Painting Sky (29 page)

It took me half a minute to gather my breath and my surroundings, which gave me time to come up with an excuse.

Keith picked me up by placing an arm under my knees and the other behind my back. I yelped, but he advised me to be quiet, otherwise I would wake up his parents. That was the last thing I wanted, especially in the compromised position I’d found myself in. I wasn’t expecting him to carry me to his room, but that’s where I stood, moments later, staring at his unmade bed with a confused frown.

“I understand, Sky: it’s his room.” I couldn’t turn to him, so I stayed still, willing the lump in my throat to go away. It wasn’t difficult to put two and two together, but, for Keith to understand was unexpected, to say the least.

“I’ll stay in my brother’s room. I’ll come wake you up before my parents, and then we can switch, ‘kay?” he asked. I didn’t want to stay here, either, as it was too personal and intimate, but I couldn’t refuse the offer.

My body was complaining after the restless night I’d had yesterday and I really wanted to sleep in a comfortable bed, so I nodded. After Keith mumbled something about not snooping in his stuff, he disappeared into the hallway, with his sketchbook under his arm.

I didn’t lose time wondering about the arrangements, and snuggled under his covers to become enveloped in his scent.

Keith didn’t use much cologne, but he always managed to smell good. It was either his natural scent or his aftershave—or a mixture of both. As I inhaled the scent on his pillow, I felt safe. It was stupid, really, but being under his warm covers and feeling as comfortable as I did made me feel strangely safe. I slept through the whole night, which was something I wasn’t used to doing lately.

Around six o’clock in the morning, Keith came to wake me up, stating that his parents would be up in an hour or so.

I felt so comfortable and tired that I whined. “Oh, come on, just a couple more minutes.” His chuckle made me open my eyes.

“My parents won’t be checking my room, but they’ll go to Cody’s to wake you.”

I snuggled in even more, which granted another chuckle. “Then stay and give me one more hour.” I pulled the blankets back and motioned for him to climb in. His smile dropped instantly and a frown replaced it as indecision played on his features.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not a big deal, Keith: just one more hour.” He thought for a couple of seconds and then turned the lock on his door before joining me.

We kept our distance and I went back to sleep. When I opened my eyes again, Keith was staring at me.

“What?”

“My parents are downstairs, you need to go.”

I groaned, but finally got up. Keith turned over on his back, crossed his arms under his head, flexing his muscles, and watching me leave. That man knew how to be sexy and the problem was that he knew it.

I got dressed quickly and went to meet Keith’s parents in the kitchen.

“Hello, sweetie. How did you sleep?” Samantha asked as she gave me a sideways hug. I smiled politely and answered.

“Great, actually. I was really tired last night. Thanks again for letting me stay here.”

Keith never joined us and I went to my house to spend the day with my family. I helped my mother by gathering all the leftovers and making new dishes. My grandparents went to the park, and Matilda disappeared all day, only returning for dinner. Once again, the Hales joined us, but Keith didn’t show up. I wanted to send him a text, but restrained myself. He’d probably had enough family time for the rest of the year.

Matilda joined me in putting the garbage outside after dinner, while giving me updates on her relationship with Michael.

Before turning to go inside, she grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. “What about you and Keith?”

I spun around and stared at my sister. “What about me and Keith? I hope that you’re not insinuating—”

She cut my sentence, “Oh, come on, I saw the exchanges yesterday at dinner. You won’t get any complaints from me: he’s a fine piece of man.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She was my baby sister and he was, well, Keith.

“Oh, Matilda, he’s… Keith.” I didn’t want to sound disgusted or outraged, but I guessed it sounded that way, because she laughed.

“I’m not saying you should marry the guy—he’s a huge player, everyone knows that—but, as a rebound, he would be great. Jane, think about it. It’s what guys like him are good for.”

I wanted to defend Keith and say that he was much more than that, but my tongue was tied. I couldn’t believe my baby sister was suggesting such thing. She just laughed at my shocked face and turned to our house.

I waited to go to the Hales’ house at the same time as Cody’s parents, trying to be polite, even though, at eleven, I had been yawning like crazy. They both bid me goodnight and left for their room. I stood outside Cody’s room, wondering if I was welcome to switch with Keith again.

