The Fragile Ordinary

“I’m sorry.” I scrambled off the bed, hating that he was mad at me. “I—”

“Just because Stevie’s dad is in prison doesn’t make him like his dad. He hates his dad for putting his family through that, and now his mom’s health isn’t great and he’s got his little brother, Kieran, to look out for. It’s a lot. Cut him some slack.”

Remorse flooded me. “You’re right.” I hurried over to him, needing to touch him, needing him to know I wasn’t a judgmental bitch, even though I had been. I gripped his wrist and squeezed it in reassurance. “I’m sorry. I don’t know anything about Stevie and the truth is, he has never been mean to me. Ever. Even when Heather lied and told him I had a crush on him, he was nice to me about not liking me in return. It was mortifying, but he didn’t mean it to be mortifying. I promised myself I’d give him a chance because you see the good in him and from now on I’m going to live up to that promise.”

Tobias frowned and then turned away from me. I hurried to follow him out of the room. “Where are you going?”

“I need air.”

Wondering if I need air was code for I need to get away from you, I stood by my bedroom door, watching him stride down the hall. I crossed my arms over my chest. “I said I was sorry. If I’m big enough to apologize, you should be big enough to accept the apology.”

He glanced over his shoulder and frowned at me. “Who said I didn’t? Are you coming or what?”

I made a face at him for being deliberately hard to read, but walked down the hall toward him. “I don’t hate Stevie.” I grabbed my coat off the peg and followed Tobias out of the house. “And I didn’t know his dad was in prison. And I didn’t know Carole was so unwell.”

“I thought everyone knew about his dad.”

Guiltily I shrugged. “I guess I probably didn’t want to hear anything about him since...”

“Since?”

“You’re right,” I admitted hollowly. “I wrote him off. I’m sorry.”

My apology produced an appreciative, almost tender, smile as we walked out my garden gate and turned down the esplanade. I tightened my scarf around my neck as Tobias shrugged his hat down lower over his head.

“Were the autumns like this in North Carolina?” I teased, hoping to get us back to a sense of normalcy.

“At night it was cold. But it’s cold here all the time. Plus...harsh wind. I don’t know how you guys can trick-or-treat in this crap.”

I laughed. “We’re hardy. And are you trick-or-treating this year, Mr. King?” Halloween was right around the corner, but all anyone my age seemed excited about was the school Halloween dance. Vicki and Steph had been talking about it for the last few weeks.

“No. Are you?”

But before I could answer in the negative we were interrupted by a deep voice shouting, “Yo, King!”

We both froze and looked up ahead to see a figure hurrying toward us down the esplanade.

THE FRAGILE ORDINARYSAMANTHA YOUNG

13

I judged you and that’s the awful truth.

You didn’t pass my test, so I labeled you a thug.

I judged you when I had no proof;

Lumped you in with the rest, swept you under the rug.

—CC

Nervous butterflies erupted in my belly as Stevie appeared in front of us. He waved us down, heading toward us with his familiar boyish, loping stride. Wearing only a light jacket over his jumper, no hat, no scarf, with his hands jammed into his jean pockets and his shoulders hunched at his ears, he made me feel cold just looking at him.

It distracted me from the fact that he was here. In front of us. For some reason.

“Awright?” Stevie drew to a stop, his green eyes bouncing from me to Tobias. “Whit’s happnin’? This where ye’ve been sneakin’ off tae all the time?”

Tobias scowled at his cousin. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve seen ye dodgin’ doon this way loads. Ye dodged me again.” He waved his phone at us, shivering. “Wondered why?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not cheating on you.”

Stevie laughed at Tobias’s teasing. “Yer doin’ somethin’ tho’. Or someone.” His gaze shifted to me in speculation. “Just surprised by who it is.”

“Watch it,” Tobias warned. “It’s not like that.”

I didn’t know whether to be happy that Tobias was putting Stevie in his place or irritated that he so vehemently denied there was anything romantic between us. Apparently that earlier almost kiss I couldn’t get out of my head had been completely accidental. Tobias must have been relieved after all when Stevie’s call interrupted us.

Tobias seemed displeased that Stevie had found us out. He’d argued that he wasn’t ashamed of me, but was it really that terrible if Stevie knew we were friends? He had just spent the last ten minutes telling me I was wrong about Stevie. That he was a good guy. So why couldn’t he be trusted to know about our friendship?

As if coming to a decision, Tobias nudged Stevie playfully with his shoulder. “Walk with us.”

I eyed Stevie’s attire. Or lack thereof. “I want some fries. They’ll let us into the pub if I order something to eat.”

“Aye, sounds gid,” Stevie agreed immediately.

He needed warmer clothes but I just stopped myself from telling him so.

It was a quiet walk to the pub and we were pleased to discover it was quiet inside for once. The bar itself, the tables and chairs, the wooden floors, the steps and hand-carved banisters that separated the bar area from the restaurant area were mahogany in the traditional pub style. Down a narrow passageway by the bar there was a smaller room at the back of the building, with a roaring fire and couches, armchairs and tables for a more relaxed dining experience. People could even bring their dogs into this part of the pub.

To my delight we got a table by the fire, and when I ordered the fries I gave the boys free reign over them. Stevie’s face flushed bright as he dived in. I frowned, watching him eat hungrily, wondering why I hadn’t noticed that his cheekbones looked sharper these days. In fact, he looked lankier all over.

I shot Tobias a look of concern and he returned it with a grim one of his own.

What was happening with Stevie?

“So whit is wi’ aw the secrecy?” Stevie asked with a mouth full of fries. “You two, I mean.”

“People can be dicks.” Tobias shrugged like it was no big deal. “I didn’t want Comet getting shit for being my friend.”

Stevie grinned. “Ye mean shit from aw the lassies that fancy ye?”

I blushed while Tobias rolled his eyes. “I mean shit from people. Specific people. The guys can be tools. Especially Jimmy and Forrester.”

Jimmy and Peter Forrester were two of Stevie’s crew and one of the reasons I’d been so judgmental of Stevie. They were dipshits. No other word for them. They were bullies who mocked and teased anyone that liked school or was smart, or was different from them in any way.

“True.” Stevie nodded. “They dinnae have tae know. Why no’ tell me, though?”

“Comet wasn’t sure about you,” Tobias said truthfully, embarrassing the hell out of me.

Stevie just laughed when I turned beet red. “Think I’m an arsehole, Comet?”

I shook my head vehemently. “I don’t even know you.”

“So...ye’ve decided to let me be part of yer wee group?” Stevie teased Tobias, but there was a hint of ugliness in his tone—anger, maybe. “Dae I have tae prove myself tae yer wee girlfriend?”

From the darkening of Tobias’s expression I sensed an argument brewing so, quite surprising myself, I jumped in to diffuse it. “You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone, Stevie.”

He smirked. “Well, that’s whit they tell us, ay.”

Surprised by his rueful observation I realized quite quickly that Tobias was right. I knew nothing about Stevie Macdonald.

“Whit dae ye two talk aboot, then? When yer hangin’ oot?” Something in his tone suggested he didn’t quite believe us when we said we were just friends. While I squirmed uncomfortably, Tobias just brushed his tone away.