Unwanted Blood (Harper) novel Chapter 26

288 Vouchers

Chapter 26

Harper’s POV

“Are you guys here to watch a movie or open a grocery store?” Behind us, Ethan dropped three oversized grocery sacks onto the grass, his shoulders slumping.

By 7:00 p.m., the park had filled up fast. Blankets spread in every direction across the lawn, families and couples and groups of friends staking out their patches of grass before dark. The white screen at the far end was still running commercials, casting a pale glow over the front rows. A few kids were sprinting back and forth in front of it, Mia among them, shrieking about something.

Lily pulled me toward a relatively clear patch of turf on the middle-left side of the lawn, dropping our small canvas bag with a heavy thud, with a clear sightline and easy access to the snack bags. She had opinions about outdoor screenings.

Lily said, already flattening the corners of the blanket with her sneakers. “Both, ideally.”

Ryder was the last to arrive. He came from the direction of the street parking. In his right hand, he carried a small, insulated cooler. He stopped about two meters away from the edge of our canvas mat, his boots sinking slightly into the damp grass. He just stood there, his arms straight at his sides, waiting, like he wasn’t sure if the invitation extended to him or just to the vicinity.

Lily looked up from a box of crackers and waved her arm. “Come on over, Ryder. The ground isn’t hot.”

His eyes shifted instantly to me. I immediately reached into the nearest plastic sack, burying my hand in a pile of chip bags and focusing entirely on a label I had already read twice. I didn’t say a word.

Ryder took a slow breath, walked over, and sat down exactly where Lily had pointed-to my right, leaving the space of one empty seat between us.

The sky hadn’t gone fully dark yet, leaving a pale blue hue behind the massive white projector screen at the front of the park. Commercials for local hardware stores and car dealerships flashed across the fabric, casting long, distorted shadows over the lawn. A few meters ahead, Mia and a handful of other kids from the center were running in erratic circles, their high-pitched laughter cutting through the sunset.

Lily ripped open a bag of salt-and-vinegar chips and held it out toward Ethan without looking.

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Chapter 26

288 Vourtiers

When Ethan reached over to grab a handful, his knuckles brushed against the palm of her hand Both of them went completely rigid for a second.

Then. Ethan cleared his throat, pulling his hand back with three chips, and Lily stared intensely at the screen as if the local tire commercial was the most compelling thing she had ever seen

The tightness in my chest eased just enough for a small smile to touch my lips.

To my right, the zipper of the cooler bag slid open with a soft rasp. Ryder took out a clear plastic container filled with perfectly sliced, vibrant fruit and set it carefully on the grass between our knees. “I wasn’t entirely certain what everyone liked to eat,” he muttered, his voice dropping into that stiff. “The market clerk said these were local.”

Lily leaned sideways, squinting through the dusk. “Cherries? Fresh blackberries? Ryder, did you buy a fruit platter or a work of art?”

Ryder’s collar seemed suddenly tight; he adjusted the neck of his sweater with one finger. “The clerk insisted it was the standard choice.”

I reached out, my fingers cold against the skin of a large strawberry. It was cold and intensely sweet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ryder’s shoulders drop a fraction of an inch, the rigid line of his jaw relaxing as he watched me chew.

The local ads faded, and the blue glow of Finding Nemo filled the park. The opening underwater sequences washed over the lawn in shades of deep sapphire and turquoise.

Marlin, the frantic clownfish, began his desperate, clumsy trek across the entire expanse of the ocean to find his son. Every time the blue tang got confused, the kids in the front rows erupted into fits of giggles, and Lily and Ethan were leaning into each other, laughing softly at the screen.

I kept my eyes on the moving colors, but the sound of the ocean on the speakers felt too loud.

On the screen, Marlin’s voice cracked as he called out into the vast, empty gray water, screaming a name that wouldn’t come back to him. The sound hit me right in the center of my throat. A sudden, burning heat pressed behind my eyelids before I could stop it.

I was nine years old again, standing at the very end of the second-floor corridor in Toronto, the floorboards cold beneath my socks. I remembered the exact texture of the wallpaper under my fingertips as I whispered Big Brother toward the seam of a heavy, closed oak door. I remembered the silence that came back-the permanent silence of a house that had already decided what I was worth. No one had ever opened the door. No one had ever answered.

I quickly lowered my head, pretending to push a strand of hair behind my car while using the heel of my palm to rub at my eyes.

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Chapter 26

288 Vouchers

A small, square packet of pocket tissues appeared on the grass right beside my knee. Ryder’s hand retreated immediately, returning to his own lap. He didn’t turn his head toward me; his face was directed straight at the screen, his profile sharp against the blue light of the projector

“The wind coming off carries a lot of pollen,” he said, his voice flat, completely devoid of affect “My eyes have been watering since I got here.”

He wasn’t going to look at me while I broke. I didn’t touch the packet. I just pulled the cuff of my oversized sweater down over my hand, wiped the tears from the corner of my eye, and kept my gaze fixed on the digital ocean.

Ten minutes later, as the movie transitioned into a brighter scene, I felt a faint, hesitant pressure against the side of my right hand. It was the barest whisper of movement of Ryder’s knuckles, slightly rough, brushing tentatively against the edge of my skin.

I instinctively flinched, pulling my hand back into the fold of my coat.

Ryder withdrew his hand instantly, placing it flat against his own knee and curling his fingers into a tight, white-knuckled fist. He didn’t try again.

I glanced at him as he just sat there in the dimming light, his chest rising and falling in slow, heavy counts, his face looking older than thirty under the flickering shadows of the screen.

“I am so hungry. I need something that didn’t come out of a plastic wrapper,” Lily announced the moment the movie ended, stretching her arms above her head until her joints popped.

Ethan swung the empty grocery sacks over his shoulder. “There’s a twenty-four-hour place two blocks down. They have those instant noodle stations.”

Ryder followed us out of the park plaza, keeping a steady two paces behind our group. But when we reached the glass double doors of the convenience store, he stopped on the concrete, his hands buried deep in his pockets. “I’ll take the metal table under the awning out here,” he said, nodding toward the outdoor seating.

Lily paused, her hand on the door handle. She reached out and gave the sleeve of his black sweater a firm yank. “Don’t be ridiculous. Leta sit together. The tables inside are exactly four seats. Just the right size.”

“No.” Ryder didn’t budge. His eyes shifted past her shoulder, landing on me for a split second before dropping to the wet pavement. “If Harper wants the distance, I’m not going to crowd the room. I’ll be right out here.”

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