“Kaia and Boone havezeroboundaries, and I’m the one making things weird?” I groan and nearly snap my pen between my fingers as I lean back in the dining room chair.
“Bobo and Killer don’t count; they’ve never had boundaries,” Sunday says without looking at me. “This is weird.” She waves her pen in my direction. “I’m still stuck on how you even convinced him.”
“Did you give him a Hollow Special?” Kaia asks with a laugh, and we all give her disgusted looks. “What? I meant her charm!”
“Sure you did,” I sigh, “I just asked him…more than once…”
“In the voice?” Sunday narrows her eyes. “You did the voice, didn’t you?”
“I might have done the voice on the last one,” I conceded to her interrogation instantly.
“Yeah, a stone statue couldn’t resist that voice,” Kaia purrs, “Thing one was screwed.” She adds, leaning over the table, and her eyes flicker to meet mine. “Means he has a weakness.”
“Or I just annoyed him enough for him to break,” I argue.
“Have you met either of his siblings?” Cosy snorts, and Kaia snaps her fingers in agreement. “He’s quite possibly the only person in the world who uses the word no with them.”
“Hey, sometimes he says yes to me…” Sunday protests and looks around the table.
“And then he immediately does what he says he wasn’t going to do,” Adeline says, sipping on her beer. “Admit it, Sunny, Bright is the living definition of a brick wall.”
“He’s just…” Sunday rolls her eyes. “Fine, but someone had to say no to us! Our parents were never around to do it, he’s stone cold because someone had to be!” She says, a little upset that we’re teasing Brighton.
“We love that grumpy groucher, Sunny.” Kaia reaches out and gives her a pet on the head, “The entire situation is…”
“Perplexing,” Cosy finishesher sentence.
“Yeah, well, it won’t last long if you four have any say,” I groan. “Can we finish the session? I'm exhausted.” I say, a little over being teased as well.
The girls don’t drop it for the rest of the night, going back and forth with theories about why Brighton had said yes to me renting the room, but in all honesty. I think he was being nice because I forced his hand. Sunday sends me back to the Hollow with my bags and a grocery bag of snacks for Daisy. The Hollow is still busy when I pull the Bronco into the back lot, and I cut the engine but sit in the front seat with my eyes closed for a little while. The sounds of the city are some of my favorites. Guessing how everyone’s night is going by the distant laughter and hollering.
My phone vibrates, interrupting the quiet, and the screen flashes with my mother's face. I lean over and answer the call, “Hi, Mom.”
“Rhea! Your sister told me about the condo. What in the world happened?” she asks. The main reason I hadn’t called her about the condo yet is that she’d been adamant that it was a bad purchase. I think part of the reason she hates it is that she doesn’t want me so far away, but the distance is exactly the point. My mom is eccentric to say the least.
“It flooded,” I say, not really sure what else she wants if Rue already told her. I knew I shouldn’t have texted that fifteen-year-old snitch.
“Why didn’t you come home? Where are you staying? We can move Reid into Rue’s room to make space for you!” She starts to ramble.
To make space for you.
“No, no, you don’t have to do that. I’m staying with a friend. Don’t take Reid’s room from him; he earned that,” I say, remembering how excited my brother was to have his own room when I moved out. “And Rue doesn’t need to find out what teenage boys do in the dark just yet,” I add lightness to my sad tone to keep her from thinking I’m upset with anything she’s said.
“I wish you had called me,” she says, and I realize that I’ve failed in my damage control. “And Gabe could have helped.”
Gabe is my stepdad, a funny guy, really good to my mom and younger siblings, and has two kids of his own from another marriage. Shana and Toby, both really cute kids. Nine and six. It makes for the most chaotic family dinners. Rue is the youngest of us at fifteen, and Reid turns seventeen this fall.
“I’m truly good, no help needed. I heard that Reid got accepted into the Hockey program?” I say. “That’s good, if he makes it through, it pays for his university, yeah?”
“Oh, he’s so excited, Rhea,” she instantly becomes distracted from my problems with the question. “Those hockey boys he loves… uh…"
"From the Huskies?" I interject, "North and Carter."
"Yes! I knew that! Mercer North and Kenji Carter are running the practices this year,” she says.
“Damn,” I scoff. They really pulled out the big guns.
“They’re training the next wave, at least that’s what Reid keeps saying about it. He’s the youngest boy to be accepted, and he said three girls got into the program. Isn’t that amazing?” One of the line cooks pops the back door open for a smoke, letting the light from the Hollow spill into the dark parking lot. Mom continues to talk as I make my way from the Bronco, the moment of quiet lost completely. I gather everything from the back, balancing it all over my shoulders and in my arms.
