“What we have is more special than a brother-sister relationship, Mina,” he said, snaking his hand up to tilt my head to look at him. “You’re my girl, right?” He grinned.
He was apologizing, seeing that he’d hurt me. Well, I’d take it, even if I was still stung. So I just nodded, afraid that if I tried to speak, my words would catch in my throat. I idolized Shay. I had no idea what he did for the club. In fact, I didn’t really understand the purpose of the club at all, at that time. I was sheltered from it. Only on the rare occasions that James brought me in, like when I would bring some fresh baked cookies for the group, or show them all what I’d learnt in ballet that week. They even hung some pictures I had coloured for them up behind the bar. But, for all I knew, that’s what they did there. Drink, watch sports, and gamble a bit. When Shay went, I assumed it was for much of the same thing.
“Good.” He bit into his burger and got to his feet. “Anyone want to grab some beers?” he asked his buddies. “Cody probably already stashed a bunch by the river…”
Aron was on his feet at once, but Gavin stopped to pat my head before he followed. I sat alone at the picnic table, feeling a little resentful towards Shay at that moment. But I looked over my shoulder at him as he walked away with his buddies, I saw that he hadn’t removed the crown of daisies I’d made for him. That was something, at least. I turned and took a small bite of my salad and stared off into the trees close by, my gaze lazily moving around the canopy as I looked for birds or any other animals that might be trying to hide.
“Psst!”
I jumped a little at the unexpected sound, looking towards the shrubs where I thought it had come from. I stared hard for a moment, waiting, when the sound came again.
“Psst, come here! I need help…” a voice whispered.
Feeling a little wary, I peeked over my shoulder at the rest of the group. The adults were all laughing and drinking… the teenagers had gathered by the riverside, chugging back their stolen beers, and most of the other kids were either at the playground, or were playing a game of kickball.
“Come here, Sunshine,” the voice whispered again. It didn’t sound threatening… in fact, it was friendly enough. Had someone in the group fallen and needed my help? I got up and slowly headed over to the bushes, pushing the leaves aside as I stepped into the overgrowth. For a moment, I couldn’t see anyone, until a figure about twenty feet away appeared, standing close to a large tree and a thick set of bushes. It was the boy that Shay had told me not to concern myself with, the handsome blond one. He’d called him a bad name… a prick… whatever that meant.
And he really was attractive, looking to be the same age as my older brother. Correction, non-brother. His golden hair was close cropped, shorter on the sides, and sat in a fauxhawk on his head. His skin was tanned, and his eyes were a piercing blue. He was tall and athletically built, too, and his square jaw was lined with dark scruff, just like Shay had started growing. He wore a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt decorated with a huge emblem that had the words ‘Black Spades’ written across the bottom in black cursive.
The boy smiled and waved me over. He looked nice, friendly, and his smile reminded me of Shay’s. Shyly, I wandered toward him, fiddling with the white bow at the end of my long braid. I stopped several feet away, biting my bottom lip, feeling nervous as he stared down at me with his haunting blue eyes.
“What’s your name?” he asked, his tone gentle. He crouched down on his heels, his forearms resting against his knees. He was stooped so low, he was looking up at me slightly.
“Mina, what’s yours?” I asked.
“My name is Keenan,” he tilted his head to the side, his piercing eyes fixed on me in a way that had my heart suddenly pounding in my chest. Huh, weird. Never felt this feeling before. “How old are you? Twelve? Thirteen?” he asked me.
I giggled. The idea of someone thinking I was a teenager was silly. “No, I just turned nine this summer.”
“Nine, oh, to be young again…”
“You’re young.”
He shook his head. “Trust me, being a teenager is overrated. If I was given a chance to be a kid again, I wouldn’t hesitate to take it.” He paused for a moment, his hypnotic gaze studying me closely. “Tell me, how are you associated with the Beasts?” He nodded towards the bushes behind me that concealed us from my family and friends.
“My mummy married James O’Hare two years ago,” I told him.
“Ahhh,” He tilted his head back slightly, as though things were clicking into place. “So Shay is your stepbrother?”
I frowned. “He says no…” I said, my voice flat. I didn’t want to talk about it. The sting was too fresh. Had I not been a good little sister to him? Why didn’t he want me to be his sibling? I stared hard at Keenan, taking in the stunning shade of his irises, and blurted out, “You have really pretty eyes.”
He raised his brows, momentarily surprised, and then let out a lovely, musical laugh. “Pretty eyes, hm?” he chuckled, keeping his voice low. “Got to say, of all the compliments I’ve received in my lifetime, and I’ve had many, that one is now my favourite.”
I grinned at him. “Well, it’s true. They remind me of a documentary I watched about the Arctic. The colour of some of the icebergs is the same shade as your eyes,” I told him, remembering the program Mum had insisted we watch recently the other week. I liked stuff about the polar bears and seals, but the stunning shades of the icebergs and glaciers had been absolutely breathtaking.
His smile broadened at that. “You like documentaries?”
“Yes, nature ones. I don’t care about the ones about people.” I made a face, scrunching up my nose. A shadow flew overhead and landed on a tree close by. I looked up and spotted the beautiful black bird as it cawed at us loudly, and I instantly thought of my father. “Bad crow,” I said, but smiled at it, despite my words, and found myself lost in thought for a moment as I thought of my dad. He had loved crows. I remember that. Every time he saw one, he’d murmur, “Bad crow,” at it, but he always smiled at the sight of them.
Keenan glanced over at the bird, then back to me. When I turned to him, I caught the look on his face, like he had been studying me while I gazed at the crow. “Are you okay?” I asked him.
He raised a brow, confused. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“Didn’t you need help?” I asked, thinking about his words when he had called out to me.
“Oh, right.” He nodded and stood up, holding out his hand for me to take.
I glanced at it and looked up at him, unsure. Keenan’s smile widened, showing off his white teeth. In a heartbeat, I put all my trust into this strange, beautiful boy, and slipped my hand into his. He gripped it tightly as he led me away, deeper into the trees. “What do you need help with?” I asked him as we walked.
“I want to woo a girl, but I don’t have an eye for pretty flowers. Think you can help me?” he asked, pointing out the mass of wildflowers that were blooming at our feet.
I giggled at his words and smiled up at him. “You want to give a girl flowers? That’s so nice.” My heart fluttered at the thought. It seemed like something a prince would do for a princess, like in the Disney movies I loved so much.