by J. Bengtsson
My brother shook his head. “You’d think after all this time it would get easier.”
“For who? Him? Or us?”
4
Kyle: A Mind Reader
We woke early the next day to eat breakfast with the other half of Mitch’s family. Mitch was my half brother and my father’s oldest son. We didn’t see a lot of him growing up and whenever we got together it was always a little awkward. My dad and Mitch’s stepfather, Tony, had never really gotten along. I didn’t know the specifics, but the story I’d been told was that Tony had tried to force my father to relinquish his parental rights when Mitch was five. Tony was marrying Mitch’s mom and wanted to adopt her son. Dad refused, and a lifelong feud ensued. One thing was for sure: Tony had been more of a father to Mitch than ours, and their close relationship was clear to see.
By the time we arrived at the church for the rehearsal later in the day, my eyes were droopy. Keith and I had stayed up late into the night drinking and eating his junk food. Since nothing of significance was currently happening, I lay down on a pew and closed my eyes. I could not have been relaxing for more than a minute when I sensed an evil entity hovering over me. I opened one eye and then quickly closed it upon seeing who was standing there.
“What are you doing here, Emma? Did someone leave your cage open?”
There was dead silence. Clearly Emma was formulating a comeback but wasn’t nearly as quick as me.
“You know, Kyle, I’m jealous of the people who don’t know you.”
“That’s all you’ve got?” I shook my head. “So disappointing.”
“Get up.”
“No. Find your own pew.”
“I want this one.”
“Go away! I’m sleeping.”
“We got here two minutes ago. How could you possibly be asleep already?”
“When it comes to relaxing, I’m like an Olympic athlete.”
I didn’t have to see Emma’s face to know she was rolling her eyes at me.
“Can you please leave? You’re sucking up all my oxygen,” I complained.
Emma huffed and grabbed my legs and swung them off the bench, nearly knocking me to my ass, and took a seat where my feet had been. I was actually forced to perform a backward pushup on the bench to keep from falling to the floor. It was the most exercise I’d gotten all week. I sat up and sneered at my sister.
“What?” Emma shrugged innocently. “I haven’t seen you in months. I thought we could chat.”
“And you couldn’t talk to me yesterday? We were in the car for seven hours together.”
“I wanted to talk to you privately.”
“Oh, well, why didn’t you say that in the first place?” I whispered, like we had some pressing secret between us. “You’re finally coming out? Good for you.”
She ignored me and stated condescendingly, “I heard you got a job.”
“I heard you got a boyfriend,” I shot back, and then paused dramatically. “Oh wait…”
A disgusted scowl transformed Emma’s smug face. “I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not looking for a job.”
Emma and I glared at one another. This had always been our thing. Rarely did a civil word pass between us. Even as kids, we’d never really gotten along. As far as I could tell, I was the only sibling she disliked. Of course, I’d be the first to admit I probably deserved that distinction. Starting from about five years of age, I’d made it my mission to raise her blood pressure at every opportunity. She was just too easy to annoy. But Emma was no pushover, and she was certainly not above employing tactical warfare to put me in my place. We were two completely opposite human beings. How we'd come from the same parents was a mystery to me. In fact, the only thing we had in common was our undying devotion to Jake.
Interestingly enough, it was probably that same devotion which also drove us apart. Emma had been three years old when Jake was born, and she'd doted on him as if he were her very own real-life baby doll. And then I came along, with my hyperactive antics, and ruined everything.
“Have you talked to him since you left?” Emma asked.
“Yeah. I’ve been texting him. Why?”
“He’s all right?”
“I think so. His knee is flaring up again.”
“I figured.”
“He promised me he’d get it taken care of after the tour.”
Emma nodded, nervously tapping her nails on the bench in front of us. “I talked to him the other day.”
“And?” I questioned impatiently.
“He didn’t sound great.”
My stomach tightened. “Why? What did he say?”
