“Don’t believe him for a second, Sara. Baz takes that book everywhere with him. Says it’s his security blanket.” David teased his brother. I liked seeing warmth between them. Like yesterday at the waterfall. It was something more than Bastian holding David up, caring for him, tending to him. That all seemed so one sided. As if David’s emotions had been burned out of him, leaving nothing behind. I liked these moments when I could see the affection that must exist there. I liked how happy it clearly made Bastian. How it changed his entire demeanor.
Bastian punched David in the arm. Not hard, but playfully. “Shut up, Leonardo.”
I frowned. “Leonardo?”
David glowered. “Don’t you dare.”
Anne was grinning. Higher and wider than I had ever seen before. “Now, we have to know,” she stated.
Bastian glanced at David out of the corner of his eye. “It may have something to do with my big brother’s past obsession with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Or the fact that he refused to wear anything but his Leonardo PJs for six months when he was seven.”
David groaned. “Youhadto bring that up.”
Bastian and David were laughing. Anne was smiling.
I felt compelled to join them. It was impossible not to.
It felt almost…normal.
Then it dwindled away leaving the perpetual quiet in its wake. A tide receding and we couldn’t follow.
Anne’s lips turned downward. David’s shoulders slouched again. But Bastian…he still smiled.
“I appreciate you letting me borrow your book. I’m not sure I’ll have time to read it though,” I felt it important to add.
“I know, you and your super busy schedule. Just keep it. Read it when you can. If it’s possible in this crappy lighting. Then you can tell me what your personal legend is.”
“My personal legend?”
“Yeah. It’s—well, just read it. Then we can talk about it.”
“Like a book club?” I chuckled.
Bastian’s face lit up. “Yeah, like a book club.”
“Oh, I want to read it too,” Anne jumped in.
I clutched the book to my chest, not wanting to hand it over. “Wait in line, Landes.”
Bastian positively beamed. I liked making him look like that.
His good mood was infectious. It erased a little of why I had been so despondent. His joy at something as simple as a book soothed me in a way I had never experienced.
Bastian Scott was frustrating. He pushed and prodded when he shouldn’t. He talked about things best left silent.
Yet he made me smile.
He made me feelgood.
“Okay then, I’ll read it.” This small, insignificant thing felt like defiance. And I went with it. I was doing that a lot lately. I put the book underneath my pillow so my mother wouldn’t see it.
“Thank you.” I meant it. I really did. Bastian was looking at me. I didn’t know what to do with my hands. With my body. I fidgeted restlessly.
“No thanks necessary,” he replied. “I look forward to talking about it with you.”
“Me too,” I responded. And I was being sincere. He could tell. His face softened, looking pleased. There was an odd buzzing in my chest. A buzzing that had started yesterday at the waterfall and only gotten louder. My heart beat just a bit faster. My eyes lingered. I realized I had stopped noting his physical flaws. Now I found him to be quite good looking. Even if his presence shook me in ways I didn’t entirely understand.
“You look nice this evening, Anne” I heard David say softly. I turned my attention to the other two people in the room.
