Chapter 5

It's raining on Saturday. I wake up at noon only to find that both my aunt and cousin are gone. Slightly grateful that I don't have to face them with my tear stained face, I shower and get ready for my three o'clock meeting with Maddox. I have my book bag packed and I even text Maddox at two to see if we're still on. He says that we are with a nicely worded insult, and so I set off at 2:30. I mostly play in the rain, swinging my umbrella around and around, trying to see how fast I can spin it before it flies out of my hands and I have to run and get it.

I arrive at Maddox's house soaked in rainwater. When I knock on the door, the only thing he can say is: "Really?" I just shrug in response, close my umbrella, and then shed off my jacket. After hanging the coat up where he points and putting the umbrella down in the entrance hallway, I wipe my feet on the mat and pray that I don't mess up his floors. They look expensive and I know for a fact that if I did mess them up, he wouldn't hesitate to slide the bill into my aunt's mailbox.

"Just take off your shoes," he requests impatiently after four minutes of me vigorously wiping my feet on the mat. My eyes widen slightly when I realize that I'm wearing mismatched socks. Hesitantly, I take off one shoe, revealing the neon pink ankle sock, and then the other shoe, revealing the bright green and orange knee sock. He sighs when he sees my feet and shakes his head but motions for me to follow him. We enter the living room and I look around, allowing my eyes to settle on the fancy furniture. Everything is so...clean. There's no mess anywhere. Since it's basically one large room, I look to the kitchen and there's not a drop of anything anywhere. There are no dishes in the sink. Every cabinet is closed and the house seems like it isn't lived in. I feel like I don't belong.

"It's nice," I tell him with a nod. He doesn't bother to respond. He drops onto the couch, grabs his book bag, and takes out his American Literature folder. "What's the main character's name going to be?" I ask him once we decide to do a book about a boy who learned what responsibility is.

"Fernando Ferdinand," Maddox suggests.

"I was thinking something that small children could pronounce," I correct him.

"Carlos," he responds and I figure that's good enough.

"Okay, Carlos it is," I reply and jot it down. "He has to babysit his neighbor's cat for a few days."

"Babysit?" Maddox asks me with raised brows. "A cat?"

"Cat-sit," I glare at him. "Okay. The cat should run away for a day or so."

"And then magically return?" Maddox asks me with an annoyed look on his face. "You're giving these kids false hope."

"If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it," I scoff at him. He rolls his eyes but writes down my idea anyway.

After we figure out the plot of the story, my phone starts ringing. I look at it and pick it up. Maddox is busy getting something to drink from the kitchen. "Hey mom."

"It's me, Olive," my little brother's voice enters the phone. I grin widely at the sound of his babyish voice.

"How are you doing?" I inquire as I get comfortable on the couch.

"I'm great, how are you?" he responds like a little adult.

"I'm good, too. Did you have fun last night?" I continue the conversation.

"A whole bunch! But I ate a lot of my candy, so mommy took it away," my brother explains sadly.

"I still have mine!" I respond in an evil voice.

"That's not fair! Can you try and convince mommy to give mine back?" he pleads.

"I'll try," I reply with a large smile.

"How's your boyfriend?" he giggles teasingly and I'm filled with confusion.

I furrow my eyebrows. "Who?" I ask.

"Maddox," he attempts to say his name. It sounds like a slush of words because of his absent teeth but I understand where he's coming from. My cheeks immediately heat up.

"No, we're just friends," I tell him. If that, I think to myself.

"Mommy thinks you guys are boyfriend and girlfriend," he sings into the phone and I shake my head.

"What? Did you tell her that we aren't?" I ask him. The seven year old laughs evilly.

"I'll do that when you get me my candy back!" he cackles deviously.

I roll my eyes at him but join in on the laughter. I notice that Maddox has returned to the couch and is now sitting with furrowed eyebrows so my laughter dies down. "I have to go now."

"You'll call mommy and get me my candy back, right, Olive?" he checks with me one last time.

