I stand outside the bathroom with Asa's brother, Rowan, a while later and try not to look him in the eye for too long. Asa's bright blue Crocs dangle from my hand as we wait for him to put on his overalls and come back out.
It wasn't that I was afraid of Rowan, or was worried that he'd kill me for going along with Asa's idea to burglarize a vending machine, but I didn't want to make enemies with a guy who lived less than a couple of feet from my house. For all I knew, he would show up at my window at night and start egging my house out of spite.
"You're looking at me like I'm going to egg your house out of spite," Rowan announces casually, his arms crossed from where he leans against the opposite wall. He looked ike the type of guy that would race around in a sports car or that girls in movies would hide in their closet before their parents came home. But it was nothing new to me, there were plenty of people like him back in the city who I'd dealt with growing up.
"No? Really?" I reply sarcastically, and I pretend to focus on a poster on the wall, "You've been looking at me like you want to set my house on fire, dude. Maybe I have reason to be suspicious."
Rowan laughs, but it's not like Asa's laugh, it's sharp and biting, like a rabid dog. A moment later, his teeth flash when he clenches them together in a tight grin, stretching his lips. "I've tried setting that fucking house on fire and it won't burn," he confesses, "The land's cursed. We're all fucked."
I don't realize that he's serious until Asa squeaks the door open and snags his rubber clogs from my hand. They even had little plastic foodstuff pins stuck in them for maximum dorky effect. "Thanks, best friend!" The owl boy chirps, and he slides them on, one by one.
Best friend?
I take a step back to keep him from knocking over my crutches, but he uses my shoulder to balance on anyway, which puts him ridiculously close to my face when he leans over.
Rowan glowers at us from where he stands as this is all going on, his jaw clenched. For some weird reason, I felt extra special under those harsh looking honey colored eyes.
That was me being snarky, by the way.
"Did mom and dad send you?" Asa asks Rowan once he's finally dressed back in his weird clothes, and glances at his older brother. "I told them I was coming to visit Micha before I left. You didn't have to follow me all the way here!"
"Uh, actually, I did," Rowan speaks slowly, "Especially since you crashed a car with a strange boy and went missing for a week. Mom and dad might be chill about you becoming your own man, but you're still a kid, Asa. You can't even microwave a pizza without setting it on fire."
"Wait," I interrupt them, eyebrows drawing together in confusion when I turn to face Asa, "You didn't tell your family that you were an owl for a week?"
"He was hunting for a roost," Rowan explains, and he focuses on me with his dagger eyes, "Apparently, my kid brother has it in his head to invite you there to protect you from the big bad world. I don't know why, or how. You're a million times taller than he is. And how old are you? Nineteen? I feel like you can grow a beard in five seconds."
"Rowan! Stop!" Asa bursts out, one hand still balled up in my sleeve where he holds on. I didn't even think he realized he was doing it, otherwise he probably would have let go sooner.
"I'm not going to stop!" Rowan snaps back, "We had to see you fall apart after your boyfriend died! Mom literally had to bathe you and feed you because you were so fucking depressed! It was hard on all of us, not just you. Leave this guy alone, seriously!"
Asa's mouth snaps closed, his eyes fill with tears, then he shoots me a fearful look, as if worried about how I would react to his brother's tirade.
"Asa!" I shout when he bolts down the hallway, shoes slapping on the tile before he vanishes around the corner.
Rowan's on me as soon as Asa's gone and slams me into the wall, using his arm to brace my neck against the bathroom door. His nose, lips and teeth are inches from mine, like he wanted to rip me apart. "You stay the hell away from my brother!" He hisses, "He's been through enough!"
"Get the hell off me!" I snarl, grab onto his arm with one hand and dig my nails in, "I haven't even done anything to him! He's been coming to see me!"
Rowan looks down and sees the owl necklace hanging from around my neck. A second later, he reaches down and rips it off, snapping the cord. "Where did you get this?" He demands, shaking it in my face. "This belongs to my family!"
"Asa. He gave it to me, douchebag!" I snap, and at this point I'm hoping he doesn't let go of my neck, otherwise I was going to fall hard. The last thing I wanted was to rip a stitch and end up spending another week in the hospital. "Give it back!"
"He didn't," Rowan replies, anger draining from his voice, only to be replaced with shock, "He wouldn't do something like that. He barely knows you!"
"Hey!" I hear James Dean shout from down the hallway, "Let go of him, asshole!"
Rowan looks over, then takes off running.
I collapse to the floor as soon as he's gone and quickly find the owl pendant that he dropped. It was the only thing I'd held onto after the crash. Whether or not it had kept me alive I didn't know.
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