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wearing his helmet.
I m driving right now. I ll be there in half an hour.
Cool. He s asleep, but he was asking for you. More like
begging.
Hey, Alden?
What?
Thank you.
V'
The sound of me pushing the curtain aside woke Theo up.
How you doing, kiddo?
I don t know. My arm still hurts. He looked so tiny in the big
hospital bed.
" 181 "
ASHLEY BARTLETT
Hey, the doctor will probably give you a cast like this one.
I held up my left arm. And they ll let you choose the color and
everything.
Really? I didn t think he was too convinced that breaking his
wrist was a good thing. Smart kid.
Totally. And you can draw on it with markers if you want.
Why didn t you draw on yours?
I don t know. I m not a great artist. I held up the blank cast
for inspection.
I am. Wes said I m a good drawer.
You are? He nodded. Do you want to draw on mine?
Anything to distract him.
Yeah. He tried to sit up. Can I do it now?
Sure. Theo was so damn cute it was hard not to smile. Let
me see what colors I have. After rummaging through my backpack,
I was able to produce three Sharpies. I got black, red, and blue. I
set the markers on the bed within his grasp.
Cool. He reached for the blue.
Soon my cast had an ocean motif going on. Red waves with
a blue surfer. There were also some fish and a big surfboard. My
arm hurt like a bitch from holding it up. Between his unsteady hand
and my shaky arm, I had accumulated a decent amount of color
on my skin in addition to the cast. The sheets of his bed were also
decorated a bit. Whatever.
He started getting tired so I packed up the markers and let him
crash. I was beat too so I leaned back in my chair and closed my
eyes. I opened them when I heard the curtain slide open.
Hey, Wes, I whispered.
Hey. She wasn t looking at me. How long has he been
asleep?
Not long. I checked the time. Maybe ten minutes.
She pushed his messy curls off his forehead and kissed him. I
should let him sleep.
I guess. He s pretty tired. I joined her next to the bed. You
know he didn t even cry. She grinned wide enough for her dimple
to show.
" 182 "
SEX AND SKATEBOARDS
Thanks for staying with him. I realized that this was the part
where I went home. You probably want to go don t you?
I don t know. I shrugged. I d been scrambling all day, but I
had no desire to leave. Him or her.
Wes just stood there staring at Theo. For the first time, our
silence wasn t comfortable. Like a wall had been erected. I wanted to
touch her. I wanted to grab her and shake her until she said she loved
me. I just wanted. Instead, I opted for meaningless conversation.
Did you stop at the front desk on the way in?
Yep, I had to show like fifteen forms of I.D. to get in. Wes
paused. She still wasn t looking at me. Wait. How did you get in?
Oh, I m his step-sister. I managed to say with a straight face.
That s why we have different last names, but I m family so they
had to let me in.
You lied?
I couldn t tell if she was pissed or impressed.
I didn t know if they would let me sit with him or not and I
didn t want him in here alone.
Wes finally turned away from Theo to stare at me. She brushed
her fingertips over the back of my hand.
I didn t know what to say so I continued in my previous vein.
I, uhh, tried to fill out the paperwork or whatever, but I didn t know
most of the information. They re waiting for his insurance and all
of that.
I guess I better go do that, huh? I nodded. Would you mind,
umm, never mind. You can take off if you want.
I ll stay with T while you re gone, I said. I mean, if that s
all right.
That would be awesome. Wes brushed her lips across my
cheek. I didn t even see it coming. It wasn t anything crazy, friendly
at the most. It was the best kiss I d ever gotten. I ll be right back.
When Wes returned it woke Theo up.
Wes, he shouted, you re here. He tried to sit up again.
Of course I am, T. How are you feeling? She kissed his
forehead again and gently pushed him back down.
" 183 "
ASHLEY BARTLETT
Not good. I broke my wrist. See. He pointed at the offending
arm. But Alden said I ll get a cast like hers and I can choose the
color.
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