Page 15 of Fireworks

She opened her mouth to say something back to him, but quickly stopped herself. Knowing it would only cause more tension for me to deal with if she gave him attitude right now.

“I’ve got her.”

Her expression did little to hide what she was thinking;he wants you. She smirked and wiggled her brow. Thankfully, Nate didn’t notice.

“Come on, Katie, let's get you home so you can rest.”

His hand gently nudged me toward the entrance to the pool and back out of the parking lot where his truck was. This was not how my day was supposed to go.

*****

Nate

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t terrified as she collapsed in front of me. It was the second time since I had known her that a fear rushed over me in waves of uncertainty and terror. The first being when she got rushed to the emergency room, unconscious. Her uncle Landon had been watching her for the afternoon and she fell through a patch of thin ice while ice skating. My mom got the call from Evie letting her know what was going on and that she probably wouldn’t be able to come watch me for a few days. My mother completely understood and told her to take all the time she needed but to keep her posted on Katie’s condition.

Only hearing half the conversation, I immediately demanded my mother tell me what had happened. She protested at first, saying it was just an accident and everything was okay. I knew by the look on her face it wasn’t. That was the first time I ever thought of Katie as something other than an annoyance. The thought of her not being okay made me panic-stricken. Even at twelve years old, I knew she needed to be okay, that my life would never be the same if she wasn’t.

“You’re not seriously going to watch over me like this until someone else gets home, are you?”

Following her into her bedroom, I sat down at her desk. It had been a while since I had been in her room. It wasn’t the same old little kid room it used to be. The dolls and stuffed animals were now replaced with bookshelves and writing materials. Her room was immaculate, not a single piece of clothing lying around.

“I told your brother I would make sure you didn’t pass out again. So, yes, I am.”

There were photos on a board above her desk with all her friends from graduation and prom night. In the corner was the picture our mothers had taken of us at my graduation. Her smile, although for the sake of the photo, looked forced, was radiant.

“I see I made it up here, too.”

I turned back to her, pointing to our photo as she walked back out of her closet with a fresh set of clothing in her hand. A piece of me was happy she considered me worthy of her board.

“Yeah, well, I looked good. Can you get out so I can change?”

She stood with her hand on her hip, waiting for me to leave. I debated telling her I needed to stay just to see what she would say.

Walking to her door, I turned, a big smile across my face.

“You sure you will not pass out again?”

“Get the hell out of my room, Nate.”

I chuckled. That definitely wasn’t the first time I had heard that before.

She emerged at her door a moment later, pushing past me and walking back downstairs. She grabbed water from the kitchen before making her way down to the den. There were pillows and blankets strewn about the floor. She plopped down onto them, grabbing the remote off the edge of the couch, flicking on the television, and pressing the guide button. I settled down next to her, keeping a safe distance.

“Can I make you something to eat?”

Her nostrils flared as she glanced at me before looking away. She was not in the mood today, as if it was my fault she had nothing to eat or drink and stayed out in the sun all afternoon. It was a recipe for disaster.

Her eyes didn’t leave the screen as she finally answered me.

“No. Even if I wanted to eat, I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself. What do you want to watch since you insist on being here?”

Mindlessly, I grabbed the remote out of her hand and scrolled to see what was even on. Something I had done a thousand times while in their den with Asher and her through the years.

“You know you could have asked me nicely instead of ripping it out of my hands. Guess you’ll never change.”

Turning to face her, I opened my mouth but paused before speaking. I had changed plenty over the years.

“Excuse you? What is that supposed to mean?”