The One Without Words

❀ chapter forty-seven | new year's kissing ❀

"You don't have to drink if you don't want to," I told Jack. "I know that you don't have the best history with parties." 

He grabbed my face between both his hands and then put his own close to mine. Our noses almost touched. He looked into my eyes like he could communicate all his thoughts only through staring at me.

"I'm leaving in less than two months," he said. "I should probably do whatever I can to make that easier."

I put my hands over his and slowly pulled them away. I didn't want to think about him leaving right now. I didn't want to think about anything. So I grabbed the drinks and cups. I went back out on the patio, setting the bottles down in front of Eli and Seth. Jack followed, carrying the case of beer.

Once he set it down, I reached for one of the bottles, but someone stopped me.

Eli. I turned and glared at him, but it was hard with the way his black curls fell over his forehead, making him look almost cute, completely undeserving of such a glare.

"What's with that look?" he asked. "I was just going to ask you if you wanted me to make you a drink. I know you don't really like beer."

"How do you remember that?"

He looked down. "What do you want?"

"Anything, I guess."

"Make me one too," Jack said.

I didn't think twice until Seth and Eli went completely quiet. Then I figured I'd plaster a fake surprise expression on my face so they wouldn't question why I wasn't totally shocked at hearing Jack speak. Not that it mattered. No one was watching for my reaction—they were staring at him. 

Eli blinked a few times. "You're..."

"Talking, I know," Jack said. "Does it matter?" 

"Dude, holy shit. I did not expect your voice to sound like that."

"Like what?" 

"All, you know. And you have an accent. Where are you from?"

"Hell," Jack replied.

I smirked. Hölle was the German word for hell—that I remembered.

Seth's let out a fit of laughter. "Nah, you're from Germany, right? Bro, my country completely demolished your ass in World War II. You and Romy were the axis powers!"

"Very funny," I said. "We'd only be missing Italy."

"The Italians invaded my grandmother's country," Anika said. "Maybe that would be sufficient for me to be your missing Italian link."

Seth threw back another shot. "What country was that?"

"Ethiopia," she said.

"Damn, good thing the Italians lost World War II, then."

Anika smiled—in the way she usually did when talking about her favorite subjects like history or religion. "Yes, their occupation didn't last too long at all."

Eli poured vodka and Dr. Pepper into a cup, then handed it to Jack. How did Eli know Jack liked Dr. Pepper? Just like he remembered I wasn't the biggest fan of beer. Someone needed to bottle up Eli's memory skills and sell it for a profit. The boy was observant as hölle.

"I remember the last time you got Jack drunk, Seth," Eli said, breaking the brief silence that'd settled over us. He then poured vodka and cranberry juice into a cup—my cliche favorite drink. "At that party you threw at my house. And then you got your friends to record him? Remind me of how shitty that was again?"