14
BECKETT
Age 17
“This is Eagle Eye, calling the Detective. Come in, Detective.”
I grinned, snatching the radio off the nightstand. “Hey, Eagle Eye.”
“Can you go tonight?” he asked.
I hesitated. “Does Tracy know this time?”
“Yes. I promise.”
“Okay. Tosh is working the night shift, so she won’t be home until ten tomorrow. I can meet you there in fifteen minutes.”
When I climbed the tree house a little later, I found Riley bundled up in a blanket with a hoodie drawn up over his head. A bag of pretzels lay in his lap and there were two pillows and a pile of blankets on the floor. All the windows were thrown open, letting a chilly breeze in.
“The meteor shower is starting! Look!” he said excitedly.
Pure joy spread through me as I slipped under the blanket next to him. His enthusiasm warmed me. I was the one with the obsession about the night sky, but Riley had been the one to plan this. He was the only one who put me first like that. I really hoped he knew how much it meant to me.
I looked out the window. There wasn’t a cloud in sight, giving us a perfect view as streak after streak lit up the night sky.
“Thank you,” I said.
He just smiled.
The pretzels and candy were gone in less than an hour, and we were working our way through our third root beer before I saw him try to stifle a yawn. Riley wasn’t one to get an energy boost from sugar like I did. In fact, it usually had the opposite effect on him, putting him to sleep if he had too much.
“We should go,” I said.
“No, Tracy knows we’re staying.”
“Ry, no, last time—"
“She knows, Beck. I promise. I’m not risking that again.” The last time Riley lied to his foster parents to see me, we hadn’t been able to hang out for a week. It was miserable for both of us.
“A sleepover in the tree house? What did you have to do to convince her of that?”
It may have been dark, but I didn’t need the light to know Riley blushed. I could hear it in his voice. “I volunteered to do dishes for two weeks. But come on! It’s the meteor shower! You’ve been dying to see one for ages. We’ve tried twice and it was cloudy both times! Harold was the one who pointed out we would have a perfect view from here.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “He helped carry some of this stuff.”
I still sometimes felt a little out of sorts when Tracy and Harold went out of their way for me. I wasn’t their responsibility anymore, yet they still treated me like I was one of theirs. They cared for me, just like they cared for Riley. Sometimes, it felt like they cared for me more than Tosh did.
We settled down on the floor of the tree house, using the blankets he’d brought to keep us warm. Riley fell asleep next to me not too long after, but I stayed awake watching the dashes of light paint the sky for a few more hours, feeling more at peace than I had in a long time. Maybe ever.
***
Riley told me to meet him at the front door at 7PM, but the only door I saw was the one with the burning feather of Phoenix Feather Creations on it. I felt a little silly knocking, was this really where he lived?
The door opened, and I felt my mouth go dry at the sight. Riley had changed into dark skinny jeans and a gray woven sweater. His hair was still somewhat damp, like he had just gotten out of the shower not too long ago, but he hadn’t shaved the short scruff, which made me happy. I loved his facial hair, it was a stark contrast to his otherwise soft facial features.
I realized I was staring when he dropped his eyes. “I brought the Twizzlers,” I said, holding them up as evidence. “I forgot them earlier, so I brought them this time.”
