A Sound Like Hope (Fallen Tuesday #3) (10 page)

“
No,
”
Nick said.
“
I skateboard.
”

“
Fine.
You talk to me for a little bit and then you can skateboard.
”

“
What
if I say no?
”
Nick asked.

Trent got close to Nick and looked
down at him.
“
Do you want
to go down that road?
”

Trent could tell he had just made a
small crack in Nick's shell. The kid shook his head and Trent pointed to his
car. Nick opened the passenger door. He put his stuff on the seat and shut the
door. Trent caught Nick, for a second, looking at the guitar case on the
backseat.

“
You
really play guitar?
”
Nick
asked.

“
That
I do,
”
Trent said.
“
But in my band, I play bass.
”

“
What
’
s that?
”

“
It
has four strings instead of six like a guitar. And the strings are thicker.
Adds a thicker sound.
”

“
You
really play on a stage and stuff?
”

Trent laughed. He walked to the
door and held it open for Nick. They went to the vending machines and Trent emptied
his pockets of all his ones and gave them to Nick, keeping just a few for
himself.

“
Load
up, kid,
”
Trent said.

“
Don
’
t call me kid,
”
Nick said.
“
I hate that.
”

Trent wasn
’
t sure if it was appropriate to load Nick up with
junk food and sugar, but if it would get him to talk, so be it.

Nick chose chips, cookies, and a
candy bar. He then got a can of orange soda and seemed satisfied. Trent got a
can of root beer and nodded to the door again.

“
Here
’
s your money,
”
Nick said.

“
Don
’
t worry about it,
”
Trent said.
“
Save it for something else.
”

“
A
new skateboard costs more than this.
”

Trent opened the door and held it
for Nick.
“
Is that
something you
’
re saving
for?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Nick said.
“
I need a new one. I like what I
have, but I want something custom. I was hoping I could win this competition
coming up and use the money for that
…”

“
But
you can
’
t?
”
Trent asked.

They walked to a picnic table. Nick
hopped up on the bench and sat on the picnic table. Trent shook his head,
amazed at how much this kid acted like he used to. He was always trying to
tough and cool, but inside, he was pissed off and hurt.

“
What
’
s up with the skateboard
competition?
”
Trent asked.

Nick opened his orange soda and
took a swig. He put it down and looked at Trent.
“
Emily
says I can
’
t do it.
”

“
Emily?
Your aunt?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
Don
’
t you think you should call her
Aunt Emily?
”

“
Why?
”

“
Because
she
’
s your aunt.
”

“
Whatever.
”

“
That
’
s not cool, Nick,
”
Trent said.
“
Just being honest with you.
”

“
I
don
’
t care. She told me I
can
’
t do it.
”

“
Why
not?
”

“
Because
of the fire.
”

Trent nodded.
“
Seems like a good reason to me.
”

“
Not
me. That could be my chance to get a new skateboard. Maybe enter more
competitions. Win money. Become famous, like you.
”

“
Well,
there
’
s punishment in life,
Nick,
”
Trent said. He
cringed, knowing he was going to suddenly sound fatherly.
“
No matter who are you or how old
you are. Punishment sucks, but it
’
s
meant to teach you a lesson. Why did you start that fire?
”

Nick ignored Trent. He took a big
bite of his candy bar and chewed it slowly. When he swallowed the bite and
looked at Trent, it was an image of innocence looking back. The cracks of Nick
’
s lips were filled with
chocolate, as well as the corners of his mouth. He really was just a kid.

“
Want
to talk about the fire?
”
Trent asked.

Nick shook his head.
“
No.
”

“
Okay.
I won
’
t force you.
”

“
Why
are you here? You said you
’
d
tell me.
”

Trent nodded. He drank some root
beer and couldn
’
t believe
the strong sugary taste of it. He looked at the bottle and laughed when he saw
the sugar content. No wonder kids were so off the wall and setting things on
fire, right? Whatever happened to things that were real?

“
You
going to tell me or what?
”
Nick asked.

“
Yeah,
”
Trent said. Trent knew he could
spin the story a certain way. But screw it. He was here for a reason and he
didn
’
t want to lie Nick.
“
When you
’
re in my position, people constantly watch
everything you do. I made two bad decisions that dumped me here.
”

“
What
were they?
”

“
Put
it this way,
”
Trent said,
“
I let some girl and a guy get
the best of me.
”

“
Did
you fight someone?
”

“
I
punched a guy in the face and threw him over a barstool.
”

“
Wow.
Cool.
”
Nick
’
s eyes lit up in awe. Trent didn
’
t want to feel cool in that
moment, but what the hell, it was kind of cool.

