Ink (2 page)

I nodded, staring at the tan paint and the two slanted roofs. Two picture windows adorned the front of our home with a sliding door centered in between. I sighed, deciding that I did like the white pillars that made me think of Julius Cesar whenever I looked at the door. Old flower beds lined the bottom of our porch. At one time there probably were beautiful flowers planted, but not anymore.

I opened up the back of the truck pulling out my suitcase. One thing was missing, and that was my dog, Crawford. He had been around nearly as long as me, an old speckled Great Dane. He was my sanity on most days. But Crawford was so big we had to ship him down separately and he awaited my arrival at Nona’s. He was the first thing on my list of things to do once we arrived. I was sure Nona was probably driving him crazy.

Walking into the front door I wasn’t surprised to see a dingy kitchen with an old wooden table and four chairs. I peered into the sink and scrunched my nose at the old sponge. Dad opened and shut all the cupboards, taking everything in at a glance. I wondered if he was looking for bugs, or maybe drugs that we kids didn’t need to see.

“
What do you think, Hope?” he asked, opening up the refrigerator. It glowed and rattled and I shrugged. I wasn’t sure what to say as I stared down at my tennis shoes.

“
Like you said, Dad, we can have it looking better in no time,” I offered, slinging my bag over my shoulder.

I headed down the only hallway in the house, four doors calling out to me—one for me, one for the twins and another for Dad. There was a single bathroom to accommodate
the four of us and I was glad I was the only girl.

I knew the drill: the boys always got the biggest bedroom. So, after kicking each door part way open, I secured my small room at the end of the hall. Stepping inside, I was glad to see a window facing the ocean. At least it was scenic, I thought to myself.

I dropped my bag on the floor, looking at the skeleton frame of what would be my twin size bed once my mattress arrived with the movers. I gave it a kick and it let out a screech that sounded like a dying animal.

“
A little oil!” Dad called out from the kitchen. I smirked, knowing he was trying to keep me from having a nervous breakdown. He also knew how much of a light sleeper I was.

“
I’ll be right back. I think the truck just passed us!” Dad yelled again. I said okay, peering out the window. Easton and Elliot were walking the shore, chucking rocks into the water.

“
Hello?” an unfamiliar voice called out. I was bit startled that he sounded to be in our home. Pushing my fear aside, I headed into the kitchen. “Hello,” I said.

The guy smiled a big, white, very welcoming smile. He rubbed at his neck acting a bit nervous to be barging in on me. “Julia told me to head over and see if you guys arrived.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Julia? We call her Nona. She’s my grandma. And, yes, we’ve arrived.”

He gave a nod. “Well, welcome to Cherry. I live next door to Nona’s and do yard work at their house all the time. She’s a neat lady.”

I smiled at the word usage.
Neat
was nothing to describe Nona. Nona was as wacky as they came. But I was sure he was just
trying to be polite. He stepped forward, extending his hand to me. “Jesse Capone.”

“
Like the mob guy?” I asked, grinning. He tossed a sheepish grin my way, enjoying my humor.

“
I’m Hope,” I told him, letting my grasp on his sweaty hand go. He was so tan—probably something typical in California. His hair was black and messy with way too much pomade for my liking. It had a natural feel, I was sure of it, but I was also sure it probably withstood the wind or even a hurricane.

I was a simple enough girl. Having grown up a family of all boys and a mother that didn’t have to try to look beautiful, I learned very little about makeup. I had big brown eyes. Actually, big was an understatement. Nona never went a day without telling me how radiant my eyes were. I wasn’t sure if radiant was fitting, but I let it slide. It was better than hearing her high pitched squeal of annoyance with me. I also had dark chocolate brown hair that was long and did what I asked nine times out of ten. Long and straight, I wished for a perm when I was younger, but once I got older, I learned to live with its natural state. That and my best friend, Karsen, had told me about layers and that dramatically changed my hair for the better. I never looked back after that.

