Breathe into Me (6 page)

I stopped when I realized what I’d said.
My dad
. For a moment, my eyes burned, and I ducked my head, pretending to wipe my mouth as I blinked furiously. “Anyway, yeah. My life story in a nutshell.”

“Well, you’re tough. I like that.”

The compliment made me smile. “What about you?”

Everett shrugged. “I’m boring. My parents have been married forever. Dad’s in business, Mom teaches. Like I said, boring.”

“But you’re from New York.”

The moment the words left my lips I wanted to recall them back, but Everett seemed to find my statement amusing. “Trust me, I like it down here a whole lot better. You always know exactly where you stand with a Southerner.”

He had a point. Down here, you were who you were for everyone to see, for good or for ill. It would be nice to get lost in a crowd, though, a courtesy I was rarely afforded.

My ice cream was long gone, and I stared forlornly at the cup. The sun was starting to set, and like it or not I needed to get home.

“How’s the GED thing going?”

“Meh.” I didn’t know where to start, but felt silly saying that.

“The offer for help is still open.”

I sighed and finally met his beautiful blue eyes. They were the color of a warm summer sky; I could easily get lost in them. He was watching me, patiently awaiting my answer. Nothing in his gaze told me what he wanted in return, and I found it difficult to believe he’d give me help just
because
. But I needed it. I’d taken a practice test online and had barely scored enough to pass; the thought of the test itself scared me to death.

“What could you teach me?”

“Whatever you need to pass. And if it makes you feel any better, you can always pay me for tutoring you.”

Surprisingly, that did make me feel better. If I paid, I didn’t owe him anything else. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. “How much?”

“Ten bucks a lesson.”

I gazed at him shrewdly. “Five bucks, and you’ve got a deal.”

Everett gave me a lopsided grin. “The lady drives a hard bargain,” he said, but held out his hand. “Deal.”

We shook hands, and I tried to ignore the electric zing that his touch sent coursing through my body. A small smile worked its way across my lips. “What should I bring?”

“I’ll take care of it. You hired me; I’ll bring the supplies.”

I felt a sudden weight lift off my shoulders. If he hadn’t been a boy, I probably would have hugged him. “I need to get back to my bike.”

“You’ll be okay riding home in the dark?”

I nodded. “Do it all the time.” He gave me a dubious look, and I wondered what sort of neighborhood he lived in. “Seriously, we’re not in New York. I’ll be fine.”

The sun had already past the horizon and twilight was settling in when he dropped me off back at the grocery store. I hadn’t realized just how late it actually was, but still paused and turned back to the open window. “Thanks for the ice cream.”

“No problem. Sorry I don’t have any air-conditioning.”

“Well, I’m used to it on the bike.” I didn’t know what else to say, but really didn’t want to leave just yet. “When do you want to meet up for the GED stuff?”

“How about tomorrow? We’ve got the day off since Trent’s dad is heading into Biloxi, are you working?”

I shook my head. “It’s one of my days off.”

“Cool, then maybe I can pick you up?”

The idea of him seeing the ratty trailer where I lived didn’t sit well. “Can I meet you somewhere instead?”

“Sure, maybe another ice cream?”

Nodding, I gave him another smile. “Thanks again.”

“Heh, wait until I start drilling you. I tend to go overboard with studying.”

Somehow, I couldn’t see the laid-back boy before me as a nerd. “As long as I can pass.” I winked at him, then pushed away from the car, waving as he drove off.

The lock on my bike was stuck, and it took me a minute to get it to let go. When it finally broke free, I wrapped it around the frame and turned the bike around, only to come face-to-face with Mrs. Holloway. The large woman glared at me, and my breath caught in my throat. “Didn’t you leave sick, Ms. St. James?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I murmured, uneasy being questioned. “A friend picked me up, but I need my bike.”

Her expression told me quite clearly that she didn’t believe me. Swallowing, I gave her a small wave that she didn’t reciprocate, then pushed off the curb and headed straight home.

My mother was slumped on the couch watching news when I came through the door. A half-empty bottle of whiskey sat on the table before her, along with two cans of Coke. I could tell from the way she sat that she was already toasted; she didn’t even say hello to me when I came inside.

