Page 9 of Expressionate
Ally looks at me like she knows exactly where my thoughts are, and I hate that she's such an adult at her age. I hope I can give her a better life than either of us have had so far. She stands from her stool and walks over to me. Bending to kiss my sweaty forehead, she puts her arms around me to hold me. She fucking holds me like I'm the one that was left alone and starving as a fourteen-year-old girl in a shitty neighborhood. Like I'm the one that could have died, or been raped or... She smoothes my hair back – wet from the perspiration – and then smiles at me again. Smiling. Always smiling, this girl. She's gonna fucking rule this shitty world someday with nothing but thatsmile.
"I'll be fine, Tax. I have food and running water and you. I've got my big brother. Everything else will work itselfout."
"You're fucking amazing, you know that?" I hate that my voice sounds like I'm being choked out, but she doesn't acknowledge it. The little brat just lets go of my face and winks at me as she climbs back onto her bed, pink notebooks andall.
"I know," she says. "Now, get out of my room. I have to finish my summeressay."
I roll off the bed, but not before snagging one of her tiny pink pillows and lobbing it at the side of her face. “Love you, squirt,” Isay.
She growls at me as I open her door and slam it shut behind me before she can throw it at the back of myhead.
Cross’ room has gone silent except for the occasional moan. Damn, boy works fast. He better not make this fucking place impossible to live if he fucks all of the neighbors. I stop in front of my own door and cast an annoyed glance back at his as a rather loud feminine moan trails out. And he better not fucking shag the hot girl nextdoor.
* * *
After gettingready for the night and pulling on a black t-shirt that won't glow or turn see through under the hot stage lights, Blake and I wait for Cross in the living room. Ally is laid out on the couch, television remote in hand, and a bowl of popcorn on the coffeetable.
"What happened to studying?" I look pointedly at the open book next to thepopcorn.
She shrugs. "Study break." She flips through the channels until she lands on something with two girls fighting over a pompous looking prep boy. I balk and walk over, taking the remote from her. She narrows her eyes at me as I flip through the channels myself. When I land on a documentary about fast food chains, I stop and hand the remote back toher.
"That looks good," I say, turningaway.
She raises an eyebrow at me. "You know I'm just going to flip it back when youleave."
"Let me pretend that you're innocent and have less crappy taste in TVshows."
"This is less crappy?" She gestures to the depiction of a man walking through a potato field, talking about all the ways they can be molded into fries and chips and otherthings.
I nod. "Yup."
Blake even raises an eyebrow at me before flicking his gaze back to the screen of hisphone.
"Got something to say?" I snap, kicking his boot. He chuckles, shaking his head, but keeps his dark head bent over his phone. I roll myeyes.
"Alright, motherf–" Cross stops himself as I send him a glare when he steps out of the hallway into the living room. "I mean. You guys ready to go?" He flicks the keys up in his hand, jangling them in our direction before shoving them in his pocket and heading for the frontdoor.
I rub a hand down my face. "Okay, Ally," I say. "No going out. No letting people in. Call my number if you need to, and if you can't get ahold of me, call the bar. The bartender and owner know your name and know to grab me if you call. If anythinghappens–"
"Make sure all the doors are locked and call you," she finishes the monologue, and I stand there for a moment, looking at her. She starts flipping through channels again and I resist the urge to snatch the remote from her once more. Brat. I ruffle the top of her head and she smacks my handaway.
“See ya later,squirt.”
Blake gets up and heads out the door after Cross, and I follow. The back of the Jeep is loaded down with all our instruments, and it's a tight fit for Blake to squeeze in, but because he's the smallest of us, he's the bitch riding hump in the middle back there. He shoots me a dark look when I say asmuch.
"Shut the fuck up," he snaps as he straddles the middle seat, with his legs on either side of the floor hump. Cross and I laugh as the engine revs to life and Cross shoots out of the parking lot, cranking the radio as he does. Hard, thumping beats, not unlike our band’s sound, reverberate through thespeakers.
"So, the neighbor, huh?" Blake says, tucking his phone into his pocket and leaning forward between the two front seats. I frown, confused for a moment, thinking he's talking about hotchick.
Cross grimaces. "She wasn't as good as I thought she'd be," he admits, and I realize they're talking about the hot chick'sroommate.
I turn to him. "She comingtonight?"
He shrugs. "Yeah, she said she would. I don't know if I'm gonna be chasing her anymore, ya know?" he says. "I've kinda had her kind of girl a lot. Maybe I'll see something else I like at the bartonight."
I narrow my gaze at him, resting my head back against the seat with my arm propped on the window sill. "Just don't go after the other one. I'm callingit."
"What?" Cross swivels his head so fast the car jerks and my arm falls off the window frame. Blake and I curse in damn near perfectunison.
