Page 7 of Heat Haze
“They don’t seem all that similar to ya, either.”
I get what she means by that. It’s not exactly the first time I’ve heard it. I stick out in my friend group, for better or for worse.
“They’re good people,” I say, and I believe it—even if the behavior they’ve shown here just makes me seem like a big fat liar.
Alma just shrugs, which must mean that the conversation is over. I turn to leave, but nearly yelp when Toro appears in the doorway. I’m not even that short, but standing so close to him makes me feel small. With my head tilted all the way up, our eyes meet again.
He doesn’t say or do anything. He only stares curiously. His head cocks to the side, not unlike a dog trying to process something they don’t quite understand. He scratches at his stubble awkwardly before just stepping to the side with an audible huff.
I don’t really know what to make of that so I just smile. “You have a good night, okay?”
His face brightens, but he still says nothing. I move to join the others upstairs. As nice as the Taveras have been to us, I can't say I’ll bethatsad to leave tomorrow.
Just one more night and I’ll be in my own bed.
CHAPTER FIVE
“I cannot fucking wait to get out of here.” Grant whines, laying flat on the little cot they set out for us. “Wrangled up in some room like a damn dog.”
Nadine shrugs, her body on top of his. “It’s really not that bad.” Her finger is idly playing with the silver ring around his finger, but I’m surprised the cot hasn’t collapsed under their combined weight.
The guest room, if you can call it that, is basically the same as the living room. Minimal furniture, peeling blue polkadot wallpaper, and a few cots sort of just tucked into each corner. Better than sleeping on the floor, though.
“Relax,Nico,” Frank teases, standing near the window. “We’re just having a sleepover with America’s scariest family. I mean fuck—whatiswrong with these people?”
Levi giggles at that. “I’m saying. Like here Toro—here boy! A guy that big shouldnotbe fucking mute. It’s scary as hell.”
I don’t even get to say anything, because the minute I open my mouth Grant is immediately silencing me. “No, Nico. Don’t defend them. You know it’s weird as fuck.”
“Yeah,” Frank adds, “he’s gonna come grab you in the middle of the night and lock you in the basement for giving him those cookies. Hope you’re ready to be Toro’s special boy.”
“Okay…” Nadine glares at him, tugging on Grant’s arm. “Be nice. Nico is just being nice. You know how it is.”
Levi perks up. “Actually, I don’t.Howis it, exactly?” Of course he wouldn’t. We’re not close, to be honest. I’m not close with any of them except Nadine. She’s different.The closest thing I have to a best friend, even if we’ve never really put a label on our friendship.
She glances back at me, brown eyes giving me a pitiful look that I don’t appreciate whatsoever. She’s the only person I ever told about the way I grew up, so I know she won’t—
“He just grew up kind of… ugly, you know?”
My heart drops into my stomach when the words leave her mouth.
Frank snorts, eyes darting between the two of us as if she’s lying. “No way? Nico? Ugly? I don’t know if I can believe that.”
“He was! He really was!” Nadine laughs like she doesn’t remember how I nearly teared up telling her about it when we first became friends. “He showed me pictures and everything. He was way bigger, and he didn’t know how to style his hair… and the acne…”
To my surprise it’sGrantof all peoplewho seems to pick up on how much I amnotenjoying this conversation. “Uh, Nade… Maybe you shouldn’t…”
Nadine blinks, turning to me. Her expression softens, so I guess I wasn’t doing as good a job hiding my emotions as I thought. “No, Nic… I’m just teasing you, you know? Like we all do? I swear, it’s not… It’s fine.”
“It’s…” Not fine. Not okay. Not nice. But I can’t say any of that. I just swallow the negative emotions down, taking a shaky breath. “It’s whatever. Yeah. I used to stick out. I didn’t really have friends. That’s why…”
Of course Frank has to chime in. “That’s why you’re pretending to give a shit about this family? They remind you of your past?”
“No!” My voice raises a little. “It’s not… I’m not pretending! Do you guys seriously not have any empathy? Just—at all!?”
My friends are quiet, all wide eyes and shocked faces like they haven’t been provoking me since we stopped at the gas station.
“They’re letting us stay at their house, letting us eat their food. They can’t just fucking order Uber when they run out of groceries, you know? Theyaredifferent, and that’s perfectly fine!”
