Page 50 of Cassie
Kids are kids
Faith
“God.” Staring at the ceiling, Faith started counting squares again. She’d been trying to ignore the slamming and shouting from the kitchen for the past half an hour, unsuccessfully. Scooting up in the bed, she leaned against the headboard and sighed, settling her tablet on her lap.
“Faynez, come here.” Sammy was yelling at her again, for the third time in twenty minutes. “I need your help.”
“You need help,” she muttered in quiet agreement, angling forwards and fluffing her pillow before leaning back. Lifting her voice, she shouted back, “Tell me again why you’re here?”
“Because Dad had club business out of state, and you’re just a wee, bitty baby who can’t be trusted to stay on her own.” His voice had grown in volume as he spoke, coming closer with every word. “So I had to promise to be here and keep the teenaged partying under control, or at least to a minimum.” Three sharp raps on her door, then the doorknob turned. Halfway. The wood bowed in as if he’d leaned against it, expecting it to open. “Hey,” he sounded genuinely aggrieved. “Why’s your door locked?”
“Because I’m tired of you just walking in and flopping on my bed.” She touched the edge of the tablet to bring up the e-reader program. “I’m reading, brother dearest. Not doing keg stands or playing spin the bottle with the dozens of boyfriends I’ve got stashed under my bed.” She located her book and tapped the cover, snuggling back against the pillow. “So you’re safe from having to deal with me tonight. Go and chat with your groupies. I’m sure you can have a heavy sexting session going on in less than five minutes if you’re bored.”
“But I’mambored.” Her doorknob clicked and Faith angled her gaze that direction in time to see it turn fully. “And hungry, so I made food. But I can’t find placemats for the table. And I don’t flop.” Her door opened and Sammy stuck his head into the gap, broad grin firmly fixed into place. “Found you.” He chortled and pushed the door wide, coming in and standing next to her bed. She barely got her feet and legs out of the way before he flung himself backwards, bouncing the mattress and jostling her. “You can’t hide from me, Faynez.” He gave her a mock glare. “I’ll always find you. I’m the best at hide and seek, always have been.”
“Undefeated champion, I know.” She shook her head. “That just then? That was you flopping, just for the record.” His glare turned to a grin. “Placemats are in the cabinet beside the oven.” She sniffed. “What did you make? I can’t smell anything from here.” Sniffing again, she gave up on reading and turned the tablet off, setting it on the nightstand. It beeped when it synced with the charging pad and she rolled back to see Sammy staring at her computer.
“Who’s that?” He sat up and Faith scrambled to get off the bed first, launching herself and racing him to the desk. He grappled for control of the mouse for a moment but gave up when she gave a cry of pain at how his fingers clamped down hard on hers. She closed the window just as he leaned close to read, lips moving. Straightening, he turned a steely gaze on her, and Faith watched as his face transformed, changing from the sweet and loving brother she’d known all her life, to a hard and distant man who radiated anger. “Who the fuck was that?” All elements of play had left his voice, too, and she shivered at the raking edge of command in his tone. This was the hockey captain, the team leader, and a man who expected answers when he asked questions. For all he didn’t share genetics with their dad, Sammy sure seemed the spitting image of him when he was like this. “Not asking to hear my own voice here, Faith Inez.” His lips pursed and she saw a muscle pulse in his jaw for a moment. “Who the fuck was that you were chatting with?”
“Ohhh, he brought out my full name. Should I be scared, Samuel Isaiah?” She went through the motions of shutting down the computer manually, not trusting her voice not to shake if she used voice commands. “He’s Nonya, if you have to know.”
“Nonya? What the fuck kind of fucked up name is that?” Sammy turned to glare at the empty screen. “Nonya?”
“Nonya Business.” Faith rolled her eyes when Sammy swung to snarl at her. “Seriously, Sammy. Who I chat with isn’t any of your business. It’s not like I invited him over to meet the fam or anything.” She sniffed again, any odors of his cooking still eluding her. “What did you cook? I don’t smell anything.”
