Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1) (54 page)

“Hey,
I—” Luke couldn’t seem to find an answer for that, so I rolled my eyes and went
on. “Besides, things are different now.”

Luke
didn’t look convinced, and Stevie and Skylar didn’t say anything either, so I
pressed on to the point. “What’s it going to hurt to just give Mark a chance?
You don’t have any other prospects lined up, do you?”

“Well,”
he hesitated, obviously hating to admit it, “no.”

“You
could at least listen to him play,” I shrugged.

Stevie
smirked, unable to stay quiet. “As if he’d know anything about it anyway?”

“Fuck
off,” Luke said, glaring at Stevie before turning back to me. “Fine. Call him
and see if he’s interested, and if he is, see if we can get this done today. I
have to work tomorrow, and I know Toby’s off today.”

I
agreed readily and headed toward the stairs. “See if we can do it at his
place,” Luke called after me.

“Okay,”
I yelled back, climbing the stairs two at a time to get to my room. I dug
around on my desk until I found the paper where I’d jotted Mark’s number. After
finding it, I dug the phone out from under a pile of papers.

I
dialed the number and listened as it rang. I checked the time on my computer
and saw it was just after noon. I wasn’t sure if that would be considered
calling too early because I had no idea how late Mark usually slept, but the
phone had rung several times already. Just as I was about the hang up, Mark
picked up.

“Hello?”
Mark sounded kind of groggy and confused.

“Hey,
Mark. It’s Silly,” I said. “Sorry if I woke you up.”

I
heard him yawn. “Yeah?” he grunted. “What’s up?”

“Well,
I have a proposition for you.”

“Isn’t
it a little early for that?” he chuckled. “Besides I thought Hart had staked
his claim on you. What would he think?”

I
rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “Not that kind of proposition,
you perv.”

“Oh,
good, I wasn’t sure how I was going to let you down easy.”

“Thanks
for the consideration,” I muttered. The conversation was getting a bit out of
hand, so I redirected it back to my original point. “My brother has decided to
start a band.” Mark grunted. “He’s looking for a drummer. I remembered you said
you played the drums. I thought you might be interested.”

“In
playing in a band with a bunch of jocks?” he snorted. “Not likely.”

“Oh,
come on,” I coaxed. “Luke isn’t
that
bad.”

“Of
course you’d say that,” Mark laughed. “He’s your brother.”

“Don’t
you think I should know what I’m talking about? I’m his little sister,” I
argued. “I grew up with him, so I know how much of an asshole he can be, so why
would I lie?”

“You’re
biased,” he commented. “Whether or not he’s an asshole, he’s still your brother.”

“Okay,
maybe I’m
slightly
biased,” I said. “But why does it have to be jocks
versus the rest of the world? My brother’s life doesn’t revolve around sports.”
I didn’t voice that I almost wished it did. “Right now it mostly revolves
around playing guitar all hours of the day, and I know you like music. Anyone
who doesn’t is, obviously, just as uptight and slightly boring as my dad.
Besides, I thought it was pretty much every teenage guy’s dream to be in a
band, so why not give it a chance?”

“I
don’t know where you come up with this stuff.” Mark still sounded sleepy, but
it was also clear he was amused. “I’m just going to save myself the trouble of
having to listen to you try to convince me in whatever sort of twisted logic
you use and say yes, I’ll give it a try.”

I
refrained from clapping happily like a moron. “Great,” I said instead, unable
to keep the cheer from my voice. “Can you do it today? Luke and Toby, the other
guy in the band, both have the day off from work and want to do the audition as
soon as possible.”

“So
now I’m auditioning?” Mark huffed.

“It’s
just a stupid technicality,” I assured him. “So, is today okay?”

He
sighed, resignedly. “Fine.”

“So
should we come to your house then?”

He
was immediately awake and serious. “Why would you do that?”

“Are
you planning to tote your drum set over here?”

“No
. . .”

“Then
your place is okay?”

“Um,”
he cleared his throat uncertainly, and I realized just how pushy I was being. I
remembered his reluctance to have people over to his house. Jackson had
mentioned the other day when Tegan and I came over to watch movies that Mark
didn’t live in the best neighborhood. Adding that to his dad’s less than
pleasant demeanor, I could see why he was reluctant to have us over. I was
trying to think of an alternative when Mark finally said, “Yeah, I guess we can
do it here, but you guys will have to be out of here by five.”

