by Charity B.
It’s over. It’s finally over. No more nights of being scared to fall asleep. No more tensing up at every noise in the dark. That fear left a hole that I have no idea how to fill.
Adriel’s footsteps come up behind me at a fast pace. “Kai? Are you all right?”
Looking up at her, I take her hand to pull her down next to me. “I couldn’t take it anymore.”
She lifts my arm to drape it around her before she lays her head against me. “You don’t have to. It’s over now.”
I smile as I brush her hair from her face. “It’s over now.”
Adriel
17 years old
“Okay there are a few things we need to go over.” Uncle Bennett pulls out a big, white envelope, removing a stack of papers. “This might feel soon, but if we get it out of the way, we can spend our time figuring our lives out now.”
I quietly chew on the breakfast casserole someone dropped off. It’s super yummy. Kai’s cut hand rests on the table. It’s finally healed enough that he doesn’t need gauze anymore.
“I spoke to your parents’ lawyer yesterday, so I’m just going to lay it out there, and if you have any questions, just ask.” He clears his throat, his eyes scanning the documents before they flip to me. “For the next ten months, I’m your legal guardian, Adriel. During that time, you are to follow and respect my rules. On your eighteenth birthday, you’ll get the twenty-thousand dollars they left you.” Turning to Malakai he says, “Since you’re already eighteen, you’ll get yours once you graduate.”
His eyes stretch wide. “They left me twenty-thousand dollars?!”
“Actually, your mom had another nine thousand just for you in a separate account.” Kai’s face goes blank as his empty stare settles on the kitchen sink when Uncle Bennett adds, “You should know, its purpose was college tuition.”
The muscles of Kai’s crossed arms bulge beneath his shirt. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Straightening the papers on the table, he slides them back inside the envelope. “The funeral home is mine until one or both of you decide you want to take over, whether in part or as a whole.” Uncle Bennett’s fingers play with the envelope flap before tapping on the tabletop.
“There’s something else I want to mention… Your dad once told me he hadn’t spoken to his family since before you two were born. I’m assuming you aren’t aware of them?”
I look at Kai just as he turns to me. We were always told Daddy didn’t have any family. It was never something I thought about.
Our heads shake simultaneously.
“Well, I received a letter from his brother’s son. Actually, you did. A private courier delivered it yesterday. He sent his condolences along with three hundred dollars for each of you. I’m using it to open both of you your own bank account. You need to start learning money management.”
Wait…we have a cousin? This is oodles of information to process. I want to know why we’ve never heard of him when Kai asks, “What’s his name?”
Uncle Bennett stands from his seat, going to the letter holder to pick up a paper. He hands it to Kai. “Mikkel. His name is Mikkel Courtenay.”
Uncle Bennett shifts on his feet, his cheeks turning red as he changes the subject and stares at me. “One last thing…Kai’s more than welcome to stay here as long as he pleases. However, if you pull any bullshit like the other night ever again, he has to leave. Got it?” I nod quickly. He’s obviously uncomfortable with this conversation, deeming that an acceptable response. “Okay then.” Turning back to my brother, he asks, “Are you sure you want to go back to school already? It’s still really soon. Nobody would blame you for taking some more time.” Tilting his head in consideration, he adds, “On the other hand, it would keep you from falling behind.”
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want our dead parents to interfere with our schoolwork,” Kai snaps.
Uncle Bennett rubs the back of his neck with an irritated sigh. “I’m trying here, guys. Just tell me what you need.”
“Right now, I need to go to bed. I have school tomorrow.” Kai stands, walking out of the kitchen without another word.
“If he’s going to school,” I say, “then I am too. He shouldn’t be there by himself.”
“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing here, Adriel. Being your uncle is one thing, but being responsible for you two is something else entirely. I wasn’t ready for this, so I’m just trying to do the right thing by you kids.”
Following Kai’s lead, I stand up. “Then don’t ever threaten to separate us again. I need him, and he needs me. More than either of us need you.”
