Home for the Summer (BOYXBOY)

2 | The Sky

My mom's voice rung through the house as she called us downstairs for dinner. After a beat of silence, I stepped through the bathroom and peeked into Nicolas's room. He was lying on the bed, his hair dipping over his face. His back faced the ceiling as he slept, rising and falling with each breath. I frowned to myself before reaching over and giving his shoulder a shake. Nicolas turned for a moment, blinking into the light of the room and rubbing his eyes.

"Uh, mom's calling us for dinner."

Nicolas groaned as his body twisted awake. He sat up and looked out the now open window.

"Hey, you got it open," I said as I too glanced out the window.

He nodded and stood up, fixing the collar of his shirt and running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, it was just a little rusted," Nicolas said, putting a hand on my shoulder as he left the room.

The creaking of stairs and footsteps followed as I looked around the guest bedroom. He'd unpacked his suitcases and left them empty in the closet beside a series of hung up sweaters, button-ups, jeans. On the bedside table, he'd left a journal and a pen. His cologne was sitting on the dresser beside a comb and lotion. Nicolas was neat. He hadn't been at 12.

I took the stairs two at a time and walked into the dining room. Mom handed Nicolas a dish to bring to the table before giving me a smile.

"You boys having fun?" she asked.

I grabbed a soda from the fridge and looked back at her. "Yeah, this is a blast."

I took a seat in front of Nicolas. He looked tired, his eyes glazed over a bit and his shoulders slumped. I tried to calculate what time it was in Vermont right then, but I got lost along the way. Midnight, maybe. Something late.

"You two look just like you did when you were 12 years old," mom cooed as she stepping into the dining room. "You're sitting in the same seats and everything-"

"Okay mom," I interrupted, already feeling embarrassed.

"Have you called your mom to let you know you got home safe?"

Nicolas paused before snapping a smile into place. "I texted her. She probably won't get it for a while, but... You know."

Right then would've been the perfect time to say something comforting or strikingly kind or heroic, but instead, I just plopped a mound of casserole onto my plate.

"What are your plans after dinner?" mom asked us.

I glanced over at Nicolas, watching him inspect the food before taking a serving.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "Go back upstairs?"

"You should take Nicolas to the beach! I'm sure he'd like to see it again."

I looked toward the sliding glass door that peeled into the outside world of the cotton candy colored sky and, somewhere in the distance, the ocean. The beach at sunset felt like the perfect thing to fix whatever Nicolas had going on in his head right then, but my stomach turned thinking about having to be alone with him.

I glanced over at Nicolas. He looked awake now, smiling at my mom's suggestion. I took a bite of my food and shook my head.

"Maybe tomorrow," I said. "I'm tired."

Nicolas's smile dropped ever so slightly and mom gave me a look through her mouthful of casserole. Even without speaking, I knew what her eyes were saying. Change your attitude and make him feel at home.

"Actually," I mumbled. "I guess we can go. For a little."

My mom's smile returned as Nicolas's face lit again.