My Life With the Walter Boys (3 page)

I successfully reached my new room without encountering one of the boys and slipped inside, sighing with relief.

“Nice towel, Jackie.”

“Oh!” I squeaked, almost dropping the fluffy fabric when I spotted Cole sitting on my bed. He was still covered in tomato sauce, but was eating out of a takeout Chinese carton. Two more steaming cartons were sitting on the desk waiting to be eaten. A smile eased across his face as he looked me up and down.

My face flushed as red as the stains on his shirt, and I yanked the towel tighter around my figure. “What in the world are you doing in my room?”

“Dinner. Want some?” he asked, holding up the carton of food.

“Yes, but can you please leave?” I asked, mortified that this was actually happening. “I need to change.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll close my eyes.”

“I’m not changing with you in the room.”

“That’s fine. I won’t mind if you eat in the towel.”

“Cole, get out!” I finally snapped.

“Damn, woman, don’t get your panties in a bunch.” He got up from the bed, springs squeaking, and set his food next to the other cartons. “Although, that’s not really possible right now, is it?” Cole chuckled to himself as he stepped outside. I slammed the door behind him and turned the lock for good measure.

After quickly pulling on a pair of pajamas, I unlocked the door and let Cole back inside. He brushed passed me and flopped down on the bed before grabbing his takeout. I flinched as he shoveled a bite into his mouth. I never ate in my bedroom. It was unsanitary.

Once he noticed me watching him, Cole stopped chewing. “What?” he asked, his mouth full.

“Do you have to eat on the bed?”

“Why, you wanna do something
else
on the bed?”

“No, Cole,” I said, trying my best to ignore the comment. “I just don’t want food in it. I have to sleep there.”

“A few pieces of rice gonna keep you awake, princess?” Cole glanced around the room. “Besides, where else will we sit?”

Of course, he was right. My suitcases were taking up all of the floor space, and Katherine’s art supplies occupied everywhere else. And there was no way I was going back to the kitchen to eat. Cautiously, I sat down on the edge of the bed and he handed me some chopsticks. For the next few minutes we sat in silence eating sweet chicken, and surprisingly it was peaceful sitting with Cole. But when the food disappeared, he ruined one of the only relaxing moments I’d had since arriving in Colorado.

“I enjoyed the dinner show tonight,” he said, setting an empty container down. I turned away from him and halfheartedly poked at a piece of broccoli. Cole laughed. “Come on, Jackie. It was just a joke. To be honest, that stuff happens
all
the time in this house.”

Putting my food aside, I propped myself up on my elbows and looked at Cole. “Really?” I questioned.

“Well, it’s not always that dramatic, but at least tonight was funny. You should’ve seen the look on your face when you pulled Rumple out.” He let out a wholehearted laugh again.

“Rumple?” I asked in confusion.

Cole stretched and scooted closer. “Rumplesnakeskin. He’s Jordan’s snake.”

“Any other dangerous pets I should know about?” I grumbled.

“Nope,” he said with a laugh. “Just Isaac.”

“I’m not really an animal person,” I said as the floorboards outside my room creaked. “Especially not snakes.”

The door banged open. “Corn snakes aren’t dangerous,” Jordan said as he barged in. His double, Jack, followed behind him with a video camera in hand, and a green flashing light let me know that he was recording.

Jack nodded his head. “We wanted a python, but Mom won’t let us get one.”

“Yeah, my friend’s older brother Nick has a python,” Jordan said excitedly. “He told me this one time, the tank broke. Snakes are ectothermic, and he needed to keep it warm, so at night Nick put the python in his bed and used his body heat. Instead of curling up like it normally did, the python straightened itself out on the bed. It wouldn’t eat either, so Nick thought something was wrong with it. He brought the python into the vet, and they said it was stretching itself out so it could eat him! How awesome is that?”

I gaped at the twins in horror. Apparently my definition of “terrifying” was equivalent to Jordan’s for “awesome.”

“If I had a snake,” Cole started, “I’d probably let it eat you, Jo. You obviously don’t know anything about knocking.”

“Dad sent us up here to tell you that if any of us are alone in a room with Jackie, the door has to stay open. Therefore no knocking is required, dickwad,” Jordan replied, crossing his arms over his chest in defiance.

