faces and a fanged skull. The name Richard Matheson was typed along the top of the image and above that were the words I Am Legend.
Was that a book?
My gaze swung back to the boy, and I felt goose bumps prickle all over my skin.
His light brown hair hung over his forehead in disarray, earbuds visible in his ears, an audible low hum of music playing through them. He had a strong profile, a slight cut to his cheekbones, and an angular jaw. One jean-clad knee was bent, his arm resting on it and in his hand, a worn paperback. His lips were pursed, as if in concentration.
A flutter made itself known in my belly.
A flutter that intensified when I watched him slowly turn his head toward me.
Stormy ocean eyes glared at me from beneath a moody brow.
We stared at each other a moment. A moment that felt like forever. My skin flushed.
The boy suddenly dropped the book and swung his legs off the bed.
His black T-shirt had the words “The Black Keys” on it. My heart skipped a little beat. We liked the same band. The T-shirt was paired with jeans that might have been dark denim once but had been washed within an inch of their life. He pulled out his earbuds.
“Who are you?” he bit out, just before his eyes flicked to my left.
Lorna had returned to my side.
“What are you doing?”
She shrugged. “Showing Jane around. She’s my new best friend. Jane, this is my big brother, Jamie.”
Jamie McKenna transferred his glower from Lorna to me. “God help you.”
“Hey!” Lorna cried, indignant.
“I don’t need your friends poking around my room.”
I blushed. Hard. Mortified.
“Ugh, you’re embarrassing Jane with your moodiness,” Lorna huffed. “It’s not cool to be a broody bastard, Jamie, no matter what those books you’re reading tell you. It’s very nineties, and if you hadn’t noticed, that decade is way over.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry I embarrassed your nosy little friend here,” he scoffed, before marching across his room to the door. “And stop cussing, you little brat. You don’t sound smart—you sound like you’re trying too hard to be cool.” With that, he slammed his bedroom door in our faces.
Oh, I’m so sorry I embarrassed your nosy little friend here.
My cheeks burned even hotter.
“Don’t mind him.” Lorna grabbed my arm and hauled me down the hall to her room. “He loves me really.”
Lorna’s room was the same size as the room that Tarin and Flo shared back in Willa and Nick’s apartment. I tried to throw Jamie out of my head and concentrate on the surrounding space. Lorna’s room was bigger than Jamie’s, which I thought was odd since he was older.
There were a few boxes piled in the room, but she didn’t seem to have a lot of belongings. As if she’d read my mind, she put her hands on her hips and announced, “Skye has promised to take me shopping before school starts. I’ll need new things. Lots of them. And she can afford it now.” Her expression turned mischievous. “I’ll buy cute posters, too, for my room. Unlike Jamie’s. Did you see the skull thing?”
I nodded.
“Creepy, right? It’s his favorite book.”
I mentally added I Am Legend to my to-be-read pile.
I’d noted there were stacks of books organized along one wall in his room, all in need of a bookcase. He was a fellow bookworm. That fluttering in my stomach wouldn’t go away. It was so weird!
“I bet he’s hidden his writing in his room somewhere.” She smirked, like she was thinking of breaking in to find it. “He writes by hand because we can’t afford a laptop. Or we couldn’t. I bet Skye will buy him one now. Did you see his books? Back home, he’d never have left those out.”
“Why?”
She shrugged, turning to me. “If his friends knew he liked to read books and write stories, they’d have kicked the shit out of him.”
“They don’t sound like very nice friends.”
Lorna snorted. “Right? I don’t understand why he’s so pissed we moved when he can, like, be himself here. So, this is my room. Nothing special. Yet.” She grabbed my hand again and led me back out to the living room, where she gestured for me to sit on the sofa. She plopped down beside me, turning her knees toward mine.
“Okay, we’re going to be best friends, agreed?”
I nodded, getting the feeling I might not have a choice in the matter.
“There are rules in friendship. Rule number one: Always have each other’s back.”