Rocked (The Everyday Heroes World) - Julia Wolf Page 0,80
her far one day.
“I believe you. You’d tell me if you thought I was going to embarrass myself up there.”
It wasn’t a question, which made me think I could stand to be a little less frank. But I mean, the kid was right. If she sucked at guitar, I’d still climb on that stage with her, but I’d find a way to make her shine. Maybe turn off her mic?
“Your dad’s gonna pee his pants, you know that?”
She giggled. “What if he really does? Oh my god, I’d die.”
Leroy came charging up with something in his mouth. At first, I thought it was a piece of a hose, but then it moved, flailing back and forth in his grip. Leroy looked at me, then Ellie, with wide eyes, like he was waiting for praise.
“Holy shit!” I jumped out of my seat and backed away. “That’s a fucking snake. Ells, come here.”
She cackled with laughter. “I think you just peed your pants.” She made a shooing motion to her dog. “Leroy, go put the nice snake back. Be gentle.”
Leroy trotted off to the edge of the yard and lowered his head. He stood in that position for a while, watching the ground, then continued his rampage, mouth smiling, ears flapping in the breeze.
“Why did that not freak you out?” My heart pounded in my chest. No way would I be sitting down anytime soon. While I’d gotten used to not hearing the city at night and loved having the stars heavy over my head, I was still very much a city boy. I did not abide by snakes. Never would.
Ellie covered her mouth with her hand. “That was a gopher snake. Leroy finds them all the time. He thinks they’re toys. Except sometimes they bite him, and he gets so confused his toy turned on him. But they’re not venomous.”
I shook my head and rubbed the scruff on my jaw. “Is the air up here what makes women so brave?”
Ellie grinned and flipped her red hair over her shoulder. “Hey, a peanut could take me down in a couple minutes. I’ve learned to be brave about everything else, you know?”
That sobered me. I took my seat across from her again. “You certainly are, little sister.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Why do you call me that? Not that I mind. I kind of like it. Just like you call my mom ‘lady.’ It makes me feel like we’re your real friends.”
My mouth curved into a grin, and I crossed my ankle over my knee. “I’m glad you like it. My best friend growing up had this huge, giant grandpa from Sweden who’d stay for the whole summer every year. He always called me little brother and her little sister. I liked it too, probably for similar reasons you do. It made me feel like part of the family, ’cause my family kind of sucked.”
Her eyes widened, and she pushed her glasses up her nose. “Were they mean?”
“No, not mean. They just didn’t really want to be my parents. I had Mickey and her family, though, so it was all good.”
She scrunched her nose, thoughtful. “Did you know I almost died when I was little?”
My chest tightened at the thought, and my throat felt thick. “Yeah, I heard about that.”
“I was with my grandma when it happened. She fell asleep, and I got food from her kitchen I shouldn’t have. I was only three, but I knew I wasn’t allowed to have peanut butter. I didn’t understand I wasn’t supposed to eat Grandma’s crackers that were made in a place that also prepared nuts.”
I shook my head. “That’s scary as hell.” And it was starting to make sense why Kat was so freaked out about Veego leaving Ellie with Rose the other day. I still felt like I was missing an important piece to the story, but maybe I’d never know. I hadn’t heard from Kat since I left her in her driveway, but then, I hadn’t really expected to.
Ellie shrugged. “I don’t remember it at all. But my mom won’t let me go to Grandma’s house anymore. She barely lets me see her. It kind of stinks.”
“Yeah, that would blow. But I know your mom. She’d never do anything like that for fun. I figure she has a good reason.”
“Maybe. But my grandma’s so cool. She dances under the full moon and can read auras. She plays guitar too, you know.” Twirling a curl around her finger, she pursed her