by Cala Riley
“You’re right. Make him wait,” she repeats with a serious tone.
“And if he’s an ass, you can always call me and I’ll deal with him,” I tell her to lighten the mood, causing her to giggle.
I get her eyelids how I want and hand her the mirror. “What do you think?” I ask.
Tinsley gasps. “I love it. But what about eyeliner?”
“Don’t worry. That’s next. Look up.” I take the mirror back and set it on the counter.
I grab both a green and black eyeliner, putting the green on the bottom inner eyelid, getting it just how I want it. Then I grab the black and add it softly just along her bottom eyelashes. I use a Q-tip to smudge it lightly, softening it a little more. I do the same to her other eye and compare the two to make sure they match, then hand her the mascara. “Your turn. I have to draw the line somewhere.” I tease.
Tinsley chuckles and leans forward, mouth opening into a perfect O as she swiftly sweeps the mascara along her eyelashes once, then twice. She takes a step back and takes a real look at herself, then sighs. “I love it.”
“I’m glad,” I tell her while running my hands through her curls, getting them just right.
The doorbell rings.
It’s time.
∞∞∞
“Hello? Tinsley?” I attempt to sit up in my groggy state.
“Sage, can you come pick me up?” Tinsley’s voice trembles.
I jump out of bed, slipping my feet into the first pair of shoes I find. “Where are you?”
“I’m not sure. A party somewhere.”
“Ping me your location. I’ll be there shortly.” I grab Victoria’s car keys and head out.
“Thank you. I just sent it. I’m going to hang up because my phone’s almost dead, but let me know when you get here.”
“I will. Call me back if you need to. I’ll be there in fifteen.”
I don’t bother driving the speed limit. Hearing the tears in her voice brought out the protective side of me. What the hell was this kid thinking taking her to a party? Especially one where she knows no one?
I look at the clock and note that it’s past midnight. Surely Reed and Keaton are out looking for her as well. I wonder if that’s why she called me.
I pull up to the house and immediately see this party is a more intimate one. The hair on the back of my neck stands up immediately. I try to call Tinsley, but her phone goes straight to voice mail. I don’t hesitate, just jump out of the car and walk right up to the door, pounding on it as hard as I can. It only takes a moment for the door to fling open.
“Who in the fuck—” The boy who answers stops as he takes me in. “Hey, shorty. How can I be of service to you today?” He rubs his hands together as he continues to ogle my body.
I glance down and realize that when I didn’t change, that left me in my sleep shorts and a tank, sans bra.
“Where’s Tinsley?” I demand.
“I don’t know, baby, but come on in. I can take care of you better than Tinsley can.”
I shake my head and push past him. I find my way to the living room and see a small group of people but no Tinsley.
“I don’t like to repeat myself. Where is Tinsley?”
They all look at me with glazed eyes. Obviously high or drunk. Probably both. I glance at the boy standing behind me and glare. That seems to sober him up a little.
“Seriously, we don’t know any Tinsley. I think you have the wrong house.”
“Her pin shows me that she’s here, so either you find her, or I’ll search every room in the house until I do.”
One of the girls on the couch speaks up. “Didn’t Asher bring a new chick with him tonight?”
“Shit, I don’t remember. If it is her, they went upstairs a couple of minutes ago. Third room on the left.” The guy turns away and goes back to sit in the only empty chair before picking up a bong.
“Thanks for your help,” I mumble before making my way upstairs. My heart is racing at this point. I have no clue what I’m going to walk into, but I’m ready to pounce.
I get to the door that the boy downstairs indicated. It’s slightly ajar. I slowly ease it open, then stop when I catch her voice.
“Asher, my sister is almost here. I need to go. I told her I would meet her outside.”
“Come on, baby. Only a little longer. I told you I would take you home.”
She pushes him, but he refuses to move. I don’t think, just act. I’m across the room in three strides and pulling him off her in the blink of an eye.
“Hey, fucktard. Did you not hear her say she has to leave? Come on, Tins.”
Tinsley jumps up and moves behind me, her big eyes frightened.
“You can’t leave yet. The party just started now that you’re here.” Asher whistles. “Tinsley, baby, you didn’t tell me your sister’s a hottie.”
He reaches out to grab her arm, but I move her farther behind me. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll sit down, shut up, and never contact her again. Do you understand me?”
My blood is boiling. I can feel Tinsley trembling behind me.
“Oh yeah? What are you going to do to stop me, little girl?” He starts to move closer, but I don’t hesitate.
I take a short step forward before hitting him with my left fist, quickly followed by my right. Before he can recover, I grab his shoulders and slam my knee into his balls. He falls to the floor.
“Come on, T. Let’s go.” I grab her hand and feel a shot of pain through my knuckles.
As we descend the stairs, the boy from earlier yells something at us, but I don’t stop. I pull Tinsley all the way out to the car, practically shoving her inside before racing around to the driver side.
Once we’re buckled in and on the road, I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my blood starting to wane. My hands sting, but I push that all aside.
“Are you okay, Tinsley?”
“Yeah. Thank you for coming to get me.” She sniffles.