I had also
learned to deal with being small. It wasn’t that I was something freakish, like way under my height. I was almost five-foot eight. I was just petite. My dad always joked the wind would blow away with me one day if I didn’t eat more. But he and I knew that was ridiculous because most days I ate more than all the guys in the house. I thanked the lucky stars for my great metabolism, because Karsen had showed me pictures of her mom once and it was scary the transformation she underwent after popping three kids out. She went from a small, dainty beauty to a giant pineapple blob of a body. We always swore we would never be like that.

“
Well, Hope, I hear you’re going to Ashwilder this fall. I have to admit, I am also part of the population,” Jesse told me with a proud smile on his face.

“
What got you in such a school? Let me guess.” I raised a hand to stop him from giving it up. I looked him up and down. He was tall and muscular. He looked older than his age, which I wasn’t sure of at the moment. His arms were
firm and showcased quite the muscular physique. “I’m going to go with an instrument of some kind.”

Jesse smiled before shaking his head. “Nope, ballet.” He waited for my shocked expression.

“
I love ballet,” I breathed, giving him a smile instead of a dropped jaw.

“
You mean you’re not going to give me a hard time? Wow, you are from a whole new world.” He crossed his arms, still unsure of me.

“
Don’t you know that most football players use ballets as a form of practice? It increases their abilities and makes them more agile on the football field. Ballet is no joke,” I offered.

Jesse seemed a bit relieved. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and lifted his chin, waiting for my explanation on why I was going to school now.

“
I play the piano, sing and dance as a hobby most days,” I told him quickly.

“
Wow, a girl of many talents. I’m sure you’re a very dedicated person then.” He lingered in the kitchen as an uncomfortable silence wafted the room. I scratched at my arm trying to think of something to fill the air. “So, what do you do around here?”

Jesse ran his finger across the countertop. He gave me a quick look, really thinking about my question. I waited. Maybe he wasn’t sure what to say to me because he thought I would think less of him. I wondered if that meant he was really wild. He didn’t look too wild.

“
Surfing. That’s what every kid here does all year round, basically.” He exhaled.

I turned up my nose instantly. The thought of being stuck on a surfboard in water that could possibly have sharks waiting to attack me wasn’t sounding too pleasant.

“
Come on. I know Georgia is sitting by an ocean. You aren’t fond of the water?”

“
I was too busy with singing and dancing and friends to care about the water,” I reasoned.

Dad opened the door for the movers. Two burly men came in carrying my personal boxes. This made me happy and a bit sad. Jesse and I moved out of the way as more and more stuff starting coming indoors.

“
Hey, you want to take a walk down by the water? I can show you there is nothing to be afraid of,” he offered, ducking as the couch almost clipped him. The kitchen was not big enough for lots of people.

I shrugged. “Who said I was afraid? I just said I didn’t have anytime is all.” I made a quick escape past the movers, making it out to the porch. Jesse followed just as quickly, his black flip-flops making soft taps against the wood. Everything always sounded as if it was being dragged through sand here. It was a bit agitating.

“
So, you didn’t answer. Was that a yes, Jesse, or a no, go home?” Jesse questioned.

I weighed my options. I could stay inside and wait for my room to be filled to the ceiling with boxes that I probably would never be able to put away in a night, or I could take a walk and get to know a future classmate. I gave a nod, jogging down the stairs.

It didn’t take long to make it to the water from our house, so it was a quick trip. I was sure if I ran the next time I would be to the water in probably a minute.

The sand was bleached. Tiny sand dollars speckled the sand along with sea weeds and bits of seashells. The ocean was brutal as waves quickly tickled the shore, almost making it to my shoes.

“
I hope you have some flip-flops,” Jesse commented, pointing at my feet.

“
Of course. These were just better to travel in.” I picked up a stone, brushing away the sand.

