Melt My Heart Page 3

  “So, a heater blanket, huh?” he asks as he reaches inside the refrigerator for a soda.

  “I’m a terrible daughter. What can I say?”

  “Not terrible. You just need some inspiration.” He hops up onto the island, while I take a seat at the dining table, giving me a good four feet of distance. All three of us have sat around this table countless times throughout the years. We’ve laughed. We’ve cheered each other up. We’ve had some very competitive games of Uno. This old, chipped table houses so many memories.

  I clear my throat and focus, taking my finger off a gash in the wood where I dropped a container of Halloween decorations a few years ago. “Don’t forget money. Don’t have much of that either.”

  He pops the tab on the soda then rolls it between his palms. “The benefit of having an after-school job.”

  “Which my advanced classes don’t allow. Yay for being a brainiac.” I throw my hands up and wiggle them in a bad interpretation of jazz hands.

  His mouth scrunches to the side. He looks as if he’s on the verge of saying something, but shakes his head and takes a sip of his drink instead. “What if you get one of those photo collage blankets?”

  “Well, isn’t that crafty thinking.”

  He shrugs, unfazed by my little jab. “My grandma had one out the last time I visited. She seemed quite proud of it, but I have to say seeing my head blown up that massive is a bit unsettling.”

  “And what’s the difference in head size from every other day, Mr. Center of Attention?”

  “Har-har.” He tosses a kitchen towel at my face, but it only makes it to my lap. I chuckle at my own stupid joke. When I glance up, the smile is gone from his face, and I’m the only one laughing.

  “Hey. You okay?” Despite my nerves, I get up and close the distance between us, reaching out to cover his hand with mine.

  For a minute, he sits there staring at where I’m touching him. This whole thing has me a bit freaked out because I’ve never known him to stay serious for long. Even when his mom left, he tried his best to crack jokes and make light of the very serious situation.

  “Talk to me.” I give his hand a shake, breaking him out of his trance. “I know this time of year is hard, and Wyatt is getting bigger now. He’s gonna miss—”

  “It’s not that,” he cuts me off, sliding his fingers between mine.

  A perfect fit. If I weren’t so concerned about him, I might combust from the way my nerves are bundled so tight.

  “I—” He shakes his head. “I need to tell you—”

  He’s cut off when my phone blares from my pocket. I jump away then cringe as I pull it out. “It’s my dad.”

  “Get it.” He hops off the counter and chugs the rest of his soda.

  “Hey, Dad.”

  “Hey, pumpkin. I’m just checking in to make sure you’ve fed yourself and got all your chores done.”

  “No, I uh, stopped over at Cole’s.” Crap. I forgot to text when I got here. I glance over my shoulder where Cole’s leaning against the counter, staring at me with a pensive expression on his face. “He needed help cramming for midterms.”

  “Well, head home right after. Mom wants to make sure you’re home safe before we head into the movies. You know how she is. I don’t want her checking her phone every two minutes until you text.”

  “Okay, I’ll head home now.” I hate the amount of relief those words bring me. After mumbling a quick goodbye I turn to face Cole. “I gotta go. But what were you going to say?”

  His expression drops, and I swear he turns a weird shade of white I’ve never seen on him before. “Oh. Nothing. Just the holidays─ like you said.”

  I’m not the slightest bit convinced, but when he smiles and shoves me toward the door, I have little choice but to go with it. Trying to pull things out of Cole never works. We just end up in wicked fights. And that’s the last thing I want three days before our trip.

  I grab my book bag and shove the lingering papers inside. “Call me if you need anything, okay? Bye, little man.” I ruffle Wyatt’s hair as I walk by. He doesn’t so much as glance my way, but what can I expect when Rudolph is on?

  “I’ll pick you up tomorrow.” Cole hands me my jacket and opens the door. Almost as if he can’t get me to leave soon enough all of a sudden. Or maybe I’m projecting.

  “Big coffee!” I call over my shoulder as I hop down the front steps right as the delivery guy rolls up.

  I should be more upset that I’m missing pizza, but to be honest, my stomach is a twisted mess now.

