Amalia

2 Summers Ago

I wrinkled my nose at the paint smell lingering in the room and hung The Outsiders movie poster on the soft-purple wall above my bed. My mom bought it because I was obsessed with the teenage classic novel. I admitted to her that the actors chosen for the Outsiders movie were cute when they were young. Dallas Winston was my favorite character and my first crush. She had teased me that it meant I liked the bad boys, which scared me a little. But after thinking it over, I decided it wasn't because he was a juvenile delinquent. I liked him because the author described him as a complex, tough, fearless boy who could take care of himself. His home life was hard, so he buried his sadness behind a rough persona, but he loved and protected his friends. Mom and I had Dallas Winston in common because when she was a teenager in the eighties, the actor cast to play him was her celebrity crush, and staring at the poster, I could see why.

An unexpected pounding on the front door grabbed my attention, so I hopped from the bed, rushed from my bedroom, and hurried down the stairs. "I got it, Mom!"

"What, Amalia?" Coming from between the moving boxes cluttering the kitchen, her voice barely penetrated the song, Like A Virgin, blaring from the radio. "Did you say something, hon?"

I swung open the door, and my knees weakened. The cutest, most gorgeous guy I ever saw—a dark-haired, dark-eyed, golden-skinned angel—was standing right before my eyes, holding a football in his hand. My breath caught in my lungs, and I froze for a space.

"Is Jaxon home?" he asked in a husky voice.

His sun-kissed dark hair was extended in the front and just above shoulder length on the sides and back. It looked retro, like a hairstyle from a time in the past or something from the television program That 70s Show. He brushed his bangs back from his face, and a large gulp slid down my throat, sounding loud to my ears and making my face hot.

My mouth disconnected from my brain, and nothing came out.

He smiled at me. His lips appeared a little chapped and cracking. Tall, fit, and muscular for someone his age, his ebony eyes sparkled as he cleared his throat and grinned with half his mouth. "Are you Jaxon's sister?"

Still unable to gather my wits about me, I nodded, imagining how idiotic I must have appeared to him.

"Well, ah ... Is he here?"

"Oh ... uh ... Jaxon, no. He's not. He's in town ... Ice cream."

His brow furrowed, and I glanced down to hide my reddening face and keep myself from making things worse by running away. "He was going for ice cream."

He grinned full-on. "I met him at the park earlier. I thought he'd be home by now. When he gets home, tell him I stopped by to see if he wanted to play football with me and some friends this evening. If he wants to, I'll be at Kade's." He stepped backward, down one step. "The name's Talan, by the way."

"Amalia!" Sounding as if I blurted again, I cringed. "I'm Amalia."

"Welcome to New Sable, Amalia." He smiled again, and my soul resonated with the most fantastic feeling, like nothing I'd ever felt. It was as if little bells woke my sleeping heart.

After I closed the door, I sprinted up the stairs to look in the mirror. Dust and grime covered my thin, white tank top from cleaning and unpacking my bedroom. Ugly smudges of humidity-melted mascara—the only makeup mom allowed me to wear at twelve years old—darkened my eyes like a raccoon. I screamed in horror. "Oh, my God!" I met the guy of my dreams, and not only did I act like a loser, but I looked gross. I wondered if he'd ever look at me again.

Eager to find out about the boy who took my breath away, I sat on the porch, tapping my feet against the cement as I waited for my brothers to come home from exploring our new hometown. Once they arrived, I said in a casual tone, "Somebody named Talan came by looking for Jaxon to play football with him later."

"Sh..." they said, putting their fingers to their lips. They motioned for me to follow them up the stairs. Erik said when they shut their bedroom door, "Jaxon was in a fight."

"A fight?" Surprised, I gasped, noticing Jaxon's blood-splattered shirt.

"Sh-shut up. You're talking too loud," Jaxon said through clenched jaws. "Dad will have a heart attack if he finds out I got in a fight after only one day."

I lowered my voice. "Well, tell me what happened."

They whispered in unison, so I could hardly catch a word.

Jaxon glared, backhanding Erik in the chest. "I'll tell her."

"Ouch."

"At the Dairy Queen, we saw two guys watching us. They accused Erik of staring at them. Nobody was even looking at them. They just wanted to fight someone," Jaxon said with a snarl. "We walked away, but they followed us, talking crap, all the way to the park. The kid with the biggest mouth knocked Erik's ice cream cone out of his hand. I stepped in front of Erik and shoved him away. He punched me in the stomach and knocked the wind out of me. When I doubled over, he hit me in the face. The next thing I knew, we were rolling around on the ground fighting. I punched him in the face with all my strength, and his nose started bleeding, but somehow, he got on top of me. I couldn't get him off. All I could do was cover my face to protect myself."

"I tried to help him," Erik said, then frowned. "But the other guy grabbed me, and I couldn't get loose. That's when Kade showed up with his cousin Talan."

