Good times.
The following morning, I'm setting the timer, which is strapped to my bicep, all ready for a morning run, when I see Konnor, Blesk, and my dad sitting on the patio. As I approach, I hear Blesk ask, “How did you make the tap water green?”
A chuckle vibrates in my chest because the time Blesk is obviously asking about is the day my brother decided to dye everything green.
He often 'acted out,' a polite way to describe his past behaviour. My brother's story is long and full of trauma. He was kidnapped when he was four years old. And if thatwasn't bad enough, when the police found him years later, his mother had already passed away and his father hadn't wanted him back. We have no idea why. It sickens me to think about a father not wanting his son. We don't talk about this though. It's been swept under the rug.
But his broken little soul couldn’t be healed by hiding the injustice. So he'd misbehaved. He'd drank too much...drinkstoo much.
Sometimes I wonder if he had tried to push us away as a test of our commitment. Would we still love him after it all? We did. We do. We won't abandon him like his father did.
“Well, Duchess," Konnor begins, making me smile. I've come to learn that that's his pet name for Blesk—too cute.
"I’m so glad you asked," he says. "I put green jelly crystals in the faucet under the washer.”
Bouncing over to them, I plonk down on my dad's lap and kiss him on the cheek. “I remember that!” Dad's hazel eyes brighten as he gives me a bear hug. “What’s up, Daddy-o?”
Konnor leans over and lightly pinches my stomach. “You’re too old to sit on Dad’s lap, Cassidy."
“Daaaaad, Konnor’s hitting me.”
Dad squeezes me tighter. “Now now, Konnor, let me keep my little girl for a while longer. God knows I lost Flicker as soon as she came out of the womb.” My dad doesn't have any favourite children, but the two of us have a special bond. We spent a lot of time together because I was more of a homebody than either of my siblings. We liked watching quiz shows and playing board games together while Konnor and Flick preferred to socialise with their friends.
Konnor lets out a big sigh and smirks at me. “Such a bloody princess." He leans back and looks at Dad. "Where is Flick? Cassidy just said she was away for the weekend.”
Dad peers up at me. “Isn’t she with her new lady love?"
I stare down at the spread on the patio table, grinning at the sight of Konnor's signature waffles. He cooked Blesk breakfast. He must be pulling out all the moves for this girl.
I pick up the fork and shovel a piece of waffle into my mouth, chewing and answering at the same time. “Yeah, but I don’t know where. Probably in Connolly somewhere.”
Konnor's brows furrow. “Who? Why Connolly? Who’s she seeing?”
My big brother has always had an apprehension toward The Butcher Boys. They have a bad reputation. I take another piece of waffle so I don't have to elaborate. “You don’t wanna know.”
Konnor glares at me and it's a hostile look I very rarely see directed at me. “Who, Cassidy?”
Salty waffle chunks muffle my words. “Stacey Grange.”
"I know Stacey." Blesk smiles sweetly at Konnor. "She was friends with Erik for a while. She went to Connolly High." I don't know who Erik is, but that doesn't seem to impress Konnor at all.
He stiffens. "Great. So she’s been hanging out with that crowd."
Dad feigns laughter and I know he's trying to lighten the mood. Konnor is overprotective and often irrational. It's all to do with the way he handles conflict. He struggles sometimes to channel his emotions.
"Don’t worry, Konnor," Dad says. "The boys know to behave here. They’ve grown up a lot since you left to study."
Blesk glances between us as she fidgets with her clothes. "Are you talking about The Butcher Boys?"
I tilt my head at Blesk. "You know them?”
Blesk and Konnor share a significant lookbefore she says, "Not really. But doesn’t everyone in the District know of The Butcher Boys?"
They sure do.
Konnor grumbles. "Yeah, alright. I’ll have a chat with Flick when I see her next, but you stay clear of them. Please, Cassidy. They are just bad news."
I glance up at the sky and then back at Konnor, internally shaking the negativity from this conversation out of my mind. "Yes, big brother."
