The hammer slammed against the top of the cabinet, crushing through the surface. My bones rattled as the hammer crunched through the Formica. The head of the hammer dropped down into the bottom section of wood, disappearing among the debris.
Clapping and hooting startled me. I felt more embarrassed now than before I started when I thought I couldn’t do it. I had my hand still on the hammer and tried to tug it out of the mess of wood but I couldn’t get it to budge.
“Here, Sang baby,” North said. He reached out and took the hammer handle from me. He gently nudged me out of the way. He pulled once, noting how the hammer was hooked into the cabinet. He yanked hard again trying to get it loose. He huffed when it wasn’t moving.
“I broke it,” I said. My mind replayed the way he said my name. The tingling sensation returned. It made up for the fact that he called me a little girl before.
“Of course you would be the first girl on the planet to break a sledgehammer.” North jerked on the handle and the hammer popped free. He dropped it near his feet. “But not today.”
“She took out the cabinet,” Silas said. “One Sang, zip Luke.”
“Hey,” Luke said, making a face. “I started it for her.”
“You two haul this stuff out,” North said, hands on his hips and nodding to the pile of splintered wood they had collected by the door. “There’s a wheelbarrow in the back of the truck. See if you can get it in here. Take it out to the Dumpster. And get her a pair of gloves.”
“I want to do it again,” Luke said.
“We’ve wasted enough time today,” North said. “I want to get all this cleared out and you’ve still got homework.”
Luke rolled his eyes. North responded with a grunt, picking up his sledgehammer and swinging it against the cabinet I had broken. With a few swings he had it cleared from the wall and was starting to move down the line.
Silas’s face became granite as he hauled up his sledgehammer, and approached the cabinets. Luke and I stood by and watched the two of them working. They moved in a fluid motion. On occasion they glanced at one another as if they were watching out to make sure the other was okay. I was in awe of how their muscles moved as they were working and the way they seemed comfortable with their silent system.
Luke nudged my arm. I looked at him and he motioned to a large section of wood that we could haul out. I helped him wedge it through the door and we carried it together out of the building. No rest for the wicked.
G rounded
It was dark when we pulled the last of the carpet into the rental Dumpster. I was sweating through Luke’s shirt. My muscles ached. I leaned against the side of North’s truck, trying to catch my breath.
It was hard for me to imagine the church as a diner before but after the cabinets were cleared out of the kitchen and we finished rolling up the carpet in the chapel, it was looking less like a church but even less like a diner.
Luke’s chest was heaving. He bent over with his hands on his knees after hauling the carpet out. “Glad that’s over.”
Silas strolled toward us. He had my bag in his hands. He held it out to me. “You’re not a bad little worker bee,” he said, his eyes dancing. He poked a finger at my nose. “You’re hired.”
I stood up straight and smiled at him, feeling a second wind. I took my bag from him, letting it drop at my feet. “Will you guys be back tomorrow?”
“It depends on what happens tomorrow,” North said, coming up next to Silas. “We’ll see.”
It felt like this was something they dealt with on a regular basis. Were they ever not able to make too many plans ahead of time because of their obligations to the Academy? Or was it they liked to change things often enough and moved with how they were feeling? Things seemed to happen at such a fast pace with them.
North’s face flickered and he reached into his back pocket, pulling out his cell phone and answering it. “Yeah? What? No, she’s here.”
Uh oh.
North’s eyes widened and sought out mine. “What the fuck do you mean she’s grounded? What happened?”
I pursed my lips, avoiding Silas’s and Luke’s eyes on me by staring at North’s feet instead. My shoulders hunched as I cowered where I stood.
“No, she’s… yeah. She’s going home now.” North hung up, holding his phone out and pointing it at me as he came after me. “You’re in big trouble, missy.”
“What happened?” Silas asked, edging in front of me as if to shield me from North.
“Have her tell it, because I want to hear this, too.” His eyes fired bullets at me. “Start talking.”
I shivered. I swallowed. “Gabriel got into a fight and I tried to help.”
Silas smirked. Luke looked confused.
North shook his head. “Start at the top.”
I started describing how I was in the hallway when I heard shouts, until I was in the office getting checked out by Dr. Green. “Gabriel said I was grounded but I didn’t know he was serious,” I finished.
Luke rubbed the back of his head as if in disbelief. Silas’s mouth was open.
North lunged for my arm. He half dragged me back to the church. I stumbled along the gravel drive until he stopped under the light near the doors.
“Easy on her,” Silas barked at him.
North ignored him. He positioned me under the halo glow and examined my face. He licked his fingers and started smudging my lower lip and at my bruised cheek.
“Ouch,” I said, backing my head away.
“Stay still.” He cleaned the makeup off my face, observing the damage. He pulled my lip back with his thumb, checking the cut. “I thought something was wrong with your face but I assumed it was just the bad lighting in the kitchen. God damn it Sang baby, why didn’t you say anything?”
My lips twisted and I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling cornered and uncomfortable. “I don’t know. I thought you guys already knew and weren’t saying anything about it.”
He pointed a finger at my nose. “What the hell made you think you could jump into a fight?”
“Gabriel was in trouble.”
“Gabriel can handle himself. You, on the other hand, are in deep shit.”
I backed away a half step, unsure of how to respond. My mouth seized. Wouldn’t he have jumped in and helped, too?
Silas approached. He traced a broad finger across my chin, tilting it so he could examine the bruising. “Who did it?” he asked, his deep voice bubbling with subdued anger.
“I don’t know who,” I said. “Kota’s got to, um…, wire the people who did it.”
North chuffed. “Uh huh. Kota, Victor and Gabriel are out there working overtime because of you. You were supposed to stay home and out o
f trouble.”
“But if I’m with you, I’m out of trouble, aren’t I?”
North’s mouth fell open but nothing came out. He grunted, threaded a finger through the dark hair on his head, and turned away to stare at the wall of the church.
Silas sighed. He bent over, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and hugging me. “Good one.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck to return the hug. He dropped an arm down to scoop me up at my butt, picking me up off of the ground. He pressed me to his chest, hugging me closer so he could stand up straight. It was way too hot but I didn’t care. His hug was amazing.
“Okay,” he said, turning sideways to North as he hung on to me. This let me peek over his arm at North. “Sang didn’t know. We can’t blame her for sticking up for one of us if she didn’t know. We’d do it for her.”
“She was doing what we would do,” Luke agreed, coming up from behind Silas. “What was she going to do? Run off? Are we going to ground her for that?”
“She’s grounded for being reckless,” North said, turning around again. He spotted me in Silas’s arms and his shoulders dropped. “But I guess if she’s here with us, it’s better for her anyway.”
“Right,” Luke said. “But she can’t stay out all night. I should take her back.” He motioned to me. “Let’s get going. You’re already in trouble. Kota will probably skin us if we let you get caught again.”
Silas lowered me to the ground until I was standing again. North spun me around and wrapped arms around my shoulders. His face pressed to my hair as he held on. “Next time, you better fucking say something. And no more fights.”
I sighed, feeling better that he was done yelling. I wrapped my arms around his neck to hug back. “I’m sorry, North.”
He stiffened against me as if surprised by this but he embraced me tighter and let go. “Get out of here before I ground you, too.”
Luke had my book bag and handed it to me. I hauled it to my shoulders. I waved to Silas and North. Silas waved. North only nodded, that half smile playing on the corner of his mouth. He shook his head at us and turned, heading back to the church.