Pretend

by Charlene Antrobus

  “Yeah, I missed you too,” he said as he winked at her.

  “Hey Taise,” we all sang in unison as he stepped through the door.

  “Hey ladies,” he said with a huge smile on his face.

  “Where’s Marissa?” I asked as I looked behind him at the empty space.

  “She’s coming later, she had to work late,” he said as he smiled at me.

  It turned out that Marissa had secretly been crushing on Taise since she first met him at one of Murphy’s parties. Fortunately he finally worked up the courage to ask her out a year ago and they’ve been together ever since.

  “Ok.”

  “So, what are you ladies chuckling about?” Murphy asked as he leaned against the door frame, looking at Crystal.

  “Last I heard they were talking about pregnancy,” Aiden unsuccessfully whispered.

  “It’s rude to listen in on people’s conversations Aidy,” Mimi said as she raised her eyebrow at him.

  “Not when you do it in your own house it isn’t,” he said as he winked at her.

  “Whatever, can you morons get out, we’re trying to have a grown up conversation here,” Crystal said as she stared into Murphy’s eyes.

  “Well, I know when I’m not wanted,” he said with a smirk on his face.

  “Come on guys, we’ll get some food,” Aiden said as he started to walk towards the kitchen.

  “Now that sounds like a plan,” Taise said with a smile on his face.

  “Yeah, it does,” Murphy said as he gave Crystal one last look before walking out.

  I turned my attention to Crystal but she was clearly trying to avoid my gaze.

  “So, what’s happening with your car?” Jess asked.

  “Well Anthony and Aiden are working on it but I’m not sure whether I should just cut my losses and buy a new one,” I said as I began to think about all of the problems that that car was giving me lately.

  I knew that if anyone could fix it then it would be Anthony and Aiden but I was honestly just fed up of it.

  “Yeah, it has been nothing but trouble the past few months,” Mimi agreed.

  “Yeah, well we’ll see,” I said as I smiled at her.

  Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” I said as I stood to my feet.

  “Hey,” I said as I opened the door to a smiling Anthony.

  “Did you get it then?” I asked as I looked at his empty hands.

  “Get what?” He asked with a confused expression.

  “Jess’ candy?”

  “Oh no!” He said as a look of panic spread across his face.

  “Anthony, are you kidding me?” I whispered as I stared at him in disbelief.

  “Yeah, actually I am,” he said with a huge grin on his face as he slipped a Hershey bar out of his back pocket.

  “That was not funny. I thought that I was going to have to plan your funeral,” I said as I hit him playfully on the arm.

  “No, I’m not that bad. Now can you let me in, I’m sort of freezing my butt off out here,” he said as he smiled at me.

  “Yeah sorry,” I said as I stepped to the side to let him in.

  “So, how’s my car getting along?” I asked as I prepared myself for the worst answer.

  “Yeah, it’s ok, it’ll be as good as new in a couple of days,” he said as he smiled.

  “Really?” I beamed as I smiled at the thought of getting my freedom back.

  “Yes really. Me and Aiden didn’t just set up a business for the fun of it you know, we are actually good at what we do,” he said as he nudged me, playfully.

  “Yeah, I don’t doubt you guys, it’s that car that I worry about,” I said as we both began laughing.

  “Well even if we can’t fix it then you know that we will sort you out with a new one so you have nothing to worry about,” he said as he smiled at me.

  “Thanks Ant.”

  “Hey baby,” he said as we walked through the living room door.

  “Hey,” Jess said as she smiled up at him.

  “Here you go,” he said as he handed her, the Hershey bar, much to her delight.

  “Oh my gosh, my favourite! Thank you baby,” she said as she kissed him and then began ripping open the packet.

  “Wow, she really takes this eating for two thing seriously, doesn’t she?” Crystal said, earning her a dirty look from Jess.

  Suddenly my phone began to vibrate, so I left the room so that I could hear the other person.

  “Hey,” I said as I picked up my phone.

  “Hey April!” Jinnie shouted in an excited tone.

