“You can say that again.” I headed for the kitchen with him on my tail.
“Let me call Sarah,” he said. I looked at him over my shoulder before grabbing a thick stack of napkins. “Wait.” He scratched his chin as if trying to remember something. “I’m sure Jim mentioned taking her to visit her mother.”
“I’ll handle it, Dad.” I went back to the passage and crouching, I used the napkins to mop up the droplets of blood, from the front door to the stairs. “I have everything she needs.”
“You do?” he sounded surprised.
I didn’t blame him. Most guys my age would’ve freaked the fuck out by now. What began as a spur of the moment decision to help Skye prep for her teens after Mom passed, got forgotten over the last three years, in a box, somewhere in my room.
“Yes.” I casually replied, unsure if I sounded like a nutjob for being prepared for my sister’s first period. “I need to find the box.”
Wiping the third stair, I felt Dad grasp my shoulder lightly. “Thank you, son.”
“For?” I asked, straightening to face him.
He eyed me for a second then a smile stretched over his lips. “For always being there for her. Stepping in when it should be me.”
My laugh was light as I scrunched the soiled napkins in my hand. “When you love someone, you’ll do anything for them even if it’s the craziest shit or she blames you for her murder.” I continued wiping to Dad’s soft laugh then ascended each step.
On the upstairs landing, I paused outside the bathroom in the hallway and heard the soft hiss of the shower through the door. That gave me time. In my room, I disposed of the used napkins in my bathroom, washed my hands and walked over to my closet. It took a few minutes to find what I was looking for. Box in hand, I went back to Skye’s bathroom. The sound of the water was now replaced by soft sniffles. I figured she didn’t know what to do next.
I knocked and called out softly, “Blue.”
“Go away,” came the petulant sob.
“And what do you plan to do, if I go away?” Silence persisted for a moment before the sniffles started up again. “You’re not dying, Blue.”
“It’s all your fault, you never told me this would happen,” she sounded louder this time, and I knew she’d moved closer to the door.
With a soft laugh, I lowered myself to the floor, set the box to one side and sat with my back to the door. “Okay, I take full responsibility but I’m not going away.”
“Then I’m not coming out.” I could imagine her sulking with her bottom lip sticking out, hands folded against her chest.
“Fine, don’t come out but let me help you.”
“You’re a guy,” she accused as if it were a bad thing. “This is girl’s stuff, I shouldn’t...” her voice faded, her tone filled with awkwardness. Silence prevailed for a while before she said, “Shay.”
“Yes.”
“I’m scared.” The fear in her voice had my heart jumping to my throat.
I touched the door, hoping she’d feel comforted by my words alone. “There’s nothing to be scared about, Blue,” I kept my voice soft. “Your body’s going through normal changes and something that will happen every month—”
“Every month!” she wailed.
I chuckled. “Open the door. Let me help you or would you prefer if I called Diane,” I asked, playing a strategic hand. Skye hated the girls I brought home especially Diane, the girl whose hair Skye had cut while she slept. To her credit, Skye was pretty adept at getting rid of them. To her discredit, I was always single for that reason.
It worked. A second later, the key turned in the lock and the door opened just enough for her to peek out. With her cheeks flushed an adorable pink, her eyes round with uncertainty, she also sat on the floor.
“Here.” I inched the box closer to the opening.
Her eyes on the box, she opened the door a little more. “What’s this?”
She reached into it as I said, “a few things I thought you might need for your period.”
Startled, she jerked her hand back. “Shh, you’re not supposed to say that out loud,” she scolded.
God, she was so damned cute. “Okay, what would you prefer I call it?” I cocked my head to one side, waiting.