“No
problem,” I agreed quickly. After Mark explained how to get to his house, I
hurried back downstairs and told Luke the “audition” was on. I pulled him away
from Skylar and Stevie to tell him about having to be out by five. He shrugged
it off easily and said he’d call Toby.

“I’m
going to go take a shower,” I said. “Don’t leave without me.”

“What
makes you think
you’re
going?”

“Aren’t
you the one who’s afraid of the big bad bully?” I arched an eyebrow. “I thought
I’d go and keep the peace.”

“I’m
not afraid of Moses.”

“So
should I not go then?”

“No,
you can come,” Luke sighed, as if it pained him to allow me along, and rolled
his eyes. “Just don’t take too long getting ready.”

“Whatever.”
I briefly considered taking my sweet time to get ready out of spite, but I
remembered we were under something of a time crunch.  At my usual pace, it
usually only took me forty-five minutes to shower, dress and do my hair and
makeup, but I managed it in half an hour out of fear that Luke would leave
without me just because he could.

When
I got back downstairs, Toby was there and, to my surprise, so was Tegan. For a
minute I worried I’d forgotten about some plans we made, but she saw the panic
on my face and quickly explained she was bored at home and walked over,
deciding to leave babysitting Tanner and Tatum to Tierney.

Skylar
was on the phone, and Luke was too preoccupied with talking to Toby about the
band to bother to bicker with her, so Stevie looked bored. The
Project
Runway
marathon was still on, but she didn’t seem to be paying any
attention. I thought Stevie secretly enjoyed arguing with Luke.

To
put her out of her bored misery, I asked Stevie, “Who’s Skylar talking to?”

“Oh,
Scotty boy,” she grinned.

“Why?”
I was mystified. Since that day at the mall nearly two months before, when
Skylar told me they’d broke up, I hadn’t heard another word about Scott from
her. That was typical, though. After she and a guy broke up, it was usually as
if he’d never existed at all because he was never mentioned again.

“Apparently,
the lack of sex is getting to her,” Stevie drawled, examining her candy apple
red nails. “I think she’s finally broken down and called to beg him to take her
back. Or take her on her back. Whatever.”

Hearing
this, Skylar glared at her, giving her the finger, before she turned away,
returning her attention to the phone.

“Is
there a party going on around here I didn’t know about?” Tegan asked curiously.

I
shook my head, explaining about Luke’s new band and Mark’s upcoming “audition.”

Excited
by the idea, Tegan exclaimed, “Awesome! Let’s go!”

Luke
seemed annoyed he’d gained an entourage, but he didn’t argue about letting
Tegan tag along and we headed out to his car. Sitting in the back, I read off
the directions, and within fifteen minutes we were sitting in front of a
slightly rundown single story gray house.

I’d
been expecting the worst, so I was somewhat relieved to find it wasn’t so bad
after all. The neighborhood itself was kind of dilapidated, so by comparison,
Mark’s place was one of the nicer houses. It had probably been really nice at
one point when it was better maintained, but I thought probably just a new coat
of paint would probably go a long way to make it look better.

Tegan
and I walked ahead while Luke and Toby stopped to take their instruments out of
the trunk. I knocked at the door and shoved my hands into my pockets. The
weather had been somewhat mild so far, but today it felt colder, and I found
myself hoping for an early spring. As beautiful as the winter weather was, I
always liked it better when it could be experienced through pictures.

Mark
opened the door a minute later. “Hey,” he said, looking uncomfortable as Luke
and Toby stepped up behind us.

“Hey,”
Luke said, combing his fingers through his hair. I recognized he was nervous
and couldn’t help but feel amused by the realization. “Thanks for doing this at
the last minute . . .”

“Yeah,”
Mark shrugged, but I could see that he was just as uneasy. “No problem.”

Toby
seemed the most at ease as he glanced around and asked, “So, where are we going
to do this?”

“Hopefully
inside?” Tegan hinted, teeth chattering. I still couldn’t believe she’d walked
over to my house in this weather even if it was only a few blocks.

