Chapter 10

10

TANNER

“I can buckle my own seatbelt, thank you.” Aunt Hannah gives me a judgmental look just as I’m about to reach over and buckle her into the passenger seat. I’m glad to know her overnight hospital stint didn’t dissolve her sassiness. I put my hands up in surrender and sit back down.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” I tap the steering wheel and look around. We’re not blocking anyone, parked next to the building as we prepare to leave. It was a long night with a miniscule amount of sleep in the emergency department as I waited for Aunt Hannah to get checked out.

“I’m going to be getting this nonstop, aren’t I?” She wags her finger at me, and I smile.

“That’s what you get for having me as a grandnephew.” We chuckle, and then I yawn and put my hand over hers. “I love you, Aunt Hannah, which means I get to worry about you. Especially if you end up in the hospital.”

“Don’t fret over an old-timer like me, Tanny.” She smiles and the wrinkles around her eyes remind me of her age; with the way she’s doted on me for years, I forget she’s in her eighties. “I’ve lived a long life. I put up with your grandfather as a younger brother, your father’s shenanigans, and witnessed the Halloween Wave. I’ve lived plenty, and you should be going to school and living as well.”

I muster up an agreeable face, but the fear of dropping out gnaws on my chest. Before I can divert the subject, my phone vibrates. I yank it out of my pocket and my breath hitches when I see the name.

“Hello? Tanner?” the voice says after I pick up.

“Kovi. Hi.” I glance at Aunt Hannah and she gives me a curious look. “What’s up?”

“Good morning. You uh, left your textbook and notebook with me.”

I wince. “Aw, crap.”

“And I know your quiz is soon.”

I huff. “Yeah, it’s on Monday. Yet another strike against me.” No sleep and no studying this weekend? The fear of impending failure rushes over me.

“When will you be in your dorm?”

“I won’t be back for a few days.”

“Nonsense,” Aunt Hannah hisses. I turn and stare at her in shock. “You’re not missing precious study time just to dote on me.”

I cover the phone and say, “Aunt Hannah, we need to get to the pharmacy. And what about your groceries?”

“Tanner?” Kovi says on the other line.

I raise the phone up. “Yeah?”

“I said I could deliver your books to you.”

I scratch my eyebrows and shut my eyes. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“I offered.”

“But why?”

“Dude, your quiz is on Monday. All our studying together would be for nothing if you don’t get to hit the books today.”

I sigh. “True, but I won’t be at the library this weekend. I’ll be lucky if I make it to school for my shift at Mummy Mocha on Sunday.”

“Then I can go to wherever you are.”

“Dude, I can’t ask you to come to me.”

“Yes, you can!” Aunt Hannah chirps. I turn to her and she opens her hand. “Give me the phone.”

I eye her skeptically, but oblige. “Hello?” She smiles at me, and I can barely hear Kovi. “Yes, this is Tanner’s Aunt. Now, we’re coming home from Creelin General, but our address is 39 Wicker Street. Any friend of Tanner’s is a friend of mine.”

My eyebrows jump as she nods and smiles on the phone. “Yes…yes, we’ll be there in one hour…Perfect, looking forward to seeing you. Ta-ta!”

She hangs up and hands me back the phone, smiling victoriously. “Aunt Hannah, what was that all about?”

“I won’t let you lose out on studying with your friend. Now get to it.” She grins and taps me on the shoulder. “We have to hit the pharmacy! We’re losing daylight, Tanner.” I grimace and shift into drive, knowing I’ve lost. Aunt Hannah always gets what she wants, and today, she wants me to study with a boy I’m growing alarmingly close to.

After groceries and medications are obtained, I pull up to my childhood home to see a familiar figure sitting on the stoop. I had texted him before we left the grocery store letting him know we were on our way back. With all my mental energy spent worrying over Aunt Hannah’s meds, I had forgotten to be nervous over my crush coming to my home.

And now he’s here; he has a backpack slung over his shoulder, and, as always, looks fine as hell.

“Oh, he’s a cutie,” Aunt Hannah mutters.

My cheeks burn and I glance at her momentarily before Kovi approaches us. I open the door and try to school my embarrassment. “Hey, man!”

“Tanner! Anything I can help you with?”

“You have my books?” I walk to the passenger side to help Aunt Hannah with the walker, and he follows.

“No, I meant with the groceries.”

“Oh, aren’t you a doll.” Aunt Hannah all but ignores me when she stands up at the walker. Kovi approaches her and they share a smile. “I’m Hannah, you must be Tanner’s friend I spoke to on the phone.”

He beams at her, and I open the trunk to unload the food. “I’m Kovi. Pleased to meet you, Mrs. McGregor.”

“So formal, please call me Aunt Hannah. If you take my keys, you can get the door and the three of us can get settled inside.”

I carry two massive bags of groceries while Kovi lets Aunt Hannah inside. I hear them small talk and it warms my heart. He barely knows me, but I could really use the help getting things settled in the house.

I drop the bags at the kitchen table then make my way to Kovi and Aunt Hannah. “I’ll help you to your room.”

