If it were any other time he would tease her about it, but he didn’t want to right now. All he wanted was for her to stop being scared.
"I have some headphones you can use," he offered.
Slowly, Ebony turned and looked at him over her shoulder. He had been right, she had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and shiny.
Not sure what to do, he said, "Wait here."
He ran back to his room and grabbed his large headphones out of the game system and ran back to her room. Coming around the bed until he was standing in front of her, he held out the large headphones with their puffy earpads and slipped them over her head. They covered her ears perfectly.
"See, and you can plug them into my PlayStation and you will just hear my game." He pointed to the dangling cord hanging from the headphones.
Ebony just nodded as if she was shocked or didn't know what to say, she just followed him back to his room as he plugged her into the game system. Pulling out another set of headphones he sat beside her and explained the racing game to her.
That night didn’t end their animosity, but it was the night Gavin realized Ebony wasn’t all that different from him. Both had a missing parent, and both were left with the parent who resented being the one who stayed. Together they figured out how to gravitate toward the parent that showered them with the attention they needed while quietly building their own independence. Through every high and low, one truth always held steady, since the day Ebony became a Rosebank, they belonged to each other.
Chapter seven
Ebony was standing at the counter in the school's office filling out a Peer Guide Program form when she felt the large presence at her back.
Gavin's whispered words tickled her neck. "Let's get out of here and sit by the beach and eat hamburgers and milkshakes."
Smiling, she turned around. Gavin was so close, her pleated skirt brushed against him at the movement. "Aww but if we do that you'll miss seeing your favorite person."
Gavin’s eyes lingered on her, taking in the simple button-down and houndstooth skirt before meeting her gaze, confused. "I’m looking at my favorite person."
Ebony felt her cheeks warm and her smile soften.
"As adorable as that is I believe she is referring to me," the tall figure behind Gavin spoke.
Turning, Gavin's eyes widened with genuine shock at the sight of Garrett. Not wearing his cowboy hat but still in his usual work boots and a worn black T-shirt he looked as about as relaxed as he was going to get. At nineteen, Garrett was older, wiser, and far more mature than any of the students. Having been working since he was fourteen, school hadn't always been a priority but this year was his final year and he was going to complete it with them.
"Am I dreaming or am I seeing my one and only bestie standing in Stardust High right now?"
"You're not only seeing him right now, you'll be seeing him for the remainder of the school year as a student. He transferred from Holter to Stardust," Ebony announced using her best Vanna White impression as she swept a hand toward Garrett in a silentta-da.
Garrett sighed, already tired of them.
"My boy, all grown up and finishing high school. Look at you. Poppa is proud." Gavin went to pat Garrett on the shoulder but Garrett sidestepped him.
Garrett's expression remained passive save for the slight tick in his jaw. "I'd hate for my first day to start with you ending up in the hospital."
Challenge sparked in Gavin's eyes and Ebony decided it was time to step in between them. Turning to Garrett she smiled and waved a hand towards the hallway. "Come this way and I'll start your tour." She held up a hand at his wincing expression, cutting him off. "I'll only show you the classrooms you'll need to go to. Nothing more," she said, knowing that he was not interested in anything else. She turned back to Gavin and pointed at him. "And you go back to Cal III."
Gavin held up his hand in salute and winked at her before turning and walking away.
"Aren't you glad you moved to Stardust?" she asked Garrett with a grin.
Amused, Garrett nodded for her to start walking. "Sure," he said dryly. "Let's get this over with."
The tour was probably the quickest she had ever given. After twenty minutes of pointing out various classrooms and the quickest routes to the parking lot, Garrett thanked her and was out the door heading to his actual job as an electrician.
With no class for another hour, Ebony walked slowly toward the library and ultimately to her secret base. Her thoughts drifted to that one memory she had been trying to avoid all morning. Like ivy twisting around a tree the memory took hold of her, refusing to let her turn away. Checking to see if anyone was watching she slipped behind the sliding bookshelf and opened the forgotten door, letting out a breath once shut inside.
Sitting down with a plop on the old office chair, Ebony let out a breath. As if given permission, the unwanted memory enveloped her.
It was his pale blue eyes. That was what she remembered first. Not the shift in the mattress next to her, not opening her eyes to the hazy darkness—just his eyes. Gavin had sat up beside her in bed. Still nestled in her warm covers she had looked up at him through her lashes watching him as he watched her. How long had he been up?
He loomed over her, his bare chest catching the low light coming in through her curtains, the shadows etched around the deep dips between his muscles. His skin was almost silver where the night's cool light touched him. He was still so close she could smell his cologne. The scent was warm like a dimly lit library lined with books and a roaring fire. Luxurious and sophisticated. She had wanted to turn into the pillow he had abandoned and inhale. She didn't. She had stayed stock still as his eyes passed over her.
