Sunshine (18 page)

Chapter 17
Snow Day
“I climbed to the top of a hill, but I had just missed the sun.”-Local Natives

Stevie and I are in my studio trying to figure out how to work that fancy software I got for my birthday. It’s simple enough, especially with portions of already ghetto-recorded songs via tape recorder. He helps me piece together Boo and Trei’s parts, and then we add in the piano and vocals. It turns out to be a fun experiment, and we get a few pretty awesome songs out of it, including a cover of RadioHead's “There There.”
Our goal is to have a complete demo CD of decent songs to take with us when we have this audition. This is Boo’s idea. I have to admit, it’s a pretty good one. Makes us seem a little bit more professional.
It’s been about a week, but Jade and Stevie never mention the dinner. I don’t know how, but I’m sure Jade knows about it. I’m just grateful that neither of them brings up the subject. Instead they’re just simply
here
for me. Hence the Stevie helping me with the songs when Boo or Trei could have just as easily done it. It’s good though. I’m trying to distract myself.
Myles wanted to hang out today but he hasn’t shown up. He won’t pick up his phone either; I’m beginning to worry. Again. Only instead of worrying about a family member or some random person beating him up in school, now I get to worry about what could
really
be happening.
After three hours of mixing and very well concealed frustration that Myles is still not here, we have about four songs finished. They might need a little work later, but they’re pretty good. Stevie and I celebrate by taking a break with soda and animal crackers.
We’re in front of the TV watching something about meerkats on the Discovery Channel when there’s a knock at the door. I don’t know why I get so excited, but my heart pounds at the fact that it could possibly be Myles. Way late, but still Myles.
But it’s not him. Adam and Leena are standing on our porch, hugging themselves in their Marshmallow coats.
Leena pounces on me the moment she sees me. I’m a little more on edge that it isn’t Myles, but I’m so happy to see them. “I missed my Sophie Sunshine,” she says in her sweet little Leena voice.
“I missed you too,” I tell her.
Stevie hugs Leena as I give Adam the biggest hug I can.
Jade comes in a few minutes later, probably because he heard all the commotion. They settle into the living room as I go into the kitchen to make some tea. It’s probably because I’m so pissed that Myles never showed and is making me worry, but I sang with way too much force than was needed and my voice is torn to shreds.
I can’t help myself sometimes.
While I’m waiting for the water to boil, I text Myles: “Where are you?” I can’t take this not knowing thing. It’s driving me crazy. I sit back down in the living room next to Adam. Jade and Stevie are occupied with Leena on the floor, trying to decide which movie to watch. Adam wraps an arm around me. Something in the gesture makes me think he’s concerned about something.
“What?” I ask.
He hugs me close. “I heard about what happened,” he whispers into my ear. “Are you okay?”
I gently push him away. “I’m fine.” And I am. What’s left of the bruise is easily covered up by concealer, and except for the fact that now I have to worry about Leena being around that sleaze bag, I’m awesome.
For the rest of the day, we catch up and watch movies. I almost forget about Myles standing me up. But as the day goes by, that worried feeling comes back and I’m pissed because I’m left with no explanation.
I should be having fun, damn it.
Adam
and
Leena
are at my house. Why am I letting this stupid no Myles situation get to me?
Everyone else is into the movie and having their own conversations when Jade sits down next to me, creating a brother-stepdad sandwich. “So…” he starts.
“Yeah,” I answer flatly.
“What’s on your mind, Sunshine?”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“You’ve been awfully quiet,” he points out.
I think of something fast. “My throat hurts.”
“Mhmm,” he says sarcastically. “I’m sure it has nothing to do with Myles not showing up,” he says suddenly.
I stop mid-thought. “How did you know we were hanging out today?”
Jade snorts. “Today? I barely see one of you without the other.”
Adam raises an eyebrow in my direction. Great. “Really?” His question is more directed at Jade than me.
“Really,” Stevie chimes in.
“I like that boy. He’s very nice and polite,” Adam says.
“And attractive,” Stevie says, wiggling his eyebrows.
They’re all talking like I’m not even here. I feel like I’m in the middle of some teenage gossip in a locker room. “Okay, that’s enough,” I interrupt. “You’re being very funny, but you’re giving me a migraine.”
Oh well, better them get it out of their systems now than when Myles is actually here. So I let them crack jokes at my expense as we go through most of the movies in the house. Soon it’s past Leena’s bed time and Adam has to take her home. We make plans to see each other sometime during the week, and then they leave.
