''You know how they came up with the word Lunatic?'' he asked.
I shook my head, feeling like I probably didn't want to know the answer. His lips pulled up on one side in a mischievous, lopsided grin.
He stepped closer. ''Because all of the worst m...
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"Shit," I mumbled under my breath as my finger squished itself between the sprocket and the front wheel. I shook my hand out and figured that now was a good time to take a break from the catastrophe in front of me.
It had been two days since I'd begun fixing up the bike Owein had given me and so far I'd only been able to fix and replace the seat. Changing the chain, sprockets, and taking off the wheels had been a little tougher than I'd imagined. Owein had offered to help a few times, but I was hardly going to admit to him that I wasn't capable of fixing it on my own.
Instead, I'd been surfing the internet looking for explanations, because at least the internet wouldn't insert a misogynistic tone when it helped me. Scrolling through the latest blog I'd found on replacing a motorcycle chain, I figured maybe I'd be done for the day.
School was starting in a week so I'd have plenty of time to finish the bike before then. Two days into living at a freaking castle and I'd spent the majority of my time in the garage. Honestly, I was terrified that I'd get lost in it without road signs. Giving up for the day, I began to clean up my own little mess of rags and bolts. I wiped my greasy hands on the back of my already stained overalls.
"Lou?" My brother's voice called out into the huge garage.
"Over here!" I called back and put the tools I'd borrowed back in their proper case. Harry approached as I'd just finished up and shot me a smile.
"All done for the day, Evel Knievel?"
"Yes, thank you very much. What's Mom and Owein doing?" I asked as we headed back to the house together.
"Well that's why I came to get you, we're headed out on the boat," Harry replied, nonchalantly.
I stopped in my tracks and stared at him. He had a smile peeking out on his face, but looked as if he were trying to be cool about the fact that we now had a boat at our ready access.
"The boat? " Harry nodded vigorously. "Are you serious?"
"No bullshit."
At my brother's affirmation, we both took off towards the back of the mansion. The run, considering the width of the house, felt as if it took forever, but when we reached the backyard we were met with an amazing view of a sparkling lake and a big, white tent looking boat. Mom and Owein were loading things on to the deck as Harry and I came closer.
The boat was beautiful. It had wide, crisp sails and a sleek mahogany body. It put all other boats I'd seen in Rhode Island to shame. Owein invited us all upon the boat with a big sweeping motion. There were a few crew members aboard the boat performing complicated-looking tasks and pushing us away from the dock and my new home.
Mom and Owein were sitting off to the side of the boat with their hands in a loved-up pile on their laps. Harry sat close to them and the three all engaged in an exciting conversation about the boat. Within days, Mom and Harry had begun to look as if they belonged on a boat like this or in the house we just left. Mom was wearing a knit nautical sweater with crisp white jeans and boat shoes. She would've never been caught dead wearing something like that in Hal's desert, we couldn't afford it back there. She'd never wanted to. Or, at least, I didn't think she did.
