I keep replaying that night; sneaking out to the backyard and making up with Tank. Neither of us know where to go from there and for the next week we pretend like nothing ever happened and everything between us is perfectly fine.
His mother was happy to ignore the entire ugly situation of me fleeing her home and her son feeling like crap for not being able to attend my birthday.
My mother does not go that route. She wants to know what happened and of course I can't tell her that we pretty much did everything you can with your clothes on in the darkness of our backyard. Instead, I tell her we made up, decided to chill, and I am going to have my birthday in California with Aaron and all my friends.
The dinners together are awkward. With the Kemptons now living directly behind us, mom and I have a standing invite for dinner. Tank and I sit next to each other pretending like we're just good friends.
Under the table we feel hands on thighs, the rub of elbows, and other desperate attempts to silently claw at each other. Most times he just keeps his knee pressed against my leg. He pushes in against me every few seconds just to remind me that he is there, needing me.
Daytime is the worst. Tank is busy with Jessica and the cotillion preparations. I'm still volunteering at the thrift store and most mornings Tank drops in to drop off a cup of his mom's oat drink.
He stays and helps me until Jessica sends her first text of the day demanding he go get measured for something or practice something or go with her to pick out something. I love working there with him and it feels like a fresh wound every time Jessica pulls him away.
It's like every morning he enjoys me then chooses her. It hurts.
It feels like they're getting married. They'll ride away in Tank's beat-up Camry and carve their names in a heart on the side of the Grand Canyon or something. It feels more and more like I'm his secret.
Thursday night before mom and I pick up Aaron to head off to California, things get weirder.
It's July 4th and the Kempton's have us over for a BBQ. We watch the fireworks on TV and play board games; typical wholesome mormon family evening. Tank and I play nice and Mrs. Kempton even serves up a birthday cake for me. It was a nice evening all in all.
We get home though, and right as mom goes around the house turning off the lights and locking up, I get a text from Tank. I know it's him because I set a ding and vibe pattern different from everyone else. I wait until she goes into her bedroom and closes the door before sliding it out of my pocket.
He texts me that he's at the back fence. I go to mom's door and hear the shower turn on so I sneak out the back slider and go for the fence.
"What's up?" I whisper and move a planter over to our usual spot so I can climb up and look over. He's there looking up at me. Those eyes in the moonlight make my heart pound double time.
"You're leaving tomorrow? For real?" he asks this as if my birthday was just some giant prank.
"Yeah it's kind of my cake day and all... July 5th," I laugh for no reason.
"I know. I know. I just wanted to hang before you left." He looks down and kicks at the dirt. I can see his shoulders shiver even though it's still 100 degrees outside.
"We spent the whole evening together!" I laugh.
"I um... I got you something for your birthday. I wanted to give it to you before you leave," he says. His voice sounds nervous.
"What is it?" I lean against the top of the fence. Above us there isn't a cloud in the night sky and the moon reflects in his eyes when he suddenly looks up at me.
YOU ARE READING
Hayden's Shelter
Teen Fiction[BoyXBoy] - Not-Quite-16 year old Hayden Davis finds himself seeking shelter in the Arizona desert with his mom after his dad's deportation and the fall of the Orange County business Empire his parents had built. He's working with his mom to get th...