I’m not sure how I’m supposed to be calm, so I settle on just taking a shower and going to bed. The warm water seems to help for a while, but all that changes when I get into bed shaking because it’s so cold. I try to distract myself from freezing to death by putting on a classical music CD.
Usually when I listen to classical music, I can’t concentrate on anything else. All I can think about is what keys go where and which notes are there, how all of the different instruments weave together.
But not tonight, noooooo. All I can think about—between shivering violently—is where Myles is, what could have happened to him, and what could have prevented him from contacting me in some way.
Thus I slip from being pissed off at Myles into being worried about Myles.
I fall asleep roughly at five am.
I’m woken up by the sensation of my bed being sunken in on one side. I try to ignore it and fall back asleep, but I can’t shake the feeling of someone sitting there, so I have to open my eyes.
I jump when I see Myles leaning on the very edge.
“What the hell are you doing?” I try not to yell.
“I’m sorry,” he says, though he doesn’t back away. “I know you wanted me to call first from now on.” I’m pissed, but at least he seems okay. “Jade let me in. I thought you were awake,” he whispers; calm and collected.
Sitting up, I rub my eyes. “Why—” I’m about to ask him why he didn’t just leave if he saw I was sleeping, but I change my mind mid-sentence and slap his arm instead. “Where were you yesterday?”
His smile falters for a second. I’m guessing he was thinking I’d be excited to see him here in my room so early in the morning, but is now disappointed that I’m so angry. I
am
a little excited to see him, but I’m not about to let him know that.
He closes his eyes and slowly shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I wanted to call you.” Something in his voice makes me feel guilty for being so mad.
“Then why didn’t you?” I ask.
He sighs. “You don’t need to worry about it.” He stands, starts walking around my bedroom.
I cross my arms in front of my chest. That’s not good enough.
“A friend needed help with something,” he says.
“What?” I’m just trying to keep the conversation going.
He glances at the floor and then back at me. “His friend is sick. The kind of sick where she can’t be left alone. I went to keep an eye on her for him.”
“If it’s that simple, why couldn’t you call me?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I’m sorry. I just…” He thinks for a second, then continues. “I didn’t want you to think I ditched you in favor of being with another woman.”
I have to laugh at this. “Why would I care if you have a girlfriend?”
“She’s not my girlfriend.” He looks me straight in the eye. I manage to stare back for half a second before I turn my attention to my comforter. “She’s my friend, Evan’s girlfriend. At least I think so.”
I glance back at him. “Evan the club owner, Evan?”
He nods. “I didn’t mean to make you worry.”
Well. Even if I do think there are a good amount of holes that can be found in this story, I believe him. I’m relieved that he seems fine, but I feel like a jerk for being so angry. “As long as you’re okay,” I say.
I climb out of bed and shrug on the three sweatshirts. Soon I realize that this isn’t going to do any good, so I have to crawl back under my covers anyway.
“It’s a lot colder in your room than it is outside,” Myles comments.
“I doubt that.”
He’s making himself comfortable on the edge of my bed again, sitting as far away from me as he can, but still there. I feel bad about everything, so I let him sit there smiling at me.
“So...what is Evan's girlfriend sick with?” I ask.
Myles glances at me before staring at his hands. “Just sick,” he says.
“Well, is it serious?”
“It is.” Then he smiles at me, it's a change the subject kind of smile. “I really am sorry about yesterday. Do you want to hang out today instead?”
He doesn't seem to want to talk about Evan's girlfriend, which is fine. And he does kind of owe me for keeping me up all night worrying. “Sure,” I answer.
After a second his blue eyes light up. “Good,” he says, standing. “Because it’s really nice outside.”
He walks to the window on the far side of my room. Then he’s opening it. I jump up to stop him before I realize it, but he’s too fast and I have to shield me eyes as a last resort.
Is he actually laughing at me right now?
“This is so not funny! Shut the damn window!” I try to protect my eyes with one hand and smack him with the other, but my hand only hits air.
“Sophie, look,” he gasps through a laugh.
“Are you insane? I’m not going to the hospital today.”
“Sophie, the sun isn’t out,” he says a little more seriously, but he still sounds extremely amused.
“Oh, sure it isn’t.” I feel a cool breeze against my face.
“Just open your eyes,” he says calmly, all traces of humor gone.
“No way.”
