Page 22 of One Flew Over the Omega's Nest: Part One
I don’t stop running. I run through the courtyard, not paying proper attention to where I’m going. That’s the only explanation I can think of for how I end up running into a brick wall.
Wait. Not a brick wall. Strong hands brace my arms, and when I look up, I’m caught in Hayden’s hazel gaze, his smoky pepper scent tickling my nose. “Woah, where’s the fire?”
I gape up at him. Is he trying to make a joke? Or is he just constantly thinking about fire?
Shaking my head, I take a step back. “Sorry. I shoulda been watchin’ where I was goin’.”
Hayden frowns, his brows furrowing as he looks at me. His expression is way more concerned than what I would expect for someone I’ve had one conversation with. “You’re shaking.”
I let out a breathless laugh, holding my hands out in front of me. “Well I’ll be damned. You’re right. Guess I just got spooked by somethin’. Anyway, I gotta go. I’ll try not to run into you so hard next time.”
I’m stepping around him and running away before he can say anything else, but I’m not ten steps away when he calls out behind me, “You’re always welcome to run into me as hard as you want!”
I look over my shoulder, meeting his eyes as he shoots me a wink. My chest bubbles with laughter. “Whatever you say, Crazy Boy.”
His smile only widens before I turn back around and continue to my room, feeling a little lighter than I did a minute ago.
ten
Jo
"Jojo, wait up!" Mabel calls out from behind me, and my steps slow, waiting for her to catch up.
As her big sister, it's my job to make sure she stays safe. Who knew that two and half minutes would make such an impact on my responsibilities as a sibling?
I wiggle my bare toes in the grass as I hold my hand out for her to take. Mabel's hair looks near white in the sunlight, her blue eyes shining with warmth. Her fingers thread through mine with a blinding smile, and as we race through the orchard, I find myself not minding so much. I'm better suited for the big sis role anyway. I'm too stubborn and hard-headed for it to be any other way.
"Come on, Mabel-cakes," Icall over my shoulder, "they were just up this way!"
The first ripe peaches of the season.
She laughs as I run, practically dragging her behind me.
When we finally find the tree, the ripe fruit hanging high up, we both squeal in glee.
My feet scramble for purchase on the bark, and if I hadn't been climbing trees the last six years of my life, it might've hurt. It also might have been more difficult with this pesky cast on my wrist. Lucky for me, I've been scaling Mrs. Humphries' peach trees since I was three years old.
"Climb up with me," I nearly beg, leaning down and reaching for her with my good arm.
She only gives me a slight shake of the head. "I'm not brave like you, Jojo. Will you toss me one down though?"
Instead of telling Mabel how wrong she is—that she's the bravest person I know, I grab two peaches and toss her one before hopping down myself. We settle on the grass, our backs against the tree trunk.
The late-May sun is high in the sky, the humidity near stifling. But there’s a gentle breeze, and peach juice dribbles down our chins as we giggle and talk about our plans for the summer.
Suddenly, Mabel frowns at me. "Don't…don't go askin' him 'bout gettin' a job again, Jojo. He won't like it."
I huff a breath. That's where my broken wrist came from. Usually, if Daddy has a punishment for me, he takes me to the black walnut tree out back behind the trailer. Probably because he knows Mabel will try to step in. Last week though, I mentioned doing a paper route or something, and I didn't realize he was high as a kite. Cocaine.
"I promise you, Mabel. As soon as we turn eighteen, we're leavin'," I swear to her, my stomach twisting at the sight of her black eye. It had been so easy to pretend it wasn't there before, within the shade of the orchard, but now the sunis setting, the warm light hitting it like a spotlight. She tried to get in Daddy's way when he threw me into the coffee table, and now her pretty face is all ruined.
"What about Mama?" Mabel asks, her peach pit on the ground next to us. "I got this terrible feelin' Jojo…that next time he might finish the job."
I swallow, my throat dry. "We try to convince her to come with us. We…we can work in secret, I don't know. But we can't just sit by and be punchin' bags the rest of our lives, Mabel."
"I—" Her words are cut off by a loud bang, and our heads fly up. Hunting isn't unusual in these parts, but that came from the direction of home.
Now, Mabel and I may be twins, but we rarely have that twin voodoo thing going on where we sense things at the same time.