Beside the television, my little brother was playing quietly with his toys. When he saw me a big smile crossed his face and he ran over to hug me.

“Hey, Goober,” I said fondly, picking him up in my arms. He was getting far too big for this, but I’d carry him in my arms until I broke my back. “Ready for bed?”

He shook his head, and then yawned. I smiled. “Mom, I’m putting him down for the night.”

All I got in reply was a grunt and a wave. I stared at the slug that used to be my mother, and then wordlessly took my brother to his room.

“Where’s Gamma?” he murmured as I rummaged around for clean pajamas.

“She’s working late tonight, sugar. She’ll be in later to kiss you good night.” My throat closed up after that. It helped that he really was as angelic as she proclaimed to everyone in town. Heaven help us if he’d been a natural brat, given how much she spoiled him, but the little boy was perfect. He came from good stock, she always told people. His father, rest his soul, had been the salt of the earth.

It all came down to parentage. His biological father was a good man. Mine wasn’t. And to her, that made me just as evil.

I slipped his shirt off, and then frowned. “Baby, where’d you get these?” I asked, holding out his arm. He had twin bruises on his right bicep that I didn’t remember seeing before.

“I dunno.” His eyes kept closing as he swayed in place. Taking pity, I pulled the pajama shirt over his head and lifted him into bed, pulling the sheets up around his body.

Once I was sure he was tucked in, I started his nightlight and watched the shapes circle the walls. The revolving light had been mine as a kid, a gift from my father.
My stepfather
. Music notes danced around the small room, and I swallowed as I remembered how much bigger my room had been when I was younger. My brother deserved so much more than this.

I closed the door quietly behind me, and looked over at my mother. Her head was lying back on the couch, and I could tell from the snores that she was passed out. For a long moment, I stared at the woman from across the trailer, then went and locked myself inside my bedroom.

“What’s all this?”

“Study aids.”

The bag of books in front of me was more than a little daunting. They also took up almost all the space on the table. “Where’d you get these?”

“Bookstore. There were more, but I figured these would be a good start.”

More?
These were bad enough in my opinion. I hadn’t done homework in years, and the small mountain of material was a tad overwhelming.

“I also think we should head someplace a little more private.”

He was right on that score. The ice cream shop was already packed with the summer crowd, and not likely to get any better. Still, I eyed him suspiciously. “Like where?”

“Is there a public library around here?”

There was, in fact, although I’d never been inside. I relaxed again, realizing I’d tensed up the minute he suggested we go someplace alone. So far he’d proven reliable; maybe I could give him some benefit of the doubt. “Sure, I’ll show you where it is.”

Oyster Cove’s library was not far from the ice cream shop, near the water. Honestly, the town was small enough that nothing was too far away from the Gulf shores. We parked his small car outside, and Everett looked up at the old building. “Nice.”

I’d driven past so many times that I’d forgotten how pretty the library actually was. While not as majestic as some of the older buildings still standing around the county, long columns lined the front façade in typical Southern style. Time and a life next to a hurricane-infested ocean had given it a weathered façade, but it still bore the stamp of history. It wasn’t all that large, but it definitely had a regal air. “I don’t even notice it anymore,” I said as we walked inside.

“That’s too bad.” He peered around the inside, too, and I tried to see it through his eyes. The interior, while updated, still had an old-world aesthetic. The second floor had a big hole in the center where sun shone down from a domed window in the roof. The stairways were lined with ornate wrought iron handrails, although I saw they were loose now with age as we climbed the steps.

The upstairs was well lit but crowded. After Hurricane Katrina had brought in super high tides that washed away large swaths of town, the library had moved most of its wares to the top floor. Bookshelves hemmed us in from all sides, but we soon found an empty nook with two medium tables.

“So what do you want to start on first?” he asked, pulling up a chair and setting the books on the table.

I shrugged. For some reason, it was strange to see him so eager to help me. Boys this handsome usually had something else to do than help some girl they barely knew study for a test. Yet he’d bought me books and supplies and gave me his Sunday afternoon expecting … what? I didn’t know what to make of the boy before me, and that was both an intriguing and scary prospect.

