“Your eyes are red, and you have a booger—”
“Shut up!” she yelled at me, putting her hands over her nose. Laughing, I reached into my suit pocket and gave her my handkerchief. She blew so hard, I shook a little bit with her. I tried not to laugh, but she sounded like an elephant.
“Do you think I’ll ever get married?”
“Why do you want to get married?” I asked her like she was crazy.
She flicked my forehead. “Not now! When I’m older.”
“Oh.” Duh.
“Sure, you’ll get married when you’re older. Why wouldn’t you? You’re pretty…well, not when your face is covered in snot.”
I tensed up, ready for her to hit me or even yell again. But she didn’t. Instead she said, “I heard some of the boys say that Dona was so pretty and that Nari was kind of cute, too. Then one of them said that I looked like a monkey with a…mop…a mop on my head.”
“Which boys?” I asked, looking out over the yard.
She leaned over and then pointed, to the ones by the trees. “Them.”
When I looked back at her, that’s when I saw her lips tremble and that she was pinching her hands together so tightly her nails were digging into her skin.
“Don’t do that,” I said, pulling her hands apart. “One day you’re going to get a ring on there. You don’t want your hands to have scars.”
“But I’m ugly—” This time I flicked her forehead as hard as I could. “Ouch!”
“I already said you’re pretty! Why are you listening to their words more than mine!” I yelled at her, really annoyed for some reason. “I’m going to tell Ethan, Darcy and Sedric, too. We’re going to get them back for sure.”
“No! My parents said not to cause trouble.”
“Were kids, Helen, we’re supposed to cause trouble!” I grinned, letting go of her hand and moved to get out from under the table.
“Wyatt!”
I popped my head back under. “Besides, if no one marries you, I will.”
“We’re cousins. You can’t do that.” She replied back at me.
“That’s not true.” I took out my phone to check and showed it to her. “Marrying your first cousin is legal in twenty-five states. Some lists claim that twenty-six states allow cousin marriage... No states ban marriages between second cousins. We’re second cousins, Helen!”
“I’m not marrying you, Wyatt!” She glared at me.
I frowned. “Why not? I’m cool. Plus, I’m about to beat up the people who made you cry.”
“Wyatt, don’t!”
“Stay here and watch so you don’t get in trouble, too,” I replied, giving her thumbs up before standing up straighter. I saw Ethan looking at me from across the lawn. I ran back toward the house, waving for him to come with me.
I was going to make those boys cry worse than her.
WYATT – NOW
That’s where I remembered that from. I sat up against the headboard. I even proposed?
“Hmm.” Looking to see what the maid lying next to me wanted, I felt annoyed with myself again.
“You’re not going to make me ask you to leave, are you?” she asked, pausing for a little bit before holding onto the bedsheet tightly, as if I hadn’t already seen all of her. She slid out of my bed and brushed her red curls out of her face. She bent down, trying to put her clothes back on as swiftly as possible. Ignoring her, I grabbed my phone and got up myself, stretching out my back. She’d just made it to the door when I called out to her. “Wait.”
“Yes.” Her head whipped back to look at me so quickly that I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows. Her eyes were wide…hopeful.