Love and Fandoms (22 page)

Luci stood up.
"I should probably get going. I need to pretend like I'm hanging out at
home this afternoon so Johnny doesn't think I'm actually babysitting him."

"Heh, yeah.
I'm sure at his age he thinks he's fine on his own."

"He could
probably handle it now. He's always been a big troublemaker, but he's turned
himself around this year. He learned a lesson at home during the summer, and
Mom and I think he has a girlfriend at school who keeps him in line."

"As you girls
tend to do."

"Don't you
forget it. Now I better go." She took a deep breath and said, probably
more to herself than to him, "No, I need to say this."

"What?"

She started to
talk, but hesitated. Finally, it came out all at once. "Wyatt, I'm so
sorry. If I'd been there that night, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. I would
have pulled you away from the scene when Mandy ran, or pummeled the Pigs, or
something. I should have waited to take Kareem's wallet back to him. It's my
fault you're here." She put her hand over her eyes and started crying.

Wyatt was stunned
for a second. He'd never seen Luci cry. Well, there was that one time when they
were in third grade and she challenged a bully to a fight. Her Taekwondo
skills, still raw at that point, would have been enough, but the bully got a
lucky shot in and knocking her down. Afterwards, she cried more out of
frustration than any pain she suffered. But he'd never seen her cry like this.
As best he could because of his injuries, he held out his arms for a hug, and
she gently joined his embrace. She cried in his arms for a minute or so before
pulling away, her face red from the tears and embarrassment.

"Sorry."

He gripped her arm
with his good right hand, which he could barely even tell he'd sprained anymore.
"You don't have anything to be sorry about. Nothing that happened was your
fault. Who even knows if it would have been different? The blame belongs
squarely on the shoulders of the Pigs and Alex." Saying that out loud made
him feel a whole lot better.

Luci smiled, wiped
her eyes, and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Wyatt." She stood.
"This time I really do need to go. But don't worry, Kareem and Mandy
should be here soon. Hopefully for the last study session in the hospital,
right?"

"I should be
home by tomorrow afternoon."

"Good. I'll
see you soon. Say hi to Mandy for me." She gave him a goofy grin when she
said that, but he wasn't sure what she meant. He assumed she saw her at school
today, so why would she need him to say hi for her? When she was gone, he
shrugged and picked his iPad back up.

MANDY

Wyatt lay on the
couch with his head resting on her lap. She brought her third season DVD box
set of Mister Incognito, and they were four shows into their mini-marathon.
He'd been home for over two weeks now, and was getting better, stronger, each
day. Unless there was some sort of unforeseen complication, he'd get the cast
off his arm in a couple of weeks, and the one off his leg not too long after.

He'd be back in
school after the New Year, once Winter Break was over. He could probably manage
before then, but with that three week break coming up, the doctors suggested he
wait. It wasn't like he was falling behind much, if at all, in any of his
classes. He got his homework and detailed notes from Kareem in Physics and
Calculus, and even though they didn't have it the same period, Mr. Anderson ran
both 1st and 6th period AP Language Arts the same, so Kareem gave him notes and
homework for that, too. She was able to do the same with their government
class, since Mr. Hartnell kept all his classes on the same lecture notes. And,
of course, he needed no help in pop culture, as he'd already turned in his
first project and was almost done with his final. Besides, she and Kareem
enjoyed sharing the happenings of that class the most, and he loved hearing
about it.

"I always
liked this one," Wyatt said, talking about the Mister Incognito episode
they were watching.

"Me, too. The
stand-alone fillers always seem to be the most fun."

"Yeah."
His voice already sounded groggy. She gave him his last daily dose of
painkillers before they started this one, and he'd probably be out before it
was over.

The week before
had been Thanksgiving, so she'd been off from school. Wyatt's mom hadn't done
any substitute teaching, obviously, but instead worked full-time at Fat Frank's,
getting only Wednesday and Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, off. She'd worked the
closing shift every other day and Mandy had stayed with Wyatt to make sure he
was okay. This past week, his Mom had subbed Tuesday through Thursday, so he
had been on his own during the day, but he did fine. He wasn't great on his
crutches, being that he had a cast on one leg, a bulky brace on the other knee,
as well as a cast on his left arm, but he got on well enough. Besides, all he
did was nap or work on homework during the day, so he was fine. In an
emergency, he had the phone number of a neighbor who was home during the day.

Two-thirds of the
way into the episode, Wyatt began lightly snoring. She smiled and ran her
fingers through his hair. Once it was over, she gently moved his head and got
up. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a cold bottle of water. His mom
wouldn't be home for another couple of hours, so she took her backpack and sat
at the dining room table where she could see him in case he woke, though she
doubted he would. In the normal routine, she'd leave him sleeping on the couch,
and after she left, his mom would wake him so he could head to his room. If he
was too groggy, the couch was comfortable enough for him to stay there all
night.

