Night Sky (13 page)

“I’m in school.” I wonder if the questions
will stop there.

“Where?” he asks.

Of course, the questions
wouldn’t stop there.
“Green
Valley.”

“Green Valley High School?” His eyes
widen.

“Yes.” Sky pulls her head up. “Jay’s in high
school, but he’s eighteen and perfectly legal.” She grabs my thigh.
“And more mature than any other guy in this car.”

Tony’s jaw drops and he’s
about to protest, but Sky’s head is back on my shoulder and her
eyes close. She’s shut him down without saying a word. I kiss the
top of her head.
This is going to be
okay.

Red Rock isn’t too far out of town. Sky
laughs at the burro signs—the burros are all shown with their ears
back and huge biting teeth. The signs have cracked me up since I
was a kid. Especially since they all look so raggedy and docile
when they wander near the road.

“So, what do you guys do? The AIA?” I ask
Rob as we step out of the van.

“Oh, it’s an excuse to get together really.”
He shrugs. “We help with scholarships, issues that affect natives.”
He fake punches Sky in the shoulder. “Although, she’s one of those
corporation brats—not like the rest of us who grew up on and off
the Res.”

I nod. I don’t really understand, but I
guess all clubs are like that. The people who are in them get it.
That’s why they’re there.

“Alright!” Rob rubs his hands together. “I’m
gonna build a fire. You can hike. You can stay. I don’t care, but
I’ll see you at eight o’clock, and I’ll have this fire roaring.” He
opens the back of the van and starts digging around.

“I want to make it to the top,” Sky says,
pointing straight ahead.

“Can I tell you a secret?” I lean over.

“Yes.” Her smile is wide and her fingers
tighten around mine.

“On the left there? It’s actually higher.
The climb up is easier and it’s closer.”

She narrows her eyes. “Are you sure? It
doesn’t look as high.”

“I’m sure. I’ve climbed them both.”

“Okay.” Her smile is back. “After you.”

She trusts me.
It’s nice. The group parts ways. Before long,
it’s just the two of us and even the loud voices of the group are
drowned out.

“Thanks for coming with me,” she says.

“I didn’t know you were involved in school
clubs.” I hadn’t given much thought to what Sky does when we’re not
together. All I know is she’s from Alaska, and goes to college.

“I had to do something to meet people when I
got here.”

“Right.” But I have more questions. “You
know that Tony likes you, right?”

“Yep.” Her voice is smooth, like always.
“But I don’t like him that way.” So simple…or she makes it sound so
simple.

“That’s it?” I ask.

“Yeah, don’t go looking for problems, Jay.”
She bumps her shoulder into mine.

The trail is still flat. We walk in silence
for a few minutes. The sunlight turns a deep orange. It’s setting
too fast for me to spend the amount of time with her I want.

“I don’t think we’re going to make it to the
top…not tonight.” I shake my head. And it sucks because the view
from up there is awesome, but we don’t have any flashlights to help
us back down. Even if we did, hiking in the dark wouldn’t be a good
idea.

“Why don’t you just take us as high as you
think we can go?”

I step ahead, and turn to face her. She lets
herself bump into my chest.

“What?” she asks smiling.

I lean down and press our lips together. She
kisses me back, but pulls away laughing. “You have such a one-track
mind.”

“No, I don’t! I was thinking ahead, about
our hike, and I was thinking about how cool it was that I ran into
you before you left and…”

“Fine, point taken.” She sounds
disapproving, but her smile is real.

It feels good to be out with her like this.
Doing something so normal, but it doesn’t feel normal because I’m
with her. And now I sound like one of those cheesy love songs Mom
spends too much time listening to.

Sky takes half of her long hair and braids
it to fall forward over her chest. She unwraps a leather bracelet
from her wrist and ties it in her hair. Then she does the same with
the other side. Now, there’s something really beautiful about her
long dark hair flowing around her, but her hair like this, braided
and tied up in leather strings brings out everything about her that
looks native. Her deep eyes, straight nose, dark skin…

“You’re beautiful.” I look down at her,
waiting for her reaction.

