7
BECKETT
Age 16
“No!” Riley cried against my neck. His entire body was shaking against my own as he held on to me for dear life.
“I’m not going far, Ry. I’ll live just down the street.”
“You can’t go!” He sniffled. “Please don’t go!”
I hated the guilt that settled over me, the feeling that I was disappointing the one person in my whole life who mattered. “I don’t have a choice, you know that. My sister was approved to take me in. She says you can come over whenever you want, though, and Tracy and Harold said that I’m always welcome here, too. It’s not like we’re leaving each other.”
“But you’ll be at a different school this year, too, so I won’t see you,” he whimpered.
I dreaded the change and knew I was going to miss all this just as much as he was. Sharing a room with my best friend, staying up late to create new stories for our comic book, and coming up with jokes to play on the other foster kids. I was going to miss spending my days and nights with Riley.
“Come here,” I said, pulling his hand behind me.
We ran down the stairs and jumped off the back porch, running across the yard. Tracy and Harold lived in the outskirts of Atlanta, near one of the smaller cities and owned about forty acres of peach, cherry, and apple orchards. As soon as we were in the barn, I opened the door to the old truck, searching for the handheld satellite radios that I knew where somewhere on the floor. When I found them, I beamed.
Riley gulped when he realized what I was thinking. “Won’t Harold get mad?”
I shrugged. “Maybe. But maybe not if he knows I have the other one. I’m only four houses down, Ry. It’s not like I’m too far away that he can’t come get it if he needs it.”
He took the other one in his smaller hand, pressing his fingers against the button once I turned it on. My radio clicked and clanked, picking up the signal.
“What channel should we keep it on?” I asked.
His stormy eyes, still moist with tears, lit with mischief. “Two, of course. One plus one and all that.” He gently pushed my shoulder. “One of you, one of me, best of friends, we’ll always be. Remember?”
I rolled my eyes. “I can’t believe you’re holding that over my head. I had way too much sugar at Tracy’s party and was spouting nonsense!”
“So?” he teased. “It was funny. And true. We are best friends, right?”
I grinned. “The best of best friends.”
***
Soft fingers brushed my left wrist where it rested on my leg, tracing the outline of the birds. It was brief, but I still felt it everywhere, reminding me of all the days he once drawn on that very spot.
“I can never make birds,” he admitted quietly. “Little ones, I mean. Like this. I can never make them.”
I wanted to ask him what he meant but heard the shy note in his voice and sensed it wasn’t something he was comfortable opening up about, so I let it go.
He was hiding some of his face in the sleeve of his sweatshirt, the dark locks of his hair falling too low on his forehead. I wanted to brush them away, so I could see his eyes. When he put some distance between us, withdrawing his hand from my wrist, I missed the touch immediately.
“So, what’s the plan for today?” I asked. We had just finished breakfast at Sabrina’s Bed and Breakfast, which was just as delicious as Riley promised it would be. The blueberry waffles were light and fluffy with the perfect amount of berries, but the home-seasoned smoked sausage links were out of this world. I’d never tasted anything like them.
“I don’t know. I do have to work later, though,” he said. “I have a piece due on Tuesday that I need to finish. I can’t put it off any longer.”
“I’d love to see your shop,” I said without thinking and knew immediately I’d crossed a line. Riley shoved his hands in the pocket of his sweatshirt as he stood, drawing in a breath. I felt a pang of sadness that the days of him trusting me with his art were over. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
The air was thick and heavy when we exited the diner, clinging to me like dew on a leaf. I didn’t know where Riley was leading me and I wasn’t convinced he even had a destination in mind. The way he’d glance around every now and then, trying to figure out where we were, made me think maybe he was just as content to be together as I was.
“How’s your sister?” he asked, finally breaking the silence.
“Oh, she’s good. She works at a rec center now as one of the office managers. She helps coordinate classes and afterschool programs.”
