by Willow Rose
He tried to smile, but it came off as a little awkward. His eyes were sad too. It felt like all of us were in a slump of some sort. The two others stared at us. Jayden sat down next to Jazmine. He looked at Amy. We all did. I snuck a couple of fries into my mouth and chewed. My stomach was in knots sitting this close to Jayden again, and eating made me calmer.
"So, what's up, Amy?" Jayden asked.
She leaned forward and spoke with a low voice. "I might be in trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" Jazmine asked.
Amy cleared her throat. It felt like she was embarrassed. "Someone kind of saw me."
"Mr. Aran, we know," I said. "It's all over. But he doesn’t know it's you, does he?"
Amy swallowed. "That's what I’m worried about," Amy said. "I’m afraid he knows."
"How?" Jayden asked and took one of Jazmine's fries and ate it. All eyes were on him. I knew what they were thinking:
Why was he taking from her plate and not mine?
"Kipp," Amy continued.
"The new kid?" Jayden asked. "The guy who was with you when you found the body?"
"Yes. My neighbor," Amy said.
"Amy has a crush on him," Jazmine said.
"I do not,” Amy said.
"Sure, you do."
"I really don't," Amy protested. "I can't stand him."
"Whatever," Jazmine said.
"Let's focus on the real issue, shall we?" I said. "Why would he tell Mr. Aran anything?"
"Because he saw me," Amy said. "In the yard. He saw me as the dragon and then as I transformed back."
"Are you sure?" Jazmine said.
Amy shrugged. "Not completely but pretty sure. He must have seen me."
"Why were you a dragon in the middle of the day?" Jazmine asked, sounding a little too accusatory for my taste. "You know better than that."
"I was practicing," she said. "I was scared I would never learn to fly, and so I thought that if I practiced in my backyard, then maybe I would learn, and my parents wouldn't be so disappointed in me. I didn't know he was home. I thought I was alone."
"Well, that's just stupid," Jazmine said and leaned back.
"Jazmine!" I said. "What's wrong with you?"
Jazmine shook her head and took a bite of her burger. She chewed loudly. I cringed and looked away. My eyes met Jayden's, and my heart dropped. I turned to face Amy, trying to forget about him and focus on her problem.
"Let's say he saw you," I said. "What's the worst that can happen?"
Amy stared at me. "He'll tell Mr. Aran. I saw them speaking earlier today when I walked out of the house. They were even looking at our house, and he was pointing at it. There's a reward for ten thousand dollars. Why wouldn't he tell Mr. Aran?"
"Okay," I said. "That's worse than what I thought."
"Ugh, I hate that guy," Jazmine said. "Mr. Aran. I wish he would just go away."
I leaned back with a sigh. "Well, with a little luck he might…soon."
"What do you mean?" Jayden asked.
"I heard my parents talking to my grandmother. He's getting too dangerous to have around, they said."
"Well, they're perfectly right," Amy said. "I’m terrified of him. But what can we do?"
"They said they want to try and get rid of him," I said. "Whatever that means. My dad doesn’t seem to think it'll work. There'll be more, he said. Whatever that means…"
Jazmine suddenly sat up straight as the door to the diner opened. "Jayden, isn't that your brother?"
Jayden looked. A fire appeared in his eyes as he spotted him.
"Sure is," he said.
Logan was with a friend at the counter, looking like they were just searching for trouble.
"Hey, bus-boy," Logan yelled at Jayden. "Can we get some service around here?"
"I'm on my break," Jayden yelled back.
But Logan kept ringing the bell by the counter. "Bus-boy! We need service. Hey, bus-boy!"
Jayden sighed. "Give me a second."
He left us and took his brother's and the friend's orders. Meanwhile, I stared at him, my eyes longing for him. As I turned my head, the girls were glaring at me.
"What's going on with you two?" Jazmine asked.
I exhaled. "That obvious, huh?"
"I could smell something was off from miles away, hon," Amy said. "Spill it."
