Something Like Thunder (2 page)

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Part One

Houston, 2004

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Chapter One

I’m on trial. The person I love most is demanding an explanation from me, but so often the truth can lead to heartbreak. Lying is immoral, but so is deliberately causing someone pain. Silence would be the best course of action, but some truths aren’t so easily covered up. Although in retrospect, a little powder and base might have avoided all of this.

“Is that a bruise? My God! How in the world did you get that?”

Nathaniel fixed his mom with a stare before letting loose a playful smile. “Paid cash for it. They had a sale on bruises at Walmart. I went there looking for a paper cut, but they were out of those. Stubbed toes were in stock, but you’d be surprised how expensive they are.”

Star shook her head, grasped his chin, and turned his face toward the kitchen light. “Who would do this to my baby?” She winced as she considered the injury on his left cheek. “It’s darkest in the middle. Did you get hit by a rock?”

Not a rock, a ring worn on a meaty fist, but Nathaniel didn’t want her figuring that out. “It was a stupid misunderstanding. During lunch we were talking about snowball fights and how rare they are down here. I took an ice cube from my drink and tossed it at a guy, making sure it was easy to dodge, but when he threw it back he wasn’t so careful. Hurt like hell.”

“An ice cube did this to you?” His mother pursed her lips. “Is that the truth?”

“If I was lying, I’d come up with something better than that.” Given more time, maybe.

Star scrutinized him a little longer. “You’re too old
and
too smart to start a food fight.”

But she believed him. That’s all that mattered. Already she was turning back to the steaming pots on the stove. “Maybe you could start packing my lunch,” he said. “Equip me with more appropriate ammunition. Olives, cream pies, maybe a few bananas I can use as boomerangs.”

“I’d rather you eat your food instead of throwing it. Speaking of which, could you set the table?”

The grin slid off of Nathaniel’s face. “Sure.”

He went to the cabinet and took out three plates. He could feel his mother watching him. When she spoke, he already knew what she would say.

“Four plates, honey. I want us to eat dinner together.”

“I have to get to the learning center.”

Star pulled the wooden spoon from the mashed potatoes, tapped it on the edge of the pot, and set it aside. Then she turned to him. “It’s my cooking, isn’t it?”

Nathaniel relaxed a little. “Your cooking is fine. Most of the time.”

His mother swatted at him playfully, Nathaniel leaping backward. She grabbed the wooden spoon, wielding it like a rapier, and stepped forward to jab at him. He swiped at the makeshift weapon, both of them laughing as he wrested it from her. Then he handed it back.

“Save me some. I’ll be starving when I get home.”

Star put a hand on her hip and frowned. “Seriously? You can’t go an hour later? I moved back three of my yoga classes just so we could have family dinners again. I even lost a few students.”

“I have students of my own,” Nathaniel said. “For some of these kids, having a tutor there every day can make the difference between passing and failing.” Then, in more dramatic tones he added, “Won’t someone think of the children?”

“It’s my own child I’m thinking of.” Star exhaled and looked toward the stove, as if no longer interested in preparing a meal. “Are you avoiding your father?”

As usual, her motherly instincts were right. Just slightly off target. Nathaniel’s afterschool tutoring job was indeed his way of avoiding someone, but not his father. And certainly not his mother, who continued to express her concern.

“He mentioned that he hasn’t seen you for weeks.”

Nathaniel shrugged. “I’ll make sure he sees me this weekend. I really gotta run.”

“Okay. I love you.”

He stepped forward for a hug. His mother was slight in his arms, her head barely reaching his chest. “I love you too.”

Once Nathaniel was buckled in his car, the tension left his shoulders. As he drove, he slowly transitioned from being on constant alert to feeling like a normal human being. He put on the debut album by
Keane
, and as they sang about a place no one else knew about, Nathaniel hit the gas pedal and breezed by every other car on the road. By the time he reached a strip mall and parked, he felt wrapped in a protective cocoon. He shut off the car and the music along with it.

He practically bounded into the learning center, the interior just as uninspiring as the exterior. Worn desks lined the walls. On them sat equally exhausted computers. If not for the people, Nathaniel would dread coming here every day. He loved working with the kids, especially the younger ones. Some of his fellow tutors weren’t bad either. One had even become his friend.

He scanned the room, searching for Rebecca, which wasn’t difficult considering how tall she was. Six foot one—just an inch shorter than he was. Her build was lanky, but she carried herself upright. His first impression had been of a pole vaulter, not that she was athletic, as it turned out. She was smart though. Pretty too. She didn’t wear much makeup, and her medium-length ginger hair was worn loose, never styled. Rebecca was too practical to fuss with such things. Nathaniel had once overheard two students call her “horse face” behind her back, perhaps because of her long features. He liked her face. He could stare at it all day, especially when lit up, as it was now.

“The new software came in,” she said, walking over to join him.

“For the tests?”

Rebecca nodded enthusiastically. “We’ve got graphs! And it pinpoints areas that need to be strengthened. I have no idea how accurate it is, but this might save some guesswork. Come see!”

Nathaniel shook his head ruefully as she led him toward one of the computers. He might like it here, but Rebecca loved it. He wasn’t as fond of computers as she was, preferring to rely on direct interaction with each student. After enough enthusiastic nodding to convince Rebecca he was equally excited, he was free to start working. He sat down with a third-grader who despised math. She understood all the concepts correctly but abhorred doing the work, so Nathaniel focused on teaching her as many shortcuts as possible.

While he was doing so, he felt someone watching him. He glanced over at the next desk. A high school student, although Nathaniel couldn’t remember if they went to the same school or not. The guy had bronze skin, dark hair pulled back into a pony tail, and thick framed glasses that appeared black at first glance but were actually dark red. Nathaniel gave a friendly upward nod in greeting before turning his attention back to tutoring.

