We Thought We Were Invincible

by Michelle MacQueen

  “I don't need a commentary on my life, thank you. This is about you and the fact that this year is important.”

  I stood, not wanting to hear more of the same. “I get it. College. Life. Success.”

  She didn't say another word as I walked out. I didn't plan on the whole college thing, but she didn't need to know that yet. How was I going to ever tell her? My grades would probably get me into some podunk school, without all the scholarships my brother would get, but it just wasn't for me. I didn't know what I wanted to do come graduation, but I knew it wasn't that.

  Colby wanted to be a doctor. I just wanted to be happy, if I could figure out how to do that. Kat got a degree in photography and tasted success as a travel photographer before being saddled with us. Mom was different though. She was like me and I think she was happy.

  I still saw her wide smile through the eyes of a twelve-year-old. Even then, when she was sick, it was there. And being young, I always took it at face value. If you smiled, you were happy. Now I wonder what existed behind it.

  I went into my bedroom and changed out of my surf attire before sitting on my bed and reaching underneath it for the box I always kept there. Lifting off the lid, I pulled out the photos within. My most valuable possessions.

  The first one I saw was my mom with a toddler on each knee. Her eyes shone as she looked at us.

  Flipping through, I found my favorite. She was standing with her arm around a much younger Kat with the beach as a backdrop. A surfboard lay behind them and perfect waves rolled in the distance. They both squinted into the sun with matching pearly white smiles.

  A soft tap on the door snapped me back to reality. Wiping my eyes, I told Kat to come in.

  She pushed open the door and smiled when she took in the pictures surrounding me. Taking care not to sit on any, she lowered herself to the bed beside me.

  “That's my favorite.” She gestured to the picture still in my hands.

  “Mine too,” I admitted, giving her a weak smile.

  “I must have been only like fifteen there.”

  “That'd make mom twenty-five.”

  “She was crazy, your mom.” Kat laughed. “The waves that day were huge, but she wasn't one to back down. And, you know what, she surfed them well. Whenever anyone told her she couldn't do something, she'd do it just to prove them wrong. You remind me so much of her.”

  “Yeah?”

  “It isn't all good.” Kat grew serious. “You couldn't tell her to do anything she didn't want to do. Sometimes I thought she tried to get in trouble.”

  “Like having us.”

  Kat was quiet for a long moment. “No. Your father was not in the picture, but she never once thought that what he gave her wasn't good. You and your brother were the best part of her life.”

  I leaned back into my pillows to hide my face as tears welled in my eyes.

  “I just worry about you, kid. I see you closing yourself off to people and that was not who your mother was. At the same time, I wish you'd take things seriously.”

  I protested, and she put her hand up to stop me.

  “Things other than surfing,” she clarified.

  The bed shifted as she stood. “You and Colby were the best things that ever happened to your mother, and you were also the best things that happened to me.”

  I wiped my eyes, watching her as she left my room.

  Spending the rest of the day in my room, I watched videos on my computer. Around five, the front door slammed and voices drifted past my room.

  “You missed school,” Colby was saying. “Is it any wonder coach made you run extra laps?”

  “It's just not fair. I'm the best forward we have,” Jamie groused.

  “Excuse me? Cocky much?”

  “My point is that coach shouldn't be running me ragged if he expects me to play well in our first game tomorrow.”

  Just what I needed. I sighed, banging my head against the door frame.

  “Cal,” Colby called.

  “I'm right here.” I stepped into view, avoiding Jamie's eyes. That wasn't a problem because he was doing the same.

  “Kat called and said she'd be at the diner 'til late, but she doesn't need us tonight.”

  “Fine.” I turned to walk back into my room.

  “You hungry?” he asked. “We're ordering a pizza.”

  “Sure.” I turned to face him again. “Hawaiian?”

  He scrunched up his face. “If by that you mean sausage and pepper, then yes.”

  “Okay. Let me know when it's here.”

