In my mind, the wall had been Waverly's face, and the crowbar had been, well, a crowbar actually. I never would've committed such violence in real life, but the whole thing had been surprisingly fun, just like last week when I'd taken the same crowbar to an upstairs closet.
To Brody, I said, "The funny thing is, I like all of it."
"All of it?" he said. "Even Roy's camera?"
I knew what he meant. For whatever reason, Roy seemed to take a particular interest in whatever I was doing, especially if I was doing it near Brody. I knew it was part of the job, but there were times when itwasa little unsettling.
With a laugh, I admitted, "Well, maybe I could use alittleless camera time."
"You want me to talk to him?"
The offer caught me off guard. "What would you say?"
"I'd tell him to knock it off, find someone else to focus on."
I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. "But evenyousaid he's just doing his job."
"It doesn't matter," Brody said. "Say the word, and I'll make it stop."
Judging from his tone, I almost believed him. "You wouldn't, really?"
"I would," he said.
He sounded absolutely sincere, and I was embarrassingly touched by the offer. Still, it seemed wrong to take Brody up on it. After all, I'd signed a contract, and I wasn't the type to not live up to my end of the bargain.
"Nah," I said. "But thanks. Seriously."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure." I perked up. "And besides, it will be fun to see the finished product."
"You mean the house?"
"The houseandthe show." Still, at the thought of things actually ending, I felt an all-too familiar pang in my heart. As we walked along, I added, "If you want the truth, I'll be a little sorry to see it done. I mean, I'll be glad to see the house restored and all, but it'll be strange when it's over. You know?"
His voice grew quiet. "I do."
We were silent for another long moment, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Brody was thinking the same thing I was thinking.
What would happen when the house was done?
Would we go our separate ways?
I hated the thought more than I cared to admit. And judging from Brody's lingering silence, maybehewasn't too thrilled with the idea either.
Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part.I hadn't been lying.The last couple of months had been some of the happiest of my whole life.
I adored what I was doing – and who I was doing it with.
Brody.
He was nothing like I'd expected.
And now, I couldn’t help but recall how much I'd hated him back in high school. As we continued along the moonlit beach, I said, "Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Remember that English assignment? The fiction-writing thing?" With an embarrassed laugh, I said, "You know, the one with the candy store?"
