“You have to be careful with him,” he said. We were on a smoke break, even though I didn’t smoke anymore.
“I know,” I said.
“You don’t. You don’t know the first t
hing.” He touched the raven on his arm. Smoke curled up around his fingers.
“Gordo—”
“He was taken, Ox.”
I stilled.
“They took him. In the middle of the night. To get back at his father. His family. They hurt him for weeks. He came back and he was broken. He didn’t even know his name—”
“Shut up,” I said hoarsely. “You shut your fucking mouth.”
He must have realized he’d gone too far. He closed his eyes. “Shit.”
“I love you,” I told him. “But I hate you right now. I’ve never hated you before, Gordo. But I hate you so fucking bad and I don’t know how to stop.”
We didn’t say anything for a very long time.
AND THEN everything changed.
or never/eight weeks
CHRIS’S MOM died and it was bad.
He cried in the middle of the shop, and I put my head on his shoulder. Rico touched his neck. Tanner laid his head on Chris’s back. Gordo ran his fingers over his buzzed hair.
He went away for a while.
He came back with Jessie. His little sister. She’d just turned seventeen and was going to live in Green Creek with him.
She looked like her brother. Brown hair and pretty green eyes. Fair skin with little freckles on her nose and cheeks and one on her ear that fascinated me. He brought her to the shop and she smiled quietly as he introduced her.
“And that’s Ox,” he said, and I walked into a wall.
The guys all stared at me.
“Did he just…?” Gordo asked.
“This is awesome,” Tanner said.
“Hi,” I said. My voice was much deeper than it’d ever been before. “I’m Ox. Oxnard. Call me Ox.” I tried to pose against a 2007 Chevy Tahoe but I slipped and skinned my elbow. I pulled myself back up. “Or Oxnard. Whatever.”
“Oh boy,” Rico said. “This is so awkward to witness. We should save him. Or leave.”
No one saved me. Or left.
“Hi, Ox,” Jessie said. “It’s nice to meet you.” She grinned and it was a mischievous thing with a hint of teeth. My mouth went dry because her lips were pretty and so were her eyes, and I thought, Well, that’s just fine.
“You… ah. You too?”
“Maybe Ox can show you around school next week when you start,” Chris said.
I dropped a socket wrench on my foot.