"I will only if you tell her that we're just friends," I enlighten him.

"Okay, I will!" he responds and I can tell he's bobbing his head up and down excitedly.

"I love you, Charlie," I say into the phone. Maddox's eyebrows shoot up and then drop back down.

"Love you, too, Olive," he replies before hanging up. I smile at the phone before putting it in my pocket. Maddox tosses a water bottle at me and a bag of Doritos.

"Thanks," I mutter. He actually brought me food. I didn't expect him to, if that wasn't obvious.

"I figured we could take a break," he shrugs as he opens his own bottle of water.

"Yeah," I nod as I open the bag of chips.

"That was your brother?" he asks me.

I slowly nod. "Yeah, he called me from my mom's phone. He wants me to convince my mom to get him his Halloween candy back."

"Are you going to?" he questions.

"Only if he tells my mother that we're not—," I begin as I open the bag of chips, lost in a trance. "I mean, only if he does what I asked him to."

"What was that?" he interrogates.

"What was what?" I mumble as I shove a chip in my mouth.

"The first part," he clarifies as he holds his bag of chips in one hand.

"How he called asking me to convince my mom to give him back his candy?" I reiterate as I sip my water and avoid eye contact.

"After that," he presses with a nod.

"How I'll only do it if he does what I asked him to?" I grin sheepishly. He gives me a flat look and I shake my head, deciding not to beat around the bush any longer. I don't do that; I'm known for being blunt. "My mom thinks we're dating."

"Who?" he asks with wide eyes.

He's really going to make me say it. "Us," I announce.

"Us as in me and you?" he proposes. I nod slowly with a red face. His face contorts to one of disgust and he scowls. "Ew, never going to happen."

"I have feelings!" I reply when he shivers.

"So do I! Your mom thinks I'd date you," he retorts with a wrinkled nose. Before I can call him rude and tell him that he's a jerk, the sound of the front door opening cuts off all means of conversation. Maddox's eyes widen as he attempts to see who just entered the house.

"Maddie, are you talking to yourself again?" Abel's voice calls from down the hallway. Maddox looks somewhat relieved but still on edge. I just sit there with my half-finished bag of chips in my hands and my water bottle beside me.

Abel comes sliding down the hallway with his Burger King uniform on. When he sees me sitting there, he looks confused. "Maddox, care to explain why there's a girl here and there is no parental supervision?"

"There's a girl here? Where?" Maddox asks as he looks between me and his brother.

"Right there," I mutter under my breath as I point to where he's sitting. Maddox glares at me while Abel chortles.

"I'll be the adult here, seeing as you're both minors," Abel grins with his hands on his waist while his unbuttoned Burger King shirt hangs on his neck by the top button like a cape.

"Oh, so you're the older one," I nod as I look at Abel.

"Yeah, barely," Maddox responds with a roll of his eyes.

"I've been nineteen for two weeks," Abel retorts in a tone that tells me he often has to tell people this.

"Yet you've done nothing detrimental," Maddox sighs in slight disappointment.

"What do you expect him to do? Save the world?" I scoff at Maddox.

"Shut up, Olive," Maddox snaps at me with his usual glare.

"Olive? I thought your name was Olivia," Abel mutters curiously as he scratches his head

"It is," I tell him with a shrug.

"But he called you—ooh!" he coos childishly. "A special nickname! How cute!"

Maddox glowers at me like this is my fault. "Don't put the blame on me! You're the one that insists on calling me Olive," I snap at him.

"So what are you guys doing?" Abel asks as he sits down on the couch in the large gap between us.

"American Literature project," I respond as I tap my notebook with my pencil.

"Ah, I remember my days in high school. Now I'm a college kid holding down a part time job," he explained as he stared at the ceiling. His arms are stretched along the back of the gray couch, reaching behind my shoulder and just reaching Maddox's. I stared at him, appreciating his profile before Maddox clears his throat.

"Well, we need to get this project done. If you could just get up and go reminisce elsewhere, that'd be great," Maddox motions towards the door.

