The
next weekend, Exhale found herself flipping randomly through channels
on the television, bored out of her mind on Saturday afternoon. So
when Ethan stuck his head in her room and said, “Hey, I’m
going to Isaac’s house to play soccer with the guys. You want
to come?” Exhale was happy to oblige.
When
they arrived, Exhale looked around and noticed someone else was missing.
“Where’s Josh?” she questioned when she realized
who it was that wasn’t there.
“Oh,
shit…” Ethan said quietly. He looked at Exhale apologetically.
“I forgot that he sprained his ankle, Hale. Do you mind sitting
this one out?”
Unable
to completely hide the disappointment on her face, Exhale shrugged.
“Nah, I’ve done it a million times.” While that
was true, it used to be easier and less disappointing to sit out all
the time because she hadn’t ever had her hopes set on playing
like she had today. She took a spot on the Hanson’ back porch,
watching as the boys began kicking the ball around to warm up.
She
wasn’t alone for long. After ten minutes of watching them play,
she heard the screen door open and then snap shut, followed by shuffled
footsteps. She refused to turn around and see who the person was,
yet she knew they were still standing there behind her. Finally, the
person took a seat next to her on the porch, keeping a safe distance.
Being that Exhale was so shy and self-conscious, she forced herself
to stare only at the boys in the yard kicking the soccer ball and
not look at whoever had joined her. “So…I don’t
mean to be rude, but…who the hell are you?” the person
asked with a laugh on the end of their question. The voice gave away
that this person was a male.
“I’m…uh,
Exhale. Ethan’s sister.” She finally turned and looked
at the speaker and felt her breath hitch in her throat. He was beautiful.
All she could think as her eyes took him in was that she was thankful
she was sitting down. His golden blond hair fell silkily to his shoulders
and his eyes were a startling bright blue, so startling that she felt
like they could see right through her. His smile was absolute perfection,
with a row of perfectly straight, white teeth peeking out from behind
a pair of pouty pink lips. The countless pictures she had seen of
him from the local news and magazines had never prepared her for how
truly breathtaking he was in person.
The
boy continued to smile as he said, “I didn’t even know
Ethan had a sister.”
The
words, “Yeah, we have another sister named Echo,” came
out before she could even think, and she immediately felt like an
idiot for supplying that piece of completely useless information.
“Echo
and Exhale…those are some interesting names.”
Not
sure how to respond to a comment like that, Exhale lamely asked, “So
I guess your Isaac’s brother?”
“Taylor.
Nice to meet you.” He stuck his hand out, and Exhale took it
awkwardly to shake. His skin felt just as soft as she imagined it,
and his hand firmly enveloped hers. She didn’t want him to let
go, but he quickly did.
“Nice
to meet you too.” Exhale tore her eyes away from his brilliant
and smiling face and tucked her hair behind her ear, hoping he would
go away so her heart could stop racing. She tried to appear like she
was concentrating on the game, but he continued to talk.
“Why
are you here with him? Just tagging along?”
“Kind
of, but not really. Ever since Aaron moved away, their teams have
been uneven so last weekend they asked me to play basketball with
them to take his place. So Ethan asked me to come play soccer, but
he forgot that Josh wasn’t going to be here, so they didn’t
need me.”
“Oh,
yeah, I do remember Isaac telling me about you from last weekend.
He said you were really good.”
“I’m
not that good,” she replied, unable to accept a compliment
when one was given to her.
“So
where do you go to school?” he asked, stretching his legs out
in front of him crossed at the ankle and leaning back on his elbows.
“Riverdale.”
“Oh,
really? I know some people that go there. Do you know Randall Lewis?”
Exhale
had to hold back laughter as she recalled how she had expressed her
disgust at Raynelle Lewis and her brother Randall just a week earlier.
I hope this boy isn’t anything like Randall or that will
be a serious disappointment, she thought. “Yeah, I know
Randall.”
Almost
as if he could read her thoughts, Taylor replied, “Most people
think he’s an ass, but he’s not so bad once you get to
know him…God, I am so rude. Can I get you something to drink
or anything?”
She
thought about saying no, but the heat was kind of getting to her.
“I’ll take some water if you don’t mind.”
“I’ll
be right back.” Taylor pushed himself up and headed into the
kitchen. His younger brother Zac immediately turned around from where
he was standing at the sink, watching through the kitchen window.
“It’s not her,” Taylor said, knowing Zac’s
question before it was even asked.
“Well
who is she, then?” Zac asked in a loud whisper so that Exhale
wouldn’t hear him through the screen door.
“Ethan’s
sister. Exhale.”
“That’s
weird…Is she cute?”
Taylor
shrugged as he removed two glasses from the cabinet and filled them
with ice. “She’s pretty cute. And she seems really nice.”
“Yeah,
but I wanted to see Ian’s sister!” Zac whined.
“Well
so did I, Zac, but what can I do? That’s not her.” His
brother was starting to work on his nerves. Isaac had started this
whole ordeal by raving about how drop-dead gorgeous Ian’s younger
sister Rory was and how she was the same age as Taylor and that they
should hook up. While Taylor was definitely interested in meeting
the girl, Zac had taken an unhealthy obsession with finding out just
how beautiful the girl was. They had been passing through the kitchen
to head down to the basement when they both saw an unfamiliar girl
sitting on their porch and Taylor had been persuaded by Zac to go
outside and find out if it was Rory. And in all honesty, he couldn’t
help feeling relieved that it wasn’t her, because now Zac would
leave him alone for the time being.