I paced the hall until I felt ridiculous for not knocking on his door.

“Can I come in?” I whispered, after pulling the door open. He hadn’t answered and I wondered if he was even home.

The room was dark, the bed was made, and I started when he jumped from behind the door, pulled me in, and shut it, while placing a hand over my mouth. My heart was pounding, and fear curled up in me, despite the fact that, deep down, I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.

I could see the gleam in his eyes from the light coming through the window. This was cold Keith staring at me—the one I didn’t like. I struggled in his hold and he stepped forward, aligning his body with mine to touch me everywhere from my chest to my toes.

“What?” His rough, angry voice told me what I already suspected: he was doing this to scare me. “Isn’t this what you want?” He almost spit in my face as he pushed his forehead into mine. “A rebound?” He groaned against my cheek.

My eyes snapped up to his as realization set in. He’d heard my conversation with Matilda. I wiggled to get myself loose. I wanted to explain and apologize for my sister, but he had me in such a strong hold with his hand over my mouth that I couldn’t.

“What, you don’t find me suitable enough to replace my brother? Isn’t that what guys like me are for: to scratch an itch, Jane?”

The more I struggled, the stronger he held on, so I gave up. He let go of my mouth and now held my waist on both sides, sinking his fingers into my flesh. The surprise on his face told me he’d thought I would scream the moment he’d let me go. Feeling stronger for not falling for his games, I searched his eyes.

“You heard my sister. It’s her opinion, not mine,” I answered calmly. The hold on my waist loosened.

“You didn’t say otherwise,” he countered.

“I was surprised, Keith. I would never expect my sister to think that way. She usually isn’t judgmental.”

He let me go all of a sudden, which made me stumble over my own feet. “Then I’m right: I’m not good enough to replace my brother.”

A frustrated sigh left my mouth and I waved my arms in the air. “You’re not replacing anyone. It’s not about being good enough.”

He seemed to have lost his fight, and he pulled his hair and paced the room. “It’s stupid. It doesn’t even matter,” he mumbled, not making much sense. “Stay here. I’ll sleep on the couch.” He didn’t even let me answer, before he stormed out of the room and closed the door on his way out.

Like hell did I want to sleep here after all of this, but the prospect of sleeping in Cody’s room gave me chills, so I sat on the bed, thinking about the outburst Keith had just had.

I was starting to believe that the cocky boy I’d always thought he was, was more insecure than anyone thought.

It took me a long time to fall asleep and my night became occupied by nightmares.

The next day, I went home before breakfast, trying to avoid seeing Keith so soon after his ridiculous outburst. I was missing Ryan, so I called him around noon.

“Hi, sis.” His sleepy voice made me smile. Of course he would be asleep at noon on a Saturday. “Everything okay there?”

I swallowed the lump on my throat. “Yeah, it’s fine. I just wanted to check on you,” I answered.

His chuckle made me smile again. “We went two years with a couple of phone calls a month and now you’re checking after, what, two days? Come on, what’s up?”

I could hear a female voice in the background, Ryan’s muffled response, and then some clothes shifting. “Is it Dad?”

He knew me well, even after being apart for two years. I never had many reasons to be upset, but, now, with everything that had happened with Cody, and with asshole Keith back, it was getting hard to stay sane.

Ryan was silent on the other side, giving me time to answer. “It’s just… all that happened with Cody.” I stopped, afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep the tears at bay.

My brother groaned on the other side. “That’s exactly what I didn’t want to happen when you two started dating. Did you tell Mom and Dad?”

“No,” I stuttered. “I can’t. In twenty-four hours, I’ll be gone, and then, maybe during Christmas break, I’ll tell them. Well, I just wanted to say hello. I’ll let you go back to your girl.”

He laughed again. “My girl? Don’t be mad at me, but I don’t know if her name is Marissa or Larissa.”

I rolled my eyes, finding it both amusing and sad for the girl. Who the hell slept with a guy who didn’t even know their name? “You told me you were going to call Marissa this weekend, so that’s probably her name, Ry. Don’t forget she has a heart, even if her brain is probably missing.” I said goodbye and hung up.

