“Are you okay?” I asked as I turned to him.
Needing to remove the empty space between us, wishing I could remove the damage his father had done, I placed my hand on his chest. With the top half of his wet suit turned down at the waist, his chest was bare. His skin was smooth and hot beneath my palm where his heart thumped wildly.
“No, I’m not okay.”
Although Storm’s brown eyes were bright, his sun-bronzed skin was ashen except for flags of red color high on his cheeks. Covering my hand with his, he removed it from his chest and squeezed it once before letting it go.
“And I’m probably not going to be okay for a while.” He exhaled again, longer this time. “But first things first. I need to get you safely home.”
He pointed with his chin and started walking in the direction of my apartment. I moved along with him. What else could I do?
“Your dad will change his mind when he’s not so angry anymore,” I said, giving him a furtive glance and noting his steely jaw. “And I’m sure my dad will let you stay with us until everything gets sorted out.”
“Mine won’t change his mind.” His eyes as turbulent as his name, Storm shook his head. “This confrontation was a long time coming. I’m just sad that you had to see it. It’s humiliating, what he said to you. I’m sorry he’s so awful.”
“It’s not your fault what he does.” My stomach rolled, unsettled by the effect his father had on him. “But what if—”
“No more what-if scenarios with me and my old man. It’s over. It’s finally over. It’s a fucking relief, really.” His brows drew together, and his gaze turned unfocused. “My mom will be okay. Saber will take care of her and Shield. And I can take care of myself.”
He was right about his older brother. Saber might be passive where Storm was concerned, but he was fiercely protective of Shield. Still, Saber followed his father’s directives, and as a result was the favored son.
“Where will you stay tonight?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I’ll just crash at a friend’s house.”
A friend who was a girl, I was sure. Storm had plenty of those, which was one of the reasons why I suspected his dad had jumped to the wrong conclusion about me. My dad had hinted at a similar worry until I’d set him straight.
We retraced our steps from earlier, but instead of continuing to our favorite surfing spot at the cliffs, we turned right on my street and stopped in front of my apartment complex. Upstairs on the second floor was the one-bedroom apartment I shared with my dad and my little brother.
“Storm,” I said just as the sun slipped over the horizon. I was frightened for him more than I was sad for me. “Don’t be stubborn. You’re only wearing a wet suit. And you’re barefoot. You should go back to your house so you can at least try to get your things. Try to—”
“No,” he snapped.
I flinched, but it wasn’t the harshness in his tone that gutted me. It was the bleakness in his eyes.
“We’re done being friends, Lilly . . . Lotus. This right now has to be the end of our friendship.”
“No.” Tears pricking my eyes, I whispered determinedly, “I’ll always be your friend.”
“I’m not good for you. I have a temper like him, and I’ve known for a while that people are saying shit like he did. Only I was too selfish to let you go. I needed you and your friendship too much, you see.”
“I need you too.” I tried to reach for Storm, but he stepped back just out of reach, and my heart lurched as my hand fell to my side.
“We need to say good-bye now.” His expression turned as blank and unyielding as a wall. “We have to. I insist.”
“We don’t have to do anything.” Stubbornly, I shook my head. I would scale that wall if I had to. I would say or do anything I needed to keep him close. “You can’t leave like his. I don’t care what people say.”
“You don’t care now. But when you get older, you will, and you should.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You have your whole life ahead of you. A good one. Boyfriends on the horizon. Girlfriends too, that will make better friends for you than me. Parties to go to. College someday. You have a dad who supports you, and a little brother who adores you. One day, you’ll have a great family of your own. I don’t fit into any of that. But I promise you that I’ll never forget you.”
His eyes glistened. “You’ve been a great friend. The best one I’ve ever had. I hope you won’t forget me.”
“Never.” Fear gripped my throat, but I wrenched the words free. “I’ll never forget you.” A tear slipped from my eye, trailing the only warmth I could feel. The rest of me was cold.
“I hope you take my advice and talk to your father.” He gave me a firm look. “He needs you, and you need him.”
“I will,” I said, and some of Storm’s tension seemed to loosen. “I’ll talk to him.”
“I believe you. You have a good heart. You’re a great daughter, a good sister to Cork. And very talented. I expect that you’ll do great things with your poetry someday. I’m sorry I’ll miss all that. I’ll miss you.”
His eyes soft, Storm stepped closer. I held my breath as he framed my face and swept his thumbs over my cheeks. Warmth blazed in my skin where he touched me, but chill bumps bloomed everywhere else.
“Good-bye,” he whispered, then withdrew his hands.
Colder than before, I stared at him. More tears fell as I watched him walk away, one long stride after another, each increment of separation between us prying away another piece of my soul.
I continued to stare until nothing remained but me.
Lotus
“Excuse me,” I said to the large guy standing in front of me.
“Excuse what?” Turning around, he gave me the once-over.
“I need to get to my bestie.” I gestured to her with my chin since I was carrying plastic cups filled to the brim with draft beer in both hands. “The girl up there by the stage wearing the Dirt Dogs’ T-shirt.”
“Oh, her.” He winced. “She’s pretty like you, but obnoxious. Guarding her territory up there like a hungry dog with a juicy steak.”
My lips twitched. His analogy was spot-on. My best friend was territorial once she located and claimed the best viewing spot for a concert.
“Enjoy the show.” Shifting sideways, he sucked in his gut, giving me about three inches to shimmy between him and the guy beside him.
“Rock on,” I said to smooth the feathers my bestie had apparently ruffled.
I was a people pleaser, wanting everyone to like and keep liking me. I knew this about myself, knew the origin for it came from being abandoned, rejected by my mother when I was young. My loud, opinionated, and beautiful best friend, Sophia Benito, had difficult stuff in her childhood too, but she tended to overreact at a high decibel level to situations, whereas I usually chose to suffer in silence.
When I reached Sophia, I scooted into the spot she’d saved for me and handed her a beer.
“What took you so long?” She gave me a searching glance with her hazel eyes. “Anyone’s ass I need to kick for hitting on you?”