FALLING: The Negative Ion Series

by Ryanne Anthony

  Marvin Wilder, Mom’s boyfriend and a deputy in her police force, is a good guy and I like him. He treats her well and me also, but he really doesn’t have a choice since Mom would flip in three seconds if he ever got out of pocket. I giggled at the thought then watched as Mom opened the new paint color and I nodded. That was so much better.

  “It’s called Dapper Tan and it should go well with the red. It’s got primer already in it so that’s one less step we have to do. But we’re doing two coats, at least. Ready, honey?”

  I nodded and smiled again at the color as the doorbell rang. Mom went to answer it while I stirred then poured the paint into two pans. I looked over and frowned when I saw Samantha walk in behind Mom with her overnight bag.

  “Hey, Sammi. I thought you were celebrating with Parker tonight.”

  “Yeah, I was,” Sammi sighed. “But he got called into work and its overnight. I hate being at his by myself and I really didn’t want to go back home with Jaxen and the band there practicing half the night. I have the biggest room in the house but it sucks it’s over the damn garage.”

  I couldn’t help but to laugh at that. “Yeah, I love your room but that does bite. I’m glad you’re here. Mom and I could use an extra set of hands.”

  “Yes, we could,” Shauna replied as she rolled paint on her wall. “Two coats, girls. Sammi, look on my bed and find something to change into. Come on, Itsy, roll!”

  I chuckled and went to my designated wall and started painting. Samantha was back in no time, in sweats and tee and she had piled her brown hair on top of her head, and started doing the cut in. Mom watched her for a few minutes then, with a relieved nod, got back to her own painting. Thank God Samantha was an artist with a steady hand. She finished all the cut-in work quickly then picked up a roller.

  “So, Sammi, what were you celebrating?” Shauna asked.

  Samantha stopped painting and turned. “Itsy! You didn’t tell your mom?”

  “I didn’t have a chance to,” I sighed. “Mom put me to work as soon as I walked in the door.”

  Now it was Mom who turned and stared at me, a deep frown on her face. She hated it when I kept things from her. No matter how good or bad it made me feel, she wanted to know and right away.

  “Tell me what?” Mom asked.

  I smiled then looked at Mom forlornly. “Samantha and I graduated early. That last paper we did got us an A and we’ve met all the criteria.”

  Mom froze then dropped her roller to the floor and wailed into her hands. I felt sad for Mom but realistically, she knew this was coming. My father, Samuel Forrest, told me when I graduated college, I would have a job in New York and wanted me to move east with him. When my dad told Mom this plan, she wept then, too. I am her only child and she did not want to lose me.

  Quietly, I walked over to Mom and put my arms around her and she bear hugged me as she sobbed loudly on my shoulder. Samantha bent at our feet and cleaned up the paint on the floor from Mom’s roller.

  “I’m sorry,” Mom wept and I gasped as she managed to hug me tighter. “I knew it was coming but it’s only March. I was hoping for at least June, if not the entire summer. It’s too soon, honey.”

  “I understand that, Mom. I already called Dad. He’s agreed that I should come out in July, right after your birthday.”

  Mom relaxed a little and looked at me. “Really?”

  “Yes. I’m not ready to leave Samantha. She’s the only appeal here for me, you know,” I teased.

  “All right, college grad,” Mom sniffed. “I can still put you over my knee.”

  Samantha and I laughed at that and Mom managed a chuckle.

  “God, if the furniture wasn’t coming tomorrow, I’d make you two go out and celebrate,” Mom sighed as she wiped her face, getting paint under her eyes. “I know! Tomorrow night, don’t make any plans. I’m throwing you ladies a barbecue in my backyard. Samantha, please invite your family and a few friends. Not too many, I don’t want to be cooking and shopping all day. I wish I could go shop now!”

  Samantha looked at her watch and smirked. “I can take of that, Shauna. Go on and take off. I’ll have a crew here in 15 minutes and it will be done by the time you return.”

  “Dining room, too?” Mom blinked.

  “Dining room too.” Samantha confirmed. “Is that the last room?”

