The Other Game

by J. Sterling

  I willed myself to shut up and stop my babbling. Too many details, and Gran would know I was lying. I held my breath, praying I hadn’t overdone it.

  “I guess that’s okay,” she said slowly, “since you’ll both be there. But no funny business. Tell Jack that goes for him, as well. I guess I’ll see you boys on Sunday then?”

  “Yep. Thanks, Gran. Call if you need anything.”

  “I will. I love you.”

  “Love you too. And sorry for waking you up.”

  She huffed into the phone. “It’s okay. I’d rather you wake me up than me wake up and be worried because you aren’t here.”

  “That’s what I figured. Okay, good night, Gran.”

  “Good night, honey.”

  I blew out a relieved breath after ending the call. I’d always been a horrible liar, and was surprised and thankful that I’d gotten away with it this once. There was no way Gran would have let me stay here with Cassie if she knew what had really happened tonight. Not that I could keep it from her forever; I just wasn’t ready to go home yet. I felt like I needed to be with someone who’d experienced what I did.

  I knocked on the door softly before opening it a few inches to peek inside.

  “Kitten, Dean’s here,” Jack called out to her from the living room. Then he walked over to me and gave me a bear hug. “I’m glad you’re okay, little brother.”

  “Me too. How’s she?” I pointed toward the bedroom just as Cassie emerged from it, her face bruised and swollen.

  “Dean, are you okay?” She ran straight to me and squeezed me tightly, locking her arms around me for a moment before releasing me.

  “I’m fine. How are you? Are you okay?” I’d be okay, I was pretty sure, so now I was more concerned with her injuries.

  She nodded. “You have no idea how scary it was to see you hurt like that.” She shuddered, and I thought about how many times I’d heard that exact sentiment already tonight.

  “And you have no idea how horrible it was to see some guy hitting you,” I said, unable to hide the anger that welled inside me as I replayed the events in my head.

  “Can we not talk about that right now?” Jack’s voice was tight, his expression murderous.

  “I’m just happy you’re okay,” Cassie said as she reached out to touch strands of my hair. “Does your head hurt?”

  “Like a bitch,” I muttered.

  “Before I forget, Melis said you could stay in her room.”

  “Yeah? Well, I was going to stay in there even if she said I couldn’t,” I said as a manic laugh escaped. “It’s okay if I take a shower, right?”

  I felt gross, and needed to get the glass and dried blood out of my hair. Plus, I ached all over, and the thought of twenty minutes under the hot spray sounded like heaven right now.

  “Of course.” Cassie patted me on the shoulder and pushed me in the right direction. “There’s a shower in her room. Extra towels are under the sink.”

  Jack reached for her hand and pulled her toward the living room couch. “We’ll be out here when you’re done,” he said before sitting down and pulling her onto his lap.

  I didn’t need any more images of the two of them burned into my brain, so I walked into Melissa’s room and shut the door behind me. Scanning it quickly, I took it all in—the collage of pictures on the walls, the framed and signed movie posters, perfume bottles on her dresser, necklaces scattered over every free inch of space.

  And her bed. Jesus, I’d never seen so many pillows in my life. Who needed that many, and how did my tiny pixie not get swallowed alive by all of them?

  The room smelled like her, like lemons and sunshine. Hell, I might move right in and never leave.

  Thankful that girls were a lot cleaner than guys, I turned on the shower and adjusted the nozzle. When it was the perfect lukewarm temperature, I stripped off my clothes and cautiously stepped inside.

  The water hit my head, reminding me just how injured I was, and I stifled a shout and winced before moving out of its path. Frustrated, I stood there for a second, not entirely sure how to do this on my own. I couldn’t see where the blood or glass was, and every time I tried to run my fingers through my hair to check, I wanted to scream out in pain.

  Finally, I decided to turn the water down so the pressure wasn’t so strong. When it was barely flowing from the showerhead, I backed into it and allowed it to drip on top of my head. It still hurt, and I found myself wishing that Melissa were here so she could help me.