“Nothing alarming. He just seemed drained.”
I nodded.
“So you noticed it too?”
“Yeah. He’s been moody.”
“Like ‘moody’ moody, or ‘we should be worried’ moody?”
I cringed, knowing exactly what she meant. Memories of a not-so-distant past still fresh in both our minds. “He’s okay. I think.”
“You think? That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“I don’t know what to tell you Emma,” I shrugged. “I offered to drop out of the show and stay with him, but he insisted I go.”
We sat there staring up at a mural of Jesus on the wall, neither of us speaking. I hated the feelings she stirred up in me. An anxious thumping attacked my heart. If something happened… if Jake did anything stupid… I’d never forgive myself. By the look in Emma’s eyes, she shared my unease.
“It’s been crazy at work, but maybe I can take a week off.” Her voice was riddled with uncertainty. “I’ll talk to Mom, and we’ll work out a schedule while you’re gone.”
“He’ll love that.” I frowned. “Not to mention he’ll see right through it. You know how much Jake hates it when he thinks we’re checking up on him. I mean, he’s kind of accepted my constant irritating presence, but you two… oh, yeah, he’ll be pissed.”
Emma sighed. “I know, but what choice do we have?”
“Well, we could trust him.”
“Can we?”
It wasn’t an unreasonable question. Jake had given us all a run for our money in the days, months, and years after the kidnapping. Suicide attempts were not an uncommon occurrence in our household. It had taken a comprehensive and proactive effort, on all our parts, to keep him alive.
“He’s okay, Emma.” I tried reassuring her although I wasn’t entirely sure myself. “The tour has been rough on him, that’s all.”
“I still don’t understand why he didn’t take more time off between tours.”
“Jake’s all work and no play,” I replied, shrugging.
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
“What’s done is done, Em. Nothing we can do about it now.”
“I just don’t like him being out there, on the other side of the world, alone.”
“Me neither, but he has Lassen. Not to mention he’s an adult. We can’t babysit him forever.”
Emma nodded, grudgingly agreeing with me. “Where is he anyway? He was supposed to be here hours ago.”
“I don’t know,” I replied sarcastically, reverting back to the asshole I usually was with my sister. “I’m not telepathic.”
Emma pursed her lips and shook her head in clear disappointment. “I was just asking, jerk!”
Thank god. We were back to being adversaries. Sharing feeling and opinions with Emma was like conceding defeat.
Lost in uncomfortable thought, I didn’t see the woman walking up to me until her beauty blocked my view of Jesus. I blinked. Holy hell! Had I just been sent an angel? My eyes zeroed in on her ample rack, which was spilling out from inside her shirt. Nope. This was no angel I’d been sent. How did He know?
Emma kicked the side of my leg, possibly to remind me she was still there. I tore my attention away from my new favorite person long enough to motion, with the flick of an eye, for Emma to get lost. Looking immensely offended, she refused
to budge. I gave her a not-so-gentle shove. Emma shot me the look of death before rising off the bench and stomping away indignantly.
“Hi, I’m Sarah,” the blonde greeted me, like I was supposed to know who she was.
I stared at her blankly.
“Your partner for the wedding,” she added, flashing me an irritated grimace.
“Oh, yeah, hey. I’m Kyle,” I replied, standing up and eyeing her greedily. Her legs were long and shapely, and her waist was impossibly tiny. Or maybe it just appeared that way because her breasts were oversized for her thin frame. I lingered on her beauty a moment longer. She looked as if she’d just walked off a beach, her skin shining in a golden hue offset by her glossy blonde hair.
As I was finishing my thorough inspection of the attractive woman before me, I realized she was doing her own assessment of me. I could already tell by the expression in her eyes that she was not nearly as impressed with me as I had been with her. I had to assume, just by the looks of her, that few people met her high standards. My chances of being above that line were iffy at best.
Her eyes flicked over me as if she were deciding whether I was worthy of talking to or not. “So you’re Jake’s brother, right?”