  Forty-five minutes later I was sitting at the kitchen table across from Jamie, with Colby on my left and the pizza in front of me. I kept my mouth full so I wouldn't have to talk, but Jamie did enough of that for all of us.

  “I can't believe you're going out with Amelia,” Colby said.

  Jamie feigned nonchalance. “It's been a while since Jess.”

  Jess was the girl he'd dated over the summer.

  “I wouldn't call two weeks exactly long,” I snapped. Where did that come from?

  “Oh, she speaks.” Colby cupped his hands around his mouth, ignorant of the daggers Jamie and I were shooting at each other. “I was wondering where my sister went.”

  “Two weeks is long enough when you have a chance with a girl like Amelia.” Jamie shrugged. “Anyway, enough about her. How is my dear brother doing without the love of his life by his side at college?”

  I clenched my fist on the table. “We're not… ugh… you know what? It doesn't matter. I do not need to explain myself or my friendship with Jay to the likes of you.”

  I pushed my chair back and shot to my feet before storming away and slamming my door. Jamie's chuckling permeated the thin walls.

  “I've gotta take a piss.” I heard him tell my brother.

  I paced the length of my room, clenching and unclenching my fists. Before I realized it had opened, my bedroom door shut, and I spun around to find myself face to face with the infuriating blond soccer phenom himself.

  “What do you think you're doing?” I asked as the breath left my lungs and he stepped closer.

  He took me by the shoulders and pressed me up against the wall. His head dipped, and he was kissing me before I could even think. I didn't respond. Instead, I pushed at his chest, and he released me.

  “What?” I breathed.

  “It's just that you're hot when you're angry.” He grinned.

  The heat rose in my face. “You can't just go kissing people.”

  “Why not?” He shrugged, laughing as I moved out of the way to let him walk out the door.

  As I watched him go, I realized that he really thought he could do whatever he wanted. I ran a finger across my still tingling lips, knowing full well it had meant nothing. It was an impulse. I should have been angry, but all I could think was that I wanted to do it again. That thought turned into guilt when I looked at my ringing phone to see Jay's name lighting up the screen.

  Throwing my phone as if it'd burned me, I sunk onto my bed, unable to do much else.

  7

  Jamie

  The taste of Callie's lips still lingered on mine as I punched out a response to Amelia's millionth text of the day. Okay, I was exaggerating, but the girl was already getting on my nerves, and we hadn't even gone out yet. I ran into her after soccer practice. It was only hours after seeing Callie and my anger hadn't abated. I needed something to distract me from the girl I'd wanted for so long. The girl that I couldn't have for many reasons. Both our brothers being some of them.

  “Dude, we need to talk,” Colby had said as soon as I got to practice.

  “What's up?” I bent down, pretending to tie my shoe. Something in his tone told me I wouldn't like what he was about to say.

  “Did you skip with Callie this morning?”

  I straightened up, but still didn't look him in the eye. “Yeah.”

  He let out an exasperated sigh. “Man, I know you've had this weird obsession with protecting her over the years, but s
he doesn't need any of your head games.”

  “I don't play games.” He leveled me with a stare and I finally met his eyes, releasing a long breath. “Fine. Jamie. Bad.”

  “She's my sister, ya know?” he went on.

  “We're friends,” I stated. “Sort of. That's it.” Then I said the one thing that killed me to admit. “Plus, you think my brother would ever forgive me if I went there?”

  Coach interrupted us then and set us on a grueling practice. By the time Amelia found me, I was sitting on the bench with a towel thrown over my head. Colby went ahead to the locker room, leaving us alone.

  Exhaustion. Anger. Whatever else I was feeling. It all led to me asking her to dinner. She graced me with a wide smile and hadn't stopped texting me since.

  Date set, I threw my phone on my bedside table and laid down.

  Why the hell had I kissed Callie?