“T, honey, why are you crying? Did he do something? Do I need to murder him?”
She chuckles a bit. “No, but he was very persistent. I kept telling him Reed would be waiting up, but he didn’t want to leave.”
“Speaking of Reed, you need to call him.”
“My phone’s dead.”
“You can use mine.” I hand it over.
I watch as she dials the number but doesn’t press Send.
“What are you waiting for? You know he’s out searching for you.”
She lets out a sigh. “I know. I just don’t want to hear how they were right and I’m not ready to date.”
I hold my hand out. “Give it here.”
She gives me a confused look.
“I’ll talk to them.” I press Send as she chews on her bottom lip.
“Yeah,” his gruff voice answers on the second ring.
“Hey, Reed. It’s Sage.”
“How the fuck did you get my number? You know what? It doesn’t matter. I don’t have time. I can’t talk.”
“Wait!” I call out before he hangs up. “Tinsley’s with me.”
“What? Tins is with you? Why?” His voice becomes even harder.
“She called and asked me for a ride. I’m taking her back to your house. I just wanted to call and let you know. She’s safe. Don’t hound her as soon as we get there.”
“Who do you think you are to tell me what to do? She’s my sister. I will give her a lecture on missing curfew and then find out why she called you instead of me.”
I scoff. “With a tone like yours, I wonder why. We’ll be there in ten. I hope you aren’t home yet,”
I hang up and throw the phone in the cubby, ignoring the set of buzzes coming from it.
“I might’ve either bought you some time or made it worse. Reed honestly brings out the worst in me. You should have called Keaton. He would have listened.”
She sighs. “I know, but Reed is the one who’s going to lecture me the most. He stepped into the parental role when
we were kids since ours are too busy for us. Mom tried to hire nannies, but Reed and Keat would chase them off until Mom finally agreed to let Reed be in charge. I know he can be a real asshole sometimes, but it’s only because he had to grow up too fast.”
“As far as I can tell, you’ve all had to grow up faster than you should have. Don’t give him too much credit.”
“In some ways, yes, but in others, I still have some growing to do. Like tonight. Grown me would have called as soon as Asher ditched our movie in favor of a party, but he said he liked me and wanted me to meet his friend. I didn’t realize when he said his friend, he meant his penis.”
I grip the wheel tighter. “Did he touch you?”
“No,” she says with conviction. “Not at all. I mean, I know what you walked in on, but I didn’t mind kissing him. I just didn’t want to go further.”
“Good, because I would go back there and kill him right now if he had.”
We pull up to her house then. After she talks to the security guard a moment, we drive up and I park the car.
“Will you come in with me? Maybe stay?” she asks almost pleadingly.
I chuckle. “I’m not sure my presence will help, but sure. Why not?”
Before we reach the front door, it swings open. Reed stands on the other side. Tinsley goes to sneak by him, but he grabs her and wraps her in a hug. I watch as he squeezes her with his eyes shut tightly, some of the tension in his shoulders melting away. After a moment, he kisses her head before taking a step back.
“Go tell Keat you’re home, and then go to bed. We can talk tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she says in a small voice. “Sage is going to stay with me tonight.”
His gaze whips to mine. I give him a subtle shake of my head. He lets out sigh. “Sure thing, Tin Tin. Go check in with Keat, and I’ll take Sage to your room.”
I give her a reassuring smile and nod. She gives me one back, then heads upstairs.
As soon as she’s gone, Reed turns to me. “Where’d you find her?”
“She’ll tell you all about it in the morning, Reed.” I start up the stairs. “She just needs time to lick her wounds. She knows she made a mistake.”
I feel him following me. We stop as soon as we reach the top.
“Why didn’t that little punk bring her home?” Anger flashes in his eyes.
“I honestly don’t know. She called me and asked me to come, so I did. I don’t know what else to tell you.”
He takes a couple of steady breaths. “Thank you for going to get her. I wish she called me, but I’m still grateful that you answered her call, even if this is partly your fault.”
“My fault? How? If you keep trying to shelter her from everything bad in life, then she won’t know how to deal with it when something bad happens to her. She knew she made a mistake tonight, and she didn’t call you because she knew you would lecture her instead of being there for her.”
“I’m always there for her. Keaton and I both are. We’ve dedicated our lives to being there for her. You don’t know anything,” he growls.
“I know that your parents are shit and have abandoned you to fend for yourselves. I know that you’ve taken on the dad role, and that as much as she appreciates it, she sometimes wishes she had her big brother instead of her dad to talk to. I know that she craves female attention and guidance in her life, but she’s given up hope that she’ll ever get it because your mom is absent and neither one of you seems to want to settle down, or if you are dating someone, she can’t stand them.” I step forward and grab Reed’s hand. He startles, but I keep talking. “You have done an amazing job raising her and Keaton. I can tell in the way Tinsley talks about you that she loves you and wants to make you proud. She knows you would do anything for her and are doing your best. She also knows that there are things she can’t ask you about. Women stuff. That’s why she turned me. Why she came to me and V about this in the first place. She needs someone who will guide her as a mother would and not a friend, brother, or father.”