“
So, Hope, do you have a boyfriend?” Jesse asked. He immediately concentrated on me, no longer looking forward as we walked. I hoped he wasn’t trying to flirt with me. He wasn’t my type. I really didn’t have a type, but I knew it when I saw it and he was not it.

“
No, I don’t. What about you?” I asked back.

He shrugged, kicking at the rocks as he walked. “Her name is Lydia. We’ve dated for six months. She plays the violin and does ballet.”

I nodded, grateful he was taken. It wasn’t that I sensed he liked me—I wasn’t even sure he did—it was just something I didn’t want to dive into with the first boy that showed me he was friendly. Besides, I honestly had never had a boyfriend of any kind.

Back home boys showed me all kinds of attention. Some even asked me out on dates. But I always found a way to just make a comfortable friendship with all of them, and they grew to accept it. I had never even kissed anyone.

Well, I had slightly kissed Harvey my freshman year. He’d invited me to a bonfire at his home. I accepted because Karsen was busy for the weekend and I didn’t want to stay home bored. And while we roasted marshmallows and all that fun stuff, Harvey leaned in, his luscious lips connecting with mine. It would have been magical, I was sure, if I hadn’t caught my marshmallow on fire and dropped it on his shoe. It had been a disaster, and Harvey quickly took me home, limping the whole way.

We came to a stop by a pile of rocks. There really wasn’t any way around them unless you wanted to run halfway up the sand. “What’s over there?” I asked, pointing at the large tour bus. Jesse turned away, heading back the way we came, but I was still intrigued. I was a big fan of music.

“
A local band is all.” He looked back to see if I was following, then jumped onto one of the boulders, leaping from one to the next in long, elegant strides. I could really see his ballet training in action, I thought.

“
What kind of music?”

“
Rock, I guess.” He shrugged, acting as if he didn’t know, but I was sure that he did. He leapt gracefully to another rock.

I decided to give it a try and made it onto the first giant rock. I glanced back at the tour bus. From where I stood I could just make out the words
“
Evil kings
”
in bold letters along its side.

Jesse pulled me down. “Evil Kings of Ink. You wouldn’t like them.”

I gave him a bothered look. He had gotten kind of grumpy. Suddenly
I didn’t feel like hanging out with him anymore. “Well, I need to get back home. I got lots to unpack.”

Jesse nodded his head and began trudging back toward the beach houses. He pointed at a house several houses over, light blue in color with a similar Julius Cesar entry way.

“
That’s where I live. If you ever get bored come on over,” he told me, taking off.

I wiped my hands on my jean shorts, starting back toward my own house, alone now.

A familiar dog bark called out to me stopping me in my tracks. I spun around just in time to be knocked over by Crawford. Grandma and Claude trailed behind him at a slower pace.

“
Thanks for bringing him, Nona,” I exclaimed, petting Crawford roughly to get my enthusiasm across to my furry friend. Crawford licked my hands, completely happy now. Nona and Claude snuggled close to each other as we headed up to our house.

“
You’re welcome, sweet pea. So, isn’t this just amazing?” Nona gushed, her red hair fluttering in the wind, her hands flapping
dramatically to get her point across.

Claude smiled as she gushed about the house and the water and anything else she could squeeze in. I nodded my head, acting like I was listening. I continued petting Crawford’s head as I climbed the porch steps.

Dad was busy unpacking dishes in the kitchen, a pile of newspapers gathered at his feet. “Hey, Mom.”

Nona whisked across the room like a damsel in distress. She grabbed him, nestling Dad into her barely-there bosom, her hand stroking his thick hair. “I’m so glad you all made it in one piece. Now where are my boys?” She looked around the room as if expecting them to jump out.

“
Elliot and Easton went down to the shore store to by surfboards,” Dad told Nona, tossing some plastic forks in a drawer. Nona sighed.

“
You know, Hope is also rather interesting, there’s just not two of her,” Dad teased Nona. Nona clutched her chest, egging him on.