“I am,” I affirmed.
“Well, at least I got a brother,” she mumbled under her breath.
“What?” I asked, hearing what she’d said but pretending I hadn’t.
“Nothing.”
I stuck my hand out to greet her. “It’s nice to meet you, Sarah.”
“Yeah, you too.” She put her hand in mine and stared right through me. “So, um… where is he? He’s supposed to be here, right?”
“Who?” I feigned ignorance.
As if she’d just tasted something sour and unpleasant, Sarah’s face contorted. “Don’t play dumb. You know who.”
Damn, girl! She was kind of intimidating. I liked it. “Oh. Yeah, I guess.”
“What do you mean, you guess? He’s your brother, right?”
“Yeah, but I don’t keep him on a leash or anything.”
That face again. Geez. This chick didn’t play around.
“So we’re partnered up then?” I asked, trying to move the topic of conversation off Jake and onto me.
“That’s what I was told,” she shrugged. “Unless you have other information.”
“No one tells me anything.”
Sarah’s face relaxed a bit and she cracked the tiniest of smiles. It was a nice look on her. “You probably think I’m being rude, don’t you?”
“No. I get told off all the time. I’m used to it.”
She assessed me more carefully now. “Yeah, you have that whole doormat thing going on.”
I laughed.
She sighed heavily. “Look, I’m sorry if I’m being a bitch. I’m just annoyed right now. I was supposed to be partnered with Jake, but then Mitch paired him with someone else. Not cool.”
“Yeah, that sucks,” I replied sarcastically. “And now you’re stuck with me.”
“Are you mocking me?”
“Yeah, maybe a little bit.”
Furrowed brows let me know she was not happy with my response.
“Oh, come on. It could be worse. You could’ve been paired with that guy.” I pointed to one of Mitch’s friends who looked like he’d only recently been forcibly removed from his video consol.
That actually got a laugh from Sarah. “That’s very true,” she acknowledged, and then looked me up and down. “Yeah, I guess you’ll do.”
“Wow, I’m flattered.”
“Are you a musician, Kyle?”
“No.”
“So what do you do, then?”
“Not a whole hell of a lot.”
“That’s your answer?” she laughed.
“Well, it’s the honest answer, and I thought we were being real here.”
“Oh, were we?” she replied, with just a hint of flirt.
“You’ve spent the entire conversation talking about my brother, so yeah.”
She smiled again, but this time it was genuine.
Buoyed by a newfound confidence, I added, “And for the sake of transparency, I think you should know that I’m a mind reader.”
“A mind reader, huh?” she asked, seemingly fascinated.
“Yep. And I know what you’re thinking, Sarah.”
“Do you now?”
“Uh-huh, and yes, I will sleep with you.”
She giggled as she nodded. “Wow, aren’t you the optimistic one!”
“Just psychic is all.”
Eyeing me with more interest now, Sarah said, “So what is your sixth sense telling you about me?”
“It’s telling me that you’re a whole lot of trouble.”
“Oh, you have no idea.”
“So, Sarah, how can I talk you out of my brother and talk me into you?”
She grinned. “You’re smooth.”
“I try very, very hard.”
Sarah took me in, studying me, and for a moment there, I thought she might actually be contemplating my offer. Would she really swear off Jake for me? There was a first for everything. But then Sarah went the predictable route. “Since we’re being real with each other, I’m just letting you know now that there’s no talking me out of your brother.”
“You and every other girl in the world,” I replied, nonchalantly.
That gave Sarah pause. “Yeah, well, I’m not like every other girl.”
I scoffed. “You are in his world.”
She seemed taken aback by my words.
“Look,” I said sighing, “This isn’t my first rodeo. I know the whole routine. You’re going to hit on my brother. He’s going to turn you down. You’re going to come running back to me when you realize you’ve run out of options.”
She shot me a dirty look. “Trust me, I never run out of options.”