“Cereal. And it’s probably soggy by now. You’re welcome.” He brushed past her and paused in the doorway. “Dad know you’re talking to a guy in college? Oh, yeah,”—he mocked her shocked face, pulling his mouth into a perfectOas he plastered his palms to his cheeks—“I read that part, him talking about classes and parties. I also—” He turned back to face her. “—read what you wrote him back. Don’t be thinking you can head over to campus and just hang out in his dorm room, Faynez. Because a man like that? He’s not interested in just hanging out with a little girl like you. Man like that? He’s got one thing on his mind.”
“Man like that?” She imitated his growling tone and shook her head. “What does that even mean? You saw his picture and read like two lines of an hours-long conversation.” His gaze sharpened and she kicked herself for giving him that much. She would have to uninstall the chat app or he’d be in her computer and try to get at the history.I do not want him reading parts of that. Faith felt her cheeks get warm. “He’s just someone to blow off steam with from the safety of my room, Sammy. I’m not planning on meeting him anywhere.” She hoped he didn’t hear the lie in her words, quickly pushing past into safer territory. “Back down, bruiser. Nobody to whomp on here. It’s nothing, Sammy. Just a chat.” She walked towards him, stymied for a moment when he didn’t move. She shoved at his shoulder and only succeeded in rocking herself backwards in place. “Jesus, Sammy, move already. You made cereal. Let’s go eat before it really is ruined. Did you want to watch a movie? You said you were bored, right?”
“I know what you’re doing, you know.” He shook his head and glared back at the computer for a moment before walking out of her bedroom. “I’m going to regret it, but I’m letting you get away with it this time.”
“Because you’re the best big brother a person could have.” She pushed past him into the hallway and turned, walking backwards towards the kitchen. “The best.”
“Yeah, yeah. Flattery won’t get you any points with me. I’m immune.” He studied her for a moment, his gaze severe. “You won’t do anything stupid, right? You’re smarter than that, and I know it. Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid and I won’t tell Dad.”
“I won’t do anything stupid,” she told him quickly, covering her heart with one palm. “Promise.”
***
Sammy
The movie Faynez had picked out droned on in the background, but Sammy hadn’t paid attention beyond what it took to get his sister involved in the drama playing out on the screen. The screen of his phone lit up and he cut a quick glance at her to ensure she was still focused on the TV before he pulled it to where he could see.
I’ll see what I can do.
That was a response from Myron to the text Sammy had sent more than an hour ago.
Faynez thought she was being so slick with her distractions and pulling Sammy from the room. But, he’d seen enough. A man, not a boy, had been texting with her, commiserating with some made-up complaint she had about feeling stifled living here.What the fuck kind of name is Drago, anyway?The brief glimpse Sammy had of the conversation had his hackles up, but he knew his sister. If he pushed it now, she would withdraw and cover her tracks so neither he nor their dad would have any real idea of what’d been going on.
I wish Mama were here. He let the sadness that thought carried with it roll over him for a moment. It was something he wished for every day, every hour sometimes.Not meant to be. Gritting his teeth until the bones of his jaw ached, he stifled the pain that was never far below the surface. Sometimes it was best to address it head-on, and he ran his schedule for tomorrow through his head.
Mandatory skate in the morning, then conditioning for four hours, but at least there wasn’t a game. That meant after five or six in the evening he’d be free.It’s been too long, he thought, and settled deeper into the couch cushions, waiting. When the ending credits started rolling, he let Faynez slip in a couple of fake-as-fuck yawns, then he pounced.
“Be here at six tomorrow night. We’ll do dinner, then go see Mom.” Her head whipped towards him and he knew he’d been right. She had something planned on the sly, and it wasn’t going to happen on his watch. “I haven’t been out there in too long, and I miss her. Want my Faynez with me when I go.” He held back a scowl as she glanced at the hallway before nodding.At least the guilt trip worked.
His phone vibrated soundlessly again and he glanced down to see a new message from Myron.
I can’t look at it for a couple of days, but I’ve pulled a backup. Even if she deletes it, I’ve got whatever’s on there now.
