Kade

Colorful, freshly fallen leaves roll along the alley as I go to the Aguirre house to tell everyone the latest news. Ever since I was a little guy, I've preferred the solitude of the narrow, empty dirt roads lined with large, shady backyard trees.

I reach their house and knock at the back door, calling out, "Hello," as I turn the doorknob and enter their kitchen.

Erik yells to me from the living room. "In here!" 

He and Jaxon are chilling on the sofas, and a football game is on TV. Their parents are at work. 

Amalia must be up in her room. I'm hoping she's feeling better today. When I stopped yesterday, she was all dressed up and looking gorgeous, but her moodiness brought me down. I'd just started talking to a new girl who came from Wisconsin that I met at the pool last weekend, but if Amalia ever showed an interest in me? I'd drop anyone like a brick.

"I was just going to call you," Erik says. "We're about to head to the Dairy Queen. Coming with us?"

I nod and say, "Sounds good." The soft cushion caves while I relax into a chair, resting my limbs on its arms. "You guys missed a good one yesterday. Talan got in a fight at a gas station in Lakeside."

Lakeside is a neighboring town forty miles away and much more populated than New Sable.

Eyes widening with interest, Jaxon shifts out of his comfortable position and turns off the television. "At a gas station? Really? Who with?"

"According to Talan, you know him. He said you fought him at that sixteen-and-over tournament." Erik and I couldn't fight at that boxing tournament because of our ages, and we had a track meet that weekend. "His name is Bradley Anderson."

"That's right! Bradley's new to the area and like ... nineteen."

"Is he the guy you beat?" Erik asks.

"No, he beat me on the tournament's second day but didn't win our division. A brawler from Montana won; he was a wicked scrapper."

"So, you know how tall and bulky Bradley is," I say.

Jaxon nods and asks, "What were they saying to him?" 

"That they heard he thought he was tough, and for Talan to step behind the gas station with Bradley so Bradley can show him what's up." As I'm about to relay the fight, I hear Amalia bustling down the stairs. I pause and wait for her to reach the living room because I know she'll want to hear about it, too. She traipses through the corridor wearing white, extra-short shorts and a black Micky Mouse T-shirt.

"Hey, Kade."

I gulp the small amount of saliva that pooled in my mouth at seeing her. "Hey."

Amalia did her hair and makeup expertly, but she's dressed in homebound clothing, which makes me wonder if she changed plans or has plans for later. "Who got in a fight?" She nestles on the sofa opposite Erik.

"Talan did yesterday."

"Well, hurry and tell us about it," Jaxon says.

"Is the suspense killing you?" I grin, then tell them how Bradley and company were talking crap, trying to goad Talan into fighting Bradley behind the gas station. And how Talan got pissed but ignored them like he does when he knows it's not worth it. "We paid for the gas and Cokes. Then they followed us outside. I kept glancing at Talan, hoping we would get in the car and drive away. But he had that look in his eye that he gets when out of patience. As I neared the passenger side of the car, and Talan was reaching his side, he slowed but didn't turn toward them. And when he rolled his shoulders to loosen up, I just knew it. Then Bradley caught up and said something to Talan, like. 'Well, what's the word?' Talan turns around and goes, 'The word's, Bitch'. He threw two lightning-fast jabs and then dropped Bradley with a hook.

Jaxon grins, ear to ear, with pride in his eyes. "Well done!"

Amalia is chewing on her lips, clearly concerned, and Erik's listening intently.

"Bradly instantly hit the ground. My memory is fuzzy here because I thought I was on the other side of the car. But I must have run toward them when it started because I don't know how I got to Talan so fast. I remember seeing him swing back his leg, about to put the boots to Bradley's ribs or face, and suddenly, I was wrapping myself around him, pushing him backward. People waiting for gas were honking. Bradley had sprung up, and with me between them, he swung at Talan. Luckily, Talan sidestepped, shoving me aside, and I slammed against the car. Talan got a few more hits and took some before some people came running from inside the gas station, yelling at them to stop it. Bradley's friends finally dragged him away from us."

"Does Talan know why that dude wanted to fight him?" Erik asks. 

"It was over a girl, and we didn't find that out until we climbed into the car. While his friends dragged him away, he was hollering at Talan to stay the fuck away from Tessa."

"Tessa? Never heard of her," Jaxon says with an underlying chuckle. 

I explained Talan didn't either. "Because after we drove away, and he calmed down and stopped cussing about it, he goes, 'Who the fuck is Tessa?'"

Chuckling rings out among everyone except Amalia. She rolled her eyes.

Jaxon thought Bradley's girlfriend might have been interested in Talan or flirted with him at that sixteen-and-over tournament. "It wouldn't be the first time that happened," he says.

