Page 67 of Unrest
Dad always said we were Mom’s best pupils. To see Tater like this again filled me with hope and gratefulness. In that hidden room, in the middle of the forsaken wintry desert, in the midst of a war against extra-fucking-terestrials, I felt a moment of joy.
It was our best dance ever. Mom and Abuela would have been proud, and Dad would have been highly entertained. At the end, we hugged while everyone cheered, and I glanced over to see Rylen watching from across the room, a small smile on his lips and heat in his cloudy eyes. Linette nudged his arm. Once. Then twice, until he blinked and held up a pointer finger to say “Give me a minute.”
I glanced up at Tater as the song changed back to hip-hop, and it was like the candle inside of him suddenly snuffed out.
“Hey.” I grabbed his arm. “Thanks. That was fun.”
“Yeah.” But his voice was sullen again, and he left me to go stand by the wall. My heart sank. I looked toward Rylen and my heart sank deeper when I saw he had given his attention back to chatty Linette.
The three drinks were like fire in my system now, everything inside of me blazing with life. This was supposed to be our night to hang out, and Linette knew exactly what she was doing. Remy was right—she was going for it. And so was I.
Matt grabbed Remy, pulling her onto the dance floor where others began to pile on, shaking hips and lifting arms, letting loose in a way none of us had for many months. The air filled with excitement.
I made my way through the crowd, saying hi to New York Josh and a few other guys who stood nearby, and then stopping to stand between Rylen’s feet.
“Hey, look,” Linette said. “It’s your little sister.”
My claws came out.
“I’mnothis sister.” I felt ashamed for rising to her taunt, but the three drinks had crushed my filter. I looked at Rylen, whose eyes were lit with . . . something. He leaned forward, making Linette scoot out of his way.
“You okay?” he asked, peering up at me. There was something in his voice. I couldn’t place it. I wanted to believe it was hope. Hope that I would spirit him away from her.
“Dance with me?” I said. My heart gave a hard thump.
His shoulders fell a little. “You know I don’t dance.”
Linette’s body shook with a laugh.Ignore her.
“I know,” I said. I reached down and took his hand, which he held firmly. I tried to tug, but he had a hard grip. What was in his eyes now? Embarrassment? I couldn’t read him and it was driving me nuts.
He began saying, “Can’t we just—” when Josh was suddenly at my side, nudging me with his elbow.
“This chump ain’t gonna dance with you? Come on, girl. I got this.”
Rylen’s jaw locked and his face hardened as Josh led me away. But halfway to the dance floor a country song came on and Josh said, “Aw, hell no.” He led me to the bar instead.
My buzzing blood was prickling my senses. I didn’t know how to feel, or what exactly had happened back there, but I felt the sting of rejection. Again.
“Two Jacks,” Josh told Devon.
“And another rum and Coke,” I said. I knew I shouldn’t. Iknew, but rebellion was upon me, and I was too weak in my current state to control it. If Rylen was going to choose to sit with her all night, or whatever was going on between them, I wanted to be numb. I didn’t want to hurt.
Josh handed me a shot. “Bottoms up.” We both took it and I barely winced that time. I chased it with a sip of cold, sweet, bubbly rum and Coke.
“You know,” Josh told me. “Fite ain’t the only guy here.” He held out his palms, likejust saying.
“I know.” I chewed the inside of my lip and stared down at my drink.
He was right, of course, but Rylen had always been the only guy for me. No matter how attractive Josh and the other guys were, or how much I enjoyed their company, my heart called out for Rylen’s. Even now, I could feel his presence from half the room away, and if he left I would feel the loss.
I was halfway through my drink when the country song ended and something harder came on with a wicked rock beat. Josh grabbed my hand and led me out. Before his body pressed to mine, my gaze snagged with Rylen’s. He wore that same hard expression as he watched us, leaning forward, his hands dangling in a clasp. Josh’s hands firmly took my waist and pulled my hips to his.
“Who you dancing with, Amber?” he asked in a gravelly voice, his accent thicker after a few drinks. “Me or him?”
I ripped my eyes away from Rylen and focused on Josh. In that moment, the full force of my alcohol intake hit me, and I leaned all my weight on him. How many had I had? An angry sort of righteousness rose up, telling mefuck it—you deserve to be drunk and pissed off all you want.So I paused and chugged the rest of my drink before tossing the cup to the nearest table.
I let the music lead me, arms up, body swaying, pressing against Josh’s toned soldier body. He had the moves of a guy who’d spent plenty of nights clubbing. I knew if I let him, he would take good care of me. But I couldn’t help it; I took another glance toward Rylen. Linette had his face in her hand, as if forcing him to look at her, and she was saying something, looking into his eyes. He closed his eyes and took her wrist, pulling her hand down from his face. But he didn’t scoot away from where her leg was pressed against his. It was like a war raged inside of him.
