“Of course, I’m awake.” Both eyes lift to shoot me a sarcastic stare. “I jus’ keep pretendin’ to be asleep ‘cause I didn’t wanna talk to nobody.”
“Not even me?” Dubs playfully ponders.
“Especially not you,” she brushes off with a small handwave. “You ain’t ready to hear the truth.”
“I’m not?”
“No.”
“Well…” he curiously begins, “what is it?”
“Little Wessy, how are you still as bad at listenin’ now as you were when you were face high to the counter?”
Small sniggers swirl around the room, yet he pushes, “Tell me anyway.”
“It ain’t my place to tell you your truth, but it’s becomin’ my place to remind you to quit lyin’ to yourself especially aboutthat girl you love more than my plants do the rain in the summer.”
His mouth drops open in pure shock.
Hey, she told him he wasn’t ready.
And she was right.
She usually is.
Is that why she didn’t tell us about whatever’s been going on with her?
‘Cause she didn’t thinkwewere ready?
“Now, why don’t you take Bronny to go get somethin’ to eat in the cafeteria?” Arranging her head on the pillow is accompanied by a smile. “I know he’s starvin’.”
“I am,” my little brother pouts. “They starved me the whole way here.”
“Dem pants look a little on fire, bud,” I teasingly sigh.
“Plus, they’re fightin’ and-”
“We ain’t fightin’.”
“Right, ‘cause fightin’ means y’all would have to be talkin’,” Bronny meets Grams’s stare, “and.They. Ain’t. Talkin’.” His hand lifts to whisper behind it. “Eye roll emoji.”
Her forehead wrinkles in confusion. “Why don’t you jus’ roll your eyes?”
“That’s so cringe.”
“And why can’t you jus’ cringe?”
“That’s so basic.”
Exasperation stretches across her face prompting Gilly to suggest, “Why don’t you go have breakfast with Dubs and give him all the tea?”
“On the two of you?!” Bronny cockily begins backing out of the room. “Done. Son.”
“Not,” my head slowly shakes, “not what she meant, Bronskie.”
“You like being called Bronskie?” Dubs casually questions, ushering him out of the room.
“The boys on the team actually call me Groffs. And after I score? They chat G-A. G-A. Ya know. For Groffs attacks.”