  I didn't even like her in that moment, but something drew me to her. That mouth. So sweet. It wasn't the first time my lips acted independently of my mind. In fact, that was how I usually operated. But not with her. Not with my best friend's sister, the girl my brother loved. He'd never told me he loved her, but the way they were together was obvious.

  Groaning, I closed my eyes, trying to forget my impulsiveness.

  Before I could fall asleep, my bedroom door crashed open and my father's imposing figure filled the space.

  “Dad.” I sighed, sitting up to face him.

  “I got a call from the school today,” his voice boomed. “Skipping on your first day. I shouldn't have been surprised. When will you stop being such a disappointment, James?”

  “I guess when you stop expecting things from me.” I clicked on the light beside my bed, his face coming into view.

  “Impertinence,” he growled, lunging for the bed.

  I didn't fight it. That'd only make it worse. It was one of the more important lessons I'd learned as a kid. The other was that my face was safe and covering it only exposed my ribs.

  Dad grabbed my arm with his vice-like grip. I didn't make a sound, and the pain radiated out from where his fingers dug into my skin. His fist collided with the right side of my chest. When he released me, I realized I was lucky that was all I'd gotten. He never did damage that could be noticed. A smart one - my dad.

  “Shape up, Son.” He loomed over me for a moment longer before turning and leaving with as much power as he'd come.

  “Don't call me son,” I murmured when his back was out of sight.

  Routine took over from there. I got up, wincing as a bruise formed where I'd been hit. Shutting the door, I went to my desk and pulled out a few aspirins. In the bathroom, I popped them in my mouth and cupped my hands under the water, slurping it the best I could.

  Lifting my arm, I touched the new bruise while examining it in the mirror.

  “Ass,” I muttered to myself, shutting off the light and crawling back into bed. I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

  8

  Callie

  “Callie, girl.” Jay's voice came over the phone.

  “Hey there,” I said. It was good to hear his voice.

  “How'd your first week of senior year go?”

  Well, I skipped school, pissed off my aunt, failed at life, oh - and kissed your brother.

  I didn't say that of course. I went with a simple “fine” and question deflection. “You're the one who just started college. I want to hear all about it.”

  “I have to admit, it's been pretty great. Good classes, cool roommate, well, I won't bore you with the details. But you should have seen the parties here last night.”

  I couldn't help laughing at the thought of Jay at a frat party.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Jay said. “Maybe I can become a partier. I do miss you though.”

  It was Sunday afternoon and one week since he'd left. One long week. I hadn't skipped anymore classes and spent my free time working at the diner. The storm had come in pretty strong so the ocean was un-swimmable for a few days. You never swim after lots of rain. At least, not unless you want to get sick.

  One thing I had not done, was hang out with Colby and Jamie.

  “I miss you too.”.

  “I've been trying to call you all week. You already forget about me?”

  I swear if I looked in the mirror, my cheeks would be lobster-like.

  “Just busy.”

  “Kat got you working a lot?”

  “Yeah, I'm kinda in the dog house.” Oh God, why'd I say that. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for his questions.

  “What'd you do this time?” Yep, there it was.

  Oh nothing, just your brother. Wait, I did not do his brother.

  “Cut class,” I finally said, glad he couldn't see my face.

  He laughed and all the tension inside of me broke causing me to join him.

  “Of course you did. I'll bet the waves were in.”

  “They were supposed to be,” I groaned, finally feeling at ease. This was my best friend. There was no need to feel nervous talking to him. “We got to the beach and nada.”

  “That flat, huh?” He didn't ask who was with me.

  “It was glass.”

  “Bet you were pissed.”

  “So mad.” The laughter died out and a moment of silence hung between us. It wasn't uncomfortable, it never was, but it gave me the opportunity to ask about something Jamie had said.

  “Hey,” I started. “Question.”

  “Answer.”

  “Hardy har har. I'm being serious.”

  “Okay, shoot.”

  “How come you never talk about your parents?”