She shakes her head, and stares at her feet.
Even making her embarrassed feels like a victory for me.

We stop on a ledge that gives us a wide view
of the valley below, but the sun’s setting fast.

“You going to lead me back, before we get
lost in the dark?” She puts her two hands around mine.

“Yep.” I resist the urge
to kiss her again. I want her to know that I do think about other
things besides kissing her. My eyes float over her chest.
There’s loads of other stuff we could do
together…

***

The fire is roaring when we get back and its
warmth feels good. The desert cools off fast once the sun goes
down.

“What did you two do out there…all alone?”
asks Windy, one of the other girls in the group as she winks in our
direction.

Windy is exactly how I would picture a
Native American girl her age to look. Gorgeous deep skin, hair back
in braids similar to Sky’s, and there’s an earthy feel about her
that’s appealing. Maybe it’s just some stereotype I have in my
head, but I like it. There’s something open and comfortable about
her—like there is about Sky.

“Jay took me up to that ridge…” Sky looks in
the direction we came from, but it’s now covered in darkness.

“Nice,” Windy says, sitting back in her
chair.

“So, how are things with your brother?” Jen
shifts in her seat. Her eyes are on the fire, not on Sky.

“I don’t know. He has to call me again
before our meeting,” Sky says.

I have no idea what they’re talking about. I
realize I don’t even know her brother’s name.

“What meeting?” My voice is quiet.

“You’re kidding, right?” Windy’s head shoots
in my direction.

Jen kicks her foot and Windy settles back
into her chair.

There’s something I don’t know. Something
everyone here knows, but me—something about Sky.

She must sense my tension. “We’ll talk
later,” she whispers in my ear, but I’m only mildly appeased.

My phone buzzes in my
pocket making me jump. I hate being so jumpy. It’s Mom.
Crap, I forgot to text her.

“Just a sec.”
No one needs to overhear this
conversation.
I answer my phone, but I
don’t say anything until I’m on the other side of the van. “I’m
sorry I forgot to call.”

“Where are you? I saw your car down the
street, but they said that Sky was out hiking, and I knew you’d
tell me if you went that far and…”

“It was all last minute, Mom. I’m sorry.
We’re up at Red Rock and I’m with a group from UNLV.”

“Well, it’s a school night, and I want you
home.” Mom’s not usually this strict with me. I get good grades,
and she leaves me alone.

“It’s not really up to me.
I’m not the driver.”
There’s no way I’m
asking them to cut their night short for me—no way.

Her sigh is dramatic, even on my end of the
line. “Fine, but I’m not happy about this. We’re going to have a
talk when you get home.”

“Okay.” There’s really no
point in arguing with her. I didn’t ask her permission, and I
didn’t tell her where I was going
…it just
sucks.

When I walk around the
side of the van, the beat hits me.
Is it
drums?
No one’s talking, chanting or
singing, but everyone’s part of the rhythm. I stop and soak it in
for a moment before stepping into the light of the fire. Sky smiles
at me, but easily keeps the complicated rhythm. They’re all doing
something different, keeping the same beat, but it sounds like
music, not just drumming. Their hands are separate, yet they’re all
working together.

Sky speaks just long enough for me to hear.
“Drum circle, even though we know different rhythms, and different
songs—some parts of drumming are universal.”

I nod and sit next to her. Rob is keeping a
simple low beat on the cooler in front of him. Tony is using his
chair. Windy and Jen are actually using small drums. One is playing
a quick succession of beats. Sky is using a combination of slapping
the skin on her calves and the bottom of her metal chair—the
high-pitched melody on top. If there even is a melody when you’re
just drumming.

Tony slips and they all stop, laughing.

“Geez Tony!” Windy pushes him. “You’ve got
the easiest one!”

“Rob does!” he protests.

The two younger guys, who are still nameless
to me, sit quietly.

“That was amazing,” I say.

“One of these days we’ll need to bring some
real drums out here and get closer to the rock face.” Rob smiles.
“Are we all ready to head back?”