"But I have nothing to do," Abel whines as he looks at Maddox. "And I can't trust you two together."

"Trust me, I have no interest in her whatsoever," Maddox scowls with a wrinkled lip.

"Why are you so harsh?" Abel questions his little brother.

Maddox shrugs as if the answer is obvious. "Because I can be," he retorts.

"She's pretty. What are you talking about?" Abel says as he motions to me. I feel my face redden as I stare at the notebook in my lap.

I hear Maddox groan from his end of the couch. "Well, I'm sure you two will keep each other company. I'm going to go upstairs and vomit because this is disgusting." But watching you make out with Raven isn't?

Maddox gets up and shoves his notebook into his book bag. Abel glances over at me and gasps happily. "Awe, look, Maddox, she's blushing! Isn't she cute?" he asks his brother.

"Disgusting," Maddox repeats as he gets up and walks up the stairs.

I begin putting my stuff away as I swear internally. Once I have it all packed up, I stand up with plans to get my shoes and coat before heading out. "Do you need a ride?" Abel asks as he grabs Maddox's bag of chips and finishes them off. He takes my trash and walks towards the can, dropping them in.

I hear the torrential rain hitting the roof outside and nod "Uh, yes, please," I say hesitantly. He seems much nicer than his brother.

"Grab my keys," he tells me as he begins yanking on his shoes. I grab them from the table and toss them at him. He wobbles awkwardly as he pulls on one shoe, using nothing to keep him upright. He watches as the keys hit the floor before snatching them up and waiting patiently as I put on my shoes and my coat. I grab my umbrella and follow him outside.

After relaying the address to him, he nods, starts the car, and turns on the heat. "You don't live that far from here," he concludes when he looks at a GPS on his phone.

"I know. I walked here," I reply with a nod as I watch him quickly back out of the driveway.

"In the rain?" Abel asks with his eyebrows rising slightly. I nod yet again. "My brother didn't offer you a ride?"

I shake my head with a quiet scoff. "He doesn't exactly like me. You've witnessed that," I respond as if it's obvious.

"Maddox doesn't like anyone," Abel mutters. "Sorry about embarrassing you like that in there."

"It's okay," I sigh as I glance at the time. 5:34 PM. I sigh in hopes that my aunt is home. Hopefully, Vivica's staying over her friend's house or something. I just don't want to deal with her tonight.

"Don't let what he says bother you," Abel tells me as we get closer to my house.

"He's a jerk, I know that," I concur with a shrug.

"Would you mind answering a question?" he asks as he glances at me shortly. I take my eyes off the road and place them on him. Slowly, I nod. "How'd you two end up going to homecoming together?"

"Well, I asked him," I answer without skipping a beat. I was worried he'd ask something personal that I couldn't provide an answer to, like why I still tolerate his brother's behavior.

"You asked him?" he repeats with a doubtful look on his face. I let my head bob up and down once more and he blinks in surprise. "Why?"

"I was dared to," I justify myself. "I didn't expect him to say yes. I still don't know why he did."

"He said yes?" Abel wonders. "Just like that?"

"No, Abel, he didn't," I reply with a tilted head. The sarcasm drips from my lips and he slaps his forehead lightly.

"Did you ask him why he said yes?" Abel questions me when he recovers from his stupid moment.

"Yeah," I nod. "And he didn't answer; he just said that I talked too much."

"So you only asked him because you were dared to?" he checks one last time.

"Yeah but I still wanted to have a good time," I shrug as I look at my house growing closer. "That didn't exactly happen, however." We slow to a stop in front of my house and I see my aunt's car in the driveway, but Vivica's is nowhere in sight. I sigh in relief. At least one thing is going my way. "Well, thanks again."

"No problem," he responds with a small smile. "I'll talk to Maddox about being nicer."

"Don't bother," I tell him with a wave of my hand. "You won't be seeing much of me once this project is over." I grab my bag and exit the car. I walk down the path and up the front porch steps, waving at Abel before I enter the house.