  Once I felt certain there was no glass in my hair, I scanned the edges of her tub and reached for a bottle of pink shampoo. It was either that or something purple, so my options were limited. After squeezing a small amount into my hand, I sniffed at it. Watermelon. No wonder she always smelled like fruity scents and summer.

  Rubbing the soap into a lather on my head was almost torturous. The soap stung my open wound, and the blood had caked on so thick, I wasn’t sure it would ever rinse out. I stared down at my feet, almost in a daze as I watched the water swirl around them in a mixture of pink bubbles and red.

  I wasn’t sure how long I stood there; I just kept my head in the streaming water until it started flowing clear around my feet. All I knew was that I was shriveled up like a prune, and it felt like I’d spent an hour under the spray. When I determined that I’d done the best I could with my head, I turned off the water and stepped out, dripping as I searched for a towel under the sink.

  After wrapping a blue-and-white striped beach towel around my waist, I walked back into the living room where Jack and Cassie still sat wrapped up in each other. Jack was running a finger down Cassie’s cheek and looking at her like she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

  I cleared my throat. “Remind me that it’s going to fucking hurt next time I try to wash my hair.”

  “I’m really tired,” Cassie said. “I’m gonna go to bed, okay?” She pushed off Jack’s lap and walked toward me. “Love you both.” She gave me another hug before whispering, “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  “So much for our weekend alone, huh?” Jack said with a frown.

  I wanted to smack my brother for making me feel unwanted, but then Cassie looked at me, and our eyes locked for a moment.

  “It’s okay. This is better, anyway,” she said, and I stuck my tongue out at Jack as she walked into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

  I yawned. “I’m think I’m gonna get some sleep too, bro. Sorry if I ruined your romantic weekend.”

  Jack stood up and wrapped me in a manly hug. “You didn’t ruin anything. I’m glad you’re here. And I’m really glad you’re okay. I don’t know what I would do if anything ever happened to you. Or her.” He nodded toward the bedroom door.

  “I know. Same here.”

  “Let me look at your head.” He tried to see the top of my head, but we were basically the same height these days, much to Jack’s annoyance.

  “Bend down a little,” he said, and I did as he asked. His fingers tugged at my hair, parting the strands so he could see my scalp, and I winced before pulling away.

  “That hurts. What are you doing?”

  “Sorry. There’s still some glass in there. I’ll stop. Let me see the cut.” He searched through my hair again, trying to be gentle, but he was a guy with big hands and lacked the ability, even though he tried. “Found it.”

  “How’s it look?”

  “It’s pretty swollen and a little mangled, but the cut itself looks good. It’s not bleeding at all anymore.” He stood up straight. “Hey, before I forget, did you talk to Gran?”

  “I lied to her,” I admitted, feeling guilty and trying to ease my conscience.

  He laughed. “You,” he pointed a finger at me, “lied to Gran? Sweet little old Gran?”

  “Shut up, man. I feel bad enough, but I had to.”

  “What’d you tell her?”

  I blew out a breath. “I just said that Cassie was all alone for the weekend and it made her uncomfortable. So I said that she
wanted us to stay with her.”

  A loud hoot of laughter came from Jack. “And she believed that? Shit, she would have never believed that coming from me.” He stood there, shaking his head and grinning at me.

  “That’s because coming from you, it would have been a lie.”

  “But it was a lie! So,” he said, jabbing me in the chest with his damn hard finger, “you lied to Gran. How does it feel? Are you going to cry yourself to sleep tonight?”

  I turned to walk away but stopped at the door to Melissa’s bedroom. “You’re an ass. It’s not like I could tell her the truth. She would have made the three of us stay there all weekend and put us on lockdown until school started Monday morning.”

  Jack nodded, sobering. “No, you’re right. You’d better hope she doesn’t find out what happened, or she’s going to flip.”

  “It’s okay. If she hears anything,” I said with a smirk, “I’ll just blame you. She’ll believe this was all your idea.”