I didn’t doubt it. “Well, okay, then, good luck with that,” I replied, as I walked away from our conversation.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she called, actually chasing after me.
I turned back to face her. “No offense, Sarah, but you don’t stand a chance.”
“Oh, really? And how do you know that?”
“Because I know my brother,” I replied honestly. Sarah had all the qualities that Jake disliked: shallow, bitchy, over-confident. Although that didn’t necessarily disqualify her from a one-night stand, it definitely didn’t help her cause. I, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as picky. I could easily overlook her obvious personality flaws for a few minutes of fun.
“You have no idea what I am capable of,” she smiled smugly.
“Oh, I have no doubt you’re capable of great things,” I replied, grinning. “But bagging my brother won’t be one of them.”
“You underestimate me,” she replied indignantly.
I couldn’t help but be impressed. She wasn’t giving up easily. “All right, then, like I said before, good luck with that.”
I walked away from Sarah without another word. I knew that I’d done enough to plant the seed of doubt in her mind. And once Jake shot her down, like I hoped he would, I was going to look a hell of a lot more appealing.
The rehearsal began, bringing Sarah and me back together. Gone was the bitchy, Jake-obsessed groupie. In her place was a flirty, clingy Sarah. She was laying on the charm now, laughing at my jokes and whispering dirty nothings in my ear. At one point she even grabbed my ass, when no one was around to see. I wasn’t sure if her little display of playfulness was for my benefit or a way for me to put a good word in for her with Jake… although, come to think of it, that would be a strange way to go about it.
Whatever had created Sarah’s change of heart, I was happy for it. She was undeniably hot. My dirty mind was conjuring up all kinds of scenarios, and each and every one of them included a naked Sarah.
As soon as the rehearsal was over, she steered me behind the one of the doors in the back of the church and boldly pushed me up against it.
&n
bsp; “You’re actually sort of hot,” she stated, oozing sex appeal.
It wasn’t much of a compliment, but I decided to take it anyway.
“Yeah?” I responded stupidly.
“Uh huh.”
Sarah’s lips grazed my neck and her hand slid down my back. My body shuddered. Light kisses enflamed my craving. When her lips touched mine, I eagerly took her in. Our tongues were a tangled mass. The heat between us was smoldering and intense, so much so that when her hands dipped further down, I fought the urge to find the nearest pew to throw her onto.
In the name of fairness, my hands snaked down her body as well, but Sarah was not as welcoming to me as I’d been to her. Establishing her boundaries, she swatted my hands away immediately.
Not one to be deterred, I took my chances and copped a feel of her ample breast. Sarah didn’t have a chance to slap my hand away, for the moment I laid my hand on her chest, I heard a horrified gasp, shocking me from my flesh-filled bliss.
“KYLE!”
Sarah and I whipped our heads in the direction of the wail. Emma was standing there, open mouthed, with a look of incredulousness on her face. I realized my hand was still on Sarah’s boob, and I quickly removed it. Emma’s own hand was covering Grace’s eyes as if she were protecting some innocent toddler from irreparable harm. Grace, in all her teenage swag, grabbed Emma’s hand and pried it away. She immediately laughed when she saw me in an uncompromising position.
“You’re in a church, dummy! Geez. Use your brain,” my sister blasted, before she grabbed Grace’s arm and shuffled her off to the bathroom.
“Well, that was awkward,” Sarah smirked, not looking the least bit embarrassed. “Your sister’s kind of a bitch.”
I didn’t appreciate her comment. No one got to shit on Emma but me.
“Nah, she’s cool,” I defended.
Shrugging, Sarah brushed her perfectly straight hair back with her hand. She screamed high maintenance, like the basic white girl who straightened her straight hair with a straightener.
“Well, it’s been fun,” she said, adjusting her shirt and turning to walk away.
“Seriously? You’re leaving now?”
“You heard your sister. Besides, it’s probably a sin.”