I sighed. "We broke up."
"What?" they both almost screamed in unison.
"I know. It's complicated."
"Well, when has it not been complicated with you two?" Amy asked. "You still worked it out."
"You will work it out, won't you?" Jazmine asked, her eyes lingering on Jayden's brother.
"I’m not sure this time," I said. "I’m just not sure."
Jayden returned and sat down.
"I’m sorry," he said. "Where were we?"
We all looked at one another, not knowing exactly what to say. Until Jazmine broke the silence with something I, for one, had not seen coming.
"Say…that brother of yours. Is he seeing anyone?"
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Jayden couldn't believe his luck. He was closing up the diner later that night, thinking about Jazmine, who had told him she would like to date his brother. After she had left the diner, he had told him. All he had to do was to ask her out. Hopefully, he would now get off Jayden's back. At least for a little while.
Jayden grabbed his bike and rode it down the street. He put music in his ears and enjoyed the chilly air as it hit his face. He thought about Robyn. He had done that constantly since last night, so there wasn't anything new about that. Did he regret his decision? He did when he saw her earlier at the diner. When he looked into those eyes, he regretted it terribly. But what could he do? What was done was done, and there was no way back. He did what he had to do. Even though it still broke his heart.
He had talked to Ruelle earlier too. She had called and, for once, he hadn't felt bad enjoying hearing her voice. He had asked her on another date this Saturday, and he was looking forward to taking her out without feeling guilty. He had bought two tickets to the circus. He had originally intended to take Robyn and bought the tickets before talking to her about it, but she had told him not to take her. So now he was using them with Ruelle.
Jayden drove up the street and into his driveway, then parked his bike in the garage and closed it. He walked into the house, rushing toward the kitchen. As he walked in, he spotted Logan sitting with their parents. They all had serious looks on their faces.
"Hey. What's going on?" Jayden said as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
There was silence. It didn't feel good. Jayden drank from his bottle and closed the fridge.
"Sit down, son," his dad said.
Jayden swallowed, then did as he was told. Logan's eyes avoided his.
"What's going on?" Jayden asked again.
His mom cleared her throat. There was a pink hoodie on the table. She pushed it toward him.
"We found this in your room."
Jayden stared at the hoodie. It was Robyn's. He swallowed hard.
"Whose is it?" his dad asked.
Jayden's eyes met Logan's. He looked guilty.
"I…I guess it's…"
"It's Robyn's, isn't it?" his mother said.
"Well…yes."
His mom sighed deeply and looked at her husband. Then her eyes were back on Jayden. There was such a disappointed look in them it almost hurt.
"Have you been seeing her behind our backs?" she asked with a long deep exhale.
Jayden looked at Logan, who shrugged. "Hey, they came to me and asked. I couldn't very well lie to them, could I?"
Jayden could have ripped his head off. He had just told Logan that Jazmine was interested in him, that he could invite her out, and now he did this to him?
"Having her over at night when you were alone, Jayden?" his mother said. "What were you thinking? You know how we feel about you seeing that girl."
"Logan also told us you bribe
d him to keep quiet about it by arranging a date for him? Why would you do such a thing?" his dad asked.
"I…I…he's twisting everything…Mom…Dad…I…"
"I can't believe you, son," his dad said. "We explicitly told you not to see Robyn again. I remember it vividly. Eight months ago, we sat here at this very table and had the conversation. And then you do this? Behind our backs?"
They all stared at Jayden's dad.
"It was more than a year ago, Ben," Jayden's mom said.
He got that confused look on his face again, then shook it off. "It doesn’t matter. The fact is that you've betrayed us; you've broken your promise to us. And what about Ruelle, the poor thing?"
"I am sorry, son, but this is serious," his mom took over. "We can't trust you. We have to put a stop to this. I am afraid we have to speak to Camille and Doyle about this."
"But…I’m not seeing Robyn anymore," Jayden said. "We ended it."
