Middle of Somewhere Series Box Set by Roan Parrish

Author:Roan Parrish [Parrish, Roan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781949749083
Publisher: Monster Press
Published: 2020-07-18T04:00:00+00:00

At the YA, in the dimly lit basement, I help Rafe set up tables and a platform and move large speakers onto the risers in the front of the room.

I called him after work to make sure he knew we were still… friends or whatever, and to see if he wanted to run, so when he said he had to set up for some event they’re having here tonight, I said I’d come help and then hung up before he could tell me not to. He’s avoided looking at me since I got here, though, lifting and dragging like a machine. And every time he gets near me, it kindles a flame in my stomach, making me want to reach for him, feel his warmth, smell him.

“So,” I say as we’re setting up the last chairs in rows. “The kids say you never date anyone.”

This is the tidbit that’s stuck in my mind. Carlos said it almost as a throwaway comment, but I’ve been thinking about it ever since. For all that Rafe obviously has a lot of people in his life who need something from him, it seems like maybe he doesn’t need anyone.

Rafe stops, a chair in each hand. “And you trust teenagers to have the scoop on my intimate personal life?”

“Well, do they?”

Rafe sighs, puts the chairs in place, and sinks down on the platform we set up. “Well, I’m busy and people have a lot going on,” he says vaguely.

“So, they’re right. You don’t… date or whatever?”

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” he says slowly, leaning back on his palms.

“You were in love with Javier, huh?”

He sits up quickly.

“What? Why would you think that?” He’s studying me intently.

“Um. Just your face when you talk about him.” I used to watch Pop’s face when my mom would get home from the grocery store or from work. The way his eyes followed her every movement, keeping track of even the smallest gesture like it was important. The way he smiled with his whole face and his shoulders relaxed when she was near him.

“No. Well, yeah, at first. But then…. He was the best friend I’d ever had. The only person besides my mom who looked at me and thought I could be someone. Even my mom…. After—” He looks sideways at me. “After I went to prison, she never looked at me the same. But Javi…. Maybe I was just desperate for someone not to think I was a scumbag junkie criminal, but, man, I would’ve done anything for him.”

I sit next to him, our knees almost touching. It’s a strange kind of closeness, like we’re kids sitting on a curb or something, swapping secrets in between games.

“I was a kid when we met. Twenty-four. But I already felt like my life was over.” His voice is strained. “Felt like, who was gonna hire me after they saw that checked box on the job application. It’d just go right into the trash. And—” He leans forward, knees on his elbows, staring blankly.

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