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m stuck in traffic but I’ll be there in like ten minutes, save me some food,” she said as I burst out laughing.

  “Ok, I will,” I replied.

  “Bye.”

  I chuckled to myself as I walked back into the living room where everyone was now congregated.

  “Who was that?” Crystal asked as I sat in between her and Jess.

  “It was Jinnie, she was making sure that I saved her some food,” I said as everyone burst out laughing.

  “Typical,” Jess said as she rolled her eyes.

  “So, what time do the games start?” Anthony asked as he sat forward and rubbed his hands together.

  “Why? You’re only going to lose if you’re up against me,” Aiden said as he smiled to himself.

  “Dude, you really need to get over yourself,” Anthony said as we all began laughing at the pair.

  “Scared?” Aiden said as he smirked at his best friend.

  “Of you? Dude, you’re like a little pussy cat,” he scoffed before sitting back in his chair.

  “That sounds like a challenge,” Aiden said with a big grin on his face.

  “Now baby you know that you don’t like to lose,” Jess said as she tried to hold in her laughter.

  “You know, your lack of confidence in me is insulting,” he said, sarcastically.

  “Ok but don’t say that I didn’t warn you,” she said as she took a bite out of the apple in her hand.

  “Yeah, yeah. Let the games begin,” he said as he turned to face Aiden with a smirk on his face.

  * * *

  “Dude you’re a cheater man!” Anthony roared as Aiden beat him for the fifth time.

  Forty minutes had passed by since they began their challenge. They had been playing Mario Cart and so far Anthony hadn’t won one race. The living room was practically pouring with people who were either team Aiden or Team Anthony. I did notice that Anthony’s team had slowly diminished over the past forty minutes as Aiden continued to win. I felt quite sorry for the neighbours as everyone roared with laughter when Aiden beat Anthony again.

  “How can I be cheating, I’m just that good, face it,” Aiden said with a big smirk on his face.

  “Now, now Aiden stop teasing the poor boy,” Susan said as she tried her hardest not to laugh.

  “Yeah at least let him win one game,” my mom said as they both burst out laughing.

  “It’s not even on the hardest level Aunty Kels there is not much else I can do to help him,” Aiden said as he smiled at her.

  “I don’t need your help! He cheats that’s why,” Anthony said as he raised an eyebrow at Aiden.

  “Come on man it’s time to let someone with more skills have a go,” Kyle said as he took the remote from Anthony’s hand.

  “That’s it Daddy you kick Uncle Aiden’s butt!” Tammy said as she jumped up and down in excitement.

  “Tammy,” I said as I raised an eyebrow at her.

  “I mean that’s it Daddy you win,” she said with an innocent look on her face.

  “That’s better,” I said before glancing at Crystal who had a huge grin on her face.

  “You guys need to get off of this now and play a game that everyone can play,” Jinnie moaned.

  “Yeah she’s right,” Marissa agreed.

  “Ok, so what do you suggest?” Kyle said.

  “H
ow about a game of charades?” Grandma said as she winked at Aiden.

  “Another game that I can win easily,” Aiden said before earning himself a slap around the head from Crystal.

  “You know, that violence is going to get you into trouble one day?” Aiden said as he rubbed the back of his head.

  “Aww, can’t you take a hit from a girl?” She asked with an evil grin on her face before standing up.

  “Back in a minute,” she said as she walked out of the living room.

  “Ok, so how shall we split the teams?” Mom asked as she looked at us all.

  “Girls against guys,” Jess said as she smirked at Anthony.

  “Yeah at least you get a chance of winning on my team,” Aiden said as he tapped Anthony’s shoulder.

  “Shut up dude,” he replied with a smile on his face.

  “Wait, how many is on each team them?” Jinnie asked no one in particular.

  “I’ll check,” I said as I scanned the room.

  “Right, there will be Anthony, Aiden, Taise, Uncle Harry, Bob and Kyle on the men’s team-“

  “Wait, where’s Murphy?”Anthony asked.

