“It’s not that quiet for all of us.” I rolled my eyes and turned to walk back toward the main room.
“Someone fucking with you?” He put his hand on my shoulder to stop me from walking. “Lie, if you tell me, I can take care of it for you.”
I started to walk again, and he followed beside me. “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me, and I highly doubt you want to take this one on anyway.”
“What? You think I can’t protect you?” Brock laughed and shook his head. “No faith in me at all, huh?”
“You see that overgrown jerk standing in front of the couch?” I motioned with my chin as we reached the end of the hall. “He told me this morning that I need to pay their dues.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
I shrugged as I let out a loud breath. “Judging by the way he was grabbing himself, it wasn’t hard to guess.”
Brock was halfway across the room before I could call out his name. He was piss and vinegar, pure testosterone and no outlet. He didn’t care what anyone thought, and I envied him for that. More than anything, I wanted not to give a shit about anyone else’s opinion, and I wanted to be tough like him.
“This fucking guy? This is the guy who thinks he can threaten you?” he yelled, his voice deeper than it had been a minute ago. “You trying to call hosies on Bird?” he asked the guy, looking up to him because he stood at least half a foot taller than him. Brock’s Boston accent came through thickly with his anger.
“I was just fuckin’ with her.” The kid waved his hand as if to dismiss Brock, which only infuriated him more.
“Now I’m fuckin’ with you,” Brock told him.
One hit was all it took, and the heavyset kid fell over the back of the couch and slid to the floor as blood oozed from his nose. Everyone screamed, and it was deafening in the small space. Brock turned back to me with a grin as the staff grabbed hold of him and struggled to keep him contained. “You have faith in me now, Bird?” he yelled over the commotion.
I stared at him, slack‐jawed in shock, as he beamed with pride. “Bird?” he called out louder, and jerked his body, causing the shelter staff to lose their hold on his right arm, and he pulled toward me.
“Yes,” I called out over the chaos, and he relaxed for a moment as he stared at me.
“Mr. Ryan, you need to calm down,” one of the women yelled into to his face, but he didn’t acknowledge her.
“Bird, I’m going to kiss you right now. Do you believe me?” He wore a playful smirk, the anger in his voice gone. He had tried to get me to kiss him for weeks, but I’d turned him down, afraid he’d be able to see that I’d never done it before.
I couldn’t help laugh at the insanely silly mood he transformed into. He was crazy; in fact he had to be certifiably crazy. I nodded once, my hands clasped in front of my chest. It was like a magnetic pull. He twisted free and pried another hand off his shoulder before he took off, nearly tripping as he weaved through the crowd. The other kids darted out of his way just in time to not get bowled over by the staff. Brock stopped in front of me and grabbed either side of my face in his hands and pressed his lips hard against mine. The world stopped and sped up at the same time, just like my heart. His tongue slid over the seam of my lips, and I let them part, welcoming him to deepen the kiss. My tongue followed his lead, pushing gently against his as my arms slid around his waist.
Two staff members pulled him back, but he kept his hands on me for as long as possible until his fingertips slid over my cheeks and grasped at the air.
“When I say something, I fucking mean it,” Brock called out with pride as they took him around the corner to the stairs, and like that he was gone.
I looked up at Marie. “I know it seems crazy, but everything was at that time. We were locked away from the world, stuck in limbo. Everyone was scared or angry, and most just gave up on giving a shit. Brock gave me something to look forward to when I woke up. I didn’t cry again while I was in there.”
“What was the significance of his nickname for you?”
I smiled so hard that my cheeks hurt. I’d never had a boy show interest in me, let alone risk everything just to show me he did.
“Bird.” I let the word roll off my tongue as I tried to remember how it sounded coming from his lips with that thick accent. “I asked him a million times to tell me, and he always refused until after that fight. I think he liked it when I bugged him about it. He thought it was cute when I was frustrated.” I let out a laugh. “Boys can be really stupid.”