I turned to Rory, then swallowed hard. I couldn’t even meet his eyes, I was that messed up in the head. I just stared at his mouth, his ruby lips and his graying mustache.
“Good to see you, anyway,” Rory said, then patted my shoulder.
That touch…
“Make sure you stick your head in before you leave this time,” he said.
I nodded once more, then hurried off toward the shed. Franklin said something to Rory, but I couldn’t hear it.
The next little bit was a blur. Franklin showed me the drawings he’d done and explained which of the displays and cutouts we were going to bring with us and needed to accommodate. My job was just to make a display that would fit the booth size we’d been given, something we could keep partially disassembled in order to drive it in Rory’s trucks, and that would provide shelving and space for all the products he had listed. I nodded along, grateful at least that I could build that kind of thing with my eyes closed.
“Got it,” I said, staring at the pile of wood instead of meeting Franklin’s eyes. “Consider it done.”
“Great,” Franklin said, rocking back and forth on his heels. A moment passed, and then I dropped down on my knees to fiddle with the drill.
“You doing okay there, Asher?” Franklin asked softly.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah,” I said, my voice low and hoarse. “I’m fine. Just didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Okay,” Franklin said. “If you need anything, we’ll be inside.”
I gave him a thumbs-up and listened to his footsteps fade away. When he was gone, I threw myself into the work, eager for any distraction from the panic that was tingling down my spine. With protective goggles and a mask on and the loud whir of the saw in the air, I could almost feel like I was safe again. Like in that shed, with Franklin and Rory and their family in the house up front, no one could get me, even though the bruises from the accident still ached every time I stretched.
“Hey!”
I clicked off the saw, then dropped it by my side as I turned. Standing a few feet outside the shed was Ava. She had on a long black sweater dress, and a pair of headphones hung around her neck.
“Oh, hi, Ava.”
Fuck. She should not be here. I am not a safe person for her to be around.
I shouldn’t be here in the first place. What am I doing?
“You’re building something for Uncle Franklin?”
I snapped out of my panic. Nodding, I set the saw on the ground, removed my safety gear, and stepped into the yard. “Yeah, we’re working on another project together.”
Ava stared at me like she wanted to talk but didn’t know what to say. For some reason, it made a smile turn up the corner of my mouth.
“I listened to BTS,” I told her. “They’re pretty cool.”
“Really?” she asked, turning her head to the side.
I stuck my hand on my hip. “What, you don’t think they’re good anymore? You’re the one who told me about them.”
Ava laughed. “No, they’re good.”
“You been listening to anything I might like on those headphones?”
She shrugged. “Super Junior.”
“Oh yeah, I think I’ve heard of them. Cool.”
She nodded, still staring at me.
“You know,” I said, placing my hand over my mouth and whispering like I was letting her in on some big conspiracy. “Franklin and Rory think you’re Goth.”
Ava giggled loudly. “Yeah, I heard them say that.”
