The edge of her elbow caught me right in the gut, making me cough in surprise as she glared up at me. I lifted the towel back over my head and turned on my bare heel.
“I was just getting out of the shower when someone started knocking and wouldn’t stop. It seemed important, so I answered the door.” I shrugged a shoulder. “Had no clue it was just one of your many admirers anxious to see you. So boring.”
I heard her swear under her breath at the slight dig. It was true, though. Everywhere she went, it seemed like she had different boys falling at her feet. It was partly the edgy, hot girl in a band thing she had going on. But a big chunk of it was her whole unattainable vibe. Everyone wanted what they couldn’t have, and Bowe was a master at playing the ‘you-can-look-but-not-touch’ game.
“For real. Who the fuck is that asshole, Bowe? I just saw you last night, and you didn’t mention you were going to have a visitor anytime soon.”
I chuckled to myself as I stepped back into the house and headed toward the bathroom. I kept the door open a crack so I could unabashedly listen to their conversation.
This guy had to be a new addition to Bowe’s circle of friends. Otherwise, he would know one thing she absolutely hated more than anything was being questioned or pushed into a corner. She liked to think she didn’t answer to anyone. Especially not some guy who wasn’t even her boyfriend… even though he clearly wanted to be.
“Exactly. I saw you last night. So why are you out here pounding on my door? Like I said, we don’t have practice today, and even if we did, it would be hours and hours from now. You and I don’t have plans together either. There’s no reason for you to be here.” Her raspy voice was cold, and even though I couldn’t see her, I could clearly picture the way her spine would snap straight with irritation and her shoulders would square off. Bowe Keller wasn’t a pushover by any stretch of the imagination, and the girl always gave just as good as she got.
I heard the tattooed band dude nervously clear his throat. The various chains and accessories he was wearing jangled loud enough for me to hear inside the house as he shifted his weight.
“I thought it would be okay if I dropped by. I wanted to see if you maybe wanted to go get lunch with me or something. We’ve been practicing nonstop lately and putting in a lot of hours. This is our first real break in weeks. I thought I could treat you. I didn’t know you were going to have company.” I heard him make an annoyed sound as he switched from conciliatory to confrontational. I wanted to warn him he was about to reach the point of no return if he kept trying to guilt-trip her about having another man in her house—but it was more fun to listen to him dig his own grave. “How do you even know a bland meathead like that? He’s not the kind of guy you usually hang out with.”
I tossed my head back and laughed at my reflection in the mirror. Driving like a madman through the middle of the night was insane, but getting to lurk on this moment where Bowe was about to explode all over some overly confident punk might have made the whole trip worthwhile.
“First of all, we are nowhere near the ‘just-drop-by’ stage of friendship. Second of all, why would I want to spend my first day off in forever with someone I see all the damn time? Third, and most important, who is and isn’t allowed to stay at my house is no business of yours. I don’t owe you an explanation about anything in my private life. We play music together, and we’re friendly with one another because of the band, but that’s it. You don’t get to question me about anyone I know or how I might know them.” I knew if I could see her that her dark eyebrows would be dipped down in a severe V over her tiny nose, and her intense eyes would be shooting amber sparks of annoyance. She was pretty when she was mad. She was also a little bit scary, even though she wasn’t very big. She seemed a lot taller than she was because her attitude and charisma were so huge and infectious. When we stood next to one another, the top of her head only reached my shoulder, and that was after a late growth spurt she had after she turned sixteen.
“And he’s not a meathead. Who are you to judge someone you don’t know anything about? I hate judgmental, critical people the most. I have things to do today, Nyle. I’ll see you at practice. Don’t invite yourself over to my house ever again. I won’t be as nice as Ry if I answer the door and find you on the other side of it.”
The door slammed shut with a thump of finality. I slipped my t-shirt over my head and stuck my head into the hallway just in time to see Bowe march toward the small but tidy and very modern kitchen. My stomach growled again, reminding me it had been hours since I’d indulged in the greasy food on the road. I needed a real meal and a stop to get some provisions.
I followed Bowe into the kitchen, grinning as she angrily swiped her hair out of her face as she chugged milk directly from a carton she grabbed out of the fridge.
“Comb your hair and put on clothes you didn’t sleep in. I’m hungry and need to stop by a store to grab some stuff, including underwear. I didn’t bring anything with me when I left Denver.”
She glared at me over the milk container, making me laugh because she had a bit of a white mustache leftover before she wiped it with the back of her hand. “Why do I have to go with you? I didn’t invite you to ruin my day off either.” She winged a midnight-colored eyebrow upward and asked, “How long are you planning on hiding out here anyway?”
I shook my head. “Dunno. But I’m not in a hurry to head home.”
She sighed and closed the fridge with more force than necessary. “You have to head back and face her eventually. Do you know how shitty you’ll feel if she leaves for school or something and you don’t get the chance to say goodbye or clear the air? I get that you’re mad and confused. I totally understand that you’re hurting, but you guys have been in each other’s lives for too long to just let everything go without closure.”
It was my turn to lift my eyebrows in question. “Really? Because I’ve known you just as long as I’ve known Aston, and the last time we were together, you left without a word and refused to come back or even see me again. You only text back if I threaten to tell your parents you’re out of communication, and you never answer me if I call you. How come I owe Aston some kind of closure, but you don’t owe me anything?” It forever lived under my skin that she’d written me off so easily, regardless of all that we’d been through together, both good and bad.
A heavy silence settled between the two of us as we stared at each other without blinking. There was so much between the two of us, often there didn’t seem like there were enough words in the world to encompass it all, but the way we looked at each other spoke volumes.
My mother once told me that someone could always hide what was in their heart, but what they were really feeling was always reflected honestly in their eyes. I wondered what Bowe saw when she looked at me because I knew what I saw when I looked at her.
Longing.
Regret.
Confusion.
Frustration.
And not too long ago, I could’ve sworn what was in those molten depths was love… and hate.
“You owe Aston because you love her and she loved you. I don’t owe you anything because you and I are nothing to each other. We aren’t friends. We aren’t family. And we aren’t lovers. All we are is two people who can’t seem to escape each other because our parents keep forcing us to spend time together. It’s so annoying.” She huffed out a breath and flounced by me, but I could see that it was all bravado. My question had shaken her a little bit. “I’ll go with you, but only because I want to eat, and I want to make sure you don’t buy too much stuff that indicates your stay will be extended. You aren’t welcome here, Ry. I’m not going to be your safe haven indefinitely.”