"I’m sorry," she said. "We have to react to this. If I was that girl's mother, I would want to know what my daughter is up to."
"Please, don't…you know what her parents are like…they'll…"
His mother got up. "She should have thought about that before deciding to sneak out at night, going against her parent's wishes. I always said that girl was trouble. Who knows how far this might have gone if we hadn't found out. From now on, you come straight home every day from work, and one of us will stay here at night to keep an eye on you. I’m sorry, Jayden, that it has to be this way, but I’m afraid you brought this on yourselves."
Chapter Thirty-Eight
After burgers and cheese fries, I didn't have any appetite for dinner once I returned, so I just poked the strange thing made from raw agave around on my plate. It smelled like barf anyway, so I knew I wasn't missing out. Grandma had come for dinner again, as usual. But we were missing my three cousins and my brother and, luckily, my mom was so annoyed with them being away that she didn't notice my lack of appetite.
"So, when are they running our piece?" Grandma asked.
"I still don't know yet," I said. "Probably over the weekend. At least that's what my boss said, but you never know."
"It shall be interesting to watch," my dad said.
My mom just grunted something while eating her shredded beets and kale. She kept staring at the four empty plates.
"Where are they?" she said. "They know we eat at seven. Every night."
"They're probably just out goofing around," Grandma said. "You know, being boys."
"Well…I'll…I never…If they're getting themselves into trouble, if they're getting my son into any kind of trouble, I'll…they could have at least called. Isn't that what cell phones are for?"
"They're just kids, Camille," Grandma said.
My mom snorted. "As if you know anything about raising kids. Besides, they are all technically adults and should begin to act like it."
"Look at you, getting all worked up," Grandma said with a laugh. "Like you never got yourself into trouble…"
"Don't you start, Mother," my mom said, pointing an angry finger at Grandma. It was trembling. "You don't know anything about what I was like. Not even a little bit. You want to know why? Because you weren't there; that's why! You weren't there when I was a teenager; you weren't there when I graduated; you weren’t there when I turned…eighteen. You weren't there!"
That made Grandma stop talking. She dropped her fork on her plate, then leaned over. "Wow. That's where we still are, huh? No, I wasn't there. That doesn’t mean I didn't want to be."
"You chose not to be. That's enough in my book."
Grandma scoffed. "I don't have to listen to this. It was so many years ago."
Grandma got up, walked to me, and kissed my forehead. "It was great seeing you, my dear. Please, take good care of yourself." She looked at my mom. "And you. Maybe one day you can ask your daddy dearest what really happened back then."
"But Grandma…" I said and turned to look for her, but she was gone. I turned my head and gave my mom an angry glare.
"Why did you have to scare her away? I was just getting to know her."
"She would have disappointed you. It's what she does," my mom said and got up. She grabbed a couple of plates and left the dining table carrying them. I felt so angry with her. I loved having my grandmother here and getting to know her better. Was I ever going to see her again? I knew she would be leaving town once the circus did, but we still had a couple of days. I had hoped I could hang with her some more.
With a disappointed grunt, I got up and ran to my room.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Amy couldn't control her fire. She was so upset while walking back and forth in her living room, wondering about Kipp and his little talk with Mr. Aran. Had he told him? Would he really do that? Of course, he would, the stinkin' little weasel.
Gosh, how she loathed that boy.
"Would you sit down?" Melanie asked. "You're making me nervous."
But Amy kept pacing. There was no way she could sit still and watch TV like Melanie was. A small spout of fire escaped her nostrils and landed on the coffee table. It set the newspaper on fire, and soon flames were rising. Melanie threw a cup of water on it, and it died out.
"This is the third time tonight, Amy. You've got to stop," she grunted. "You'll end up burning the entire house down."
"I’m sorry," Amy said and blew her nose in a napkin. The napkin turned to coal that landed on the carpet. "I’m just so…so angry at him."
"And scared. It's only natural," Melanie said. "But you've got to try and keep calm in situations like this."