I sat down next to him and started sorting out the various books by subject. Sitting this close, I caught the scent of him. Like soap and aftershave and something distinctly Everett. It filled my senses like a drug, and I felt a rush of heat shoot straight through me.

Whoa, simmer down, Lacey. Time to put on the breaks
.

I turned to Everett, who was watching me curiously. “Everything okay?”

“Yup, never better,” I said too quickly, my voice too high.

I pushed my chair away from his, pretending to reach for a book. I shuffled through the stack, happy for a distraction.

“How were you at Science?” Everett asked.

“Decent,” I said, feeling my pulse start to go back to normal.

“Social studies?”

“Slightly better.”

“Math?”

My mouth tipped up. “Lousy.”

“Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner!” He pulled a book out from the stack and handed me a packet of pencils. I took them from him, careful not to let our skin meet. “It’s pretty straightforward: you take a few practice tests and they explain the answers. Then you take more tests.”

I glanced at my phone. Ten o’clock in the morning. Sighing, I resigned myself to a long day.

Surprisingly, I didn’t start out too badly. By noon, I’d already done two tests and seemed to remember more from school than I thought. Everett thought he could make my mediocre scores better, but still switched me over to some of the English tests, which were a breeze.

My stomach was rumbling by one o’clock. At one thirty, I leaned back in my chair. “God, I’d give my right eye for an oyster po’boy.”

“A what?”

I snapped my head around to look at Everett. “You’ve never heard of a po’boy sandwich?”

He blinked. “Is it like a hoagie?”

What the hell is a “hoagie”?
“Come on, lunch is on me.”

We stuffed the books back inside the paper sack and headed out to the car. “You’re either gonna love or hate this place, but it has the
best
po’boys in the area.”

The deli wasn’t actually in Oyster Cove but a few miles north closer to the freeway. We were almost to the interstate when I pointed out a lone gas station. “Here?” he asked, giving me an odd look but still pulling inside.

“Yup.” I understood his confusion. The gas station, as far as I knew, had no real name except Gas Station. It was in the middle of nowhere, out of view of both the main roads and the highway. It had been built about half a century ago and, from the outside, didn’t look like it’d been updated anytime in between.

“Trust me,” I said as we walked inside, “you’ll love it. Hey, Meg.”

Meg was at the counter, and when she saw me come inside she gave me a gap-toothed grin. “Hey, gorgeous, haven’t seen you in a while.”

I’d always liked Meg, ever since I found this place. She was a little older than my grandmother but not nearly as uptight. Her hair was a bright maroon, as if she’d gotten her hair dye at Hot Topic, but it fit her personality. She always had a smile for me, which I appreciated.

That, and she made the best fried food I’d ever eaten.

Pointing to Everett beside me, I said, “This Yank’s never had a po’boy. Think you can fix him up?”

“I got just the thing. Gimme a few minutes, doll.”

Everett was looking around, a bemused smile on his face. While the booths lining the windows were fairly new, the rest of the store looked like it’d just survived a hurricane. Barely. The walls had a dingy tint from decades of grease fryers and cigarette smoke, but the countertops were clean.

“Don’t mean to be alarmist,” Everett murmured, “but I’m not going to get food poisoning, am I?”

His question made me grin. “You probably don’t want to see the condition of the kitchen, but I’ve eaten here probably too many times and never got sick. You’ll be fine.” I made my way to one of the colorful booths, and Everett sat down across from me. “So, tell me about you,” I said.

“Like I said before, I’m boring.”

“Well, you’re a boring person with a New York area code. So spill: what’s it like on the East Coast?”

Everett sat back, staring out the window at the old gas pumps. I wasn’t even sure they worked anymore; I’d never seen anyone actually buying gas here. The place usually had a few more people, especially this close to lunch, but today was bare except for Meg in the back and her son sweeping.

Finally, he spoke. “Everyone is on the go in New York City. There’s always something that has to be done now or, better yet, two days ago. When people
do
stop, it’s usually to refuel for the next activity, not to appreciate what they already have.