Routine summed up
life now, and, to be honest, she loved it. This past week and the next couple
until Winter Break looked like they'd all be pretty much the same. Monday and
Wednesday were school, Taekwondo, and then hanging out with Wyatt, Luci, and
Kareem until it was time to head home for dinner. Tuesdays and Thursdays
started with school before she and Kareem joined Wyatt for their study
sessions. Fridays, of course, stared with school, and then staying with Wyatt until
his mom got home from closing at the restaurant, while Luci and Kareem joined
them. She sort of expected them to be over on Saturday and Sunday afternoons
and nights, too, but earlier in the week, when Kareem had said they would, Luci
whispered something in his ear. She had no idea what, but a dawning look
crossed Kareem's face, and he said just Friday night. There were important
sci-fi and horror shows to catch on Fridays, after all, so they might as well
watch together.

She had a feeling,
even when Alex was at his best, she'd have been tired of hanging out with him alone
by now, but she didn't think it was possible for her to feel that way about
Wyatt. What did that mean about her feelings for him? Could this be true love
or something sappy like that? Maybe. Probably. But she still wouldn't be the
one who asked him officially out. He needed to do it. He had strong feelings
for her, she knew that, and he'd actually made some strides to get over his
lack of confidence and social awkwardness, so maybe he would. Hopefully he
would, and sooner rather than later.

Before she knew
it, his mom was home. Wyatt had barely even twitched in his drug-induced sleep,
only letting out a few snores so she knew he was okay. His mom came in through
the kitchen, where the garage connected to the house, and gave Mandy a hug.
"How's he doing?"

"Great.
Sleeping like a log." As if on cue, Wyatt snorted out a snore, bringing a
chuckle from them both.

"I brought
home an untouched portion of Frank's Famous Hot Fudge Cake. Please say you'll
share it with me. If you don't, I'm going to devour the whole thing, and I do
not need to do that."

"You won't
hear me saying no to dessert." She packed her things into her backpack,
and left it on the table as she followed Mrs. Faulk into the kitchen. She'd
never had a hot fudge cake from Fat Frank's, and when she saw it in the
patented hot/cold container, her mouth began to water. Wow, did that look
decadent or what?

Mrs. Faulk handed
her a fork. "Don't try to be polite and wait for me because I won't be
waiting for you."

Mandy dug in, her
first bite a corner of the chocolate cake smothered in hot fudge sauce.
Whoa!
She let out a moan, which brought on a smile and nod from Mrs. Faulk.
"Right?"

"This won't
be the last time I have this."

"Anytime you
come in, it's on me. It's the least I can do for all the help you've given us
both."

Mandy felt her
face heat up, and she scooped up a piece of cake saturated in hot fudge and
vanilla ice cream. When she finished the bite, she said, "I'm happy to
help. Honestly."

Mrs. Faulk raised
her eyebrows. "Mind if I ask if you two are a couple?"

She shook her head
as she took another heavenly bite. She wanted to sigh in sadness that the cake
was already over a quarter gone. She could eat this all night.

"Between us girls,
is that even something you want? With all of the time you spend with him, I'm
guessing yes, but I don't want to assume."

She held back a
chuckle thinking about what Dad said anytime someone said the word assume.
Knowing Mrs. Faulk, she'd appreciate the joke, but didn't think this was the
time to bring it up. "Yeah. And I'm almost positive he does, too."

She must have had
a little lilt in her voice because Mrs. Faulk nodded and patted Mandy's arm.
"Does someone need to be more assertive?"

"I'd have no
trouble asking him out, but …"

"Oh, believe
me, I know where the problem is, and it's not you. You might have been too
young to pick up on it when you were little, but he was always a bit on the shy
side. When his father and I separated, he took it hard, and went in on himself
even more. I never really talked about it with him, but from what I observed, I
think it was so he couldn't cause any more loss. I told him more than once it
wasn't even remotely his fault, but that's how he took it." She shrugged,
and then continued. "You and Luci were his only friends. At least I never
heard him talk about any other kids, and none ever came over to play with him.
He did talk about Kareem at summer computer camp, but no effort was made for
them to get together outside of camp, which I blame myself for. It would have
done him good." She took another bite of cake, and Mandy followed suit.
"Anyway, when his father died, he got even worse. Since junior high, it's
only been Kareem."

An iron band wound
around Mandy's heart, and tears sprang to her eyes. "And I left him right
when junior high started."

Mrs. Faulk jumped
out of her chair and engulfed her in a hug. "No, honey, it's not your
fault. Don't you dare think that. Not for an instant. Okay?"