Myles slowly pries my hands from my face, despite how tightly they’re clamped on. I shut my eyes before any sunlight is let into them. What’s he going to do, pry my eyelids open too? Great, now his hands have an excuse to be holding mine.
“Sophie, do you really think I would make you look outside if I knew the sun was out there?”
I sigh, feeling ridiculously stupid for making such an ass out of myself. “No,” I answer. I open my eyes, but instinctively, I stare down at the carpet.
Myles lifts my chin with his finger so I look at him. He smirks. “See?”
I can see that the sky is completely grey behind him. “Wow, it’s dark out,” I say. Idiot.
“It’s supposed to be like this all day,” Myles explains.
My alarm clock reads that’s it’s only ten. “I’m getting dressed,” I announce.
I almost run into my bathroom to shove on some jeans and a sweatshirt. I throw my hair up into a quick pony tail. There’s no time for makeup; it’s dark outside in the middle of the day and I’m not about to waste time painting my face. I do however, brush my teeth. There’s no reason to kill anyone with morning breath.
“So where are we going?” I ask after we’ve been driving for a while.
I try to not notice the dimple near his mouth. “It’s a secret.”
Myles insisted that he drive, yet won’t say where we’re going. “Oh, c’mon,” I joke.
He smiles even wider and shakes his head to tell me that it’s the only answer I’m getting.
“What time is it?” Myles says suddenly.
I glance at the Strawberry Shortcake watch Leena gave me for Easter last year. “Eleven.”
Then he nods.
A few clouds are gathering in the sky, making it even darker. “Why?” I ask.
“I’m trying to surprise you,” he says innocently. “Do you want to ruin it?”
“Yes.”
That freakin’ dimple pops up near his mouth.
“I hate surprises,” I mumble to myself.
“Hate?” Myles asks in mock-disbelief.
“Yes.”
“Sophie, we need to cure you of this hatred. It’s for your own good.”
“So you’re not going to tell me,” I state.
“No.”
I sigh, but give in. Myles turns on the radio, I assume to drown out the silence. After a while more of driving, we finally pull over. I don’t know why; we’re in the middle of nowhere. He unbuckles his seat belt and starts to get up when he realizes that I’m not moving.
“What are we doing?” I ask, suddenly uneasy. I don’t like how completely out of my hands this situation—surprise—is.
“It’s a surprise,” Myles answers. “It’s not a bad thing, Sophie,” he says more softly. He gets out, walks to my side of the car, and taps on the window. “Are you coming out or not?” he asks through the glass.
He doesn’t wait for me to answer, opening my door and holding his hand out to me. I ignore it and get out by myself. “You have to close your eyes and cover your ears,” he tells me as he shuts the car door.
I glare at him.
Myles crosses his arms in front of him and sighs. “Are you ever going to trust me?”
“Most likely, no.”
“Why?” his voice sounds like he already knows the answer.
“Because you’re a guy.” I want to punch myself in the face for letting that slip, but I hid it well enough.
To my astonishment, Myles starts laughing. “Because I’m a
guy,
” he mocks. “Not because I’m a monster from a horror movie?” His eyes are somewhat cold when he says this but he’s still trying to look amused with the rest of his face.
He looks confused when I slap him on the arm. “Don’t say that. It’s not true.”
I can’t stand him talking about himself like he’s this horrible person when all he’s ever been to me is…well, awesome. He’s in no way shape or form a monster, and my mind refuses to wrap itself around this idea. I’ve seen enough monsters in my life to know when one is around, and he doesn’t fit into that category.
I immediately realize I’m being ridiculous. I clamp my eyes shut and cover my ears. “Okay.”
Myles places one hand over my eyes and his other hand wraps around my forearm, guiding me.
We walk on and on and on. Alone and in silence and alone.
I feel kind of weird. Not weird because I’m alone with Myles who is a guy and also someone who has certain urges—male or supernatural—but because I’m almost completely comfortable being alone with him as a person. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to like this. I want to.
After a while, he finally lets go of my arm, his hand leaves my face, and I guess it’s okay to take my hands away from my ears. “We’re here,” he says quietly.
I slowly open my eyes and see nothing but grey white sky in front of me. I’m aware of something squishy under my boots, and I look down at the ground to see wet sand underneath me. I can hear waves somewhere in the distance. I’m at the beach.
I can’t stop myself from smiling.
“What time is it?” Myles asks again. It shows in his voice that he’s happy to see how excited I am. Instead of even trying to open my mouth to speak, I hold out my wrist with Leena’s watch on it towards him.