“I bet.” Noah chuckled, fidgeting with the hem of his coat’s sleeve. “So, hmm... You meant what you said before?” he asked in an unexpected surge of courage.
“What part?”
“That I can come play with you and your friends?”
Kaj’s grin widened, stretching from side to side on his face. “Of course!”
Noah couldn’t contain the smile this time. “Cool.”
“We’ll talk on Monday then,friend,” Kaj said, already walking away, waving.
“Yeah.”
Noah almost had his key into the lock, but Mom threw the door open first. She was beaming. She was usually cheerful, buther lopsided grin told him she was about to tease him. Until she saw his face.
“What happened to you?” Her expression dropped, morphing into a mix of concern and anger as she reached for him, brushing her thumb over his sore cheek. “Did those kids bother you again?”
“Yeah, but it’s okay,” Noah rushed to say, leaning away from her touch. He lowered his head, not wanting to see her sad eyes, and kicked his boots off in the foyer while dropping his coat on the bench. “This time, another boy, his name is Kaj, punched them back. So, I don’t think they’ll hurt me again.”
She stayed silent for a moment, searching his eyes.
“I promise it’s all good.”
“Okay…” She sighed and kissed his temple. “Go wash your hands.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She chuckled, walking into the kitchen as Noah ran down the corridor toward the bathroom.
He was glad she relaxed when he said Kaj had defended him. Mom had talked to his school’s principal before, but things only worsened after the other kids got reprimanded. He didn’t want to have to transfer again and make Mom drive to the neighboring town when she was already so busy with Grandma and her job at the beauty salon. Not when he’d finally found someone who seemed willing and enthusiastic to hang out with him.
“Is Kaj the boy who just left?” A mischievous spark glowed in Mom’s irises again the moment Noah stepped into the kitchen.
“Yeah…” He narrowed his eyes and sat on his chair by the window. It was the best spot, with amazing views of the backyard, and the heater was right beside him. “Were you eavesdropping?”
“Momma needs to make sure her cub is okay.” She shrugged unapologetically, placing a cheese sandwich in front of him at the table like every afternoon. “I’m happy you made a new friend.”
“Me too.”
The image of Kaj standing before him half an hour ago, when he was sitting on his ass in the snow, flashed in his mind.
He didn’t know it at the time, but that’s exactly where his downfall began. With a pair of beautiful blue eyes and a crooked smile.
That damn smile.
Two
Spring rolled in, bringingwith it unhinged ideas. Noah wasn’t going to complain, though, since those ideas resulted in Kaj getting creative in defending him and making the bullies’ lives miserable.
“What are you doing?” Noah asked, pulse racing as he looked around to check that no one was watching them.
“They don’t understand that hurting you is gonna come back at them the same way,” Kaj said, using his heel to lift the bike’s kickstand. “So, maybe that means their parents will ground them. Hopefully, some will hit them, too.”
“You didn’t just say that.” Noah grimaced in disapproval. He hated being the center of those kids’ constant threats and humiliation almost as much as having a black eye week in and out. But wishing they got beat was wrong.
“They deserve it.” Valdemar shrugged, mimicking Kaj and mounting the other bike.
“A taste of their own medicine,” Theo said as he joined their quest.