“Fine. That doesn’t explain why you’re still here. You told us about Dad’s stupid rule. Now leave.”

“I wasn’t done. We also came up to inform Jackie that she’s our new subject.”

“Subject?” I asked.

Cole rolled his eyes. “These two morons think they’re going to be film directors one day. They’re always trying to find interesting subjects for what they think will be the documentary of the century.”

“It will be award winning,” Jack added, turning to me. “Jordan and I realized at dinner that you’d be perfect. Too bad I didn’t have our camera then. We were hoping we could reenact the scene.”

“Fat chance that will happen. What will you say? ‘Hey, Mom, do you mind if we destroy the kitchen again? We promise we’ll clean up all the spaghetti sauce.’”

Ignoring Cole, I responded to the twins. “I’d prefer if you didn’t film me at all. I don’t really care to be your next film subject.”

“But you don’t understand,” Jordan said. “You’re the first female in the Walter house. This is monumental.”

“You do remember that you have a mother and a little sister, right?” Cole pointed out.

“Mom doesn’t count because she’s, well, our mother. And Parker doesn’t even have boobs yet.”

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. One of the older boys was standing outside the bedroom as if he was afraid to come in. “Um, Cole?” he asked, barely looking at me.

“Yeah, what’s up, Danny?”

When Cole said his brother’s name, it clicked. Now I remember, I thought, as I looked him over and noticed the facial hair. Danny was Cole’s fraternal twin.

“Erin is here for you,” he mumbled, “waiting at the front door.” When he finished delivering his message, Danny spun on his heels and left.

“That’s my cue.” Cole stood up from the bed. “Come on, you two,” he said, pushing his younger brothers toward the door. “Leave Jackie alone for now. She’s had a long day.”

“Fine,” Jack grumbled. “We can discuss your contract in the morning, Jackie. Jordan and I have been pooling our allowances for a while now, and we can pay you handsomely.” Without another word, the pair ran off, leaving me alone with Cole.

“I really don’t want to be in their movie,” I repeated with a sigh.

“If you ignore them long enough, they’ll move on to something else.”

“I guess, but your family is really overwhelming, and I just want everyone to forget about dinner.”

“Tomorrow will be easier, okay? I’ll see you in the morning before school.”

“Oh, great,” I moaned and flopped back onto my pillow. “School.” I was so caught up in the dinner disaster that I almost forgot that I would be going to a public school for the first time in my life.

“Don’t worry,” he said with a yawn. Griping his elbow, Cole stretched his arm out over his head and I quickly looked away from his rippling muscles. “It will be a breeze.”

“Easy for you to say,” I said, tugging my mother’s locket back and forth across the chain. “I’ve gone to the same boarding school since I was eleven. The thought of a public school scares me.”

“I promise you’ll do fine.” Cole chuckled as he stepped out into the hall. “Night, Jackie.”

“Good night, Cole,” I responded. Suddenly, a thought ran through my head.

“Wait,” I called just as he was about to shut the door. “Who’s Erin?”

Cole paused before responding. “Just a friend.”

When he shut the door, I held my breath and listened to him leave. A few seconds later, I heard his feet pound down the stairs.

Then, “Hey, Erin.”

I was so surprised to hear Cole again that I nearly fell out of my bed.

“Cole,” a girl responded, her voice smoky. “You said you were going to call me.”

I glanced around the room, looking for the source of the voices. There were three windows, and I realized why Katherine had picked this room for her art studio. It gave her a handful of different views to paint. The window on the front side of the house was pushed open.

“Yeah,” Cole said. “Something came up. Sorry.”

Pushing back the curtain, I looked down and saw Cole standing on the front porch. The front door was still open, and the light from inside poured into the night, outlining his body in a yellow glow.

“Are we still on for tonight?” asked Erin. She was standing a few steps down, and with her back to me, all I could see were long legs and a high ponytail.

Cole paused. “It’s late.”

Erin crossed her arms. “Fine, but no excuses tomorrow. You can’t keep bailing on me. I miss you.”

“Okay.”

“You promise?” she asked. Cole nodded his head. “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Cole stood on the porch and watched as Erin walked to her car. When the headlights disappeared down the dark driveway, I expected Cole to go back inside. Instead, he stepped off the porch and made his way across the front walk. He was heading for what looked like a shed.

