t expecting that.”
“You lose,” Lee told his brother. “Pay up.”
Isaac dug into his pocket for his wallet. He pulled out a twenty and slapped it into his brother’s hand with a scowl. Danny was standing next to him, and I noticed that his usually blank face was covered in surprise. It gave me the feeling that this fight was somehow my fault, and as dread started to lace my veins, I went over to him.
“What the heck just happened?” I whispered.
Danny shook his head, and I thought that he wasn’t going to tell me, but then he grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me out onto the deck where we wouldn’t be overheard. He explained that last night, Alex had bragged about me being his girlfriend to everyone except Cole. It was like he was purposely trying to entice his older brother, and when Cole found out in the morning, Alex got the reaction he was looking for.
Cole was furious, and he spent the rest of Sunday out in the garage, working on his car.
The next day at school, Alex was no better. When class ended and we walked out of anatomy together, he pulled me against his locker and kissed me hard, his hand weaving behind my back so he could hold me against his body. In the moment, I thought he was being romantic, but when he pulled away, I caught him glancing over my shoulder. Following his gaze, I saw Mary standing with her group of friends, a killer glare on her face.
Lunchtime was a headache. Riley, Heather, and Skylar bombarded Alex and me with questions the moment we sat down. They grilled us for the entire thirty minutes that we had to eat, and while Alex didn’t seem to mind, I just wanted the news of us dating to die down so things could go back to how they used to be. Kim, the only one I could count on to act normal, never showed up.
By the time school was over, I was so exhausted that I took a nap, something that I never allowed myself to do. I ended up sleeping for so long that when it was time to actually go to bed, I couldn’t fall asleep. That’s why, even thought it was well past midnight, I sat straight up in bed when I heard the knock on my door.
“Jackie, you still awake?” Alex whispered, peeking in.
“Uh-huh,” I answered.
“Can I come in?” he asked again even more quietly.
“Yeah, sure,” I said, sitting up. “What’s up?”
He closed the door quietly and tiptoed over to my bed. I looked at the clock. It was already midnight.
“Do you have any black clothes?” Alex asked me.
“Somewhere in my closet,” I said, nodding my head. “Why?”
“You’re going to have to dig them out,” he said, a grin spreading across his face.
“What for?” I asked, but I headed over to my closet anyway. I searched through a few long-sleeved shirts until I found my old Hawks sweater with my name stitched into the pocket.
“The guys all voted, and we decided to let you come along on our little end-of-the-year tradition.”
