“Why did you want to talk to me?”
I look over my shoulder at the sound of beeping behind me. There’s a worker driving one of those tiny forklifts, getting something off a shelf nearby. I turn back to Finn, and I try to seem like I’m in control, when in reality, I am still trying to wrap my head around this. He’s got me off balance, and I don’t like it at all.
Finn must finally realize how he’s coming across, because his voice softens.
“I was wondering if you wanted to … go get coffee or something. Then we can talk a little more. Get to know each other.”
“I don’t usually get coffee with secretive guys. And my mom will be here soon.” He arches a brow at me but says nothing more, and I stand there awkwardly, trying to think of a graceful way out. He knows he’s making me uncomfortable, too. I can see it on his face.
I am just about to say something rude when my phone chirps. It’s my mom, and I’m torn between relief and frustration. I don’t know how much longer I can stand here and be stared at by a guy with no social skills, but at the same time …
This is crazy.
“I have to go,” I say, backing away. Only I’m not watching where I’m going, and I nearly walk into the forklift, and the guy operating it lets out a startled sound and hits reverse. Finn lunges forward and pulls me toward him just as a large pallet of paving stones slams into the ground where I had been standing.
“Oh my God!” the forklift driver says. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I gasp, looking up at Finn. He’s let me go and moved himself between the forklift and me. I have to look around him to see the driver.
“Really,” I reassure the guy. “I’m okay. Sorry I walked into you.”
He surveys the pallet of mostly broken stones with dismay. “I’ve got a customer waiting for these,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “When my boss sees this, he’s gonna have a cow.”
“I’m sorry,” I say again. “I’ll tell him it’s my fault if you want.”
“You sure you’re all right?” Finn asks.
“If you’re hurt, I have to fill out a report,” Forklift Guy says uneasily.
My phone chirps again.
“I’m fine,” I repeat to both of them. “I really have to leave.”
On shaky legs, I turn and walk toward the doors.
“Give me your phone number, at least,” Finn says, falling into step behind me.
I shake my head, repeating, “I have to go.”
My mom is waiting at the curb as we walk through the doors, but I feel like I owe him something.
“Finn,” I say, trying the name on for size.
“Jessa.” He raises his brows and looks at me.
“Thanks for pulling me out of the way.” Even though it’s your fault I wasn’t paying attention.
He nods, and I open the car door.
“I have an incredible memory,” I say pointedly. “Sooner or later, you’ll come back to me.”
“I’m counting on it,” he says, and something in his eyes makes me hesitate before I finally slide in and close the door. The car pulls away from the curb, and Finn stands watching us with his hands jammed down in his pockets as we drive away.
3
Welcome to My Life
I open the door to my house, eager to find a quiet place for my thoughts, and I find chaos instead.
My brother, Danny, is two years older than me, five inches taller, sixty pounds heavier, and at this moment he’s kicking the wall over and over and shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Won’t work! Won’t work! It doesn’t work!”
I toss my bag down on the floor.
“Danny. Danny!” I put my hands on his shoulders cautiously, and he turns tear-filled eyes to meet mine for a brief moment.
“The batteries won’t work. They won’t work. The batteries won’t work,” he repeats, clearly frustrated.
“Stop kicking,” I say, leading him away from the wall. I rub his back in a soothing motion. “Now tell me slow. Where don’t the batteries work?”
“In the remote. For the Xbox. I put them in and they don’t work.” He covers his eyes with his fingers, pressing hard.
“Did they fit?” Maybe he grabbed the wrong size or something.
“They don’t work. I put them in and they don’t work.” His voice rises again with pure frustration.
I hold out my hand. “Let me see.”
Danny rubs his eyes once more, then walks over to the end table next to the couch and picks up the remote control for the Xbox, handing it to me.
“Those batteries are bad. They don’t work.”
I pull the door off the battery compartment and see the problem immediately.
“They’re in wrong, Danny. See? One goes this way, and the other one goes that way. Opposite.” I turn one of the batteries around, and the remote’s indicator buttons light up.
“See?” I say. “Danny? Danny, look at me.”
He takes his eyes off the TV, finally making eye contact.
“Look at what I did with the batteries, so you know for next time, okay? One this way, one that way. And if it doesn’t work, try going opposite again. Okay?”
“Okay. It didn’t work.”
“I know, but it works now.”
“Did you fix it?”
“I fixed it.”