  As I climb into the car and wait for it to defrost, I make a mental note to look up ways to help friends through the holidays. Because that’s what Cole is. He is my friend first. He may put on a tough front, but the closer Christmas gets, the more he’s going to need Eva and me on his side.

  The rest of the week flew by way too fast. Between finals and the normal course load, plus trying to put together a photo blanket for my mom, I felt as if I blinked and it was Saturday.

  Before I know it, I’m standing on my porch at the crack of dawn in freezing temperatures, hugging my duffel bag to my chest like a life preserver, and I’m about to drown.

  True to his word, Cole made the jailbroken-for-one-night Eva and me watch four scary movies all revolving around killers in the woods and cabin hauntings. So now, on top of being annoyed about spending five days alone while Cole runs off and has fun with his other friends, I’m also terrified I’ll be murdered in my sleep.

  Awesome.

  “Got everything, pumpkin?” Dad asks, using the nickname I’m way too old for public use, as he locks the front door. His graying hair is covered by a Utes hat, and he didn’t bother changing out of his black sweats. Dad and I aren’t morning people. At least he gets to come home and go back to sleep after dropping us off. And Eva, that lucky punk, is still upstairs snoozing away.

  “Yup.”

  “It’s going to be fun.” He kisses my temple as he stomps down the three steps separating us from the porch and the driveway where his truck is idling with Cole inside.

  I’m about to beg him to let me stay when Cole lays on the horn, no doubt waking up every neighbor. It’s six in the morning on a Saturday. I don’t want to be awake and I can bet Mrs. Meeks next door doesn’t want to be either. So I run down the stairs because Cole won’t let off until I plant my butt in the seat next to him.

  “Enough.” I throw my duffel bag at him, aiming for his face, but he catches it and laughs, tossing it on the backseat. “How are you so awake right now?”

  “I slept great.” He stretches, and I can’t help watching as the hem of his shirt rides up his taut stomach. “Didn’t you?”

  The laughter in his voice makes me snap my attention to his face. He knows I didn’t sleep well. I hate scary movies. After subjecting me to them, he ran off and told me he was sleeping on the couch. Eva, as always, took the spare room, leaving me to sleep alone.

  “No. I didn’t.” I clutch the giant thermos of coffee I brewed for the trip to my chest as I settle into the outside seat, making him take the middle one. Serves him right.

  Dad slides in at the exact moment Cole realizes what I did, and I catch the pout from the corner of my eye. It’s only a ten-minute ride to the school where the buses are waiting to drag us away. He’ll survive.

  “Are you two excited?” Dad asks. After a week of complaining, he’s well aware of my disdain for this trip now that Eva isn’t going. In true dad fashion he’s trying to get Cole to hype me up.

  Sometimes I think they’re the best friends.

  “Heck, yes!” Cole fist bumps the air. “The weatherman said they got five more inches of snow overnight. If we’re lucky, we’ll catch some sweet powder.”

  “So lucky,” I mumble, averting my gaze to the side window as we back out of the driveway. Truth is, if I even strap on a pair of skis, I’ll spend the whole time on the bunny slopes with the coach my dad hired. Not the most exciting time.

  “Oh, don’t be like that.”
Cole wraps an arm around me and tugs me to his side, almost making me spill the only coffee I’ll have until we arrive at our final destination.

  He thinks I’m in a bad mood now. Watch what happens if I have to survive with no caffeine.

  “Hey.” I twist out of his grasp, scooting as far over as I can. It’s too early. Not even the butterflies in my stomach are awake enough to react from being so close to him. “I don’t see how you’re so excited when Eva isn’t going.”

  My comment makes Cole pause for two seconds. “Because we will still have a BA time. No, we’re going to have the best time, so when she runs off to California, she’ll be confident you and I will survive. Think of this as a practice run.”

  I don’t want to think of it at all. Eva has always had her heart set on living in California. Cole and I always saw ourselves sticking to Utah and going to U of U. But none of us can say for sure where we’ll end up. There is a possibility the three of us will ship off to different states. Maybe that’s the real reason I’m so bummed about her missing the trip. It’s not that Cole will ditch me the second we arrive. It’s that I’ll be all alone for the first time since I was six, and the idea frightens me.