Amy nodded and tried to sit down on the couch next to Melanie. She stared at the screen where The Voice had just started. Melanie loved that show, and Amy usually did too, but she just couldn't really get excited about someone singing right now. A guy arrived on the stage holding his guitar, and it reminded her of Kipp, so she turned off the TV.
"Hey!" Melanie said.
"I'm sorry. I just can't even…I mean…" she sighed. "How about I make some chicken teriyaki?"
"You made that yesterday, and we froze the leftovers, remember?" Melanie said, lifting her eyebrows.
"How about fajitas?"
Melanie shook her head. "You're unbelievable. I hardly think anyone is hungry right now. Your parents are out to dinner, remember? They won't be hungry when they get back, and I am still stuffed from the mince pie you made me earlier. It was delicious, though."
Amy got up. "I think I might make some anyway. I need to keep my hands busy, you know?"
"Suit yourself," Melanie said and turned on the TV again. The boy was still singing, and even his voice reminded Amy of Kipp.
She snorted and hurried into the kitchen, where she pulled out chicken from the fridge and started to cut it. Billie Jean and the puppies were playing with some small toy cow that her parents had bought for them when they went grocery shopping earlier. Two of the puppies were biting down on the cow and pulling at the edges. Amy chuckled and threw the chicken in a pan. She turned on the stove but got impatient when it took too long for it to warm up, so she decided to do it her own way. She blew fire on it and roasted the chicken quickly. Satisfied with herself and feeling a little relieved from blowing off some steam—or in her case fire—she lifted her head and looked at the window leading to the front yard. In the darkness outside—looking in—she spotted Mr. Aran. Amy gasped and stepped backward. When she blinked her eyes, he was gone.
"Amy!"
Amy turned and saw Melanie in the doorway. Melanie rushed toward the stove, where flames were rising high, then grabbed the fire-extinguisher and blew it out. She looked at Amy for answers.
"What are you doing? I can't leave you alone for one minute?"
Amy swallowed, then glanced at the window again. No one was there. Had it all been in her mind?
She wasn't sure.
Chapter Forty
I didn't get to see my grandmother at all that Friday. I went to work, and we finished edi
ting the piece on the circus and showed it to Olivia, who—after two more corrections—finally told me it was ready to air. Feeling good about myself, I drove home that afternoon looking forward to seeing it on TV. My first attempt at being a journalist—or a journalist's helper at least. It was quite exciting. I had to admit I was very grateful to Duncan and his family for giving me this chance. Without them, I would never have landed this opportunity. I knew that much.
I passed Jayden's house on our street with a sigh. I missed him terribly. It was like someone had pulled the ground away under my feet and I still hadn't figured out how to stand without it. How was I supposed to go on without him? I loved him so much; it hurt me to know I wasn't even going to see him at night anymore. It was all I lived for. Those hours alone with him at night were all that kept me going. Knowing I was going to be with him made me push through the day.
My mom was working out when I got home, and my dad was working in his office. Adrian and my cousins had come home late last night, and I had heard my mom yell at them. I don't think she ever received an explanation as to where they had been. Probably just goofing around, I thought as I spotted them sleeping on the couches in the living room. It looked like they had been there all day. I went to my room and opened my computer. I found Netflix and started watching Stranger Things. I had seen the entire series before, both season one and two, but thought it was worth a repeat.
Barely had I finished the first episode before the door to my room opened, and Adrian burst in, startling me.
"Hey! How about knocking?" I asked.
He didn't hear me. He approached me, looking angry. "She won't return my calls or texts; why isn't she returning my texts?"
I took off my headphones. "Jazmine?"
"Duh. Who else?"
"Well, given the fact that you stood her up yesterday…I don't find it that strange."
He made a grimace. "Shoot. We were supposed to do something?"
"You were supposed to meet at the diner. Did you forget?" I asked.
He looked at me from behind his bangs. "I totally forgot. I was out with the boys…"