  Mom nodded and pointed out what she wanted done and after confirming, she ran off to change.

  “Crew?” I asked after Mom left.

  “Yeah, Jaxen and the band. They owe me.”

  “Sammi! My mother is a police captain! They can’t come here intoxicated and paint her house! She’d have them arrested! You know how she feels about drugs!”

  “Don’t worry about it, there’s no way they’re slammed. I hid their stash before I left,” Samantha giggled. “In my box of tampons!”

  Samantha went for her cell and was holding it close to her mouth as she came back. Jaxen answered his cell completely breathless and I tried not to react to the way his voice sounded over the speaker. Even on the phone, I felt a tingle surge through my body.

  “A little busy now, Sammi. I’ll call you back later.”

  “Stop fucking the doorknob and listen, Jaxen! I need a favor.”

  “Come on, Sammi! Not now! Try me later.”

  “What do you mean, not now? You can’t get off that overly used mouth and exhausted pussy to do a favor for your twin sister?”

  “Nobody’s fucking, asswipe! I’ve misplaced my stash and the boys are getting rowdy. Fuck! What did I do with it?”

  Samantha smirked into the phone and, suppressing a giggle, she told me she’d found his stash in their mutual bathroom on the sink, sitting out in its ‘glory’. She hid it in the one place she knew he’d never look.

  “Oh, about that,” Samantha grinned. “I know exactly where it is and if you want it back you will listen and do what I say.”

  “What do you mean? Are you saying you hid it?”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  “For fuck’s sake, Sammi!” Jaxen shouted into the phone. “You’re about to get me killed here! Tell me where it is right now!”

  “Not until you and your cronies do what I say and with exuberant smiles on your faces as you do it correctly.”

  “Fuckin’ grrr!” Jaxen shouted. He paused for a minute then gave a defeated sigh. “Fine! What do you want? Me to kill Parker? Done.”

  “No, barfbag! Meet me at Itsy’s in 15 minutes.”

  “Itsy’s? Her mother is a fucking cop, cootie!”

  “I know that and trust me, it’s not here, dinghy. I wouldn’t dare bring that stuff to a cop’s house. I’m not fucking stupid, you know.”

  “You better not have or I’ll have your head in the toilet bowl again, error!”

  “Yeah, that’s going to happen, fuck-head! Put on old clothes that you won’t mind ruining and be prepared to stay awhile.”

  “I have shit to do, geek! Find someone else to do your dirty shit!”

  “Are you arguing with me, hell-raiser? Need I remind you what I have hidden?”

  Jaxen paused then groaned in frustration. “No, iceberg! Fuck!”

  “I didn’t think so, jackass! Get changed and get your asses over here!”

  “Whatever, keloid. Big fuckin’ grrr! The boys may need a minute to change.”

  “Fine, lame-ass. Be here no later than 20.”

  I stared at my friend in awe as she ends her call. She got my mother five extra painters and she won the latest alphabet insult game with her brother.

  “You didn’t really bring any of that stuff here, did you?” I grinned.

  “Of course not, Itsy. I don’t want to be arrested and I don’t want Jaxen to be either, as much as I hate him.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “You hate him as much as I hate my brother.”

  “Yeah, it’s unnatural how well you and Parker get along. Must be because you and he have different mothers and lived mostly apart.”


  My brother Parker, Samantha’s boyfriend that she met through me, is three years older than us. His mother and mine loathed one another. My mother had ‘stolen’ Sam from Terri when Parker was two and Terri was still bitter about it but she welcomed and embraced me as Parker’s sister and never let her animosity toward Shauna spill over to me. To me, she was this sweet, loving woman but to Mom, she was a total calculating bitch who couldn’t do anything right ever and she always says she is amazed Parker turned out so well with her as a mother.

  “Terri is nice to me and never gave me trouble. It’s Mom she hates and I still don’t get why. I’d be madder at Dad. He was in the relationship with her, not Mom.”

  “I agree and so does Parker. Though we both can’t understand why she’s still mad since neither of them is with Sam anymore, he’s on the east coast and Terri’s been married for fifteen years. Sam broke up with that actress, you know.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, he told me. He didn’t sound too upset about it to me.”