  “He’s right, pumpkin. Five days won’t kill you, and you can always call and text. She’ll be here Wednesday. Plus, I got you the best ski instructor. Had to fight off a couple of the moms to book it.”

  “Yippee.” Try as I might, I can’t muster any kind of enthusiasm. Give me another thermos of coffee and sunrise, and I might turn over a new leaf.

  Nah. Not even then.

  “Totally believable.” Cole nudges me with his shoulder and holds out a hand, fingers wiggling toward my coffee.

  With reluctance, I hand it over. He won’t give up until I do. So help me if he drinks the whole thing though, he’ll be putting up with the Wicked Witch of the West for the whole forty-five-minute bus ride.

  Dad rolls to a stop behind a line of cars where kids are spilling out on to the sidewalk. The lucky ones, as Eva referred to us, will be thrown on one of the four buses waiting to drive to Snowangel. Half the senior class is going. Some didn’t make the grades. Some couldn’t afford the fee. And some, well, some thought it was a stupid waste of time. I’m kind of on their side right now.

  Dad reaches behind his seat and grabs Cole’s and my duffel bags. With a lingering smile that tells me he knows how much I hate this, he hands them over.

  “I’ll be right here waiting for you in five days.”

  “If I don’t trip off the side of the mountain and die,” I grumble and snatch my now half-empty coffee from Cole’s hand.

  “I’ll keep her safe, Mr. Phillips,” Cole says and makes an X over his heart. It’s something we’ve done since we were kids and is to be taken deadly serious. We don’t cross our hearts for just anything.

  “I’m holding you to it.” I catch a lingering smile on my dad’s face before Cole shuts the door.

  “So, morning sunshine, you sitting with me or what?”

  I scoff and walk toward the line of kids waiting to board. “Don’t you have some other friends you’d rather hang with?”

  “Not today. I only have eyes for you.”

  Cue the heat in my cheeks. He’s just being sweet, but I wish he wouldn’t say stuff like that. It makes me think things that will only lead to a mangled heart.

  “If you want to go sit with the bros I’m cool with it. I’m going to zone out on music, anyway.”

  “Then I’ll be right there to keep you company.” He tugs the strap of my bag, pulling me with it. Before I wiggle free, he grabs the hood of my jacket and pins me to his side.

  Not that I’m complaining. He’s snuggly warm, and the woodsy scent of whatever cologne he uses is a balm to my grumpy soul. I lean into him, giving in to my urge to be close to him and snug him like a weirdo.

  “Should we send Eva a selfie letting her know we’re alive at this ungodly hour?”

  No clue why he asked, because he whips out his phone and takes what I’m sure is the most unattractive photo of me ever. A few seconds later, my phone beeps in my coat pocket.

  When I check my message, I don’t bother holding in a groan. Cole has decided, according to his message, that we need to document our whole trip so Eva will feel as if she was there. To him, documenting our trip means taking a photo of me with my eyes half-closed and my hair sticking up in every direction.

  “I hate you.” I shove my phone into my pocket and down the rest of my coffee. Mostly to wake me up but also so he can’t have any more. Yes, I’m that vindictive.

  “Aww, come on. You look adorable.”

  “I look as tired as I feel.”

  “Okay. Okay.” He laughs and produces his phone again. “On three.”

  This time I give him a smile, but the photo also captures a very prominent finger I’m holding up. This only gets another chuckle as he sends the picture to Eva and tells her what a delight I am in the morning.

  If he sends any more texts and wakes her up, he’ll have hell to deal with when we get back.

  Out of self-preservation—because I will surely be taken down as collateral damage—I snatch his phone away and pocket it.

  “You can have it back when the sun rises,” I say and bat his hand away when he reaches for it.

  “Really? What are you, my mom?”

  Eww. I hope he doesn’t see me in that kind of way. “Nope. Just someone who doesn’t want to deal with World War friendship addition. Eva is an even worse morning person than me.”

