"Gross," Mattie cried, sharply yanking her hand away from Will's clutch. "What have you got in your hand?"
He studied the smooshed blob in the centre of his hand. "It was a spider…"
Groaning in disgust, she wiped off her hand in his hair, which he didn't seem to mind too much.
"Can I take some bread and feed the pigeons?" he asked as they strolled slowly through the park.
"Those are seagulls, but whatever, sure," she said, and handed him two pieces of Wonderbread from the loaf that they'd just bought from the grocery store. "Don't let them bite you, okay?" Keeping an eye on him, she rested on a park bench.
The sun was too bright. There was no warmth that afternoon, however, and Mattie wished she'd made Will dress more warmly.
But even her worrying about Will, which she did constantly, could take her mind off of Gordie. The night before had been an amazing delve into maturity. She'd felt complete for the first time in months. And she had felt total happiness for the first time since her mom died as well.
But she still couldn't shake the feeling of mediocrity. It didn't matter to her how sweet or reassuring the words he said to her were, she still couldn't help feeling that she wasn't good enough for him. It was March now, and they'd been seeing each other for about five months and already she felt how doomed that they were together. But she also felt how much she cared about him. He was so selfless and gentle and good…he was everything she wasn't. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to give him up. She needed something good in her life right now, and she could tell that he genuinely did feel something real for her.
A shadow bathed her in its darkness, breaking her flow of thought. Looking up, she saw that it was that guy from the diner.
"Mattie, right?" He smiled smoothly.
God Almighty, his voice was like velvet. It took her awhile to respond. "Uh, yeah. Ace?"
"You've got a great memory and you're beautiful. Looks like I picked the right bench to park my ass on." He sat down close to her before she could say anything. She was acutely aware of his leg touching her bare knee, and fleetingly wished that her skirt were longer. "So, what's got you out and about this afternoon?"
She gestured to the paper bag sitting at her feet. "Getting some groceries. We were walking home and decided to take the scenic route through the park." She grinned and nodded her head toward Will. "Then he decided he wanted to feed the birds, so I'm just watching him to make sure the birds don't carry him away or something."
Confusion deepened Ace's brow. "That kid's yours? You must be older than I thought. You don't even look eighteen."
Laughing, she said, "That's because I'm sixteen. He's my brother."
"That's what I was hoping for," he said, smiling at her and looking directly into her eyes. "Well, Mattie, how's about we drop the little guy off with your parents and I take you for a drive or something? It'll be very scenic, if that's what you're after."
"Um," she murmured, thinking about Gordie and how he'd warned her about this Ace guy, but also how just going for a drive wouldn't hurt anything--except for maybe Gordie's feelings. "I have a boyfriend, Ace."
"That's cool. It's just a drive. Who's this guy? I'm sure he wouldn't mind you hanging out with other friends. He can't be that possessive of you."
Mattie burst out laughing as two seagulls chased Will and he ran to her as fast as his little legs could carry him. Tears streamed down his face as he sobbed. Mattie tried her hardest to stop laughing as she scooped him up onto her lap and stroked his hair to console him.
"You're laughing!" he accused.
"No I'm not," she lied. "What happened, buddy?"
"What do you care, you're laughing."
Clearing her throat and getting her giggles under control, she promised, "I'm not laughing. Tell me what happened."
His sobs turned into sorrowful hiccups that caught in his chest. He choked out, "I just wanted to pet the pigeons but they were trying to eat the bread and I wanted to save the last chunk for the other birds because they'd already eaten some and I wanted to be fair like Jesus and so they--ATTACKED me!"
"Oh," she said, willing herself not to laugh. The Jesus part had made her snort, but she was trying very hard. "Sounds…traumatizing." She snorted again, and covered her mouth with her hand.
"I don't know what that means!" he wailed. "Are you making fun of me?"
"Of course not. Do you want to go home, Will? I'll make Sam play Monopoly with you."
"I hate Monopoly! Nobody lets me win and I can't count money and Sam always steals the shoe!"
"Okay, I totally understand. How about Candyland?"
His body shuddered as his tears slowed. "Deal."
Ace drove Mattie and Will home, and waited, resting his body against the steering wheel while Mattie brought her little brother inside. He watched her closely, studying everything from they way she flipped her chestnut hair over her shoulder to the way her hand folded over the boy's. She was a looker, this Mattie girl, and he'd noticed her from the moment she'd walked into the diner. She was also young, which was the way that he liked them. Young girls just barely post-pubescent, all sweet and impressionable. She was probably easy. At least, he hoped she was.
