Ruthless (Black Mountain Academy) - Mila Crawford Page 0,35
the ether and asked the sound system to play an alternative playlist. The beat kicked on a moment later and the house filled with a dark blend of house music tracks interlaced with fender riffs in the chorus.
“Pineapple pizza and Coldplay, sounds like a great night.” I was rambling now, I could feel it, but why was he all of a sudden holding back? Was he regretting revealing so much to me earlier about his past?
“It’s not Coldplay, but nice try. I’ll still cream you all over music, little mouse.”
I gulped at his use of the nickname. I wasn’t sure if I’d missed it or still hated it. We’d been through so much in the months since I’d moved here, I felt like a different person, but how did he feel?
I smiled, then announced loudly for the sound system to play Everyday People by Sly & the Family Stone. “Have you heard it?”
He rolled his eyes. “Who hasn’t heard it? What are you, from 1965, little mouse?”
I felt the contempt in his words, felt them like barbs through my skin, slicing directly to my heart. “My dad loved this song. Whenever my mom or I would have a bad day, he would play it and dance around the house with us. He would belt out the lyrics. He used to tell me that the song reminded him that we are all connected. I am no better than you and you’re no better than me. No matter what, we are all connected.” I smiled, memories of my dad flooding my heart and my mind. “He told me once to remember that people are the same deep down--they all want to be loved and love someone, because at the end of the day we will be remembered for how we treated our brothers and sisters.”
“Your childhood sounds like a Hallmark commercial.”
“It was,” I admitted. “Until it wasn’t.” I snagged a slice of pizza and began eating, watching him out of the corner of my eye. “What would be the soundtrack to your childhood?”
He glanced at me once before speaking aloud, “Play Black Orchid by Blue October.”
Haunting opening lines rang through the pool house. I stopped chewing as the lead male vocalist began singing about loneliness and dying. I suddenly felt like I might throw up. I stood, needing a break from all the darkness that rolled off of this man in waves.
I found a napkin in the kitchen, spitting the rest of the now inedible pizza into it and tossing it in the garbage can before helping myself to a glass of tap water. I collected myself as the beautiful but ravaged words of the song pushed through the stereo system and pounded their way into my ears, unwilling to be ignored.
“Want some water?” I whispered as I returned to the couch, leaving a full glass on the table for him. I just needed something to do, something to focus on other than all of this pain.
They say evil isn’t born, but made. Whatever happened to Kyler Sinclair had left a thunderstorm swirling that was inescapable. Now I understood why he didn’t collect friends like his easygoing sister. I didn’t have friends because I marched to my own drummer and that usually put people off, especially teenagers. But that wasn’t Kyler’s truth. I had the deep sense that something or somebody had made Kyler this way.
As the song came to a close, Kyler didn’t speak a word, only set his half-eaten pizza slice back in the box and took a drink of the water. I didn’t know what to say, but it felt like he was waiting on some sort of words or feelings from me. He’d just revealed himself to me in a song--a song of bleak loneliness--what was the right thing to say?
“Beautiful Girl by INXS.” And then he turned to me, smirk in full effect, and held out his hand. “Dance with me.”
I broke into a grin, the dark cloud suddenly evaporating into one of lighthearted fun. I slipped my hand in his and he pulled me up to him, mouthing the words beautiful girl, stay with me as he moved me back and forth against him, our hips connecting, then twirling me out at arm’s length and causing me to interrupt into another fit of giggles.
Kyler, like this, was contagious.
The easy way he moved his body like this, with music on and no conversation to be had. He was at home. My heart trembled behind my chest when