  “Where is that coming from?”

  I wrack my brain for any explanation that isn't the truth. “Just something Colby said about Jamie.”

  “Oh.” The tone change was immediate.

  “What?” I pressed.

  “You just want me to divulge our deepest family secrets?” He laughed. “My dad is a state senator. If this got out -”

  “It's me, Jayden, but I get if you don't want to tell me.”

  “No, look, it's something that needs some explaining and I'd rather not do that over the phone. I'll be home for your birthday in two weeks. We'll talk then.”

  “Sounds good. And Jay?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I can't wait to see you.”

  I heard him exhale. “I always look forward to seeing you, Callie girl.”

  I hit End just as my door was pushed open and a blond head appeared sporting a wide grin.

  “Hi Callie,” Morgan said in her usual cheery way. She practically floated into the room the same way she floated around the halls at school. On the second day of classes, when I actually showed up, I found out I had more than just creative writing with Morgan. She attached herself to me, determined to be friends, and she was already growing on me.

  “What's up, Morgan?” I tried to be as cheery as her, but felt awkward doing it.

  “Ugh, the boys are downstairs playing some shooting game and I'm tired of being stuck inside on such a nice day.”

  I glanced toward the window where I could see rain clouds gathering, casting a pall over the street, and raised an eyebrow.

  “Okay, fine.” She flopped dramatically onto the bed. “It's a shitty day, but I want to do something fun and that does not include sitting on my ass.”

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  “Wait, really? I totally expected you to say no.”

  Jamie's words from the party at the beach come back to me in that instant and I realize what he meant, even if he had yet to figure it out. I was going to say yes to things I wouldn't normally do. I was going to enjoy myself and right now that meant becoming friends with this girl who wouldn't have it any other way.

  “Yes, really.” I pulled her up off the bed and grabbed my shoes on the way to the door. “Come on.”

  She grabbed her soccer bag, and we ran the short distance to a nearby field. It was run down, with rusted goal posts and dea
d grass. When I was little, our soccer games were held on a field nearby, but we'd practice here. I wasn't half bad. Nowhere near as good as Colby or Jamie or even Jay, but I could play. Soccer was a big part of our lives growing up.

  Like everything else, it too had been destroyed when my mom died. At least for me. I couldn't play anymore without her being on the sidelines. So, I didn't. I quit.

  I pulled my hair into a ponytail and secured it with a band I'd kept on my wrist. Morgan bounced the ball on her foot.

  “Alright, Cook,” I said. “Stop showing off.”

  She flashed me her teeth before passing the ball. I ran forward, dribbling it in front of me, remembering the feel. It wasn't quite like riding a bike. Maybe a rusty, wobbly one.

  Morgan chased after me, catching up with no difficulty and stealing the ball before taking it in for a goal.

  “And that's why they pay you the big bucks.” I laughed. “Or will one day.”

  “Nah,” she said. “My soccer career ends in high school.”

  “Oh, come on, I know you're good enough to play in college.”

  “I'm not going to college. At least not right away.”

  “Really? You?” To say I was stunned was an understatement. If anyone had the grades and athleticism for multiple scholarships, it was Morgan Cook.

  “I'm going to do some traveling for a while. See what else is out there.”

  “And your parents are okay with that?”

  “It was their idea.” She laughed. “Both of them did the same thing. It's actually how they met. They don't think you should go to college just because everyone else is. You have to know yourself first.”

  “So, you're going to find yourself?” I tried to hold in a laugh, but couldn't.

  She cracked a smile. “It isn't as hokey as that.”

  “No, it sounds amazing actually.”

  She kicked the ball toward me and we passed and chatted for a while before the first raindrops hit my face.

  “Think we should get back?” I asked.

  She looked at me, grinning. “You've never played soccer in the rain, have you?”

  She raised her face to the sky as the rain fell more steadily. Big, heavy drops soaked into my shirt.