03

HAYLEY. 

I'm still lost in the green depths of Axel’s eyes when he breaks into a boyish, handsome smile. “We brought wine,” He beams, holding up a bottle wrapped in brown paper with a neat little ribbon. 

 I match his smile. “Thank you, Ax.” 

  I watch his smile lifts to his eyes at the sound of his name on my lips, and in the small silence between us, time slows to a crawl. 

Axel Grey. In the flesh. After seven long years. 

 I rake my eyes over him again as a wave of nostalgia rolls over me.

Like he can read my thoughts, Axel lifts a brow, still smiling. “You look… different.” 

I fold my arms over my chest, feigning a look of mock suspicion. “The good kind of different, or the bad kind of different?” 

He beams. “Good different.” He pauses, holding my gaze for a moment. “I missed you.” 

Warmth settles in my belly at the words. “I missed you too, Ax.” 

He holds his hands open and I walk into his embrace, leaning my head against his chest. His perfectly toned chest. 

Puberty’s been nice to him, no doubt. 

  Pulling away, I usher him into my house. Greetings pass between Axel and my mom as we all get seated across the diner table. Plates of mashed potatoes and chicken go around, one for each person. 

  “I don't see your Dad,” Axel leans to whisper in my ear. 

  “Oh, he's not around. He's away on business.” Again. “You'll meet him next time for sure,” I offer with a sympathetic look. 

“Of course,” Axel says, flashing a gorgeous grin. The fluttering in my belly returns and I silently scold myself. Get a grip, Hayley.

  Across the table, Lucas munches on a chicken hungrily and I realize then that Axel and I are the only ones not eating yet. I pick a knife and fork nearby and offer them to him. But he's too engrossed in the conversation between my mom and Mrs Martinez to notice. So I slip them into his hand instead... 

  And right then, the weirdest thing happens. 

  Axel bolts upright from his seat, like he's been electrocuted. The fork and knife clatter from his hand and his plate crashes to the floor. Startled, I glance up at him—his face is drained of color. 

He's… shaken, like he's just seen a ghost. 

  The table goes silent as my mom and Mrs Martinez's small conversation fades abruptly. Even Lucas stops chewing.  

  Axel turns to my mom. “I'm sorry, Mrs Anderson. I didn't mean—” 

  My mom rises from her chair, waving his apology away with a hand. “Oh, it's alright dear. We'll get it cleaned up.” She smiles softly. “I’ll fix you another plate. It's no problem.” 

  As she heads to the kitchen, Mom flashes me a confused look that seems to ask “what did you do?”. But I'm just as surprised as she is. 

And instantly, the strange feeling I had on the porch settles over me again. The same one I felt when I noticed Axel's eyes. 

  I try to shake it off, mouthing a small “sorry” to him as I help clean up. He apologizes as well and we share a small smile. 

  When my mom returns with another plate, Axel quietly declines using the fork and knife I offered earlier. Or any cutlery at all. 

Instead, he reaches out for a spoon. A rubber spoon. 

  The feeling of oddness at what just happened lingers in my guts, but I steer my mind away from it. The rest of dinner goes on well, with lighthearted conversations and a few laughs in between.

  When it's time for our visitors to head home, I offer to walk with them and my mom agrees. In all honesty, I just want some alone time with Axel. 

As we step down the porch and onto the street, I turn to him. “I heard about your parents, Ax. I can't imagine what it's been like for you this summer. I'm so sorry.”  

  His lips press into a grimace. “Thank you, Hayley. It's not the same without them, but I'm…” He exhales, swallowing hard. “I'm adjusting.” 

My chest aches for him, and without thinking, I reach for his hand.

  When my fingers make contact with his, hotness tinges my skin. His palm is scorching. I glance up at him in surprise for a moment, then I immediately flip his hand over… 

And under the streetlamp, I see a red scar etched into his palm, like a burn mark.

  “Ax, what happened to you?” I blurt out immediately. 

  He quickly pulls his hands away from mine. “It's… nothing." He shoves both hands into his pockets tensely and his eyes shift to Lucas, who’s now at the door, waiting for him. Taking the hint, I know it’s time to end the night.

  I draw in a deep breath, trying to mask the worry gnawing at me. “It was really good to see you tonight, Ax.”

  He nods, glancing down for half a second, then meeting my gaze again. “Mrs Martinez says I'll be starting school tomorrow. I guess we'll be seeing each other a lot.” He breaks into a full smile. “It was really good to see you again, Hayley. Thanks for tonight. Goodnight.”

  He turns away and starts walking towards the house. 

  “Night, Ax,” I call after him softly. He gives me one last wave before heading inside with Lucas. 

Trudging back to my place, I can't help but ponder on how much Axel has changed. 

Granted, physical change is no-brainer, but what's with the green eyes? Then there's the strange preference for rubber over basic cutlery, and the scar that—

Wait a minute. The scar. I realize it now. 

  The scarred palm is the same one he dropped the utensils from. I couldn't possibly have hurt him with the cutlery, could I? I mean, it barely made contact with him before he… spooked. 

But even if I did hurt him, cutlery wouldn't burn the skin. An open wound, maybe. But not a burn mark. The scar looked fresh. Like it was a skin reaction. Or an allergy. 

But an allergy to what? Silver cutlery? 

Alright. Wrap it up, Sherlock. Now you're just making up dumb stuff. 

  I sigh as I climb the steps to my door, shaking off the odd feelings clinging to me. Then I walk into the house. 

My childhood best friend has returned to town, and that's all that matters. For now.