The Day That Saved Us (13 page)

A COUPLE MORNINGS
later, I wake up to a text from Tyler. Rubbing my eyes, I blink at the screen.

Tyler:
I need my Peyton Fix.

You up for some horseback riding?

Is that even a question?

Me:
Yeah! What time?

Tyler:
I’ll come get you in like 45 min.

Me:
Sounds good.

This is perfect after my day with Brodee. I could really use a break, implement that distancing myself plan, and a…Tyler fix? Is that what he called it? I laugh to myself.
Dork
.

As I’m shoving a bagel smothered with cream cheese into my mouth, Brodee strolls into the kitchen. “How about we go to Kitty Hawk today? Go jet skiing or something.”

I swallow my bite. “I’m going horseback riding with Tyler. He should be here in like ten minutes.”

“Oh.” The disappointment in his voice is hard to miss, but I try to ignore it.

I look to Carter, eating his breakfast next to me. “Take Carter with you. You guys could use some brotherly bonding time.”

While I was only trying to make up for telling Brodee no, he’s hardly spent any time with Carter so far this summer, and I know Carter’s been a little hurt by that. I’ve seen it on his face every time we’ve left him behind. He does what he can to make it seem like he doesn’t care, but I know him better than that. When Carter was younger, being left out wasn’t uncommon, but he wasn’t afraid to voice his frustration, throwing tantrums and threatening to tell on us. Now that he’s sixteen, he’s too
mature
and
cool
to show the disappointment.

Brodee perks up, but it’s forced, merely for the benefit of Carter. “Yeah, Carter. You game?”

Carter nods and shrugs, but I can tell he’s excited because he shovels in the last bite and drops his bowl in the sink. “Sure. Let me go change.”

When Carter’s up the stairs, Brodee sits beside me and starts thumbing through a random catalog on the counter. I’m pretty sure it’s Pottery Barn, but I figure I won’t be obnoxious and point out he’s reading his mom’s mail.

“Horseback riding, huh?”

“Yeah, I think we’re gonna go to that place here in Hatteras. So we’ll have the instructors walking with us the whole time, but it should still be fun.”

He nods and turns the page. I hear nothing but the swipe, swipe, swipe of pages going by. Brodee doesn’t say anything else, and neither do I.

It never used to be like this. Awkward silences. Uninterpretable gazes. Words left unsaid. There wasn’t anything left unsaid between us, because even if we didn’t say anything, we knew. We always knew what the other was thinking. Now, no matter how much time we spend together, Brodee feels miles away. Maybe it’s for the best. Soon we’ll
actually
be miles away from each other.

Tyler comes to get me before Brodee leaves. I get a, “see ya” and a nod from Brodee as I walk out the door.

I DON’T REALLY
know the first thing about horses, so I can tell you one of the horses is black and the other one is gray and white speckled. I can also tell you they’re beautiful.

Tyler walks right up to the black horse and strokes his mane. “This is Shadow. He’s a Percheron mare and Hackney pony cross.” He nods to the gray and white one. “You’ll be riding Willem. He’s an Arab stallion and Percheron mare cross.”

I’m impressed. “Wow. I didn’t know you knew so much about horses.”

“I don’t.” Tyler gives me a boyish grin. “I Googled them.”

I laugh and lightly smack his shoulder.

“Just trying to impress you. Did it work?”

“It
did
,” I say. “You should’ve kept Google to yourself. I never would have known the difference.”

“I’m a horrible liar.” He chuckles. “I’d have slipped up somewhere and made a real idiot out of myself.”

“Well, since we’re being honest, I’ve never ridden a horse before.”

“Really? My family and I ride every time we come out here. Don’t worry. They make it pretty easy on you.” He points to the horses. “They’re ridden nearly every day, so they’re used to humans, and we won’t do anything more than walk along the shoreline.”

The ride is more relaxing than I expected, though it would be difficult not to be. Listening to the waves crash against the shore is enough to calm any nerves I might’ve had. Tyler is wearing a dark red ball cap and worn jeans today, making him seem more like a cowboy than a surfer as he holds the reins confidently.
There’s something tempting about a guy who knows exactly what he’s doing on a horse.
He exudes masculinity. I want to throw myself at him, but I don’t, of course, because morals.

“You doing okay?” Tyler asks when he notices me looking at him.

“Yeah.” I nod, feeling a tad uncomfortable in the saddle. “I think so.”

“You
look
good.” He smiles. I blush. “Though you should know…you’ll probably be a little sore afterward. Might not be able to walk tomorrow.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” I say wryly, but smile.