“
It
wasn
’
t cool though,
”
Trent said.
“
A lot of people took my picture
and used their phones to record it. So I ended up in trouble. I shouldn
’
t have done that. I should have
controlled my emotions and walked away.
”

“
Did
you go to jail?
”

“
No.
I was given the chance to come here and help you out, Nick. I heard that you
’
re going through some stuff too.
You can talk to me.
”

Nick took a big gulp of his orange
soda after finishing his candy bar and shook his head.
“
Nothing to talk about.
”

“
Okay.
If you say so.
”

Nick jumped from the table and took
a few steps before stopping. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked
back, somewhat defeated.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Trent asked.

“
Can
I get my skateboard?
”

“
What
about your helmet?
”

“
Yeah,
that too.
”

Trent felt good about himself.
“
Go get them. Show me some of those
crazy moves. Just don
’
t
hurt yourself. Not on my first day here. I don
’
t
want your aunt mad at me.
”

Nick rolled his eyes and walked.
When he stopped again, Trent was gathering up the food and drink. Nick slowly
turned and his face looked so damn young and innocent again.

“
Did
he come back?
”
Nick asked.

“
Did
who come back?
”
Trent
asked.

“
You
said before
…
that your
father took off for a little while
…
did he come back?
”

Trent swallowed and took the next
shot to his heart. He slowly shook his head.
“
No,
he didn
’
t.
”

“
Oh.
”
Nick looked down. From the way
he was breathing, Trent believed the kid was seconds away from crying. Instead,
Nick looked back up. His face was like stone, as though he had this whole
routine mastered.
“
Well,
that sucks for you. My father will be back. I know it.
”

“
Nick
…”

Nick turned and walked away, this
time not stopping.

Trent put his head back and took a
deep breath. He could be in the studio right now. Or sleeping. Or on stage.

Then again, in a little bit, Emily
would be back to get Nick.
Aunt Emily.
Beautiful Aunt Emily.

At least there was something to
look forward to.

*

Emily couldn
’
t focus on much. She had two personal training
clients that afternoon. Thankfully they were both older women who were more
interested in just getting out of their houses than actually worrying about
exercising. Emily couldn
’
t
stop thinking about Nicholas and wondering how things were going. She also couldn
’
t get the image of Trent to go
away. She couldn't get over how tall and sexy he was.

After both clients, Emily slipped
away next door to a small café. She ordered a coffee and sat alone. She still
didn
’
t understand how this
was all going to work out. How long Trent would be around. What it would do for
Nicholas, if anything.

When Emily saw Terri come into the café,
her face blushed.

“
I
knew you would be hiding here,
”
Terri said.
“
You only come
here alone when you
’
re
worried.
”

“
I
did my job today,
”
Emily
said.

“
I
’
m not worried about your job. I
’
m worried about what you
’
re worrying about. If that makes
sense.
”

“
Nicholas
is with his new mentor person,
”
Emily said.
“
I'm going nuts
right now.
”

“
Why?
”

“
The
normal reasons. I feel guilty. I hope Nicholas doesn
’
t do anything dumb and get into trouble. But mostly
I'm worried about who he
’
s
with. It
’
s mind blowing.
”

“
You
got to meet him?
”
Terri
asked.

“
Yeah.
”

“
And
…
?
”

Emily tried to look away but she
knew the color of her cheeks was loud enough of an answer.

“
Oh
boy,
”
Terri said.
“
You have a crush on a rockstar.
”

“
Come
by and see him,
”
Emily
said.
“
Tell me you don
’
t either. My goodness.
”

Terri laughed.
“
You know he
’
s there to help Nicholas. And
don
’
t forget, there
’
s a reason he
’
s there
…”

“
I
looked it all up,
”
Emily
said.
“
He had a drinking
and driving incident and then a bar fight.
”

“
Wow.
Rockstar, huh?
”

“
I
guess. I
’
m not sure if I
should be comfortable with him around Nicholas, but I
’
m trying to do what
’
s
best for everyone.
”

“
It
’
ll work out,
”
Terri said.
“
Believe me, it will. Who knows,
maybe the cool, tough guy, rockstar thing is what Nicholas needs to finally listen.
”

“
Yeah,
and if he
’
s listening, what
’
s this guy telling him?
”
Emily asked.

“
Good
point. When do you get to pick Nicholas up?
”

Emily looked at her phone.
“
Another hour.
”

“
Tell
you what,
”
Terri said.
“
Why don
’
t you go home and take advantage of a little time
alone. The house is empty. Nicholas is safe and sound. I
’
ve got things covered next door. Take a bath. Read
a book.
”
Terri leaned
forward and smiled.
“
Think
of the sexy rockstar and touch your
…”