  “I’m impressed. Now go to bed. Love you.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze.

  I smiled. “Love you too.”

  “Cass already put some Advil on the nightstand in the room for you. There’s a couple water bottles in there too.”

  “Tell her thanks for me.”

  I had just lay down in Melissa’s bed as my phone beeped.

  Melissa: I’m sick over everything that happened. I just wanted you to know that I was thinking about you, and I wish I was there to take care of you.

  Damn. I wish she was here to take care of me too.

  • • •

  My eyes opened as soon as I realized I wasn’t in my firm bed at home. Instead I was lying on something that felt like a cloud, surrounded by fluffy pillows that hugged my head and body. I blinked a few times before the room came into focus, and the memory of last night came crashing back to me.

  I was in Melissa’s room. Melissa wasn’t here. And some guy broke a forty over my head and punched Cassie in the face.

  When I sat up too quickly, my head spun and I felt woozy, so I lay back down, allowing Melissa’s pillows to cradle me in a fluffy hug.

  My head ached; my brain beat like a bongo drum inside it each time my heart beat. When I could no longer stand it, I grabbed the bottle of pain reliever and poured a few into my palm before tossing them into my mouth, and washed them down with some of the water Cassie had left on the nightstand. Please, let them work quickly.

  Jack and Cassie’s voices filtered through my closed door, and I was thankful they were already awake.

  I moved slowly, not wanting to encourage the pain in my head as I padded toward the bathroom. Looking around at the floor, I realized that I didn’t have anything to wear other than what I’d showed up in last night, so I reached for my shorts but left my bloody T-shirt in a heap on the floor.

  When I stepped out into the living area, the scent of bacon assaulted my senses, triggering some major drool. I followed my nose into the kitchen.

  “Mmm, bacon.”

  Jack turned from the stove and raised his eyebrows at me. “Dude. Shirt?”

  “It’s all bloody. I don’t have anything else to wear.”

  Cassie hopped up from the bar stool at the snack bar. “Jack has some shirts here. I’ll go get you one.”

  The bruises on her face had deepened in color, and I found it hard to look at her without getting upset.

  “I can’t believe you’re cooking,” I said to Jack.

  “He won’t let me do a thing, Dean!” Cassie came back to the kitchen to hand me a plain black tee, and I nodded a silent thank-you. “He’s been babying me all night and morning.”

  “It’s called taking care of you,” Jack said. “And I’m trying really hard, but you’re being a pain in the ass about it.” He pointed at her with a greasy spatula before turning his attention back to the sizzling bacon.

  “Just let him help you, Cass,” I said as I pulled the shirt over my head. “He’s never done it before, and I want to watch.” I raised my eyebrows to waggle them at her, but cringed at the discomfort as I slid onto the bar stool next to her.

  “Are you all right?” she asked.

  “Yeah, it’s just that facial expressions tend to hurt a little.”

  “Tell me about it. I had no idea how much my jaw moved until it hurt every time I moved it.” She placed her hand against the side of her face.

  Jack set a plate with a pile of bacon in front of us and then started cracking eggs into the same pan. “Eat,” he demanded.

  “Gladly.” I reached for a slice of bacon and bit down, and the grease and flavor exploded in my mouth like heaven. “So good. Why is bacon so good?”

  Cassie moaned as she took a bite as well, and when Jack turned around, his eyes firmly focused on her mouth.

  “Kitten. Don’t make those sounds during breakfast. We have company.” He nodded in my direction, and she rolled her eyes.

  “Dean’s not company. He’s family,” she said, and I couldn’t stop my smile.

  “Thanks, sis.” I nudged her shoulder with mine.

  “I heard you told the cops I was your sister,” she said, still chewing on her first piece while I’d already moved on to my fourth.

  I shrugged. “It just came out. You’re not mad, right?”

