Unbroken

“No way,” Leo exclaimed.

Hunter slid out from under the bed, grunting, “Yeah, he beat my ass blue a couple months back, just after you left.”

I got up and slid into my flip-flops. “Hurry. We’ll go to the park.”

They didn’t argue as they followed after me. I quickly patted the pocket of my pants, searching for that soft lump, for my good luck. When I felt it, I relaxed. Hunter gripped my arm, helping me out of the window. I landed on my feet, the overgrown grass tickling my toes as I turned in time for Hunter to jump after me, and then Leo.

“Everything,” I re-iterated to Leo. “I want to know everything.”

*

It was the perfect summer night. The air was warm, the dark sky cloudless and billowing with stars and a quarter moon. The walk to the park was fifteen minutes long. We waded out of the trailer park and had to walk down a long strip of black road, wilderness on both sides. About a half mile away, turning to the left, was a large park and patch of manicured grass. If we had turned left, we would have gone downhill to the marina, pub, and beach, boasting gorgeous views of the clear ocean water and mountains. Being summer and Friday, it would also be loaded with anchored boats and the beaches would be consumed with partygoers.

Here, the park was quiet.

We spread out on the ground, our backs flat against the earth, me in the centre, each boy at my side. We stared up at the night sky as Leo unloaded everything I was itching to know.

“You think the ocean is nice here? It was clear blue over there, guys. I could seeeverything.”

He swam with the fish, surfed the waves and had fresh oyster by the sea. Now, he was a sun-tanned prince, experienced with the world more than Hunter and I would ever be.

“I wish I was there,” I murmured dreamily, imagining myself along white sandy beaches with Leo by my side.

“One day I’ll take you,” Leo promised.

I turned my head to look at him. “Really?” I asked, hopefully.

He shot me a heart punching half-smile. “Really, Skye. You were born to be under the sun.”

I smiled shyly at him, stomach fluttering. “We got to enjoy the sun, though. Hunter and I biked everywhere, even up the hills where you live.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and we stole apples from Miss Lola’s tree—”

Leo broke out laughing. “How’d you get past the dogs?”

“Hunter threw a few hot dogs at ‘em and sent me running past her raised garden beds. He started howling like a wolf and the dogs stopped to turn their heads at him, their ears raised to the sky. It was the best thing ever.”

“And you got some apples?”

“A whole basket full. They rained down me, Leo, like they were waiting to be caught.”

“I wish I was there to see that.”

“She’s a fast runner,” Hunter suddenly murmured.

I turned my head to him, meeting his warm eyes. “Because I had two Rottweilers on my butt.”

“It’s a nice butt—”

I smacked at him again, but instead of laughing, he just smiled weakly at me, turning his eyes back to the sky. Leo chuckled softly and a comfortable silence ensued. We laid there for a long while, so much to say, but suddenly too overwhelmed with happiness to say them.

“I kissed a girl,” Leo abruptly declared in a soft voice.

My head whipped to him, my breaths shallow when I whispered, “You did?”

I felt Hunter scoot over, raising himself on his elbow to look down at us. “No way.”