Page 52 of Spring Fling
My head bobbed in a nod. “Can you blame me? You graduated from school and moved back home, only to be shipped off to work for Uncle Drew. Then you were back with Chase and living with him. There were so many changes happening and so quickly, we never got the chance to talk about anything.”
A quiet fell between us as Nathan looked over at the television set. It wasn’t on, but you could see our distorted reflections staring back at us.
“I’m worried about you.”
The words hung heavy in the air, like a lead mallet waiting to fall and cause destruction.
“What do you mean?”
Nathan ran a hand through his hair, sinking back into the couch cushions. “Mom mentioned that you’ve been spending a lot of time with Joe again.”
I had to fight to keep the growl that wanted to escape at bay.
“And why are you so worried about that? He’s your friend. You introduced us. If he was someone you thought I should stay away from, maybe you should have kept us apart from the beginning.”
Nathan deflated, his shoulders slumping as he continued to sink into the couch.
“I don’t know, man. He’s a good guy. The life of the party. I’m friends with him for a reason. I just don’t want you to get mixed up in some of the shit that he gets mixed up in.”
It was so damn hard to not laugh. I’d heard the stories, but since I’d known Joe, he’d not caused any problems. Sure, we’d been risky. Sex on a public beach in a foreign country was beyond risky, but I’d been more than a willing participant in that. Pretty sure I’d been the one to initiate it as well.
This hadn’t been what I’d wanted to talk to Nathan about at all, but now it felt awkward and forced. Would he think something was up if I brought up being demi at this point? Would he connect the dots that Joe was my person?
Instead of telling him like I should have, I chickened out. “You don’t need to worry about Joe. He’s a great friend. There’s been no trouble since we started hanging out.”
Of course, that’s when Mom and Dad came home. The door swung open and Mom came in carrying a brown paper bag stuffed under each arm.
“As I live and breathe. Both of my children are actually at home. Can I convince you two to help me bring in the groceries? There might be some dinner involved if you do.”
It didn’t take more than that to get us both off the couch and heading out to the car. Dad was busy trying to pick up as many bags as he could. Whoever decided that paper bags didn’t need handles needed a firm talking to. Or a special place in hell. Either one was fine. He managed five before he stumbled his way to the front door.
Between me and Nathan, we managed to grab the rest of the bags. I never understood why mom bought so much. It was normally just three of us at home anymore and most times I was out with Joe.
We all helped to load things into the cupboards and refrigerator as Mom pulled out a couple of different pots, stopping us from putting away a few items. From the looks of what she had us leave out, she was making something with chicken and asparagus.
Nathan and I went back to the living room, but Dad was watching the sports recap on the TV. Neither of us cared enough to joinhim, so we went back to my room. It was at that moment I realized just how much I’d missed the little moments like this. You hear all these stories of siblings that don’t get along, and there were plenty of times that Nathan had made my life hell as a kid, but for the most part, he cared.
We fell pretty easily back into old times. I plopped onto my bed, handing a PlayStation controller over, and Nathan grinned as he grabbed it. I’d missed how we used to sit around and compete playing stupid racing or fighting games, smack talking each other until Mom yelled at us. She always thought we would push it too far.
So Nathan might have made me cry a time or two when we were little. Things were different now.
“Watch yourself,” he said as he pushed my car to the side of the track, taking first place from me. He wouldn’t hold the position for long. It was like he never learned that I knew all the tricks on how to take the lead at the last possible second.
I hit my button to accelerate my car, shooting past him right as we were passing the finish line. Nathan dropped the controller in his lap, tackling me back into the bed. “How the hell do you keep doing that?”
“I don’t know, asshole. You design this shit. Seems like you should be able to figure it out.”
We only got one more race in before Mom was calling us for dinner. It didn’t feel like we were adults. We’d somehow transportedback to being teenagers in high school and Nathan and I played it up, racing each other to the kitchen. He knocked me out of the way to grab the plates from the cupboard. Was it a little weird that we even turned setting the table into a competition? Maybe.
Once the food was served and we’d all sat down to eat, Mom looked between the two of us, a wide smile spread across her face. “This is so nice. It’s been a while since I’ve had both of you boys at my table. We need to try to do this a little more often, don’t you think?”
Nathan rolled his eyes as he cut into his chicken breast. “You’re just lucky that Chase works the late shift at Margaret’s tonight.”
Was that really why he’d come over? Chase worked late most nights at the fancy restaurant that had hired him when he’d moved to Seattle.
“You’ve missed the point, dear. I just love seeing my children at the table again. I hate that he always works so late. He’s more than welcome at this table as well. You know that.”
When Nathan and Chase had reconnected, Mom let it slip that she’d known about the death of Chase’s parents. Since then, we’d made it known that he was always a welcome member of our family. Then again, he always had been.
