A Song for Julia

darted to me and back to Dad. “I’d feel like I was imposing.”
    “I’m cooking,” my dad said. “You said you don’t get home cooked meals.”
    “Well …” She started to say, her defenses down.
    That’s when Sean chimed in. “Please?”
    She didn’t hesitate. “Okay. I’d love to.”
    So we stood, and she ran off to use the restroom before we left. I started to head upstairs to change, but my dad grabbed my arm.
    “Hey,” he said.
    “Yeah, Dad?”
    “Listen … be nice to her. All right? She’s a good kid, and … I think she’s been through a world of hurt, somewhere along the line.”
    I took a breath. “Is that the best you can think of me?”
    He shrugged. “I never know what to expect of you, Dougal. Just … try not to hurt that girl.”
    I swallowed. “I won’t,” I said.
    He gave me a nod, his expression serious, and then let go of my arm.

CHAPTER EIGHT

    What happened to you? (Julia)
    The ride back to Somerville was tense and awkward. Something, I don’t know what—maybe the humidity or the wind direction or butterflies in China—had put Crank into a mood again. He wasn’t exactly hostile, but he wasn’t friendly either. He sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window, a frown on his face.
    I don’t know why this bothered me. It’s not like we were a thing. It’s not like we were anything. But he’d switched moods so quickly, from anger and hostility last night, to open and laughing this morning, and now he was cold. I didn’t get it, I didn’t like it, and I was starting to not like him. At all.
    “So,” I said, trying to break the heavy silence. “Once you get your car checked out, just give me a call. Unless it’s going to be a lot of money, I really don’t want to get involved with the insurance, because that’ll mean my parents getting involved.”
    He nodded. “All right.”
    I got off 93 for Somerville, and we were in traffic again. He was still silent, staring out the window. He was starting to irritate me. A few blocks from the Metro Club, I said, “Did I do something wrong?”
    He jerked, surprise on his face. “What?”
    “I said, did I do something wrong? Did I piss you off somehow? Because I’m having some trouble figuring you out.”
    Crank shrugged and looked out the window again, then said, “I’m not an easy guy to figure out.”
    “I’m not interested enough to try. It’s just that last night you were all, stay the hell away, and this morning you were friendly, and now I’m sitting in a car with an ice cube. I don’t do moody.”
    “I didn’t ask you to,” he responded.
    “Are you always such a dickhead?”
    His eyes widened, and he looked over at me. Then he smirked and laughed out loud. We were still sitting at a red light, so I glared at him.
    “You’re actually really hot,” he said. The smirk on his face widened a little.
    “You’re actually really an ass,” I replied.
    He grinned and rolled his eyes, and if the light hadn’t turned green, I might have punched him. But instead, he said, “I’m sorry I was such a dick last night. Look … Sean’s had a tough time. My mom left almost five years ago. And he’s never gotten along well with the kids at school.”
    I don’t think he realized, but as he spoke, his hands tightened into fists. “They treat him like dirt. And I don’t want to bring someone around who he’ll get attached to, only to get hurt again when you stop coming around.”
    “Why would he get attached to me? I was only there one night.”
    “He’s already attached to you. Sean doesn’t ask people for things. Ever.”
    I blinked my eyes, trying to shove back a wave of empathy for that kid. He was nice, just a little different. But I knew what people were like in high school. Nice didn’t cut it in high school. Teenagers could be vicious, and Sean was different. Very different. I could only imagine what he went through every day.
    “He’s a good kid,” I said.
    “You’ve only seen one side of him. You haven’t seen him having a meltdown, and freaking out and breaking things. You haven’t seen his heart broken. People think Aspie kids don’t want to have friends. It’s not that at all. He wants friends desperately, but everybody rejects him.”
    “Aspie?”
    “Asperger's.”
    I took a deep breath, my eyes tearing up a little, and Crank kept talking.
    “I’d do anything, anything in the world, to make his life a little easier. But I can’t. All I can do is protect him a