“In my defense, I didn’t know you’d never ridden before, but you’re athletic. You might be fine.”

“If I can’t walk tomorrow, I know where you live.”

“Good thing it’ll take you a few days to get to me.”

I laugh.

IT FINALLY HAPPENS
—like it does every year at the beach. Mom, Tatum, Brodee, and I are watching
Beaches
. Tate went out and bought Junior Mints and white cheddar popcorn because she knows how much I love both.

Nick had to go back home for another deposition, and Carter had to take the ACT in the morning, so they left for the weekend, leaving just us.

Halfway through the movie, Tatum threads her fingers through my freshly showered hair. I rest my head on her lap and curl up on my cushion with my feet hanging over the armrest. She always refers to me as her favorite daughter. I was five when she first called me that, and I’d thought she’d gone crazy.
She knows I’m not actually her daughter, right?
And I’d nearly told her as much, but I’d loved how it’d made me feel, knowing she’d loved me enough to wish I was hers, so all I had done was smile.

Her fingers begin to braid my long strands, and I’m
this
close to falling asleep when a pillow hits me in the face. I immediately lift my head and shoot Brodee a glare. He raises his hands innocently, but I see the condemning evidence written across his face and throw the pillow back at him.

He catches it and says, “There’s no sleeping in
Beaches
,” While he chuckles to himself.

“Who are you, Tom Hanks? We’re not in
A League of Their Own
, and I wasn’t sleeping!” I hiss. “I was closing my eyes.” I refuse to prove him right. Technically, I wasn’t asleep, just almost.

“Shhh…you two,” my mom says. “It’s almost over.”

I keep my eyes trained on him until Tatum tugs on my hair, coaxing me back into her lap.

“You’re lucky they’re here to hold me back, Fisher.”

“Bring it, Parker.” He continues to laugh quietly.

“Be quiet,” Tatum scolds, and so I shut my mouth and look back at the screen. I feel Brodee’s eyes on me throughout the rest of the movie, but I don’t want to give him any more fuel, so I ignore him and focus on the screen.

When
Beaches
is over, and my mom and Tatum are wiping tears from their faces, Brodee says, “Pete and I will clean up so you guys can go to bed.”

What’s he doing volunteering me? I’m tired, man.
Then I move.
And sore.

It’s begun.

“Thanks, Brodee.” My mom bends down and kisses the top of his head. “You’re a good son.” Tatum does the same thing as she passes by him. They say goodnight and head up the stairs.

I carefully get up and waddle to the kitchen. I know I waddle because I feel like a penguin, but not just any penguin. A nine months pregnant penguin.
Wait, penguins don’t get pregnant.
Whatever. I’m waddling.

Brodee clears his throat. “You all right there, Pete? You seem to have transformed into my nana. She’s ninety by the way.”

“Why didn’t anyone bother to warn me that horseback riding makes you sore? How did I not know this? How have we not gone before so I could’ve been prepared?”

Brodee throws back his head, laughing. “C’mon. You can’t be that sore. You went for like an hour.”

His patronizing tone does not mesh well with my exhaustion or my pain. “You can clean this kitchen up all by yourself.” I steer around the counter, heading for my room.

“Aww…c’mon. Don’t leave me hanging. I was just giving you a hard time. Please help me? Pretty please?”

I turn my head over my shoulder because it’s about the only muscle that doesn’t hurt. He’s giving me puppy dog eyes.
Not the puppy dog eyes.
They stupidly work.

“Fine.”

After we’ve finished with the dishes, swept the floor, and wiped down the countertops, I make my way to the bottom of the stairs. When I look up, I think to myself, I’ve never seen so many stairs. It’s going to take me an hour just to get up them. I hear quiet chuckling over my shoulder.

“Here,” Brodee says. Before I know what’s happening, I’m in his arms, and he’s carrying me up the stairs like I weigh nothing. When we get to my room he stops. “Can you get your door?”

“You can put me down. I’m perfectly capable of getting myself into bed.” I wiggle, but not convincingly enough because even that hurts. I’m already in my pajamas, so really all I have to do is crawl into bed, and that’s exactly what I’ll do. Crawl. Slowly. One knee at a time over my comforter.

“Just open the door, Pete.”

I’m too tired and too sore to argue, so I oblige and turn the knob. Brodee walks me to my bed effortlessly. I knew he was strong, but I’ve never really experienced it firsthand. The most I’ve ever done is ride on his back. He sets me gently on my bed and helps me pull back the covers so I can maneuver under.