“If I guess right,” Jayne tilted his head and whispered the rest of his words against Everett’s earlobe, “will you reward me once we make it home?”
“Always,” Everett whispered in reply.
55
Everett
July gave way to August, and August to September. Early in the month, after weeks spent attending open houses, Caleb and Everett closed on a four-bedroom, two-bath suburban house tucked into the woods surrounding the old reservoir and bid the old condo adieu. It was bittersweet to say goodbye. Caleb had owned the condo for several years, and Everett had fond memories of the time they’d spent in it, but time stayed still for no man, and Everett knew that as many good memories as he had of the condo, there’d be countless more made in their new house.
Memories he wouldn’t only share with Caleb, but with Jayne and the Biernackis, too.
“It’s stupid they’re making me change school zones,” Shep lamented to Everett as they watched their professional movers carry their boxed possessions into their new home. Jayne stood near the door and directed the workers to the correct rooms. At first, Everett had tried to help, but he’d only ended up standing in Jayne’s way. He camped out by the truck now, watching traffic come and go down their new street and scoping out the neighbors. An elderly lady two doors down and across the street was peering at them from her encased porch. Everett lifted his hand to greet her, and to his delight, she waved back. “I could just take the bus in every day. It runs early enough. They should just let me go to whatever school I want.”
“Lots of things in life aren’t fair.”
“Yeah, and so we should do something about it instead of just accepting that it’s the way it is.”
“Some things aren’t fair for a reason.” Everett glanced at Jayne, who looked more than happy to be in command. “I feel like we go through the struggles we do for a reason. Even if you don’t see that reason right away, it doesn’t mean it’s not there. Adversity teaches us to stand up for ourselves and for others. It makes us stronger.”
“Yeah, okay, fine.” Shep scowled. “But I don’t see how me not going to school with my friends anymore is going to teach me anything other than how to be pissed off with the system.”
Everett snorted. He looked at Shep, who stood beside him, and shook his head. “So you’re not going to get value from learning to make new friends, branching out and making new connections, or figuring out how to adapt to a new situation?”
“No.” Shep crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “God, Everett, who do you think I am? Some kid off a sitcom? Life can take its lessons and shove them up its ass. Do you even know me? God.”
Everett did know Shep, who was both a remarkable young man, and a teenage menace who he likely would have made fast friends with if they’d grown up in the same decade. In the months they’d spent together, Everett had seen Shep struggle with his maturity, embrace it, and then push it away like it repulsed him. The struggles he’d lived through and the surge of hormones changing his body and mind made the transition between childhood and adulthood all the more difficult. Everett didn’t envy his youth. One day, when Shep felt safe, he’d come out from behind the surly facade he hid behind to show the world who he really was. Until that day happened, Everett would honor whoever Shep decided to be day by day, whether that meant giving a cranky, apathetic teenager space, or taking a vulnerable young man who was anxious about himself and his future out for guy time.
“On the bright side,” Everett said, gesturing at their new house, “you get your own bedroom.”
“Good. I’ll be spending all my time in it. Alone. Far away from my friends. You know, my friends who live downtown, and go to my old school that I can’t go to anymore, because we had to buy a stupid house.” Shep bristled. “A stupid house near the stupid lake, where I can take the stupid boat I know that Caleb’s gonna buy to the very middle of the water, where I’ll be even. More. Alone.”
“Fuck yeah, you can.” Caleb cut seamlessly into the conversation, seeming to appear out of nowhere. Parker, who was babbling incessantly, was in his arms. “But as a kid who grew up near the stupid lake and had a stupid boat, and also had friends downtown, here’s a life hack that’s gonna turn your world upside down.”
The irritated expression on Shep’s face suggested that the only thing in Shep’s world that was about to turn upside down was his hand, which would then flip Caleb the bird.
Caleb either didn’t notice the look on Shep’s face, or he didn’t care. He continued his train of thought with a nod toward the lake. “That stupid boat can fit probably at least three friends, if you want to be responsible.” Caleb wiggled an eyebrow. “And if you’re like me and Everett when we were sixteen, and you want to beirresponsible,you can probably cram in five, maybe six people.”
“With life jackets,” Everett added. “Because even when you’re being irresponsible, you need to be safe.”
“With life jackets,” Caleb confirmed. “But then—and here’s where things get good—you can load the boat with speakers, and junk food, and bee—”
“Caleb,” Everett reprimanded, cutting Caleb off before he could finish the thought. At sixteen, thanks to the connections their sort-of cousins Logan and Carter had with older friends, Everett and Caleb had sneaked out on the lake from time to time with boatloads of beer. As fun as it had been, Everett didn’t think it wise to plant the thought in their boyfriend’s little brother’s head. Jayne would come for blood. If he was pissed enough, he might even bring Oli’s stick. In the last few months, and over several dinner parties, Jayne and Oli had forged a close friendship. It wouldn’t have surprised Everett if Oli’s stick was now glitter-coated. Not only would they have to worry about recovering from deep puncture wounds, but if Jayne hadn’t used biodegradable glitter, they’d have to worry about microplastic as well.
It was a risk Everett wasn’t willing to take.
“Bee-utiful women,” Caleb said in a sly tone of voice, then winked at Shep, who made a show of gagging. “Or men. You know, whatever. I go both ways, and Everett’s more into dudes—we don’t judge. You go take some beautiful people out on that lake, blast your music and chow down on Cheetos or whatever, and you’ll start to realize that being out in the middle of nowhere sometimes isn’t all that bad.”
“Badagaba,” Parker confirmed.
“Just make sure you get your fill before Parker is old enough to demand he comes with you,” Caleb warned. “Everett was lucky because he got a couple years alone before his little brother decided to tag along to everything, but the curse of being a twin is that you’re always exactly the same age as your brother. That means that if you can do something, he can do it, too. I love my brother, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes you need space from your family.”
The longer Caleb spoke, the more Shep narrowed his eyes. “Parker isn’t even a year old yet. By the time I graduate high school and leave to go to college, he’s gonna be like… two.”
Caleb shrugged. “What you do with my experience is your choice, but once this little boy learns to walk, it’s all over. I’m just sayin’.”
“You guys are lame.” Shep tugged the hood of his short-sleeved hoodie up over his head and started to wander off, scuffing his shoes on the driveway while he did. “I’m gonna go explore the woods or something. Send me a text if you need me.”
“If you decide to go in the lake, don’t step in the mud with your bare feet,” Caleb warned. “There are leeches.”