My bracelets jingle as I slip my arms through my pink backpack straps on my way down the hall. Kai’s door is cracked open enough for me to peek my head inside. His back is to me, sitting at his desk.
“Kai? Are you ready for school?” He turns in his seat, holding a paper in his hand. “What’s that? Mikkel’s letter?”
“Yeah. He seems nice. I don’t understand why Dad lied.”
“Can I read it?” Nodding as I walk to him, he hands me the folded note. It’s typed on thick, textured paper.
Mikkel Courtenay
6 West Orleans Ave
Grand Isle, Louisiana 70358
(985) 678-8600
Malakai and Adriel,
I’m sure this letter must come as a shock to you as I doubt you are aware of the existence of me or my family. Your father was my father’s brother. We are profoundly saddened to hear of your parents’ passing, and we offer our deepest condolences. I understand that you may not be prepared to speak at the moment, but I want to extend the offer to help you in any way I can during this tragic time. Enclosed is a check for each of you. I felt it was the least I could do under the circumstances. Please do not hesitate to reach out at any time. Day or night. I hope to hear from you.
Mikkel Courtenay.
Curiosity itches my brain as I hand it back to him. “Do you want to call him?”
He tosses the letter on his desk before grabbing my hand to pull me on his lap. My heart does somersaults, hoping he will kiss me. I feel like he’s been avoiding me ever since our shower, and it’s been worse since Uncle Bennett caught me in his room with Llumi Star. His lips softly press against my arm.
“I don’t know, maybe in a few weeks. There’s enough going on right now.” Turning my head to face him, I lean forward. The moment my lips touch against his, he moves away. He doesn’t look at me when he says, “It’s getting late. We should go.” My disappointment closes my throat, locking away any response I might have. I get off him when he moves to stand, kissing the top of my head.
He doesn’t want you.
Sick, sick, sick!
He loves you more than anything.
I fight the urge to cover my ears as I walk out his door. Passing my uncle, I frown at him before waiting for Kai in the hearse.
I wish I could turn the voices off. They just confuse me. After he climbs in, I try to see if Kai’ll change his mind. “Are you sure you want to go to school? We could always skip and go somewhere else…anywhere else.”
“No. School is normal. I need some normalcy right now.”
We don’t speak about our parents, our surprise cousin, or school. Heavy silence makes me uneasy until he tightens his grip on my hand, raising it to his lips. That makes me smile. His touch always shifts my mood.
It only lasts until we pull into the Lettleton High parking lot though. He takes a big breath, giving my hand one more quick kiss before picking up his backpack and getting out of the car.
This is the last place I want to be. I only came for Kai. Sitting in my seat, I stall as long as possible until I groan and force myself to follow after him.
Most of the day goes by in a blur. It’s weird that Bridgett and her coven leave me alone. The strangest part, however, comes at the end of the day.
“Hey, psy—Adriel, wait up.”
Turning slowly, I glare at her. “What do you want, Bridgett?” Her clone friends stand behind
her. They look so different without sneers twisting their faces.
“It really sucks about your parents…Not even you deserve that.”
“Thanks,” I deadpan.
“Well, I’m having a candlelight vigil party for them at my house tonight. You and Malakai can come if you want.”
I shake my head without giving her a response as I walk toward my last class. I have no intention of going to that…I don’t think. Aside from her family being part of First Bethel’s congregation, she barely knew my parents. She obviously can’t be trusted.
Everything my English teacher says sounds garbled while I watch the clock. All I want is to be back with Malakai.
The final bell isn’t even finished ringing when I jump from my seat, hurrying to the senior hall. He’s at his locker when I rush over to him, squeezing him with my hug.
“Something bonkers happened today,” I inform him. “Bridgett invited us to a party. It’s for Mommy and Daddy.”
Even his scoff makes me wet. “Yeah, I heard. Fucking stupid.”
Holding my hands behind my back, I rock on my heels. “I’ve never been invited to a party before…and it is for our parents.”