Except he continued to feel that gaze. Every time Nathaniel checked again, the guy would quickly avert his eyes. He didn’t seem to be doing anything but ignoring the computer in front of him. Rebecca must have noticed because she went to investigate.

“So I add the first column before the last one?”

Nathaniel shook his head to clear it and explained the trick once more. Halfway through, Rebecca offered to take over. “He wants to work with you,” she said.

“Oh, okay.” That wasn’t so unusual. When students did well, they often sought out the same tutor during their next visit. Sure enough, when Nathaniel pulled up a chair, the guy revealed a paper they had worked on together. He held it clutched to his chest, like it was precious.

“Ninety-eight percent,” he said, voice almost too faint to hear.

“Just ninety-eight?” Nathaniel teased. “Let me see that.”

The guy licked his lips and held out the paper, the pages still warm from being pressed against his body. Nathaniel casually checked the name in one corner. Caesar Hubbard. Of course! How could he forget a name like that? Then he flipped through the pages until he spotted a circle of red ink around one word.

“We misspelled ‘intellectual,’” Nathaniel said. He glanced up in time to see Caesar smile. “That’s embarrassing. Remember when we ran the spell check?”

Caesar nodded. “You thought the computer was wrong.”

“I figured it was recommending the British spelling or something. I guess you’re here because you want a refund?”

Caesar’s grin widened before he bashfully forced it away. “My parents said I’m supposed to work with you from now on.”

“They must think I’m an intellectual,” Nathaniel said with a wink.

Caesar’s cheeks turned red. Then he broke eye contact, staring downward instead. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a great joke. Nathaniel considered him for a moment, the light sweat and the even lighter hairs barely visible on his upper lip. How old was he? Fifteen? Sixteen? He definitely wasn’t a senior yet or Nathaniel would have noticed him before. “So what are we working on today?”

Caesar opened his backpack and pulled out a sophomore biology book. In a voice so quiet Nathaniel was forced to lean forward to hear, he rambled nervously about an upcoming test. For the next hour, Nathaniel helped him study for it, teaching him techniques to simplify memorization. Caesar hung on his every word but seemed to have few of his own, only speaking when Nathaniel asked direct questions. At the end of an hour, once Caesar had demonstrated a thorough understanding of the scientific method, Nathaniel got him started on a computer test and moved to the next student. By the time he looked over again, Caesar was gone. A big red “completed” flashed on the computer screen. Nathaniel went to check the results.

Perfect score. Not bad! Nathaniel saved the information to Caesar’s profile. Then he turned his attention to the next student. By the time he was finished working and had stepped outside, the sun had gone down. He had mixed feelings about this. Not for the first time, he wished the learning center had longer hours. He stood facing the parking lot, trying to ignore any thoughts that caused his stomach to churn. When he felt a hand on his back, he flinched.

“Easy cowboy,” Rebecca said. Her fingers continued down his back, angling across to his hand. Once she had taken it, she loped toward her car, dragging him along. “Smoke a cigarette with me?”

“No thanks. You managed to get more?”

“Kind of.” Rebecca opened the passenger-side door and dug around. When she stood again, she was holding a blister pack.

“Is that nicotine gum?”

Rebecca sighed. “Desperate times. You know the freshman I used to buy cigarettes from who stole them from his mother? She quit smoking.”

“Good for her.”

“Bad for me. My parents have been on to me for years, so I finally ’fessed up.”

“So they would buy you the next best thing.” Nathaniel shook his head. “If only you would use your powers for good and not evil.”

Rebecca smiled shamelessly before popping the gum in her mouth. Then she relaxed visibly, even though the effects couldn’t have kicked in yet. “That’s better. I thought I’d never make it through the day.”

“If it’s gum, why did you wait until you’re outside?”

“The ritual is important! That’s why you’re here. Smoking is a social activity.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

Rebecca shrugged. “Everyone should have a vice. You could do with one. It would make you more interesting.”

“You think so?”

“Definitely. Any ideas?”

Nathaniel leaned next to her against the car. “Boys.”

Rebecca breathed out, as if exhaling smoke. “Okay. What’s your type?”

This gave him pause. “I don’t really have one.”

“You must. What sort of guy do you find yourself lusting after?”

Nathaniel shrugged.

“Seriously?” Rebecca narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure you’re gay?”

“Last time I checked, yeah.”

“But have you ever
done
anything with a guy?”

“Have you?” When she looked hurt, he hastened to add, “I’m just a lowly virgin. We both are.”

“Yeah, but I figured you managed more than I have. A kiss or a little dry humping maybe.”

Nathaniel laughed. “There
was
this one guy.”

Rebecca smacked her gum more enthusiastically. “What happened?”

“This is back when I lived in California. My friend’s parents both worked full-time. They had this porn video. Not like the stuff you see online. This was totally retro, like seventies. All the guys had mustaches, and trust me when I say you’ve never seen so much bush in your life. It’s like they had afros downstairs instead of up.”

“Ew!”

“Yeah, but the video got my friend all riled up. One day he suggested that we—” Nathaniel made a pumping motion with his fist.

Rebecca stopped chewing so her jaw could drop. “Together?”

“Yup.”

“And did you?”

“Of course! The first time I didn’t even let myself look at him, because I was worried it would give me away. The next time, I saw him checking me out. He even complimented me on… Uh, anyway. This went on for a while.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah,” Nathaniel said, smiling at the memory. “That’s not all.”

“I’m going to need another piece of gum,” Rebecca said. “Keep talking.”

“Okay. Right before we moved, like the day before, I figured I didn’t have anything to lose. I reached over and knocked his hand away. Then I grabbed his you-know-what, and started pumping like my life depended on it. When he did the same for me, I realized we could have been doing that all along.”