Page 77 of Pucked Together
He smiles down at me revealing a tooth that is partly chipped. It's somewhat endearing.
"Joshua Hicks, right?" I say trying to recall his name from when Keelan introduced us earlier.
His eyes widen with joy. "Yes, yes that's right." He's excited like I'm a baby who just said da-da for the first time.
He drops his hands and places them in his pockets. "Are you heading out?"
"I just need some fresh air. Do you know where I keep my sneakers?"
"Fu-dge, yeah!" he says, looking around like he didn't want to get caught cussing.
"What's with the censorship?" I ask, looking around, too.
"Fergie's swear jar," he says, motioning for me to follow him to the front of the house. "We all owe him about a thousand bucks for all the cussing we've done over the last few weeks."
He walks me to the closet and opens it, revealing rows and rows of organized shoes.
"Wow, for a house full of dudes. You guys are really organized."
Hicks tilts his head as he looks into the closet and then back at me. "Uh, Izzy. You did that."
I feel my eyebrows shoot up, and I assess my handiwork. "I...organized the shoes?" I say, the question hanging between us.
"Uh, yeah. And the pantry, the garage, and you color-coded the library."
"Why?" I say, disgusted with myself. I would never willingly organize. I hated organizing.
"You lost a bet during one of our dinners," he shrugged.
I try to recall it. But searching my memories is like opening a door and not being able to see what's inside. I just see fog.
"O-kay," I say, grabbing a pair of sneakers I recognize. I also grab a Heatwave jacket from one of the hangers.
It has the number thirty-three printed on the back. But no name. I don't see any of my jackets, so it'll have to do.
Hicks holds back a smile and waves me off. "See you for dinner, Iz. Try not to get lost."
"I have amnesia, Joshua. I'm not inept," I scoff.
"Aaand, she's back," he says, walking back to the kitchen.
I turn towards the door and jump, seeing Wednesday standing like a perfect statue unblinking.
"Jeezus," I breathe out. "Can you at least warn me when you just show up like that?"
She cocks her head to the side like my request is insane, and I take that as a no.
"Alright, let's go, girl." I pull the leash I see hanging out of the closet and hook it into her collar.
I only get a few hundred yards from the driveway when my phone starts to ring. I don't recognize the number, and I don't have any saved contacts in my phone yet, so it could be anyone. Maybe even my lawyer or my doctor. So I answer.
"Where are you?" the voice booms from the phone.
"I'm sorry. Last I checked, I am a fully grown adult capable of leaving the house whenever I desire," I shoot back.
My brother isn't taking my sass, "Your doctor says you can't be alone."
"Well, good thing I'm not," I retort. "I have Wednesday with me."