She wiped her eyes
and nodded. She knew he was shy back then, but she never put the pieces of why
together. For the millionth time since rediscovering his friendship this year,
she wished she'd simply made the effort to see him after school that day. How
different life would be right now if she'd done that.

Mrs. Faulk sat
back down. "I'd hoped Kareem and his church group would pull him out of
his shell, but we never raised him with any sort of religious background, so he
didn't have any interest in staying. As much as I love Kareem, he doesn't quite
understand how bad Wyatt is. He thinks he's simply shy, so he doesn't challenge
him."

"I'm afraid I
don't really push him, either. Honestly, though, I never realized the reasoning
behind it."

"I doubt he
even knows the extent of it. I was thrilled when he started dating Allyssa. I
thought she'd get him to open up a bit more, but, as far as I could tell, like
with Kareem, he let her lead everything."

"She does
have that type of personality. It was sort of fun at times watching her and
Kareem butt heads. Anyway, I want to ask him out, but that won't do him any
good. I don't want a boyfriend — I had one of those for four years — I want a
partner." In their time together in the hospital, Mandy had told her all
about her past with Alex, this year's problems, and the situation between Wyatt
and Allyssa.

"Good for
you, hon. I hope this whole incident hasn't set him back to a level he'll never
climb out of."

Mandy looked
longingly at the now empty container. Yeah, that was worth the trip to Fat
Frank's all on its own. "I've seen signs of him doing better. He was great
at the comic-con, and then the two weekends at the Haunted Dungeon. He still
needs some pushing, but he's getting there."

"One thing I
do know is you shouldn't push him. Just guide him a bit. Challenge him in ways
he doesn't suspect. I'm going to do the same. I really should have been for
years, but we'll get him."

"I saw how
much happier he can be when he's comfortable in his own skin. I want him like
that more. All the time, if possible."

They both stood,
and Mrs. Faulk gave her a big hug. They headed out, Mandy grabbing her backpack
as they went. "You're a lifesaver, hon. Are you sure you don't want a
quick ride home?"

"No, I don't
mind the walk. It's not like it's far. I'll text my dad, and have my phone out,
so it'll be fine. See you tomorrow."

WYATT

Mom set oatmeal
and bacon in front of him and let out a big yawn. "I tell you what, kid,
I'll be happy when you can make yourself a hearty breakfast again after I work
so late. Or at least when you're better enough for me not to care as much about
what you eat."

"Thanks,
Mom," he said, a half a piece of bacon already stuffed in his mouth.

She kissed the top
of his head and sat down with her own breakfast, oatmeal sans bacon. "You
slept through a Frank's Famous Hot Fudge Sundae Cake last night. Mandy helped
me devour it."

"I'm sure she
enjoyed it. She loves her chocolate."

"So how come
you're not dating her?"

He motioned down
to his broken body. "Can't exactly take her anywhere."

"You know what
I mean."

"Because …
you know … she doesn't … well …" Mom didn't say anything, simply kept
staring at him with that look that made him need to keep talking, to overshare.
He took a deep breath to gather his thoughts and kept going, exactly as she
wanted. "She still needs time to get over Alex. They went out for a long
time. Besides, she may say she likes me, but how could it last? She's way out
of my league."

Mom groaned.
"You know what? For someone who's so bright, you can be dumb as a box of
rocks."

"What do you
mean?"

"All I'm
saying is that before you go making these idiotic statements about yourself and
how she supposedly feels, you might want to, oh, I don't know, actually talk to
her about it."

They finished
eating, and she went back to bed to be rested up for her shift tonight. He
thought about texting Mandy and asking her to come over as soon as she was
awake and ready, but another idea struck him. Allyssa. He pulled up her contact
info and shot her a quick text, saying he needed to see her right away. She
owed him at least that much, didn't she?

A few minutes
later, long enough where he thought she either had her phone off or was
intentionally ignoring him, she texted back. "I probably shouldn't."

He hit her back
right away. "I'm not angry with you. I only want some answers."

"Maybe better
call me." That text came almost instantly.

No way. He wasn't
great at talking to people in the first place, but he was a ton worse on the
phone. Even with Allyssa, who he knew well, and used to be mostly comfortable
with, he'd screw it up. "No. Get here ASAP. We need to talk."

The next text
didn't come as quick, but it took less than a minute. "OK. Be there in 10
minutes."

He waited eight
minutes on the couch — he watched the clock like a hawk — and then climbed to
his feet and hobbled on his crutches to the front door, where he could look out
the slender window that ran the height of the door frame next to it. True to
her word, she pulled up right on time. He opened the door and watched her walk
from her car in the street towards him. She smiled as soon as she saw him, but
as she got closer and saw his two casts, his knee brace, and his crutches, it
faltered. "Oh, Wyatt," she said.

"Come
in." He moved out of the way, and she complied.