He freezes mid movement with raised eyebrows. “You’re not seriously saying you want to go, are you?”
I guess I want to more than I thought I did. “Maybe? I dunno… Only if you go though.”
Groaning, he slams his locker. “This isn’t going to end well. You can’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Do you think Uncle Bennett will let me use some of the money Mikkel gave me to get an outfit? I want to look pretty.”
“You’ll look pretty no matter what you wear.” Once the comment leaves his lips, his face goes impassive. “Sure, I’ll ask.”
Draping his arm over my shoulder, he walks me outside to the hearse.
It’s so strange going home from school knowing Mommy and Daddy won’t be there. Even the smell of formaldehyde is gone now.
Uncle Bennett is vacuuming the carpet in the lobby when we get home, turning it off once he sees us. “Hey, guys. How was school?”
“It was…interesting.” Kai raises his eyebrows, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “We got invited to a party tonight.”
Uncle Bennett’s eyebrows jump in surprise. “Oh?”
“Is there any way we can have some of that money from our cousin to get Adriel a new outfit? She’d like to wear something special.”
His hand flies into his pocket. He knows we never do things like this. “Yeah, of course.” Pulling out a black, leather wallet, he digs out four twenty-dollar bills. “Will this be enough?”
Kai looks at me, and I nod. I’ll definitely find a pretty dress with that. “Yeah,” he says, taking the cash. “That’s great. Thanks.”
With the money in his back pocket, he turns to go upstairs with me right behind him. As soon as he crosses the threshold to his room, I walk up to him, gently resting my hands on his biceps. The muscles in his arms flex under my palms. It’s been almost two weeks since he’s touched me. It’s driving me bonkers. I think I’ve been patient long enough.
Lightly brushing my fingers over the front of his jeans, I murmur against his mouth, “Thank you for getting me the dress money.”
He crushes my wrist as he yanks my hand away. “You have to stop it, Adriel. Me and you? Like this? It won’t ever happen again, okay? You need to get that through your head.”
Liar! Liar! Lies, lies, lies! A man’s voice screams in my brain.
I shake my head to get the voice out, hearing myself growl. He can’t keep going back and forth like this! Fucking me when he’s sad, turning me away when he’s guilty.
You’re just like your mommy.
‘Fala lala la lala la la.’
I want to scream at the voices to be quiet! How can I think with them jabbering and singing? Ripping my wrist free from his grip, I stand on my tiptoes to get as close to his height as I can.
“Stop acting like I’m the only one that wants this.” I stomp to his door, snapping over my shoulder, “We need to leave in ten minutes to get me a dress.”
He makes me so mad! If I were any other girl, he wouldn’t act this way. The very thought enhances my fury. He’s ashamed of me, his own sister, yet if it were some girl he barely knew, he wouldn’t hide his feelings for her at all. It doesn’t make sense!
I slam the door to my bedroom. The walls shake around me as small, pink lights sprinkle from the ceiling. Why can’t I stop seeing this stuff?!
Falling on my bed in a huff, I feel paralyzed when a sluggish voice sounds in my ear. “You need to make him jealous.”
I jump up to look around my room, nervous to find the source of the voice. My eyes fix on Sluma who is using her long arms to swing her way down from my shelf. She’s a six eyed, stuffed sloth that wished she was a mermaid, so I chopped off her legs and gave her a purple mermaid tail.
I hear something trickling, like running water behind me. Turning around, I almost fall off my bed. Midnight black liquid seeps from the ceiling, walls, and outlets, quickly filling my room. I want to scream for Malakai. There’s already enough liquid on the floor that when Sluma lets go of the bottom shelf, she splashes into it, swimming to my bed.
Using her lengthy arms, she unhurriedly pulls herself up my bed skirt to finally sit next to me on my comforter. She flaps her fin, black droplets landing on my arm as a wide grin fills her face.
