Page 29 of Rebellious

Glowering at Ransom, he snatched the plastic yellow pan and begin walking in place super slow. “If these woods wasn’t a tiny fucking space with no woods or nothing, they would be so fucking creepy.”

“Zat ees nut in zee play!” Ransom cried.

Axel held up the pan. “I am delivering food to Grandma.” Looking pointedly at CJ, he continued walking in slow motion.

“Red carried a highly valuable basket of baked goods.”

“Vait!” Ransom rushed to Axel and filled the pan with sample sized tissue, lotion, toothpaste, and mouthwash. “Zoo may conteenue.”

“I got stuffs that no motherfucker can ever eat,” Axel said, somehow walking slower. “But Grandma is gonna love it. The wolf might not even got to kill her.”

Ryder snapped the privacy curtain closed, then leaped around it. “Meow!”

Axel rolled his eyes. “A wolf’s like a dog, stupid. They bark.”

Rebel giggled. “Actually, wolves howl.”

“Okay,” Ryder agreed. “Hoooo—”

“Foul! That a fucking owl,” Axel yelled.

“Nuh-uh! I was getting to the owwwllll.” He tipped his head back to impart that. “It was a great build up that you ruined.”

“Cut,” Ransom inserted, clapping his hands. “I mean coot. Cute—”

“Jesus Christ, why?” CJ asked, ready to walk the fuck out, over those three.

“See-lahnce!” Ransom ordered. “Zee great Vransom Vraldrell needs un momentito weeth zee ack-tors.”

Ignoring CJ, they walked to the other side of the privacy curtain.

“They’re having fun,” Rebel said, breaking through CJ’s annoyance with those three.

Fuck, he didn’t think he’d recovered from earlier yet and holed up in a room with those three argumentative brats hadn’t helped one bit.

“Ease up, brother. They’re acting normal. It’s better than them realizing how bad…Let them be themselves.

Little boys who didn’t understand pain and uncertainty. The real cost of life. Eventually, death came and stole it all away. Fame. Infamy. Money. Love. It just didn’t matter. A life well lived or one hard fought ended the same motherfucking way. As just a goddamn memory, a tear, and a broken heart. And the world just moved the fuck on.

“They can,” CJ said bitterly. “They don’t understand life’s meaningless. They don’t know we’ll just be gone and things will just go on.”

“Life’s beautiful, CJ,” Rebel reminded him. “Daddy said how we live makes the difference. You’ve always been so kind, my ray of sunshine. I admire you. I’m angry this happened to me. And scared. And tired. But this is our world and we matter to each other. We survive and thrive for each other.”

Pressing his lips together, CJ nodded.

“It’s okay,” Rebel said, comforting him, when he was supposed to cheer her up.

His head was hurting as much as his heart, though.

She opened her arms and the silence in the room hit him. There were no arguments or Axel throwing his scrawny weight around or Ransom pretending he was a great director. How much had the boys heard?

CJ hugged his little sister, allowed himself to remember when they’d been younger, she four and he six. Rule dogged her steps and Harley had been his shadow. None of them knew what death meant. Or pain. Or fear.

Axel ran to the side of the bed, tears streaking his cheeks. He’d heard enough to be upset. “You don’t want to hear the play no more, Reb?” he asked, sniffling.

Rebel smiled, then pointed at Axel. “Stop right there, traveler! The Big Bad Wolf will see you.”

Licking his lips, Axel grinned, then hugged CJ.