My mother wanted to gather the remaining food and go to the city shelter and I decided to go with her. It would be great to take my mind off my problems and do something useful for those in need.

She ended up driving to the mall after we took the food to the shelter and dragged me through several stores. She bought me two pairs of jeans and several sweaters for the winter.

“How are you feeling there? Are you helping out at the house?” We sat at a table, eating an ice cream.

“Of course, Mom. I do almost all of the cooking, I clean my part, and I try to force them to do the same.” I smiled at the memory of the state the house was in when I had first gotten there. My mother would have had a heart attack. The boys had been behaving, but it didn’t mean it would be approved by my mom.

“Your brother can’t cook to save his life, and, from what I remember, Cody doesn’t, either.”

I knew what she was doing: fishing for information about Keith. I could satisfy her curiosity—after all, it would be a compliment.

“Keith learned how to cook from his grandfather, and he cooks pretty well.” I didn’t elaborate, but, by my mother’s frown, I knew she wasn’t happy that I spent time with him.

Later that afternoon, my mother asked me to go over the Hales’ house to call them over for dinner. I knocked on their kitchen door, but, after hearing heated voices in the living room and predicting they couldn’t hear me, I pushed the door open. Before I had reached the living room, I was second-guessing my decision. It would have been better if I had waited outside for things to calm down.

“Don’t talk to your mother like that, you disrespectful punk. I told you I wouldn’t be tolerating that tone in this house.” Carl’s cold words chilled my bones. Keith could be a pain most of the time, but he didn’t deserve that from his father.

Samantha’s voice was weaker, but she was also angry at her son. “Carl, let go of his arm. Do you think I deserve that, Keith?”

His grunts got closer to where I stood and I knew I was just seconds away from being discovered.

“I should’ve known: you always side with him.” The hatred coming from him was even worse than his father’s. I just couldn’t understand this family.

“Carl’s not wrong, you know. I didn’t raise you to be like that.” I had never heard Samantha talk with such disgust. “You look like a felon and you talk like one. I’m always waiting for a call informing me you’ve been arrested.” She was angry, but I could detect some hurt in her words.

“You’re wrong,” he answered quietly, sounding like a boy. “I’ve changed since I moved there. You would know, if you ever bothered to ask or visit, but I guess you’re so busy…” he trailed off, still with a low voice.

He was a lost boy asking his mother to give him more attention. I hadn’t been wrong last night: he was insecure, and his parents were to blame for that.

I guess his father didn’t hear his plea, because he just continued, as if Keith hadn’t tried to defend himself. “You sound like a child,” his father spit venom with his words.

I heard footsteps and some shuffling. “I haven’t been a child for almost seventeen years and you damn well know it.”

“Stop it, Keith. I swear, if you so much as raise your arm at Carl, you’re out of here—for good.”

Keith breathed hard. “You would choose him over me, right? It wouldn’t be the first time.” I guessed he was leaving, because his words got even louder.

I chose that moment to step forward and pretend I had just arrived. For a second, Keith stopped, looking at me, surprised, but his mother continued. She hadn’t noticed my arrival, since Keith blocked her view of me.

“Each day that passes, you look more and more like him.”

You could have heard a needle fall to the floor after that statement. Keith’s face changed—not exactly to anger, but more like to emptiness. I’d seen his cold demeanor before, but this was different. Samantha had broken him at that very moment. Even Carl had turned to his wife, with surprise marring his features.

Keith closed his eyes for a second, inhaled, and went past me to leave the house. Samantha had the decency to look ashamed when she saw me there.

I’d never felt as angry at someone in my life—not even at Cody for cheating on me—as I felt for Samantha right then. I hadn’t understood a word at the end, but I knew she’d had the intention of hurting her son, and that was despicable, especially if the argument was about the way he looked. No one would mistake Keith for a punk, or whatever they’d called him. He had a huge tattoo on his torso and a piercing in his eyebrow—nothing more. He never got into trouble anymore, and he barely got out of the house.

“I have no idea what your argument was about, but… you’re his mother, and, the way he looked just now—no mother should put that expression on her son’s face. Keith’s a good person. You just don’t bother to look closer. My mother asked me to come get you for dinner, but I just lost my appetite.”