  “Very true.” He fake shudders. “Remember that one time when we had a sleepover, and we woke her up early with pancakes? She legit tried to stab me with a fork when you weren’t looking.”

  The frigid wind whips my hair, and I tuck my chin into my jacket. “No, she didn’t.”

  “Oh yeah. She missed by a millimeter.”

  “Now I know you’re lying. You have no idea what a millimeter is.” I jog up the steps of the bus to the sound of Cole’s offense.

  The boy loves being dramatic about everything. I could tell him rain was in the forecast and he would act as if I told him the world was ending.

  I find an open window seat somewhere in the middle of the crowded bus and plop down, letting my bag fall to the floor at my feet. Dad, bless his soul, tucked his noise-canceling headphones in the front pouch of my bag this morning, figuring I’d need them. As I lean forward to grab them, Cole’s bag lands on top of mine, smashing my fingers.

  “Jeez.” I jerk my hand free, pressing my lips to the sting radiating from my fingertips. “What did you pack, bowling balls?”

  I scowl as I sit up, but Cole isn’t standing in front of me. Ian Finch, the linebacker of our trophy-winning football team and legend in his own mind, smirks down at me.

  “Sorry, Phillips. Didn’t see you there.”

  “No, of course not. How can you see anyone else when you’re always focused on your reflection?” I stand, planning on switching seats, but Ian moves to block me.

  “You have a smart mouth. There’s someone who would love to tame it for you.” The undertone to his statement is clear as day.

  And disgusting.

  “I’d rather choke on my vomit.”

  All the muscles in Ian’s face tense, changing his normally handsome features into something that resembles a bulldog. I’ve never found him attractive. I mean, yes, objectively he’s attractive to look at when his personality isn’t getting in the way. The girls at our school don’t seem to mind the personality aspect of him and go gaga whenever he smiles their way. If only they realized he uses his smile as a weapon to get what he wants. And what he wants most of the time is in their pants. He’s never been a fan of the fact that he has zero effect on me.

  “Why does he —”

  “Hey, guys.’’ Cole slaps Ian on the back, cutting him off and setting his bag down on the bench seat next to me. He’s claimed the spot without having to say a word about it.

  “S’up, Reed?” They bro hug, and I
roll my eyes, kicking Ian’s bag off mine so I can get my headphones. “We going to tear the mountain up?”

  “Hope so. I’ll be sticking to the bunny slopes for a bit until this one figures out how to work skis.”

  Good luck with that.

  I’ve loaded enough books on my Kindle to keep me plenty occupied for the trip.

  “Well, make sure you clear your schedule at night. The cheer squad said they packed a nice surprise for us if you know what I mean.” Ian’s voice dips low and suggestive.

  Gag.

  I slip on my headphones and press Shuffle on my playlist. At this point, I don’t care what comes on as long as it drowns out the sound of Ian’s disgusting voice.

  I close my eyes and let the gorgeous voice of Matt Maeson take me away. As he sings about hallucinogens, I can’t help but wonder if Cole is on drugs to be friends with Ian. He’s straight-up not a good guy. But the problem is, I think Cole knows that, which is why he ran over to break up our conversation. He’s too concerned with his good-guy image to come right out and tell Ian to screw off, though. Everyone loves Mr. Cole Reed, and there’s no way he’ll ruin that persona. He’s been that way ever since his mom left freshman year. Part of me wonders if his parents put him in that position, playing peacemaker as they bickered over stupid stuff, and now he can’t shake it.

  Another reason of the many I wish Eva was here. She would have kicked Ian in the balls without batting an eye.

  Something jostles my shoulder, and I open my eyes to find Cole staring at me. I slide one of the speakers off my ear closest to him. “What?”

  “What do you mean ‘what’? Mind telling me what that was about?”

  I yawn and close my eyes. “Oh, just gabbing about all the sweet parties this weekend. He mentioned that the cheerleaders would do about anything to get you naked.”

  He pinches my arm, and my eyes fly open again. “Put down your hackles and tell me what he wanted.”

  “To torture me as per yoozh. Why are you even besties with that douche?”

  “We’re not besties.”

  “Then why do you tolerate him?”