I noticed a spot of red dripping from his nose. My heart hammered in my chest. “Yoss, your nose is bleeding.” I handed him a tissue and he wiped it away.
“Thanks,” he muttered, dabbing at the blood that continued to flow. He pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned his head forward. After a few minutes he sat up again and crumpled the tissue in his hand. He had a note of panic on his face as he wiped away the rest of the blood. “I’ll be right back. Just going to flush this and clean up.” He quickly got to his feet and hurried towards the bathroom.
I didn’t want to make a big deal out of a bloody nose, but for someone like Yoss it was a big deal.
It could be a matter of life and death.
A sign that shouldn’t be ignored.
From the fear on Yoss’s face, he knew that too.
I should make him go to the hospital to get checked out. His earlier nausea and now the nosebleed were bad signs.
But when Yoss came back a few minutes later, he was carrying the skates from his bedroom. I decided to hold my tongue for the time being. He wore an almost defiant expression and I knew that for now, he needed something else.
“What are you doing with those?” I asked in surprise.
“I thought I’d knit a sweater.” Yoss rolled his eyes. “What do you think? We’re going roller-skating.”
“I haven’t been in roller skates since my seventeenth birthday.” I shook my head when he tried to hand them to me.
“Well then I think it’s time for you to try it out again. I thought it would be nice to put these to use. To have a little fun.”
I was hit with a wave of déjà vu.
“Happy Birthday, Imi.”
Shane’s laughter. Karla’s annoyance. Di’s grin a mile wide. Bug giving me his Zippo lighter, one of the few things he truly valued.
Yoss quickly put one of the pairs on, tying them sloppily before dropping to his knees in front of me. He grinned as he looked up at me, his lean face lit up as he picked up my foot and slid it into the roller skate in his hand.
“I can do that,” I remarked, my face flaming hot.
“So can I,” Yoss retorted, his hand wrapping around my other ankle as he put the second skate on my foot.
“Are we going to skate around the living room?” I laughed a little breathlessly when he was finished tying the skates.
“Your driveway is pretty level. It’s as good a place as any to get our skate on,” Yoss suggested, holding my hand as I got to my feet.
“If I break something, it’s your fault,” I warned, echoing words I said long ago.
He leaned in close. So close his lips almost touched my cheek. “Just hold on. I won’t let you go.”
We fell into a heap on the ground.
“Ouch,” I ground, rubbing my hip, which had collided with the concrete. Yoss was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes.
“The way you were whirling your arms, I thought you were going to take off!”
I gave him a playful shove. “I wasn’t the one who ricocheted off the garage door.” I stuck out my tongue.
Yoss leaned forward and kissed me quickly on the mouth, startling us both. I sat with my mouth slightly agape and he looked away shyly.
“Shit. I forgot how much fun I could have with you,” Yoss said, his cheeks flushed, his eyes sparkling.
“Yeah, I forgot how much fun I could be,” I grinned, still relishing the sensation of his lips on mine.
Yoss leaned back on his hands and stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankle. “Tell me about a time you smiled,” he said suddenly.
I propped my elbow on my knee and cupped my chin. “What?” I asked with an amused grin.
“I know you can’t be super serious Imi all the time. I seem to remember a girl who would jump into the river with all her clothes on. So come on, tell me something fun.” He poked me in the side and I squirmed.
I swatted his hand as he tried to poke me again. “Sorry, can’t say I have any good stories to share. I’m pretty boring actually.”
Yoss raised an eyebrow. “I know that’s not true. You’re the furthest thing from boring.” He slowly got back to his feet and started skating backwards ever so slowly. “A road trip? A cool place you’ve visited?”
I chewed on my bottom lip and thought hard, wanting to give him something.
“One time I snuck backstage at a concert to meet the band. This was before I graduated from high school. A friend of mine, Amanda, dragged me to see some really bad rock group. She was crazy about them. They were horrible.” I made a face.
“This sounds promising.” Yoss rubbed his hands together.