  “No, I don’t think he is. I think he’s still in love with your mother.”

  “What? No way, Sammi. That was over a long time ago.”

  Samantha shrugged and was about to say something else when Shauna walked back in the room, freshly scrubbed and changed; her own auburn hair and amber eyes gleamed as she strolled in wearing red yoga pants and a fresh white tee and runners, looking nothing like her 39 ½ years. I smiled when I saw her, hoping I would age as well as my beautiful mother.

  “Okay, I’m going now. If you’re done before I get back, please clear the room of everything. I want nothing in the way when the furniture comes. And remember: two coats, please,” Shauna sighed. “I can’t believe everything is coming to a close. My home being finished finally, my daughter graduating college. God, I’m so old!”

  Samantha and I looked at one another and smirked. The doorbell rang and Samantha ran to the door and flung it open, grinning as the boys sullenly entered the house.

  “Jaxen, Terrence, Michael, Greg and Stanley, you all remember Captain Kessler of the Hampton Police Force, don’t you? You boys are painting her living room and dining room. Two coats and don’t do sloppy work. She’s not afraid to arrest any or all of you.”

  “Damn right, Samantha,” Captain Kessler confirmed, standing tall and straight, her persona taking an authoritative form. “I better not see one stroke out of place or any paint where it does not belong, understand?”

  The boys stared at her with their mouths gaped. Captain Kessler was in the building and she took no shit from anyone, ever. She cleared her throat and stepped up to Greg and after studying his form, she smirked.

  “Keyboardist, right?”

  “Yeah,” Greg nodded.

  Captain Kessler’s eyebrow raised on her stern face.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Greg corrected fast.

  “And what are you called?”

  “Greg.”

  “I asked what are you called, not your name!” Captain Kessler shouted, making the boys jump three feet out of their skin.

  “Gore, ma’am!” Greg replied as if he were in the army.

  “Did you understand my instructions, Greg-gore?”

  The other boys chuckled at the name then stopped fast when Captain Kessler glared at them.

  “Yes, ma’am. Clearly.”

  “Then answer when I talk to you. Never make me ask you twice, young man. Understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Captain Kessler stepped back and looked up and down the line of boys. “That goes for all of you,” she shouted, frowning. “Do I make myself clear to all of you as well?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the band replied. Samantha and I giggled at them as Shauna returned and looked at me, with her sweet and light smile.

  “I’ll be back as soon as possible, honey. Order pizza for everyone and make sure they are around when I return since we’ll need help bringing in all the bags.”

  “Will do, Mom. See you later,” I smiled then kissed my mother’s cheek. Captain Kessler returned for a second and gave the boys one last stern look and left the house.

  “Okay, Negative Ion, get to work! You want to answer to that if you don’t finish the painting?” Samantha jeered.

  “Hell no!” the boys answered and picked up the brushes and rollers.

  Stanley said they would do it all, so Samantha and I sat on the floor near the red wall while Jaxen and Terrence painted the living room, leaving Michael, Greg and Stanley to do the dining room. After a few minutes of silent painting from the boys in the living room, only the sounds of Samantha and me talking softly about the party tomorrow as I slyly watched Jaxen’s bare muscled arms paint, Stanley came into the living room and whispered to Terrence, who frowned then reluctantly nodded and went to the dining room.

  “Red, you’re about to miss a spot or something near the red wall,” Terrence murmured, gesturing toward where Samantha and I were as he left the room then joined in on the banter going on in the dining room.

  “Yeah, got it, Ren,” Jaxen murmured, going to the area where Terrence gestured then frowned as he looked up and down the wall. He finally shrugged and muttered something I couldn’t understand then looked over at Samantha and me.

  Soon the sounds of Terrence harmonizing in the dining room caught our ears and the other boys joined in, practicing the lyrics of what was a new song that Stanley said Terrence wrote with Jaxen. It was a very sweet sounding song, the lyrics filled with emotion, pleading and love that made me smile.

