Not a Bestseller

Awkward Silences

Let me refresh your memory: I have three older brothers. They're all out of the house.

Micah Wood Jr. is the oldest. I can honestly say I've never lived under the same roof as him. He graduated early, went to Yale or something, and performed his civic duties as the dream child. These days, he's a medical field extraordinaire with a family of his own.

Next up: Nicholas Wood. Nick. Gingery hair, a clear face, cool-blue eyes to get lost in, and enough perfected muscles on his body to defy logic. (Nature blessed him with Mom's looks.) Nick left the house before I knew feet could walk. Thanks to rich parents, he models for a living: swimsuit magazines and commercials. He's the underground Hollywood star, ready to marry a rich actress and make his debut. He might be engaged again. I don't know.

Finally, Kyle, the guy sitting on my couch in the living room.

I'm seventeen... He'd be twenty-two. Old enough for the "adult" privileges everyone loves so much. Unlike my rat's nest, his head was cropped in a light shade of tree bark. He reminded me of a jock in any chick-flick ever.

I think, if my parents had stopped after him, their lives would be much happier. Sure, Kyle had gotten into some jiffies of his own. But his life was back in order. Now he was across the country paying his own way through college.

Plus, one problem child is bad enough.

Stuart was right. I never want a relationship with another human being. People are stupid. They see the world as a mirror, themselves the focus of every living soul. But I'll be the first to admit, Kyle's the closest I ever got.

I looked up.

Kyle Wood was here, on my couch, eating my Cool Ranch Doritos.

He had a cell phone smudged against his ear. "...No, I'm here right now. No, don't worry about it. Yes, I'll be back in time. I'm just checking in. No, you are. No. Yeah, okay. Tell him...no, really? Yeah, well, okay, bye. No, you're...yeah, okay..."

His hand pressed tiny circles against the side of his face. Wondering the use of a temple massage, I took my pen and noted I should try it sometime.

Let's pretend that wasn't sarcastic.

I would have stood there for hours groping for something to do. Something to say. Ask the questions he never answered. Or maybe he'd seen it. I decided then and there not to mention the letter. Maybe he was here for me and my questions. I would've waited for him to turn around and see more than his own shadow. Thanks to a certain someone, I didn't have to.

Julia White shut the door. I cringed at the stomp of her feet.

Don't get the wrong impression. She wasn't angry or anything. But, despite my sneaky entrance, Julia showed no effort to be quiet and tiptoe like an abnormal person. She moved as anyone else would, heel to toe, allowing gravity to push her back down. As a result, she made a lot of noise.

Kyle faced me. His voice faded.

The phone blared, "ASOIDFJOPQEINGIQUPNRVOASMCOSDNOIRPQNVAOISCJOISDJMOISNXWVQOENCAIWEDHIAUNCIUVBE."

Or something like that. I swept my hands across the keyboard to see what I could make happen.

"What?" He held a finger up to me, the pointer one. Not the other one he's used on countless occasions. "No, my brother just got here. No, this isn't me breaking up with you. Yeah, I was saving that for tomorrow. Babe, I'm kidding; no, don't say that. I am not. Well, fine then. Let's just say it was a slip of the tongue. Yeah, like that guy. Exactly. No, I'm hanging up first-"

Kyle fisted his phone and mumbled some choice words. I cleared my throat. Not to get his attention. I had forgotten to swallow.

Nevertheless, his attention I got.