“All you have to do is pretend to like another boy at the party tonight.” All six of her eyes blink at different times.
My pulse steadies with her slow-paced words. At least she’s trying to help me. “How do I do that? I don’t really know any other boys.”
Waving an arm at me in a plodding way, she giggles. “Easy peasy, bunny squeezy. Most boys will do anything if you offer them your sex hole!”
“What if it doesn’t work? What do I do with the boy?”
A knock on the door makes us both look up, Malakai’s voice floating across the black ocean surrounding my bed.
“Hey, can I come in?”
My ears burn. He’s always just walked in without knocking. Him changing that now brings my frustration out in my voice.
“I guess that’s up to you!”
“You have to remind him how much he wants you,” Sluma whispers.
Kai sighs and pushes open the door. The liquid doesn’t pour into the hall like I expected, instead it stays confined to my room. His shoes disappear beneath the fluid as he walks further inside. My heart jumps up and down in my stomach when he neither acknowledges the black sea around us or Sluma sitting up next to me, tapping her mermaid tail on the bed.
“I don’t want to fight, okay? Will you just forgive me? All I’m trying to do is protect us both.”
Sluma grins with an approving nod. Pushing off the bed, I hesitantly lower my feet to the flooded floor. I can feel it, but it doesn’t soak through to my socks. “Okay, let’s go.”
When I walk by him, he doesn’t take my hand, leaving me to cross my arms all the way to the hearse.
Malakai
18 years old.
She’ll barely speak to me, and I can’t say I blame her. My constant inconsistency with us has got to be infuriating. I know it’s driving me up the damn wall. It still upsets me that she’s making this so difficult on me when she knows I’m just trying to take care of her.
I’ve ached for her touch, tormented until I’m alone in the shower and free to let my mind roam. Feeling her lips around me is something I regret not doing with her. It consumes my every sexual thought. She’s pouting right now because she’s mad. It’s adorable. All I want to do is fuck that petulant mouth. I hate when she’s angry with me, but it looks so beautiful on her. My hands clench the wheel, so I don’t reach out to touch her plump, pink bottom lip. Against my leg, my erection grows. I try to hide it, thinking of how much this party is going to suck, to kill my arousal.
We were only invited for one of two reasons. Either they actually have
some type of a conscience guilting them into inviting the kids whose dead parents are being used as an excuse to party…or this is a prank.
I’m praying it’s the former.
The moment I park in front of her favorite store, Heriotza, she jumps from the hearse. I follow her inside where she predictably goes to the dresses. She’s never been the type to take too long to shop, she knows exactly what she likes. After a few minutes, she has her first choice draped over her arm.
I lean against the wall outside the dressing room, watching her feet under the door. When she emerges a few minutes later, I inwardly groan at the throbbing in my jeans. She’s wearing a pastel blue dress with white polka dots. It’s sleeveless, fitting tight around her torso with pale pink ruffles trimming along her shoulders down to her waist where the dress flares out. The hem ends high on her thigh, showing her bare legs.
“I want this one,” she states, spinning in a circle so the skirt lifts around her. Her yellow panties flash for anyone who is looking to see.
Even as my cock twitches, I snap in a whisper, “Adriel, stop that! I can see your underwear.”
Ignoring my scolding, she holds up a finger. “Oooh! I should get matching panties!” Once she’s changed back into her clothes, she picks out pink cotton ones and a pair of white ruffled socks. The clerk hands her the shopping bag as I pay, grinning at her lifted spirits. She skips next to me on our way to the hearse. “What do you think it will be like tonight?”
“A lot of drunk, horny idiots is my guess.”
“Oh, come on, grumpy guts!” she squeals as she hops in with her shopping bag. “It’s our first party! It’ll be fun.”
Her expectations for this make me nervous. She doesn’t always react well to disappointment. “Well, we’re gonna find out.”
I’d rather swim through glass shards than go to this stupid thing, but she’s obviously excited, and I don’t need to give her another reason to be pissed at me.