“Oh,
yeah,” Mark said, stepping aside and opening the door. “Come in.”

“Thanks,”
I smiled, stepping in after Tegan. Toby and Luke followed, and Mark shut the
door.

There
was a prolonged silence before Mark finally said, “My drums are set up in the
garage.” He walked around us, leading the way and motioning for us to follow
him.

As
I brought up the rear of our little entourage, I glanced around Mark’s house,
curiously. It was a little shabby, but it looked like it had been tidied up a
bit. I wondered if Mark had hurried to clean up before we arrived.

Overall,
though, the house wasn’t so bad. It definitely had a more masculine flare, and
I wondered about Mark’s mom. He’d never mentioned her. In fact, the only
members of his family he’d ever really mentioned were his sister, Michelle, and
her daughter, Hailey, who he’d spent both Thanksgiving and Christmas with. She
lived in the next town over, Peony Hill.

As
we passed down the hallway, I noticed some pictures of a much younger Mark hung
along the wall. There was also several of a pretty girl with long, dark hair
and a bright smile. I could see similarities in hers and Mark’s smile and the
shape of their eyes, so I knew it had to be Michelle.

There
were no family photos, though, and I couldn’t help but wonder again about
Mark’s mother. Were his parents just divorced? Or had his mother passed away? I
couldn’t imagine any decent mother leaving her child with the angry, mean man
I’d seen in that school hallway.

I
also didn’t miss the numerous cans of beer in the trash as we passed through
the kitchen. I simultaneously wanted to cringe, thinking of Mark’s father, and
give Mark a hug for having to put up with the drunk. It really was no wonder
Mark was so misguided.

Unlike
our house, his garage wasn’t attached and was located farther back behind the
house. Thankfully, it had electricity hooked up, and Mark had hooked up a space
heater sometime before we arrived—unless it was always there—so it wasn’t too
cold.

Mark
walked over to the drum set in the corner of the otherwise empty garage while
Luke and Toby took their instruments out of their cases and got ready to play.
Seeing Mark look so nervous was such a strange sight to behold, but once he was
seated behind the drum set, he picked up the sticks, counted off and started
playing and his usual confidence reappeared. I quickly understood why, too,
because even though I knew absolutely nothing about playing drums, it sounded
pretty damn good to me.

With
one glance at Luke, I could tell he was impressed. He and Toby were both
grinning like they’d just won the lottery as they started playing their
guitars, weaving an odd cacophony of surprisingly pleasing music. Then the
music slowly changed, shifting into an actual song. I didn’t recognize it, but
Mark, Toby and Luke played on, lost in their own little bubble of musicality.

I
looked to Tegan, wondering if she knew what they were playing, but she just
shrugged, grinning and swaying to the quick beat Mark was keeping. She bumped
me in the hip, making me move with her, and I started clapping to the beat,
keeping time as I sway from side to side with Tegan.

As
the song came to a close, Luke and Toby looked to each other, silently
communicating, before nodding their agreement. Luke adjusted his guitar strap,
shifting the instrument to his back, and crossed over to Mark.

“We’re
looking to practice a few times a week and anytime we can during the weekend,”
he said. “Think you can handle that?”

“Sure,”
Mark answered slowly. “Does that mean I’m in?”

Luke
grinned. “Hell yeah!” He stuck out his hand, offering it to Mark. After only a
moment’s hesitation, Mark took it. They did one of those weird handshakes only
guys seemed to know and nodded at each other.

They
decided to jam for a little bit, so Tegan and I found a couple of old, plastic
milk crates to sit on while we listened and talked. Mostly, though, we watched.
It was bizarre, seeing my brother and Mark interact. They still seemed a bit
wary of each other, and I could understand the reluctance. They were so
different and lived at opposite ends of the social ladder.

It
was somewhat odd because I never really thought much of Luke’s popularity while
I was all too aware of Skylar’s social standing. Maybe it was just because she
and I were both girls, and the comparisons were inevitable while things were
somewhat different for guys.

Growing
up, people had always commented on how different Skylar and I were. Everything
from looks to personality was scrutinized just because we were siblings of the
same sex. Even now, people—namely family—would still comment on the differences
between my sister and I. No one ever compared Luke and I, or, for the matter,
Luke and Skylar.