  “I don’t know but he will be on your team too, so that makes seven. Now on the girl’s team there will be me, Jess, Jinnie, Mimi, Marissa, Mom and Grandma. Oh and Crystal when she comes back,” I said as I scanned the room.

  “Yeah but you guys have got an extra team member,” Anthony said as he scrunched up his nose.

  “Yeah but I’ve got baby brain so it doesn’t count,” Jess said with a smirk on her face.

  “Anyway you will have more later when everyone else arrives,” Jess said as she smirked at Anthony.

  “Fine,” Anthony agreed, reluctantly.

  * * *

  An hour had passed by and I am proud to say that we were winning by four points, much to Aiden’s dismay.

  “Right, let’s take a time out, I need a drink,” Aiden said as he headed towards the kitchen.

  “That sounds like the best idea that anyone has had all night,” Mrs Staples said as her and Grandma jumped out of the chair to follow Aiden. It was nice to see Grandma smiling away like that. Gramps had passed away two years ago and since then her and Mrs Staples had grown closer. I guess that they understood each other’s pain. It was a really hard time for us especially since he had completely forgotten who we all were by then but we really tried to stay strong for Grandma. It was difficult at first but we learnt that we couldn’t be sad when we had all been blessed enough to experience him in our lives. We had learnt to celebrate his life rather than mourn his death.

  “Looks like someone isn’t used to losing,” Mimi said as we all began laughing.

  “No he isn’t,” I said as I chuckled to myself. I couldn’t help but smile as I looked around at all of the happy faces in the room.

  The night was going great so far and we were all having a nice time. It was pretty cramped in the living room right now but the fact that I had all of the people that I loved the most in one room was great. Everyone had arrived by now and it was noisy. Kyle’s parents had showed up about twenty minutes ago, which sparked the first argument of the night. They thought that Mimi hadn’t invited Tommy because she was embarrassed of them and since she wasn’t exactly the most patient person, you can imagine how that argument ended. Luckily Kyle was there to diffuse the situation which is why they were all attempting to be civil right now although I can imagine that there will be a part two when they get home.

  Unfortunately Aiden’s dad couldn’t make it since he, Kate and Caitlyn were on vacation for two weeks but they did call this morning, which was nice. Aiden’s dad had been alcohol free for four years now and their relationship was better than ever. We didn’t see them as much as we’d like to since we lived a good forty minute drive away but we all tried to make as much effort as we could.

  “Shall I get that?” Mimi asked, interrupting my thoughts.

  “Huh?”

  “The door, didn’t you hear it?” She asked impatiently.

  “No I didn’t. I’ll get it,” I said as I stood up and began to walk towards the door.

  As I opened the door the biggest smile slipped onto my face.

  “Hey Lisa,” I whispered as I watched Dylan sleeping in her arms.

  “Hey sweetie,” she said as she kissed me on the cheek.

  “Do you want to put him down in my room?” I asked as I smiled at my dad’s wife. They had been married for four years now and she was lovely.

  “Yeah, that’ll be great,” she said as she gently passed my two year old brother to me.

  “He looks so peaceful,” I said as I smiled down at him.

  “And as long as he doesn’t wake up it will stay that way,” she said as we both laughed quietly.

  “Where’s Dad?” I asked as I looked past her shoulder.

  “He went back to the car to grab something,” she said as she closed the door behind us.

  “Ok, take the key and let him in when he knocks,” I said as I handed her the key in my hand.

  “Ok.”

  I smiled to myself as I looked down at Dylan’s cute, little face.

  “Sssh,” I said as I passed Anthony and Aiden talking loudly in the hallway.

  “Sorry,” Anthony whispered as he smiled at me.

  I gently placed Dylan down on the bed as I pulled out the fold up crib that we used to use for Tammy when she stayed. Once I had set it up, I lay him down in there and left the room.

  As I walked back into the living room everyone’s faces looked a little shocked like I had missed something. As I scanned the room I realised that Aiden, Anthony, Murphy, Crystal and Jess were all missing. I quickly walked out of the living room and headed into the kitchen.

