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“We can’t bring Colton to the hospital. He just got over the flu.”
My dad sighs. “Well, what else are we going to do? My parents are at least an hour away and yours are on a cruise.”
Trying to help, I offer to stay home alone but they both shake their heads. Then I get an idea. “I can go to Maverick’s house.”
Maverick Taylor is a kid in my class. We met a couple months ago when I moved here and if I had to choose someone as my best friend, it would be him. We’ve hung out a couple times after school but only at the park.
I go over to my backpack and pull out the piece of paper where he wrote down his phone number. It’s smudged and crumpled but you can still read it. I walk over to my dad and hand it to him. He smiles and pats me on the shoulder before walking away to make the call.
The four of us get in the car. Avery is strapped into her car seat and while she looks fine, I’m still worried. I make faces at her that normally make her smile, but this time she doesn’t. I look up at my dad through the rear-view mirror.
“Is Avery going to be okay?”
His expression softens as he glances back at me. “Well son, she hit her head but she should be okay. We just need to take her to get checked out by a doctor.”
I turn back to my sister and hug her as best I can with the restrictions of being in the car. She may be a pain in the butt sometimes, but she’s my sister and I love her.
The rest of the drive is short. It’s a small town and I probably could have ridden my bike but it’s starting to get dark. We pull up to the Taylor’s house and my mom gets out of the car and walks me up onto the porch. A woman answers the door who looks like an older, female version of Maverick. She smiles warmly at me and then turns to my mother.
“Thank you so much for taking him.”
She waves her off dismissively. “Oh, of course. Your husband explained the situation over the phone. Please let me know how your daughter is doing as soon as you know. And don’t worry about Colton. I’m sure him and Maverick will have a great time.”
My mom gives me a hug goodbye before running to the car. I watch them drive away, clearly in a hurry to get to the hospital. I think Maverick’s mom can tell I’m scared because she puts a hand on my shoulder and whispers that everything will be okay. I nod my head before following her into the house.
It’s cozy inside. There’s a staircase directly in front of me with a living room to the left and a dining room to the right. Maverick’s mom points out where to find everything, telling me that Mav’s room is upstairs, the kitchen at the end of the hallway in front of me, and there is a bathroom to the right of it. She mentions that Maverick is in the shower and I should make myself at home while I wait for him.
“Marissa, can you come help me in here?” A man’s voice comes from the end of the hall.
She calls back that she’ll be right there and ruffles her hand through my hair. Then, she disappears, leaving me standing alone at the door. I hear laughter in the living room and my curiosity gets the better of me. Tiptoeing closer, I see a little girl sitting on the floor playing a game by herself. She has plastic necklace around her neck and her fingers are covered in fake rings. Her giggle is the first thing that makes me smile since I heard Avery get hurt.
“What are you playing?” I ask.
The girl looks up at me and gives me a wide grin. Dimples accent her cheeks and her green eyes remind me of freshly cut grass in the spring. She’s definitely younger than me and I remember Maverick telling me he has a little sister. This must be her.
“Pretty, pretty, princess. Want to play?”
I walk around the couch and sit on the floor in front of her. “I don’t know how.”
“I can teach you. My mom was playing with me but now she’s helping my dad, so you can take her spot.” She hands me a spinner. “I’m McKenna.”
“I’m-”
“Colton. I know.” She cuts me off. “You’re Maverick’s friend.”
The two of us take turns passing the spinner back and forth and moving our pieces. Every time I land on a piece of jewelry, she helps me find it and puts it in a pile in front of me. I know the rules of the game are that you wear it, but I’m a boy and if Maverick saw me wearing fake jewelry with his sister, he might not think I’m cool anymore.
McKenna looks adorable as she puts the fake earrings on and hands me the spinner to take my turn. I move my piece and land on the crown.
“No fair! You got the crown!” She gapes jealously and grabs the fake silver headpiece to hand it to me.
I look down at it and then back at her. “You can have it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” I reach over and put it on top of her head, resting it on her light brown hair.
Her face lights up and I can’t help but smile back. “How do I look?”