Without a word, the chairs are folded up and
Rob pours the contents of the cooler over the fire.

As sad as I am that our night is over, Mom’s
still at home waiting to talk. The longer she has to wait, the more
she’ll have to say.

“Thank you for coming.” Sky kisses my
cheek.

“Thanks for asking.” I kiss hers.

“Are you in trouble with your Mom?” Sky
guesses, frowning in apology.

“It was totally worth it.” I rest my arm
over her shoulders as we head back to the van.

***

“We need to talk.” Mom’s voice is all
business.

This is how I’m greeted
the second I step through the door.
I hold
in a sigh and kick off my shoes.

“Come, sit.” Sitting on
the couch, she shuts off the TV and turns to look at me. She’s
wearing an expression that I’ve never seen on her face before. Her
jaw looks tight, her lips are pursed and her forehead is
furrowed.
Not a good
combination.

“Sorry, Mom. It was all last minute. It was
so amazing though. They all…”

“Jameson!” Her eyes widen.

I stop talking.

“This is not a joke. I came home and had no
idea where you were!”

“You called, Mom, and then
you knew.”
I’m baffled.
It’s not even ten o’clock.

“I need to know where you are. It’s
completely unfair to me for you to be running wild without so much
as a note or a text!” She’s leaning toward me, and I’m in a state
of shock. This is so out of the ordinary that I’m not sure how to
respond.

“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” What
else am I supposed to say in this situation?

“No, it won’t.” She stands up and walks out
of the room.

Now that I’m alone, and in shock, I realize
I never asked Sky about her brother—or the meeting.

FOURTEEN

I don’t want to talk to my dad, but I have
to. I wonder if there’s a way for us to talk without me getting
angry again. I’m not sure. As I flop on the couch I scroll down to
his number, but end up getting his voicemail.

“Dad, it’s Jameson. Call
me when you get a chance.” It seems like I should have more to say
to him, but I don’t.
He might not even
want to hear from me.
Just thinking that
adds more weight to my chest.
I sit for a
moment in silence before hanging up.

“Couldn’t get through?” Mom asks. I didn’t
hear her walk in.

“Nope.” I wonder if she’s still angry from
last night.

“That’s too bad.” She walks into the kitchen
with bags of groceries. “Wanna talk?”

I guess she’s not angry anymore, and I’m
certainly not going to revisit last night’s scolding. “I don’t need
anything in particular from him. It’s just that we haven’t said
anything to one another since I put my fist through the wall.” I
stand up to help her put the groceries away. It’s just the two of
us now, and I should be helping her more with household stuff.

“How are you and Sky?” Mom tries really hard
not to sound too interested. I’m waiting for another comment about
last night, but it doesn’t come.

“Good…no, more than good.” Just talking
about her sends a feeling of warmth through my chest.

“And how’s Sarah?”

“We’re uh…I don’t know what we are anymore.
Sky has this honesty thing, and it made me realize how Sarah and I
never did. Anyway, we’re all going out on Friday.” I take a deep
breath—at just the thought of it.

“You and the two girls?” Mom stops to
stare.

I do my best to ignore her, and reach for
the groceries sitting on the floor. “No.” I grab the bag of potato
chips and set it on top of the fridge. “Sarah and her boyfriend,
and Sky and me.”

“Won’t that be awkward?” She is leaning
against the counter watching me—her mind is definitely not on
groceries.

I pick up the eight boxes Mom got of my
small peanut butter packages, and bury myself in the pantry.
“Probably, but it feels like I lost the girl I loved, as well as my
friend, all at the same time. Sky knows the whole situation,
so…”

“Just because she knows the situation,
doesn’t mean she’s okay with it.” I know without looking that Mom’s
gaze is aimed straight at the back of my head.

“I know…I think…I hope…Sky and I are past
all that. And I’m relying on her to tell me if it gets weird.” I
sigh and turn to face Mom.

“Do you think she will?”

“She has so far.” I think about the story
she shared with me the other day and she’s right, that’s the kind
of closeness I want right now. And I know, we’ll get to all the
physical stuff I can’t stop thinking about.