"Talan pulled the guy off me," Jaxon said. "The mouthy guy wasn't happy about it, and suddenly, he and Talan were fighting."

"You should have seen it, Ama," Erik said in excitement. "It was just like a boxing match on TV."

Jaxon nodded. "It really was. Talan knocked him down. When he got back up with a bruised and bloody face, he started threatening us, but he knew Talan already beat him up."

"Who were they?"

"An older guy named Traejan and his friend Monte. They do stuff like this. Talan knows them. He said Traejan's nothing but a bully. They have a boxing club on the reservation, but they're not supposed to fight outside the gym. If their coach finds out, they'll all get kicked off the team."

It took forever for them to tell me more about Talan. Like Jaxon, he was thirteen, going on fourteen. He lived on the reservation with his dad but told them he stayed in New Sable with Kade and Kinsley on the weekends.

Once we met Talan, the six of us became inseparable and did everything together all summer. Which was wonderful and terrible for me simultaneously because the more time I spent around him, the more I fell in love.

I found out he was a boxing talent, the best on his team, and the Silver Gloves State Champion in his weight class. Guys looked up to him. Even the older boys showed him respect because he was so tough, and that characteristic reminded me of Dallas Winston.

After I saw him fight in the ring for the first time, he caught me staring at him in awe. So, he approached me and said, "My coach says I have the potential to make boxing into a career if I work hard enough at it." I nodded, lost in the bright glow of accomplishment and happiness shining from his eyes and smile as he toweled the sweat from his face. "And someday I'll bring home an Olympic gold medal, then become a professional championship boxer." The unexpected wink he added melted me.

"I believe it," was all I managed from the sudden butterflies tickling my stomach.

I guarded my secret, careful not to show any unusual interest in Talan. I feared that he'd stop talking to me or hanging out at our house if he found out about my mega crush. He treated me like a sister. In some ways, it was better than being treated like a girl. We could be "real" around each other instead of putting on an act. That isn't technically true; I always acted as if I didn't like him, but that was different.

Just like Dallas Winston, Talan was sad inside sometimes. I realized it the day I caught him sitting on our front porch by himself, looking lost. To help lift his mood, I thought of something to say and sat down beside him. "Does it hurt when you're boxing?"

"Not as much as it looks like it hurts," he said, continuing to frown as he stared into the quiet street. I wasn't willing to pry about why he was upset, so I just sat silently with him, glancing at him from the side. His skin appeared soft for a boy, and long, dark lashes framed his pretty eyes.

He finally let out a loud sigh and turned to me. "When I get hit hard, and I see stars? I just do my best to make them see stars back." He smirked, and a smile claimed my lips.

"Your mom said everyone went to the park for New Sable Days. How come you didn't go with them?"

I slid my foot out of the fuzzy blue slipper and showed him my bruised pinky toe, taped to the other toe for support. "I dropped a can of tomato juice on it. It's not broken, but it hurts when I walk."

"Ouch! I stubbed my big toe once, and my toenail turned black and fell off."

"Gross."

He chuckled and stood up to leave. "All right. I'm gonna go find them ... They'll set off fireworks later. Are you sure you can't go? We can walk slow."

My insides expanded with happiness, like helium in a balloon. "It doesn't hurt much, and if I keep the slippers on, it should be all right. Let me tell Mom."

I hid the wincing until we were halfway to the park, and the pain became too much to fake it anymore. I stopped walking.

"How are you doing?" he asked, his brows scrunching in concern.

My foot was throbbing. "I just need to take a break."

We stood at the crosswalk briefly, then he crouched down. "Hop on. I'll carry you."

I grinned with a warm face, a little laugh spilling out as I shook my head.

"Come on. I asked you to come, so let me help you."

I shrugged, then hopped on his back. He gave me a piggyback ride the rest of the way, and I thought I might die of excitement before we reached the park.

Jaxon looked annoyed when he saw us coming, but he got over it for a little while until it was time for us to leave. "I got her!" he said when Talan approached me again. Then, all the way home, he complained about carrying me. He was protective of me around guys. My dad had told him it was his job as an older brother to keep the boys away from me. Dad was only joking when he said it but forgot to tell Jaxon, so Jaxon took the job seriously. He didn't like me to like one of his friends, which only happened once I met Talan.

Jaxon's overprotectiveness makes him against the concept of me and Talan. He drew that line early on and made it clear to both of us—one cold, wet November morning, our first winter in New Sable.

Here we are two years later, and Jaxon is nowhere to be found. I'm grateful to Mara for preoccupying him. His warnings fade as I get lost in the magic of the theater, swept away by the thrill of this glorious, unexpected moment.

The lights dim, darkness falling around us while the curtains draw, and I feel excitement surging as Talan's hand intertwines with mine. He and I "together" is so surreal that my head and heart are spinning, and my hidden smile is begging to rupture onto my face.

Out of nowhere, a chilling noise erupts from behind us, nearly jolting me from my seat!