Page 9 of Reckless Youth
Sage scrunched his nose. “Nah, not my type.”
Tilting my head, I squinted at him. “Oh yeah? Who exactly is your type? Emo girls and boys with coal-rimmed eyes and piercings?” I teased.
Sage was my dark-haired, freckle-faced, black clothes-wearing musician boy. My momma had mentioned once that Sage just naturally carried a dark aura about him and that the whole town thought he was troubled; but in reality, if you knew him like I did, you knew Sage was a sweet, loving soul. Although he downplayed that to the rest of the world; the Sage I knew was thoughtful, considerate and loved those that loved him with all his heart.
Those on that list included me, Cam and my momma. Sage’s own mother had passed away when he was three. And his father…well, I’d never once seen his father sober. He was the town drunk and was constantly in and out of trouble with the law. Sometimes, he’d be gone for long stretches of time on the road doing lord knows what.
Sage had admitted to me once that he liked it when his father was gone because at least he was alone and unbothered.
It hurt my own heart that this boy, who was growing into a tall, beautiful man and such a talented musician, was so easily cast aside and mistreated by his own father. I couldn’t imagine wanting to be alone rather than be in the company of my own family.
Sage bumped my shoulder with his as we continued walking, squeezing my hand tightly against his palm. We always held hands whenever we were alone together. Like we weren’t whole if we weren’t connected to one another physically. As if Sage craved human touch so much that he needed to be connected to me in some way and needed that in order to survive.
“Nah…I kind of prefer annoying, green-eyed, freckle-nosed, blonde bombshells that disguise themselves as bookworms.”
I laughed at Sage’s obviously humorous description of me.
“I’m not a bombshell,” I whined, looking down at my body in observation. “My boobs aren’t nearly as big as Hallie Cunningham’s.”
Sage stopped, turned to face me, pulling my arms out to the side like I was flying. He cocked his head to the left and then to right, then held his chin as if in deep concentration as he leered at me.
“Turn around,” he commanded, circling his finger toward me.
I gave him a WTH scrunchy-face, but complied, hamming it up by wiggling my butt as I turned in a circle at his command.
“Mmm-hmm. Like I said, bombshell. And might I add, your boobs are way better than hers. Her tits are wonky and lopsided.”
My mouth dropped open and I squealed. “What? Have you…do you have first-hand experience with them, Sage Hendricks?”
Sage was never one to kiss and tell when it came to girls. Or boys, for that matter. He’d dated, but never more than once and it was usually a drunken hookup at a kegger or river party. It was at Justin Lancer’s party a month ago where I noticed Sage going out into the woods with Hallie.
“Maybe…” he smirked. “I guess I’d have to see yours to do any real comparison.”
I swatted at his chest with a loud gasp. “Sage Crenshaw Hendricks. How dare you!”
“What? I’m just saying…”
We both laughed as he hooked an arm around my shoulder as he pulled me into a skip down the remainder of the road.
When we neared my house and slowed to a stop at the top of my porch, the porch light illuminated his face in just the right angle for me to notice a subtle bruising under his cheekbone. Oddly, I hadn’t noticed it before then, likely because we’d been in a dark theater and that side of his face had been obscured and away from me.
I gasped and lifted my hand to his cheekbone, feathering my fingers over his soft, alabaster skin.
“My God, Sage. What happened?”
He swung my arm away and turned his head to face the opposite direction.
“Nothing. Just the usual. Old man got a bee in his drunk bonnet and decided to take it out on me.”
I closed my eyes, the tears of frustration and anger spilling over and down my face. I’d never known hate until I first heard of the physical violence Sage had been subjected to while under his father’s roof. I just couldn’t fathom how anyone could do that to his son. I was so lucky to have the parents that I did, who loved me and protected me from harm.
“Oh Sage, I’m so sorry. Come inside so we can put some ice on it.”
Opening the screen door, I tugged on his hand for him to follow me in. He hesitated only for a moment until I glared at him with a look that told him not to argue; I would win this war.
“Really, it’s okay, London. It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”
I was so angry I could spit nails. I ground my teeth together to keep from saying something that would probably send him away. I opened the freezer and pulled out a bag of frozen peas, wrapping it in a kitchen towel. Grabbing two Cokes out of the fridge next, I nodded toward the basement stairs.
