AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Nineteen
Niko
Age Fourteen
I sit on the bumper of Mom’s car and impatiently tap my fingers to a silent rhythm on the hood. I look over at the pharmacy, but there are too many pictures on the windows to really see inside. Looking down at the watch I got for Christmas, I note they’ve been in there for at least fifteen minutes. What in the world is taking them so long? Today’s Aislin’s thirteenth birthday. Mom is supposed to drop us off at a small restaurant down from the movie theater to eat then we’re walking to the theater to watch a movie. We’re going to be late if they don’t hurry up. I’ve worked for the past three months doing yard work to earn enough money to take her out for her birthday. It’s a big day because she’s officially a teenager now.
Something’s off, though. When she came running over to my house earlier, she hardly acknowledged me; she just went straight for Mom, whispered something in her ear, and then they both walked off to Mom’s room with the door closed. She seemed upset and angry. I wanted to demand what was wrong, but something held me back. I could sense she needed Mom for some reason, so I let it go. I wanted to walk to the door and press my ear against it, but again, I didn’t. Whatever the problem is, I’ll ask her later. Her own mother sucks, so when she needs mine, I let her have her.
I stand when Aislin and Mom walk out of the pharmacy, Aislin carrying a brown paper bag. I try to catch Aislin’s attention when she walks by me, but she avoids my eyes. I may not have asked her what was wrong this morning, but that doesn’t mean I’m not curious and slightly worried. We don’t keep secrets from each other. Normally, we don’t even need to ask what’s wrong. We just tell the other on our own. But Aislin is acting different, and I don’t like it.
We both get in the back seat and buckle up. Mom wouldn’t mind if one of us sits up front with her, but we always choose to sit in the back together. I look over at her as she sits quietly in her seat, her arms wrapped tightly around the paper bag in her lap. I frown when I notice the mixture of sadness and fear on her face. It’s a look I know well because she’s carried it so many times over the years we’ve known each other. Only this time I don’t know the cause, and I don’t like it. I don’t like knowing something is wrong with her, and she hasn’t come to me.
I keep my eyes on her face, hoping she’ll look my way, but she never does. Her head stays turned away from me, preventing me from uncovering her secrets.
Not for the first time over the past few months, I notice how pretty Aislin is. I’ve always thought she was pretty, but something’s been different lately. The way she smells or when she touches my hand makes me feel different. I know what I’m feeling, and it kind of freaks me out because Aislin is… well, Aislin. She’s like a little sister to me. I’ve never thought of her as anything more, and I don’t know why I am now or what to do with these feelings.
Before I realize it, Mom’s pulling the car into our driveway. I stare out the window in confusion. We’re supposed to get dropped off at the restaurant.
“Why are we here?” I ask, looking at Mom in the rearview mirror.
She doesn’t answer, but Aislin does. “I can’t go out tonight.”
I bring my eyes to her. “What? Why?”
I can’t keep the hurt from my voice. I was looking forward to taking her out. She deserves to be taken out for her birthday. Especially since she won’t get anything from her mom, not even a simple happy birthday.
“I just can’t,” she answers then pulls the handle to open her door.
We all get out, and I walk around to Aislin’s side. She tries to slide past me to go home, but I grab her hand to stop her, sending tingles through my palm.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, ignoring the feeling. I’ve grown a lot over the past year, so I tower over her even more than I did before.
She keeps her head down and mutters, “Nothing.”
Her answer sparks my worry even more. She never keeps anything from me.
“North, please look at me,” I beg.
She shakes her head, yanks her hand from mine, and races off across the yard to her house. I watch, stunned, as the door slams behind her. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep back the emotion of her withdrawing from me. It feels like someone just punched me in the stomach. I take two steps to follow her, but Mom’s voice stops me.
“Leave her be, Niko.”
I turn around and scowl at her. “I can’t just leave her, Mom. Something’s wrong.” I walk closer to her. “What did you guys talk about?”
Her smile is sad when she replies, “I can’t tell you that, sweetie. Give her time. She’ll come to you when she’s ready. She’s just going through some tough things right now.”
I’ll be fifteen in two months, but I want to stomp my foot like I’m still seven years old. I hate this distance between us, and I hate even more that she won’t tell me what’s wrong. I always try to fix what’s bothering her, but I can’t if I don’t know what it is.
Leaving Mom standing there, I walk over to the steps leading to our front door and take a seat on the top one. I’ll give her time but not much. I can’t. It’ll drive me crazy. I’ll sit here and wait. I know she’ll come to me before long. She has to.
Mom pats my shoulder as she passes me on the steps. “Just be patient,” she says softly, knowing how much this is eating me up.
I hear the screen door shut and glance over at Aislin’s house. The driveway is empty, which is a blessing. It means her mom and one of her many boyfriends aren’t home. She actually hasn’t been home for a couple of days now. She does this sometimes and has been for years. Aislin never knows when it’s going to happen until her mom just doesn’t come home. Under normal circumstances, this would be worrisome for a kid Aislin’s age to be left alone, but she’s actually better off when she’s gone. Besides, she’s normally over at my house most of the time, so she isn’t alone.
That’s another thing that has me worried. She chose to go home instead of coming here. I drop my head and grip my hair with my fists in frustration. My eyes tingle, but I push back the moisture wanting to spring to the surface.
Anger starts to override my worry. She has to know this silence is killing me, but she’s still over there and not here telling me what’s going on. A growl slips past my lips, and I throw myself from the porch steps. My shoes kick up clumps of grass as I storm across my yard.
