feel if I told you that I did a couple of lines of coke, Tack?”
He looked at me and I knew he was narrowing his eyes at me. The muscles in his neck tightened and his hands fisted at his sides.
“I would kick your ass from here to the moon, throw you into rehab, and then track down the bastard who gave it to you.”
I rolled my eyes. “And you’re telling me not to worry? Really? Do you know how scared I feel now?”
He sighed, and the tension left his body. He wrapped an arm across my shoulders and kissed the top of my head.
“Tabitha, I promise you I won’t do it again. I’m sorry I did it in the first place. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll be okay, I promise.”
I hugged Tack, wrapping my arms around his waist. “You’re all I have,” I said. “If I lose you to something stupid like drugs, I will kill you.”
His soft chuckle vibrated softly against my cheek. “I promise I’ll always be here for you. I’ll be around forever, and when I’m old and shitting in my own pants, you’ll have to take care of me.”
I slapped his arm and let myself laugh, but a deep part of me thought that promises may as well be the fine grains of sand beneath our feet. You can scoop up a whole handful of the stuff, but most of it always ends up slipping through your fingers.
Chapter Five
“I’m just saying that he looked cute today, that’s all,” Leslie said many months later as we walked to my house from school on a warm spring Friday afternoon.
“He looks the same as he does every day.” I snorted. “Like an arrogant asshole.”
Leslie rolled her eyes but smiled. “Yeah, but he’s a sexy, arrogant asshole, and your ‘second best friend’ don’t forget.”
“Whatever. So, what are you trying to say? You want him back?”
She scrunched up her nose as she thought. Leslie is one of those cute button nose types that could scrunch up her nose and look cute. When I scrunched up my nose, I looked like I was smelling something foul.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Maybe.”
Before the summer was even half over, Leo and Leslie had broken up. I wasn’t very surprised because teenage relationships were so delicate—even I had a boyfriend for about five minutes. All around us, people were hopping to a new person every week. It was amazing that their relationship had lasted as long as it did, especially since Leo was starting to look more and more appealing to all of the horny teenage girls in town. Leslie had practically been beating them away with a stick, and Leo being Leo was slow to act when one of the floozies draped themselves over his body, or dropped kisses on his cheeks or dangerously close to his mouth that often left behind bright pink or red painted lips on his skin.
My friendship with Leo remained intact even when he and Leslie weren’t talking. My loyalties were with Leslie, but there was no telling how many guys she would date over the years, and surely I would be friends with any one of them. I wasn’t going to dump my friends because she dumped them as boyfriends. I didn’t even have to explain that to her, she already knew that about me and it never even came up.
“Does he talk about me?” Leslie asked hesitantly.
“He asks me how you’re doing.”
“That’s stupid. He sees me in school. He sees how I’m doing.”
I shrugged. “That’s different. There’s more to you than what people see in school and he knows that.”
She grew quiet and thoughtful as we neared my house. It felt like it had been forever since the Rico Incident and the funny feelings I had that night, when in reality, it had only been a few months. Even less time had passed since Leo told me about my brother during a late night walk on the boardwalk and Tack made me promises as we stood side by side in the sea. It had only been two months since he broke one of those promises and, along with my cousins Mayson and Emmy, got as high as the stars during an end of summer party.
He looked at me and I knew he was narrowing his eyes at me. The muscles in his neck tightened and his hands fisted at his sides.
“I would kick your ass from here to the moon, throw you into rehab, and then track down the bastard who gave it to you.”
I rolled my eyes. “And you’re telling me not to worry? Really? Do you know how scared I feel now?”
He sighed, and the tension left his body. He wrapped an arm across my shoulders and kissed the top of my head.
“Tabitha, I promise you I won’t do it again. I’m sorry I did it in the first place. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll be okay, I promise.”
I hugged Tack, wrapping my arms around his waist. “You’re all I have,” I said. “If I lose you to something stupid like drugs, I will kill you.”
His soft chuckle vibrated softly against my cheek. “I promise I’ll always be here for you. I’ll be around forever, and when I’m old and shitting in my own pants, you’ll have to take care of me.”
I slapped his arm and let myself laugh, but a deep part of me thought that promises may as well be the fine grains of sand beneath our feet. You can scoop up a whole handful of the stuff, but most of it always ends up slipping through your fingers.
Chapter Five
“I’m just saying that he looked cute today, that’s all,” Leslie said many months later as we walked to my house from school on a warm spring Friday afternoon.
“He looks the same as he does every day.” I snorted. “Like an arrogant asshole.”
Leslie rolled her eyes but smiled. “Yeah, but he’s a sexy, arrogant asshole, and your ‘second best friend’ don’t forget.”
“Whatever. So, what are you trying to say? You want him back?”
She scrunched up her nose as she thought. Leslie is one of those cute button nose types that could scrunch up her nose and look cute. When I scrunched up my nose, I looked like I was smelling something foul.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Maybe.”
Before the summer was even half over, Leo and Leslie had broken up. I wasn’t very surprised because teenage relationships were so delicate—even I had a boyfriend for about five minutes. All around us, people were hopping to a new person every week. It was amazing that their relationship had lasted as long as it did, especially since Leo was starting to look more and more appealing to all of the horny teenage girls in town. Leslie had practically been beating them away with a stick, and Leo being Leo was slow to act when one of the floozies draped themselves over his body, or dropped kisses on his cheeks or dangerously close to his mouth that often left behind bright pink or red painted lips on his skin.
My friendship with Leo remained intact even when he and Leslie weren’t talking. My loyalties were with Leslie, but there was no telling how many guys she would date over the years, and surely I would be friends with any one of them. I wasn’t going to dump my friends because she dumped them as boyfriends. I didn’t even have to explain that to her, she already knew that about me and it never even came up.
“Does he talk about me?” Leslie asked hesitantly.
“He asks me how you’re doing.”
“That’s stupid. He sees me in school. He sees how I’m doing.”
I shrugged. “That’s different. There’s more to you than what people see in school and he knows that.”
She grew quiet and thoughtful as we neared my house. It felt like it had been forever since the Rico Incident and the funny feelings I had that night, when in reality, it had only been a few months. Even less time had passed since Leo told me about my brother during a late night walk on the boardwalk and Tack made me promises as we stood side by side in the sea. It had only been two months since he broke one of those promises and, along with my cousins Mayson and Emmy, got as high as the stars during an end of summer party.
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