“Bink, you have to go.”
“I’m not going.” He stated it more firmly this time, but there was unsteadiness in his voice and tears lined his eyes again. “I can’t…I can’t face Momma B.”
This was a decision he would regret for the rest of his life and she had to make him see reason. “It’s the last and only time you’re gonna be able to say goodbye. You need to—”
“Jo-jo.” The whisper was harsh and final, a warning not to tempt him with the possibility of another nail. “Don’t tell me what I need. I said I’m not going.”
“Okay, Bink. You do what you think is best.” She stood up and after giving him a quick kiss on the forehead, she left his room and went back to hers.
It was almost nine o’ clock when she got out of the shower. She walked to the bed and out of habit, she lifted the pillow. Tears ran down her cheek when she saw there was nothing underneath it. No dead frog. No rotting potato. It was furtherconfirmation that Perry was gone. All those little pranks were gone now too.
She threw her emotionally drained body on the bed. A heavy heart stopped her from slipping into dreamland. She heard a few light taps and when her door slowly squeaked open, her lips immediately tilted up in a smile. Dressed in black track pants and a simple white T-shirt, he looked right at home.
“Hi,” Tyler said, walking to her bed. “Just came to check on you. How are you doing?”
“Not too good. How was your day with my family? Hope my brothers didn’t give you too much trouble.”
“There were a few threats,” he admitted, sitting on the edge of her bed, “but nothing I can’t handle. I like your brothers. Your dad’s great. Your mom’s a little strange…odd fascination with star signs.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we all hate that about her. What a bunch of hogwash.”
“Well, she said Aquarians are free-thinking and insensitive. She’s got you pegged, Jordan. She may make a believer out of me yet.”
She laughed. Her mother was right about that, but she would never admit it out loud.
“So, yeah,” he continued. “Your dad, your mom, your brothers, they’re all great. The kids…not so great.”
“They’re adorable, Tyler,” she defended.
“The little one’s not too bright.”
As sad as she was, that still made her giggle. “She’s three years old and she can count to forty.”
“Counting and reciting numbers are two different things,” he countered. “I swear, there were only eight ladybugs on her dress.”
The light seemed to bounce off his face in the most peculiar way. She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward to get a better look at him. “Is that glitter on your face?”
“They ambushed me!” he said with exasperation. “And now this stuff won’t come off!” He shrugged with a hint of arrogance. “I have to admit, though. I rock it in pink.”
He did it so effortlessly, pulled laughter out of her despite her heavy heart. “I’m sure you do. It’s the new black. All the bad-asses are wearing it these days.”
He smiled and slowly stood up. “I’d better go. You look tired. I’ll let you get some sleep.”
“Don’t leave.” It was out before she could stop it.
It was an idea he debated for a few seconds. “I’ve been given strict instructions…from your dad and your brothers…and they have guns…and shears, so I’m very inclined to listen.”
“I don’t want to be alone tonight. At least stay until I fall asleep…please.”
The wordpleaseseemed to be a weakness of his. There were no further protests and she shifted on the bed so he could climb in beside her. She rested her head on his chest and sank into his warmth and comfort, indulging in his bear-like cuddles.
He tightened his arm around her and gently brushed her hair back. “Did you know cars can run on gumballs?”
She didn’t know what he was on about, but she was in the mood to entertain his craziness. “I did not,” she answered tiredly. “What a revelation. We’ve been doing it wrong all these years.”
“With the state of the economy, I think it’s a much cheaper alternative.”
She smiled. Tyler offered something no one else in her family could provide. Detachment from the situation without detachment from her. She needed that. Unbeknownst to him, his odd sense of humor genuinely made her feel better and maybesubconsciously she’d known that when she asked him to come along.