  “So, when were you planning on telling me?” Aiden asked a very nervous looking Murphy.

  “Look, Aiden you really need to chill out, we’re not kids you know,” Crystal said in a frustrated tone.

  “What’s going on?” I asked as I watched the scene before me.

  “You don’t want to know,” Anthony said with a smirk on his face.

  “When?” Aiden repeated as he locked eyes with Murphy.

  “Look, it wasn’t as if it was planned or anything.”

  “Oh my gosh, why are you making such a big deal out of it?” Crystal said as she looked at Aiden.

  “Because you lied to me,” Aiden said, simply.

  “Isn’t this the same thing that you did with April?” She asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

  “Yes and you said that we should have told you but you didn’t tell us.”

  “No, I said that April should have told me not you,” she replied in an angry tone.

  “Aiden, why don’t we just discuss this in the morning when everybody has gone,” I said, calmly as I touched his shoulder.

  “No, I want to discuss it now. I want to know how long this has been going on for?” He asked.

  “Aiden, it is none of your business, we are not kids!” Crystal shouted in frustration.

  “When things happen under my roof it makes it my business.”

  “Oh come on dude you just saw us making out, that’s it,” Murphy said as he rolled his eyes.

  “Just making out! Just making out!” Aiden shouted as he took a step closer to Murphy.

  “And cut,” Anthony suddenly said as him, Aiden and Crystal all burst out laughing leaving me and Murphy stood in shock.

  “You should have seen your face!” Anthony said as he tried to contain his laughter.

  “You mean, you knew?” Murphy said as he looked at a very amused looking Aiden.

  “Yeah but I had to do it man, it was so funny,” Aiden said as he continued to laugh.

  “You set me up?” Murphy said as he turned to face Crystal.

  “Aww sorry cutey but I had to, it was so funny. I only wished that we had recorded that moment, the fear on your face,” she said as she tried not to laugh.

  “I was not scared,” he said as he trie
d to cover the embarrassment.

  “Dude, you were scared,” Anthony said as he continued to laugh.

  “So, you’re ok with me and Crystal?” Murphy asked in a serious tone.

  “Of course I am but if you break her heart then I have to break something of yours,” Aiden said with a smirk on his face.

  “Deal,” Murphy said as he shook Aiden’s hand.

  “Ahhhhh!” Jess screamed.

  “Ok baby it wasn’t that funny,” Anthony said as he turned to look at her.

  “She’s not laughing you moron,” Crystal said as we both ran over to Jess.

  “I think the baby is coming,” she said as she bent over the counter and clutched her stomach.

  “Oh my gosh, how long have you been getting pain?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, maybe about an hour, I just thought that it would pass but they’ve been getting even more painful,” she said as she let out another cry of pain.

  “Ok, I need someone to time how far apart the contractions are,” I said as Crystal nodded her head.

  “Time the what’s? Wait, doesn’t that mean-“

  “Yes, you moron, it means that I’m having this big headed kid right now so come here and hold my hand and shut your mouth,” Jess screamed as Anthony quickly obeyed her orders.

  “We need to get her to the hospital,” Aiden said as we all shook our heads in agreement.

  As we all tried to clear the way and get Jess outside, we bumped into my dad.

  “Is she?” He said as he looked down at Jess with a shocked look on his face.

  “Yes,” I said as we continued walking.

  “Ok, come on we’ll take my car, get her in,” he said as he raced out the door and towards his car.

  “Ok, it’s not far now Jess, we just need you to hold on ok? You need to breath,” I said as I gently squeezed her hand.

  “Ok,” she said as she shook her head vigorously as the pain hit her again.

  “This is all your fault, you moron,” she screamed as she tried to catch her breath.

  “Mine?” Anthony asked as he looked down at her.

  “Yes! I told you that I wanted to go out that night and now look, here I am having my insides ripped apart because your family has the big head gene,” she said through gritted teeth.