  She pulled her head back in surprise. “Why would I ever be mad at that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Jack joined us at the bar, carrying one plate filled with eggs and another piled high with toast. He set them down between us and I tried to stifle my shock.

  “Wow. Jack, I’ve never—”

  “Just say thanks and shut up.”

  “Thanks. Shut up,” I said as I stabbed my fork at the pile of eggs.

  Cassie leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. “This was really sweet. Thank you.”

  “Anything for you,” he said.

  I started to fake gag like I normally would to tease Jack, but stopped myself. The truth was that it was nice seeing my brother so happy, so I decided to take the high road this time.

  “I talked to the cops this morning while you were in the shower,” Jack said. “Still no word on the guy or your camera.”

  I choked, pounding on my chest with my fist. “What? What happened to your camera?”

  Cassie turned to face me, her expression sad. “You don’t know? I guess you wouldn’t, huh? He stole my camera. That’s what started the whole thing.”

  I dropped my fork and it fell to my plate with a clang. Stunned, I just sat there, shaking my head. “I didn’t know that. I’m so sorry, Cassie.”

  “I’m going to find it,” Jack said with conviction. “A guy like that doesn’t steal a camera just to keep it. He’s going to try to sell it somewhere and when he does, I’m going to find it. And if I don’t, I’m going to buy her a new one.”

  Cassie smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Her camera represented her future, and I could only imagine what having that taken away must feel like.

  We spent the rest of the meal in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. When I finished eating, I stood up and set my dish into the sink.

  Jack’s tired eyes met mine. “Leave it. I’ll get it.”

  “I can clean up. You cooked,” I said, but he shook his head.

  “No. I got it. Go sit down. Rest that hard-ass head of yours.”

  “You’re worse than Gran.” I sighed, and he tossed a piece of toast at my back as I headed for the couch.

  Cassie stood up and started gathering the other dishes. “You don’t have to clean up, Jack. I can help.”

  “I know I don’t have to. I want to,” he said as he took the dishes from her hands. “Let me do this, Kitten, please. I wasn’t there last night, and it kills me, okay? I feel fucking helpless. And don’t get me started on the bruises and cuts on your beautiful face. Just let me do this for you. It makes me feel better.”

  I watched him trying to convince her, knowing it wasn’t the whole truth. Nothing he did for Cassie wo
uld make him feel better unless it was catching the guy who did this to her. When she relented and headed to her bedroom for a nap, Jack and I talked about how to do exactly that.

  “I want you to show me where everything happened,” Jack insisted. “And tell me what he looked like, anything you can remember.”

  “No problem. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to drive there every fucking day until we find this guy. He wasn’t there for no reason. He has to live close by or hang out there. He’s going to show back up, and I’m going to be there to greet him.”

  I couldn’t argue with him because I felt the same way he did. Jack wanted to find the asshole that hurt his family, and so did I.

  “I’ll look for him too,” I offered, but he snapped at me.

  “No. I don’t want you anywhere near this asshole again. You can help me try to find her camera.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. That sounded reasonable. “How do we do that?”

  “We’ll look online. Craigslist, eBay, anywhere they sell used goods. But I’m betting this guy probably doesn’t have a computer, so that might be pointless, but we should search anyway,” he said as he paced Cassie’s living room. “And I’ll go to the local pawn shops, tell them to be on the lookout for it. I don’t know. Whatever else you can think of that might help.”

  “Is she all right? I can’t believe he stole her camera.”

  Jack stopped his pacing and hung his head, wrapping his hands behind his neck in frustration. “She’s really sad. She worked hard to save for it and now it’s gone. But I’m going to buy her a new one, a better one. She’ll probably hate it and won’t want to accept it, but I’m doing it anyway. She’s too good at it, and her future is too important.”

  I studied Jack for a moment. “I never thought I’d ever hear myself say this, but you’re a really good boyfriend.”

  “Damn right I am,” he said, giving me a mock snarl before heading into the kitchen to clean up.

  “You’re a good brother too,” I added, and his lips curled up into a smile.