"I haven't seen Talan since last Friday. How come you guys didn't take us with you yesterday?" Jaxon asks.

"I tried to get him to swing by here, but he acted like we were in a major rush and didn't want to stop. He's coming over to say goodbye tomorrow, though."

There was something peculiar about Talan's behavior yesterday. Like he was purposefully running the day out, preoccupied, until the fight energized him. I assumed he was just antsy about going away to school.

Jaxon places his hand against his heart and fakes a frown. "I'm insulted. I thought I meant more to him than just goodbye. The ornery tease." Jaxon's silly remark is meant for a laugh, and while Erik and I do, strangely, Amalia pales.

"Is Talan okay?" She asked in a low voice with absence in her eyes, like she was asking for the sake of asking while thinking about something else.

"There's hardly a scratch on him. He'll probably tell you all about it when he comes over."

I get up from the chair when Jaxon asks Amalia if she's coming with us. She says yes. 

"Well, are you going to put some pants on first?"

I smirk when Amalia grumbles in response. "Not now! Just because you said that." But she heads for the stairs, and I turn my head so I don't watch her walk away. It seems like only yesterday that I fell for her, but in reality, it has been a long time.

2 Winters Ago

As I searched through the toolbox for a smaller screwdriver for Jaxon, Talan abruptly lifted Amalia from the ground. Her face caught my attention, and it seemed like a crowbar conked me over the head. I could have sworn I heard music coming from the sky. Her eyes sparkled like stars when she looked up. The color of her blush perfectly matched her soft, red, pouty lips. Amalia Aguirre was beautiful. I couldn't remove my eyes.

When I snapped back to reality, Jaxon was freaking out about the Cokes she brought outside for us. With how he yelled at her, you'd think she destroyed his favorite football.

A frown appeared on Amalia's face. Half of me wanted to hug her. The other half of me wanted to punch Jaxon. "I'll take one. I'm thirsty," I said to help her out.

She ignored me and started screaming at him and glaring at Talan. Talan appeared surprised, and Jaxon looked madder, if possible. Neither of them saw her hurt feelings before she ran back inside and slammed the door.

Then they got into this stupid conversation about Talan liking Amalia, which I knew wasn't true. At least, I hoped it wasn't true. I waited for his answer, and once he admitted he didn't like her, I zoned back out. My only concern was how upset Amalia was, standing there with matted leaves in her hair.

They eventually calmed down and started working on Jaxon's dirt bike, acting as if nothing had happened, as if the beginning of our visit never occurred.

The two of them finally found the problem. Some wiring came undone from the electrical harness fastenings and rubbed against the exhaust pipe, melting through. We had some extra wiring and parts in the junk lying around our garage, so Talan and I headed home to find some. I needed a break from Jaxon's outburst, anyway.

As we revved our motors, Talan turned and stared up at Amalia's window. She was standing by it as pretty as ever. We waved, and she smiled and waved back before closing the curtains.

Jaxon and Talan's conversation about Amalia crossed my mind. I couldn't see how Talan looked at her from where I was kneeling. I was fixated on her perfect face, and he had his back toward me, but I wondered if it was true. So, when we parked outside the garage, I asked, "Did you really mean what you said to Jaxon about Amalia?"

Talan looked at me and raised his eyebrow. "You mean when I told him I didn't like her? Sure, I did."

"Good," I said, startling myself because I only meant to think it.

A large, wide grin splayed across Talan's face. "So, I'm not the guy Jaxon should worry about, huh?"

I could always tell him anything. We couldn't be closer had we been born brothers. "Do you think that went for me, too, Talan?"

"Nah ... But keep it under wraps for now. Besides, it's not up to Jaxon. It's up to Amalia." Anger curled his upper lip. "At least, it should be. Don't you think?"

"Yeah, but I better find out how Erik might feel about it. I don't think he'll care. He's mellower than Jaxon."

"Just don't spread rumors about yourself and other girls to him. Trust me. It's a lesson I learned the hard way." He elbowed me on the shoulder as if I knew what he meant by that. I would have asked, but he said, "Tell you what. I'll help you change the tire on the ATV, and you can take Amalia for a ride on it. She could use some cheering up. Take Kinsley and Erik with you; nobody will think anything of it."

Now I know what Talan meant that day, but I have yet to go out with a crap load of girls. I'm waiting on Amalia, for the most part.

Amalia returns wearing Levi-jeans and tells us to swing by and pick up Kinsley on the way. I hold the door open for her on our way out, and she looks up at me when she's passing. There's a streak of mascara on her cheek. "Hold on." I wipe the smudge away with my thumb for her.

Her smile brightens my world, and hearing her voice say my name when she says, "Thank you, Kade," is pure joy.