“I can bathe myself, Tanner.” She waves me off. I’m glad that her bedroom and the bathroom are on the first floor right next to each other. She turns to Kovi who hands her her bag. “I swear I barely use this walker.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Kovi replies. They share a chuckle, and my heart relaxes a bit more.

“So polite,” she says, throwing me a not-so-subtle heated glance. I can almost hear her say, “ And handsome ” with her eyes.

After Aunt Hannah cleans up, she insists on a nap, and I get to work on making lunch. To my pleasant surprise, Kovi joins me. “You don’t have to stay.”

“I want to,” he replies, pulling out pots and pans. “You gotta eat, obviously.”

This boy continues to make my heart race for all sorts of reasons. “That’s very sweet of you,” I murmur. We share a cordial smile before we make quick work of pulling out ingredients to prepare a tiny lunch. Sandwiches have been a staple in my life, but Kovi doesn’t seem to mind. I chat about Aunt Hannah’s asthma diagnosis, and Kovi is a great listener. After eating the humble meal, he helps me clear the table.

“You’re a life saver,” I say, washing the dishes.

“Please,” he replies. “You needed your books, so I’m here.”

“You drove here?”

He winces. “I uh…walked.”

“Walked?!”

“It’s, um, easy for me to take a shortcut through the trees.”

Right, monster powers. “Oh, of course.”

With the chores done, we take a seat on the couch. Tanner takes out the books and my mind goes fuzzy. “Thank you for…” The very thought of studying makes me let out a dramatic yawn. “For bringing this.”

“Did you sleep last night?”

I rub my eyes. “It was hard to…in the hospital waiting room.” I yawn again. “I was so worried about Aunt Hannah.”

“Go to bed.” He pulls me up and I don’t have the strength to fight back. The bread in the sandwiches is like an express ticket to dreamland, and my eyelids are getting heavy.

“But…you’re our guest.” I yawn again, putty with his hands on my shoulders. Such strong hands…

“I can study while I wait for you to wake up. You’re no good for anyone without lucidity.”

“That’s true.” We make it to my bedroom and, on instinct, I drop my jeans. “You’re so smart, Kove.”

I don’t know what I’m muttering while I crawl under the comforter. “Uh…g-g-get some rest,” he says. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say his voice is strained. But I’m ninety-percent asleep right now, so I don’t know what’s right and what’s left.

When my eyelids shut, the last thing I remember is saying, “I’m so lucky to have you…”

Hours later, I finish showering and saunter down the hall. The happy chattering of Kovi and Aunt Hannah beckon me into the living room. I barely remember anything after lunch—did Kovi see me in my boxers? —but everything seems in order. Leaning on the wall, I spy the most important person in my life becoming friendly with a guy I’m growing alarmingly close to. A piece of my heart takes a snapshot, wishing to revel in this memory.

I never thought my nightmare monster, my first kiss, would get along so well with my one family member.

“And this is him in elementary school,” Aunt Hannah says. When I notice they’re pouring over old photo albums, I swiftly make my presence known. No one wants their crush to see embarrassing photos of them as an awkward kid.

“Hey, what are you two up to?” I ask with a nervous chuckle.

“Just showing your friend here old pictures of you.”

“You were so adorable,” he gushes.

My cheeks burn. “Oh, that’s…you don’t want to see any of that.” I snatch the other books on the coffee table and quickly put them away.

“Nonsense,” Aunt Hannah retorts, flipping through the pages of one big album between them. “Entertaining him is the least I can do for all the help he’s done.”

“It was really no trouble,” he says, glancing between us.

“You came all the way here to bring my Tanner his books.” Aunt Hannah looks up at me. “Isn’t he so sweet?”

The sweetest . “He sure is.” I approach them and touch Aunt Hannah’s shoulder. “But he’s probably stayed too long. I should get started on dinner.”

“Lovely. Kovi would you like to stay?”

“I make a mean chicken noodle soup,” he says with a smile. “It’s the only thing I can make.”

“You’re not cooking for us, you already helped with lunch,” I say.

“It’s no problem. We can cook together, and it could be fun!” A man who likes helping with chores? My heart is ready to get down on one knee and propose.

“Honey, he offered.” She lightly pats my arm. “That sounds delicious.”

“It does.” I bite my lip and look around. “But I don’t want to keep sapping up your time.”

“It’s not a problem. We can study while cooking, you can review concepts while I chop the celery.” He stands up and wipes his palms on his jeans. “If you don’t mind me sticking around.”

That is definitely not the problem. “I would love to cook with you.” We share a smile, then I glance at Aunt Hannah.

She nods and picks up the remote. “I’ll entertain myself while you boys prepare a meal and study. Go on, shoo!” I know a wing-woman when I see one, but cooking with Kovi sounds heavenly.

The next thirty minutes are a blur of chopping vegetables and chatting about environmental sci. He clarifies a lot of my misconceptions about trees and the forest biome. I didn’t know cooking and studying could go hand in hand, but Kovi, as usual, changes my perspective on everything I thought I knew. Our ingredients come together with ease, and the warmth in my chest has nothing to do with the stove.