I go to step back, having said my piece, but he grabs my hand and intertwines our fingers. “Thank you, Sage. I mean it. I know I’ve given you a hard time, but you’re right. She’s needed a female figure in her life for a while. I can’t say I agree with her turning to you, but I’m still glad you showed up tonight.”
I roll my eyes at his poor attempt at an apology.
He chuckles before allowing his eyes to drag down my body. “Not that I’m complaining, but what in the hell are you wearing?”
I glance down and realize for the second time tonight that I still haven’t changed.
“Well, when Tinsley called, I jumped out of bed and threw shoes on. I didn’t bother getting dressed. This is what I normally wear to bed.”
His eyes take me in with appreciation, which causes my blood to warm. It’s not the first time he’s looked at me this way and probably won’t be the last, but tonight feels different. It feels as if we’ve made a sort of truce in all this hatred we’ve been slinging.
“Going out in public like this? That isn’t going to help your reputation.”
Well, I thought we had a truce.
“Yeah, well, who cares about my reputation. It’s already tarnished thanks to you. I only care that Tinsley’s home safe.”
I start to walk away, but he grabs my arm and pulls me back. I sigh and roll my eyes. “What, Reed?”
His face holds a look of confusion. “I wasn’t trying to insult you. You look sexy as fuck right now. I was trying to compliment you.”
My heart flutters at him calling me sexy, but I keep the blank look on my face. “Well, you should probably work on that, then, but thank you, I guess.”
Thankfully, before he can respond, Tinsley pads down the hallway. “Time for bed.” She leans up and kisses Reed on the cheek before grabbing my arm and pulling me into her room. “Good night.”
She shuts the door before he can say anything.
I chuckle. “You’re tempting fate, girl. He’s already mad at you, and then you shut the door in his face?”
“I was trying to save you. You looked pissed.”
“Did I? We were talking about you.” I sigh. “He does make me a little twitchy sometimes.”
She giggles before going to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she comes out with a freshly clean face. “He can be a jerk, but he’s a good guy. Deep down, but still.” She hesitates. “I’m sorry if this makes school rougher on you. I plan to tell them everything tomorrow. I’m going to make sure they know you were only looking out for me.”
“Don’t worry about me. You need to tell them the truth about everything because it’s the right thing to do, not because you want to keep me out of trouble. Be prepared though. If you think what I did to Asher was bad, Reed and Keaton are going to be three times worse.”
She climbs into bed, and I climb in beside her. “I know. I almost want to lie because I don’t want them to hurt him.”
“I know you like this kid, but what he did was wrong. He should have never taken you to a party during your first date.”
She lets out a snort. “I’m not concerned for him. I’m concerned for my brothers. I don’t want them to get in trouble when they beat him up. While I had a good time at first, I didn’t like how he was talking or how he treated you when you showed up. Keat and Reed are going to murder him, and I still need them,” she says in a quiet voice, then follows it with “Don’t you dare tell them I said that.”
I smile as she leans over to turn off the lamp on her bedside table before getting comfortable. “No worries, T. Neither of your brothers will ever know. I don’t think they would believe me anyways. Reed would consider it another one of my wicked games I supposedly play.”
She giggles. “He’s an idiot. If Reed, Sterling, and Finley even took five minutes to get to know you, they would see what I see. You’re a great friend and an even better person. You didn’t have to do all this for me today, but you did. You didn’t get anything out of it. That�
��s what makes you better than everyone else in this place. You don’t have an agenda.”
“Everyone has an agenda. Even me. It just so happens that mine doesn’t involve anyone here.”
“What is it, then?”
“To survive until I turn eighteen, then leave. I won’t have the state telling me what I have to do or where I have to live at that point. I can truly be free.”
“Free sounds nice, but it also sounds lonely. When do you turn eighteen?”
“About six months from now.”
“Will you keep in touch with me when you leave?” Her voice sounds so small.
“I will.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” And I know this is a promise I’ll keep. Too many people have abandoned her. I can’t do that too.
After a few minutes of silence, she speaks again. “Hey, Sage?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I ask you something, but it stays between us?”
“Of course.”
“What’s sex like?”
Her question catches me off guard, and I hesitate for a moment.
“Sex? Honestly, I’m not sure. I’m still a virgin,” I admit softly.
“Really?” I expect her voice to hold some kind of surprise in it, but what I hear is relief.
“Really.”
“Why?” She reminds me of a curious child the way her questions pop out without thought.
“My mom taught me that sex is a big deal. You have to completely trust the person you’re going to do it with. She always said it was up to me when and if it happened, and that if a guy couldn’t understand that, then he wasn’t the right guy for me.”
“So, you haven’t met him yet, then?”
“Nope. Probably won’t anytime soon with the assholes in our school. They all already think I’ve slept with half the lacrosse team. Truth is, I know I’m worth waiting for. I don’t want to give it up to some high school boy who won’t remember my name in five years. I want it to be special. As should you. Don’t settle, T. Make sure he gives you the world before you give him yours.”
“I will. I promise.”