When he unlatched the lock and pulled back the double doors, I realized that it was a second garage. After flipping on a light switch, he shut the doors. I waited for a few minutes, but he didn’t come back out. Finally I gave up and crawled into bed, but I couldn’t stop wondering. What the heck was Cole doing out there?

I was in the car with my family. My dad and mom were in the front seat, and Lucy was sitting next to me in the back. We were sharing a set of headphones and jamming out to one of our favorite songs. When it came to an end, I smiled and looked out the window. It was one of those crisp, sunny spring days that let you know that winter was almost over. A small green haze that was almost invisible surrounded the tree branches as new buds started to push forth.

I looked down in surprise as my seat belt suddenly slid off. “What the…?” I muttered to myself and clicked it back in. A sinking feeling formed in my stomach when the buckle clicked undone again. Before I could push it back in, an invisible force yanked me from the car.

Now I was standing on the concrete. The trees on both sides of the road had shriveled up, and the sky darkened to an ominous gray. Our car sped by, and I caught a glimpse of Lucy staring out the back window at me.

“Wait, stop!” I cried and started to sprint down the street.

But the car didn’t stop. I watched in horror as a mile down the road the pavement started to crumble apart. When the road split in two, our car drove right off the edge and the earth swallowed my family up.

Panting, I sat straight up in bed with a thick layer of sweat covering my body. As my vision adjusted to the dark, dread built up inside me at the sight of unfamiliar surroundings. I kicked the covers off and stepped onto the cold, hard floor. For a moment, I was confused because my room didn’t have a wooden floor. Where was the carpet?

I searched in the dark for the light switch, and when I flipped it on, the mural on the walls lit up around me. The shock of reality hit me so hard that my knees buckled and I crumbled to the ground in a heap. I wasn’t at home in New York. I was in Colorado.

It was a dream. I had only been dreaming about the accident.

When it happened, I wasn’t with them. Instead, I had been lying on the couch, sick with the flu. I remember being tucked into a cocoon of blankets, trying to sleep away the shivers. As the morning slipped by, I drifted in and out of consciousness, and my family must have disappeared from existence sometime then.

At some point, the phone started ringing, but I felt too awful to answer. It continued to ring all afternoon long, until finally there was a knock on the front door and I was forced to get up. When the police officer told me what had happened to my family, my stomach reacted before I could process anything. I bent over, hands to my knees, and emptied onto the floor the small amount of hot chocolate I’d been able to sip that morning.

I didn’t understand how Lucy could be gone. She had always gone a step beyond being an older sister. The night before, when I came down with the flu, she’d held my hair and rubbed soothing circles across my back as I cried into the toilet. And my mother—she had been the strongest woman I knew. At the time, it didn’t make sense that she was dead.

But she was. They all were.

Ever since that day—ninety-four days, to be exact—I’d been dreaming about them. My father was the famous CEO of Howard Investment Corporation, so their car accident played on the news in loops, a constant reminder that they were gone. I still couldn’t get the image out of my head of our car, which had been crunched up into a ball as if it were nothing more than aluminum foil. It was as if every detail was seared into my brain, like when you look away from the sun after staring too long and it starts multiplying across the sky in vivid colors.

Minutes passed as my chest heaved up and down, until finally I was able to gain control of my breathing. I picked myself up and glanced at the clock—5:31 a.m.

I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep, so I went to my dresser. After finding my workout clothes, I pulled on a pair of athletic shorts, grabbed my running shoes, and unhooked my iPod from its charger. It was early and I was exhausted from my nightmare, but I needed a distraction.

Normally I worked out on one of the treadmills in our family’s gym, but the Walters didn’t have a gym—or even a treadmill, for that matter. Running outside would have to do. The sun was creeping into the sky, and a cool breeze swept across my neck as I stepped out onto the rickety, wooden porch. The morning dew sparkled on the lawn as I sat down to tie my shoelaces before stretching.

As I stretched, butterflies knotted up in my stomach. I couldn’t tell if they were left over from my nightmare or if I was nervous about my upcoming day. The prospect of going to a new school made me feel sick. I had only been in the Walter household for a day, and so far it was awful. I couldn’t imagine going to a public school with hundreds of boys—eleven plus Parker was bad enough.