Taylor
carried the glasses of ice water outside as Zac thundered down the
stairs to the basement. Minutes later, he heard him banging away on
his drums and knew that he wouldn’t be coming outside to bother
them anytime soon. “I’m surprised I’ve never met
you before,” Taylor said as he returned to his spot beside her
and handed her the glass. This time instead of stretching out, he
leaned his back against the post to where he was facing her as he
spoke. “Ethan and Isaac have been friends for such a long time.”
“Yeah,
I hang out with Ethan and them mostly when they’re all over
at our house or at the park. I don’t usually go to other people’s
houses.”
“Yeah,
and I guess the fact that we’re home schooled probably has a
lot to do with it too,” Taylor said thoughtfully. “I know
what you mean though. Me, Isaac and Zac hang out a lot at home but
when we’re with our friends, we don’t usually bother each
other.”
Exhale
sipped on her water slowly and shook her head. “Me and Ethan
get along wonderfully, but I’d never hang out with my sister.
She annoys the hell out of me. I don’t know how you guys do
it. Besides Ethan, the only person I’m really close with is
my best friend Raine.”
“Raine?”
“Yeah,
Rainey Boyer. She lives over on Magnolia Drive just a few blocks down
from my house.”
“Wow,
Rainey. That’s weird.”
“It’s
not that weird,” she snapped back quickly.
Taylor
laughed. “Sorry, I deserved that. People say I come across as
a jerk sometimes, but I don’t notice it until someone calls
me on it.”
“That’s
okay,” Exhale said with a sigh. “Both of us are used to
it by now. I know my name’s not normal, but there’s not
much I can do about it. I mean, I could go by my middle name like
you and Isaac do, but I don’t think I look much like an Annalise,
you know?”
“How’d
you know I go by my middle name?”
A
frown took over her face as she realized she’d opened the wrong
door. “I’m not completely oblivious. My sister buys the
teeny magazines and I’ve seen you guys in them before.”
What confused her was why that information had stuck in her brain.
Taylor
laughed. “So then I don’t need to ask if you’ve
heard of Hanson.”
“Who
hasn’t?” Exhale replied.
“Well,
you’re right, you don’t look much like an Annalise. But
Exhale’s a really pretty name, even if it isn’t common.”
“Thanks.”
She felt a blush creep up her neck and to her cheeks at hearing him
call her name “pretty.”
“Have
you ever met Ian’s sister? I think her name is Rory or something.
That one’s not too common either.” Taylor knew it was
an odd question and he hadn’t worked it into the conversation
very smoothly either. His thoughts were confirmed when Exhale looked
at him strangely.
“No,
I didn’t even know he had a sister. Why?”
“Oh,
no reason. I just remember Isaac mentioning her once. I actually thought
you were her when I saw you sitting out here.” She was suspicious
and he could tell, so he tried to change subjects quickly. “Do
you have a boyfriend?”
“No.
I think me being a tomboy might have something to do with
it,” she replied with sarcasm in her voice. “I’ve
gotten used to it though. Do you have a girlfriend?”
“I
don’t allow myself much time for girls. This music thing consumes
a lot of time.”
An
awkward silence fell between them. Exhale continued to take small
sips of water, trying not to chug it down like she felt like doing.
She felt like she needed to make up for her comment about being a
tomboy by acting the complete opposite.
“Hey,
would you want to come out with me and my friends next weekend? We
might go see a movie or just hang out at someone’s house or
something. Raine can come too, if she wants. I’d like to meet
her.”
Exhale
tried not to look as excited as she felt on the inside. “Yeah,
that sounds like fun. I’ll have to talk to her and make sure
it’s all right with her, but I’m sure she’ll want
to.”
“Cool…So
what kind of music do you like?”
“Umm…a
little of everything, but mostly like alternative and rock. Silverchair
is my absolute favorite, but I like Korn, The Offspring, Limp Bizkit…stuff
like that.”
Taylor
and Exhale continued the conversation until the afternoon sun dipped
lower and lower into the sky, sliding into evening, and the boys had
finally tired of playing soccer. She couldn’t help feeling disappointed
when Ethan informed her that it was time for them to be heading home,
yet she was somehow so thankful to Josh for spraining his ankle and
leading into her meeting Taylor and getting to know him.
“So
what did y’all talk about?” Ethan questioned, as they
started off in the direction of home in his black Honda Civic.
“Nothing.”
Exhale deftly covered her eyes and turned to look out the window.
“Hale
you didn’t talk about nothing for an entire afternoon.”
“Just
stuff, Ethan. What would we talk about that could be of such interest
to you?”
“Well,
I think he likes you,” Ethan answered smugly.
Exhale
couldn’t help blushing even though she didn’t believe
he meant what he said. “He does not, Ethan. Boys don’t
like me like that. I’m not girlfriend material.”
“Sure
you are,” he assured her. “You have a wonderful personality,
you’re sweet and you’re funny.”
Exhale
looked at her brother with surprise. As close as they were, he was
rarely this genuine, usually taking every available moment to tease
her. “Yeah, maybe I am those things, but what I am not
is pretty.”
“Sure
you are. You are my sister, after all.” Exhale shot
him a don’t go there look before turning back to the
window. Ethan laughed. “Seriously, Hale, you are pretty, even
if you don’t think you are. And you should stop worrying about
trivial stuff like that anyway. If any guy’s going to like you,
you don’t want it to just be for your looks, do you?”
“No,
I guess not.”
“You
like him.” The genuine was gone and the smug had returned.
“I
do not!” Exhale exclaimed. “He was just a nice guy, that’s
all.”
Ethan
shook his head with a huge grin on his face. “Yeah, okay.”
INDEX
| CHAPTER
THREE