Eventually, Mattie jogged down her front walk and climbed into the passenger side, all smiles. "Sorry that took so long. My brothers are complete retards."
"It's not a problem," he assured her, as he lightly stepped on the gas pedal, easing the car into his lane. "How many brothers you got?"
"Too many," she laughed. "I'm not sure. I've lost count. Sam--he's my older brother--he was all pissed off because he was waiting for Chris and Toby to come over and he didn't feel like entertaining Will."
"Chris and Toby?"
"Yeah, they're our friends. Sammy's got a thing for Toby."
"You mean Chambers and his little whore?"
Her smile immediately vanished and she looked at him. "They're my friends," she said defensively.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm friends with Chambers' brother."
She nodded. "Neat."
"So, who's the lucky guy?"
Gazing out the window as the trees outside got denser and the thickets turned into woods, she murmured, "Hmm?"
"You said you have a boyfriend." He looked over at her with a sheepish smile. "When I first saw you I knew I'd better snatch you up quick before some other guy got to you first. But I guess I'm too late, huh?"
She giggled. "Sorry to burst your bubble. His name's Gordie."
"Lachance?"
Beginning to feel aggravated and impatient, she demanded, "Don't tell me there's something wrong with Gordie. I know there isn't. I love him, you know."
He shook his head. "Mattie, I don't want to be the one to break it to you about your friends. It's not my place."
"Break what to me?"
"I suppose you're hanging out with those two pussies Tessio and Duchamp, too."
"Vern and Teddy?" she asked. "Gordie said they used to be friends, and I've seen them around school, but I've never actually talked to them."
"Good, I'd stay away from them if I were you," Ace told her. A cloud of dust trailed behind the car when he turned onto a dirt road. "Tessio doesn't know his dick from a tree stump. And Duchamp…he's just fuckin crazy. He gets it from his old man. His dad's currently residing in a loony bin."
She fiddled with a piece of loose upholstery, and then glanced up at Ace. "What about my friends, Ace?"
"I don't think I should--"
"Just tell me what you think of them."
He sighed dramatically, but inwardly, he was feeling victorious. If he could get her away from her pansy ass friends, then they couldn't poison her against him, and that scored one for Ace. "Well…Chris comes from a bad family. His old man's a drunk"
"That's not his fault. My dad can't stop drinking either ever since what happened to my mom."
"Yeah, but his dad's had a bad influence on him. He's a thief. His brother Eyeball told me that he's rough with his little girlfriend too."
"That's not true," she said. "Have you ever seen them together?" She actually giggled for a moment. "They're just so…aww."
"Maybe it's a different story when they're alone. Anyways, Eyeball said that she just takes it."
"Well, I don't believe that. I can't see Toby taking shit from anyone."
Ace shrugged, and then dug around his glove department, finding a pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out and lit it, taking a long drag from it. "You only see what you want to. And your boyfriend…well…he's pretty fuckin weird."
"No, he's not," she snapped.
"And his brother was a pussy too."
She stared at him wide-eyed. "How can you say that? Gordie said everyone loved Denny. He misses him so much."
"He just doesn't want you to know that his big brother was a freak like him."
Unconsciously defensive, she crossed her arms over her chest and rested her head against the window. "Would you mind putting that cigarette out? The smoke makes me feel sick."
He did as he was asked and then stopped the car. He peered closely at her. He placed a hand on her knee, and again she wished her skirt were longer. "Mattie? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'd like to know why we stopped though."
"Did I upset you?"
"Will you please not touch me?"
"Do I scare you, Mattie?"
"Nope."
"I think I kinda do." His smile was no longer smooth and his voice was not velvety; they were taunting. "I think you're thinking how if I were to try something funny way out here in the middle of nowhere on this dirt road…you'd have nowhere to go."
She glared at him. "So this is why you wanted to hang out with a sixteen-year-old girl."
His grin grew. "And why is that?"
"Because you thought I was stupid, and that I would let you do whatever because you're older and you're good looking and you have a nice smile." She shrugged. "Mustn't be getting too much action otherwise, hey?"
He touched the side of her face. "You're not stupid. You're pretty. I only settle for the best, Mattie, and that's you."
"I know I'm not stronger than you are, Ace," she murmured. "But if you get near me, I swear to God I'll bite it off."
He howled with laughter. "Wooh, if that's not a pick up line, I don't know what is."
"Fuck you. If you don't want to be singing soprano, take me home now."
She barely felt the blow to her head before her world went black.