It was already nearing the end of the school year, and I was positive that I wouldn’t make a single friend. I found myself wishing it were already three in the afternoon, so I could shut myself in my room and curl up under the covers.

Just as I was about to take off, the screen door screeched open as George stepped out. Will and Cole were right behind him, and they were all dressed in work clothes: jeans, old T-shirts that had faded from white to cream, boots, and hats to protect them from the sun.

“Morning, Jackie,” George said and tipped his hat at me. Will waved and offered me a friendly smile.

“Morning, Mr. Walter, Will,” I replied.

“You’re up early,” Cole grumbled as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“I could say the same to you.”

Cole scowled. “Chores,” was all he said.

“The boys have some work on the ranch to get done before they head off for the day,” George told me. “If you’re going for a run, you might want to wait for Nathan. He’ll be out in a second.”

“Okay, thanks,” I said as the three stepped off the porch.

As I waited for Nathan, I watched them head in the direction of a barn that was barely visible in the early morning light. At one point in their walk, Will playfully shoved Cole, who tripped and fell over into the grass. I covered the smile on my face with my hand.

The screen door screeched again, and Nathan stepped out. When he saw me, he beamed. I was trying to remember which boy he was when I noticed the guitar pick necklace. Right, the musician.

“You like to run?” he asked me excitedly, without a good morning.

“I like keeping in shape,” I told him. “I wouldn’t necessarily say I enjoy running.”

“Okay,” he said and laughed. “Do you want to join me on my attempt to stay in shape?” He seemed genuinely eager about it.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” I said. “Actually, I’m surprised that you want me to come with you. Everyone seemed pretty mad at me last night.” I felt my cheeks burn at the memory of the spaghetti flying through the air, but Nathan just grinned. He was going to look so much like Cole when he was older, but he wasn’t anything close to being as intimidating.

“Of course I want to run with you! And besides, I thought it was funny. Don’t let Jordan get to you. He’s just a prankster.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” I said as we headed down the steps.

“Want to follow my normal route?” Nathan asked me.

“Lead the way.”

***

After my run, I went to the kitchen to get some breakfast before anyone else woke up. I thought it was the perfect way to avoid another catastrophe. Of course, my plan backfired. Katherine was sitting at the table in a pink, fuzzy bathrobe, drinking coffee and reading a book. To make matters worse, Katherine’s oldest nephew was there too. He was standing at the kitchen counter and eating a bagel
in
his
boxers
. Good morning, six-pack! The only thing I could do was stand there and gawk like an idiot.

“Morning, Jackie!” he exclaimed through a mouthful of bagel. Once again, I felt warmth creeping into my cheeks. Why did every one of these boys have a perfect set of abs?

“Um, hi,” I greeted stupidly. Katherine looked up with a start at the sound of my voice.

“Isaac!” she scolded, jogging my memory. I remembered that we were the same age, sixteen, but he was a year above me in school. “Go put some clothes on, for God’s sake! There’s a girl in the house now.”

“But you’re a girl and you’ve never had a problem with it before,” he countered. “Besides, Jackie doesn’t mind. Do you, Jackie?” He turned to face me.

What the heck was I supposed to say to that?
Oh
yes, Isaac. I love staring at your half-naked body?
Instead, I answered like any smart girl in my situation would do. “Um…” I trailed off, looking back and forth between the two.

“See, Aunt Kathy? Jackie said she doesn’t care,” he told his aunt.

Funny, I didn’t remember saying anything along those lines.

“No, she didn’t, young man,” countered Katherine, placing her hands on her hips. “Now go get dressed before I drag you upstairs!”

Just then Alex entered the kitchen, still rubbing away his sleepiness. He was also wearing nothing but his boxers. Unlike Isaac, he slid to a halt when he spotted me. For a moment he stood frozen, his eyes wide, but then he spun around and dashed down the hall.

“See!” Katherine said when her son was gone. “That’s exactly how you should be acting in the presence of a beautiful girl—embarrassed!”

“Aunt Kathy, Jackie might be hot, you know, in a preppy, Goody Two-Shoes sort of way, but I could never be embarrassed about this,” Isaac said and pointed down at his body.