The soup smells delectable, and once we’re finished, Aunt Hannah joins us at the wooden kitchen table. She chats with us all about my younger years, and I’m not even embarrassed anymore. Kovi asks about how I got into my major, and I tell him about how my construction gig made me want to study about the environment. When Aunt Hannah asks, Kovi talks about his childhood, leaving out the fact that he’s a monster—he probably wants to avoid questions about his species and powers.

At no point does the conversation lull or become awkward. I don’t remember the last time I smiled this much.

An hour later, Aunt Hannah has taken her meds and is headed to bed. I put away the dishes and clean up around the house. Twenty minutes later, I find Kovi on the couch, quietly reading, and I join him. The whole scene feels so intimate. After an entire day being domestic with him, the magnetic pull he has on me grows stronger.

Yes, I’m still scared of tree monsters, but I want Kovi.

“All good?” he asks, putting away his books.

“Yeah. I trust she’ll be back to her strong, typical self tomorrow.” I tap my hands on my lap. The two feet between us feels like miles of distance. “Thank you. For spending the day with me.”

“It was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing!” We both sit upright at my forceful words. “You walked all the way here to bring me back my books. You hung out with Aunt Hannah and cooked for me, an almost stranger.”

“I thought we were friends.”

“We are.” My shoulders relax as I sink into the couch and gaze at his handsome face. He’s generosity and kindness wrapped in six feet of dark skin and muscled frame. “I didn’t have many friends before this year.”

“Not even in high school?”

“I was too busy working.” I stare at the floor as my memories surface. “No one wanted to befriend the poor ginger kid with no parents.”

“No,” he says, gravely.

“Yes. With Mom long gone and Dad drinking himself to death, I had to grow up real quick. Aunt Hannah is the only person who supported me and insisted I go to university.” I turn to see Kovi’s eyes shimmering with sympathy. “She’s the only person I have.”

“Tanner. I’m so sorry to hear that. If there’s anything I can—”

I sit up and smile. “Dude, you’ve done so much already! I didn’t mean to bring your mood down to the underground world.” We both chuckle, and I look down at his hand, inches from mine. “I’m touched that you would even listen to my weird life story.”

“We all have our battles to fight. If talking about it helps, then I’m happy to be an ear.”

I nod. “Kovi, no one’s ever helped me out this much before.”

“You deserve it.” I glance at him. He’s so handsome with his chiseled jawline and stubbled face. The sincerity in his brown eyes is undeniable. “Life can be one trauma after another. There’s no shame in asking for help sometimes.”

“I’m…not used to it,” I mutter.

“Well, get used to it, because you don’t have to take on the weight of the world on your own anymore.” He smiles at me, and I bite back a swoon.

Not only is Kovi attractive and charming, but he fits into my life in a way no one else has ever bothered to. He makes me feel like someone worth spending time with. My crush on him is undeniable, and judging by the way he looks at me, it might be reciprocated.

“You’re at Creelin U now,” he says in a lower, gentler tone. “You have friends…like Seth.”

“And?”

He gulps. “And…me.”

My throat is parched and my heart hammers in my chest. The next two words take all the courage I can muster. “Just friends?”

He says nothing, and the silence is deafening. I put my hand on his and take in the warm skin of his knuckles. A deep yearning courses through my veins at the simple contact. I’ve made my move, and I pray, deep in my soul, that he’s feeling this too.

His face eases closer to mine, and time slows down. I glance at those dark lips. My groin begins to tingle at the mere thought of him wanting to touch me. I want you so much . Before he can get close enough to kiss, Kovi’s eyebrows jump. He stares all over my face, avoiding my eyes.

“Kovi?”

“You have a scar…right there on your temple.”

I look up then feel my left eyebrow. “Oh, yeah. Is that weird?”

Kovi’s jaw drops and the horror in his eyes is unmistakable. “Did…did I do that?”

Oh . I gulp. “Um, maybe? Yes? I think?” I scratch my eyebrow feeling more self-conscious than ever before.

Kovi starts to breathe heavily, but I make a maneuver to try to salvage this. “But hey…” I take his hand and say, “That was so long ago. I don’t care.”

Before Kovi can say a word, we both look down. His hand under mine has sprouted a tiny branch with a singular leaf. When I take my hand off, I’m surprised to find him mostly made of wood.

Huh . This is a weird time to shift.

He bolts up and I follow him. He grabs his bag and shakes his wooden arms, presumably in an effort to turn them back to human hands.

“Kovi—”

“I gotta go.”

I follow him, and he tucks his wooden hands into his abdomen, hiding them from me.

“But, Kovi—”

“I’m sorry, okay?! I don’t want to hurt you, Tanner, so please, stay away!” He’s nearly shouting as his branches pry open the front door. In a flash, he’s gone, and I don’t dare chase after him.

I stand there in my living room, trying to calm myself down. A dozen emotions whir around my heart, but the one that bubbles to the surface is disappointment. How could such a perfect day with Kovi go so bad so quickly?