  I blushed as a shirtless and muscled Stanley kept sneaking peeks at me, to Samantha’s amusement and Jaxen’s seeming annoyance. After a while, I forgot Jaxen was in the room as Stanley kept making eyes at me and doing things, such as making silly faces, to make me giggle. Soon after, the talking ceased in the dining room and the rollers started moving slower.

  “Uh, Kimber? What time is that pizza coming?” Jaxen asked as he slowed his roller too.

  “Huh?” I startled then replied with a smile. “I could order it now, I guess. Sammi, come in the kitchen with me while I look for the number.”

  Sammi stood and smirked at her brother. I led her into the kitchen, grabbed the menu and called but it took a moment to get the order right because I could hear the conversation in the dining room loud and clear. I quieted and turned when I heard the conversation start and had a good view of some of them as they stood in the middle of the floor while talking.

  “Fuckin’ grrr, man!” Jaxen growled. “What did I say?”

  “What, Red?”

  “Dude, he told us she was off limits. Fucking flirting all over the place with her,” Ren said. “Fuck’s wrong with you?! You know the code, Stanley!”

  “Call me that name one more time,” Stanley snarled.

  “I ain’t calling you that dumbass name if you disrespect the code!” Ren half shouted. “You know better! Man, we break any of the codes then shit falls apart. Red spoke first and we all agreed!”

  “Dude, is it my fault he’s taking forever with her? Fuck, I thought he changed his damn mind. And he’s got Camille! What more does he need?” Stanley growled.

  “I don’t have anybody! Who the fuck is Camille?” Jaxen stage whispered.

  All the other members of Negative Ion threw their hands up in frustration and groaned.

  “Marnie!” Michael growled. “You know, the girl you’ve been screwing for the past few weeks!”

  Jaxen’s eyes widen. “Her real name is Camille? Where did I get Marnie from?”

  “Marnie is her dog’s name,” Greg murmured, shaking his head. “She had that thing with her and that’s what you used to get her to stop the first time. Not that it took much. She’d been eyeing you like raw steak since forever.”

  Jaxen frowned as he looked around at his band. “Terrier?”

  “Poodle!” the band shouted at once.

  Jaxen smirked. “I don’t give a fuck about her. She was just steady pussy to get me off. I kinda like her.”

  “She is not t
he type of girl to just have for pussy on standby, fuck-cheese. And she’s not the kind of girl you ‘kinda’ like. You’re going to have to change if you want her and there is no fucking way you’ll be able to do that. I can.”

  “I hear you, uh, Snip… but look. I want her and I don’t know where it is I’m going with her. I still want to try. There’s something different about her and I can’t put my finger on it.”

  “You better do something soon because for her, I’m willing to break the code. Make up your mind about her or let the whole thing go,” Stanley snarled.

  I held on tight to the kitchen phone’s receiver as I listened to the conversation going on in my dining room, even after I finished ordering. I saw Sammi’s expression and knew she heard the entire thing too. The expression on her face was completely smug. When Samantha looked back at me, I tried to look like I was engrossed in my ordering and heard nothing.

  “Yes, that’s correct, Harry. Thanks!” I said as I hung up the phone. “They’re promising 30 minutes.”

  “Good. I’m starving!” Samantha groaned, dropping into a chair.

  “Me, too,” I giggled then whispered. “Did you see how Stanley was staring at me? I think he likes me but…”

  “Yeah, I saw. But what?”

  “I like Red but obviously he likes someone else.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know if you heard any of that,” Samantha grimaced then spoke softly. “Listen, Itsy. I think you should give Stanley a shot. Jaxen’s not the candy and flowers guy. He enjoys things you haven’t, and in most cases, shouldn’t, experience. He will only break your heart and cruelly. I know my brother and he is not capable of change and I hate that I will have to kill him when he tears you apart.”

  I stared at my best friend for several minutes then sighed. “I could have said the same thing about you and Parker. He was like that when you got with him and now look. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that new ring on your finger, even though you switched it to your right hand when you changed your clothes.”

  Samantha raised her arms to her waist and nervously twisted the ring on her right hand, righting the diamond.