Surviving the Andersen Brothers

Somewhere In Between

Lucas’ gaze shifted from me to Vincent.

While the silence dragged on, I tried to sort out my feelings. I liked Caleb. But there was this stirring in my chest when Vincent held me. Comfort? Affection? Confusion? Definitely confusion. The stirring was strange…. I never felt it before. I wanted an answer for what it was. I wanted to know.

“Is Zach back?” I asked Lucas, forgetting for a moment that he pretty much hated me.

Lucas nodded. I walked quickly from the room with one last glance to Vincent who watched me go, his face void of emotion. Was this how it was always going to be? We would get close and then Lucas would show his mug and we were right back to where we started. One step forward and two steps back.

I turned in to Zach’s room, expecting the door to be open. It wasn’t. I ran into the door with a loud thud, the door handle jamming against my hip bone. Great. That was going to bruise. Still pressed against the door, I opened it, stumbling in to the room.

Zach lounged on his bed with blue eyes that looked at me like I was crazy, eyebrows pushed up to form two arches.

“…Jazz…” he said hesitantly, gauging the look on my face, “did you just run in to my door?”

I kicked his door shut with all the anger I could muster—which wasn’t a whole lot. “I’m so used to it being open all the time,” I told him.

It was quiet for a moment, Zach looking at his door like I had done something so horrible.

“Zach…” I began. He looked at me abruptly—maybe something in my voice gave me away. “Have you ever liked anyone?”

Zach scoffed. “Yeah,” he said, as though it was obvious. “Why?”

“What’s it like?” I wondered. He looked at me questioningly.

“Huh?”

“Being in like with someone….”

“Love? Or like? Cause I wouldn’t know the love one.”

“Like.”

Zach gave me a look that showed he was concerned with my thoughts. He sighed and sat up, patting a spot next to him for me to sit. I took it. Zach just looked at me.

“Well… it’s like—gah, how do I explain this?” He ran a hand through his blonde hair. An invisible light bulb went off above his head. “It’s like an invasion of privacy.”

It was my turn for the questioning look. “How?”

“The person is always in your thoughts, even without you meaning them to be. They frequently star in your dream. They are just always there, ya know?”

I shook my head. “Obviously, I do not.”

Zach laughed. “What’s this about anyway?”

“You can’t tell anyone.” Zach drew an invisible X over his heart, silently swearing to secrecy. “I might like one of your brothers.”

“What?!” He jumped to his feet. “Who?”

“Caleb… or… Vincent—I’m not sure anymore.”

A voice broke over the intercom system then. “Zach, Miss Clark, it’s time to go to the park,” Vincent said.

“We’re not done talking,” Zach told me as I got up to leave. “I’m riding with you.”

“We can’t talk on the way,” I told him. “Vincent is riding with me.”

“Then we’re talking after,” he said, exiting the room.