“Isaac Walter!” she said, shaking a finger and taking a step toward him. Laughing, Isaac exited the kitchen, but not before winking at me. I don’t know exactly why I blushed. It might have had something to do with Katherine complimenting me, or maybe it was because Isaac had agreed.

***

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lee demanded as I waited outside the bathroom in my robe. I was still sweaty from my run with Nathan and needed to shower before school. This time I remembered to bring shower shoes and my clothes, and was mentally preparing myself for the disgusting war zone inside.

“Waiting for the bathroom,” I answered. “I believe Cole is inside.”

“I know Cole’s inside. It’s his scheduled time to be in there,” Lee said, pointing at a piece of paper taped next to the bathroom door. He flicked his dark hair out of his eyes as he glowered at me. “I’m up next, so get lost.”

“There’s a schedule to use the
bathroom
?”

“Only in the morning,” Nathan said, coming out of his room already showered and dressed. “With all of us trying to get ready before school, it’s kind of hectic.”

Cole opened the bathroom door, and a wave of steam rushed out into the hall. He only had a white towel wrapped around his waist, and water droplets still clung to his sculpted shoulders and abs, making his skin sparkle.

“If we didn’t have an allotted time,” he said, trying to shake some water out of his ear, “Danny would be in there for hours trying to make himself look pretty.” Then he pushed past Lee, Nathan, and me, calling over his shoulder, “I myself don’t need much time because I was gifted with being naturally pretty.”

“Is there any way I can squeeze in?” I asked as I glanced over the schedule. The twenty-minute increments were booked all the way up until we had to leave for school.

Isaac poked his head out of the room he shared with Lee. “Has anyone seen my leather jacket?”

“It’s in your closet, idiot,” Lee told his older brother.

“Like on a hanger? How the heck did it get there?”

“Guys?” I asked.

“Your crap was all over the place and I couldn’t find my board.”

“Next time you decide to do a bit of spring cleaning, do me a favor—don’t touch the jacket.”

“Hello? Is anybody going to answer me?” I demanded, putting a hand on my hip. “I need to use the shower too.”

“Should have said something earlier, babe,” Isaac said. “We could’ve shared my shower time.” He grinned at me before vanishing back inside his room.

Lee laughed at his brother as he slipped into the bathroom and slammed the door in my face.

“Try the one downstairs next to the little kids’ rooms,” Nathan suggested. “They take baths at night, so there shouldn’t be anyone in there. Just watch out for all the bath toys. I’ve tripped on them before.”

***

Once everyone showered, ate breakfast, and hurried to finish their homework at the last minute, Katherine pushed us all out the door.

“Lee, leave that skateboard at home. If you ride it in the school halls again, you’ll get a suspension.”

“But, Aunt Kathy—”

“No buts. Alex, you got an F on your history paper. Star Wars does not count as a valid topic for most significant war in history. Apologize to your teacher and tell him you’ll rewrite it. Isaac, the women’s volleyball coach called and said if she catches you trying to sneak into the girls’ locker room one more time, she’ll make sure you fail gym class. Now get going,” Katherine shouted from the porch. “Jackie better not be late for her first day of school, or I won’t be very happy!”

The guys dumped their backpacks into the bed of the old pickup truck and started piling in. I stared at them from the side of the driveway, feeling like I was watching a picturesque scene from a movie. Everyone had so much personality, and I felt like I didn’t belong. Even the truck had character. It had probably been a bright crimson color when it was brand new, but age and weather had worn it down to a dull red. One of the side mirrors was missing, and a headlight had been smashed in. I wondered how it was possibly roadworthy.

Danny, who had taken more time than anyone getting ready, ran out the front door, trying to avoid his mother’s scolding. He threw the car keys at Cole, who climbed into the front seat. It didn’t take a genius to work out that he was the designated driver. Soon, everyone else had settled into their usual seats, and I realized that the truck was full. Danny, Isaac, and Alex sat in the back, while Cole, Lee, and Nathan sat in the front.

“Um,” I began awkwardly, still standing on the grass, “where should I sit?”

“You could always walk,” Lee replied sarcastically.

I fought the urge to stick my tongue out at him, but thankfully Nathan came to my rescue. “Don’t worry, Jackie. You can squeeze in up front. We’ll make room.” He smiled warmly from the passenger window.