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“Whoa wait. Did she say she’s naked? What a naughty girl.” My fist lands against his shoulder hard and I feel no regret when he winces, rubbing the spot.
“Not cool.” I growl and he steps back lifting his hands in a ‘calm down gesture’.
“Memphis, don’t be a bully. Give me a second, I'll grab my robe.” A door clicks and I hear muttering, but I can’t make out the words.
“So this is the mysterious Cara, why have we never met her before?” Mikey asks, and I snort.
“If I have my way, you horndogs will never meet her.”
“Okay I’m back. Hi, I’m Cara. Memphis’ best friend and soon to be sister.” She says it with a smile on her face, but I notice the squint in her left eye when she says ‘sister’. Yeah this shit is too weird.
We talk for a little bit longer, until Gem pops her head in and scowls at us.
“Uh-oh, Medusa is back, we have to go babe,” Alex says, and I can’t wait to hit him again. I take her off video and move to the corner so I can talk privately. “Have fun tomorrow. Mom has always wanted a daughter.” She sighs and I laugh. “Shortcake, I love you. Don’t forget. Me and you darlin’ always.”
“I know. I love you too. I’ll talk to you later. Good luck with your writing. Try the bubble bath technique.”
I burst out in a laugh so loud the guys jump and I growl, “That is our little secret, Cara. Don’t be spreading that shit around.”
She laughs and hangs up before saying anything more. I put my phone back in my pocket while shaking my head, a big smile on my face.
“I can see why you’re hung up on her. She’s hot and way too innocent for my tastes. Too bad she’s your sister.”
“She is not my sister,” I snap, my good mood instantly leaving. The guys laugh at me, and Gem rolls her eyes.
“Listen, boys, now that circle time is over. Dolly will be popping in tonight at some point. Please, I beg you guys. Be nice.”
“I’m always nice,” Alex says with a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. He looks like he’s a wolf about to devour his prey. Gem snorts and grabs a beer. I sit down and dig into my cold curry. Not as tasty, but worth it since I finally got to talk with Cara.
An hour passes and we’re finishing up a verse when someone knocks.
“Showtime,” Mikey mutters, throwing his notebook on the table. I sigh and stand as the door swings open. A young brunette walks in and gives us a huge smile.
Oh fuck! I am so screwed.
Six
Carson
We get home from our girls’ day, and I head upstairs for a shower. I still have a lot to do, but I smell like honey butter and my toes feel slimy from the lotion. Shopping with Frankie wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. We actually had fun. I forgot what it was like to have a mom. Not that I’ll ever call her mom, but to go out and do girly things. Getting our hair and nails done, going to lunch. Not sitting in a depressing hospital room, talking about a future we both know is never going to happen. Don’t get me wrong, I miss those days, and I wouldn't change a moment of our time together for the world, but I think the last time I spent with my mother, before she got sick, I was twelve and she took me to the pier for ice cream. We sat on the beach and watched strangers. She always loved to watch people and guess what their lives were like. She would make up the funniest stories. I smile and sigh. “Miss you mom, wish you could be there tomorrow.” I jump in the shower and do a quick rinse, before hopping out, then throw my sundress back on and open the door. There are so many things I still need to pack. I finish toweling off my hair then toss the damp towel in the hamper. My phone dings on the nightstand but I ignore it. He can wait. Don't get me wrong, I love talking to him, but honestly it's become kinda awkward. At least for me. I can't continue to send him flirty texts. Can I? It dings again and I give in, bending down and picking my phone up, before unlocking it with my code. Memphis’ birthday. Damn, I guess I'll need to change that now too.
Ten I See: Big day tomorrow! Are you ready?
Me: Yep. It's bittersweet leaving, but at least now I don't need to worry about Dad being alone.
Ten I See: True. Get some sleep, shortcake. Love you. I'll call tomorrow
Me: Night
I hesitate to write back I love you too, but eventually bite the bullet and quickly type it in before hitting send. We have always told the other we loved them. That doesn't need to change now, does it? God, this is so damn confusing. I think leaving tomorrow will be good for me. I can focus on my studies and maybe find a cute available boy to waste some time with. I wish Connor or Xavier were coming to Texas too. Then we could continue to hang out like we did this past weekend. Now that I think of it, I don’t know what school they’re going to. Someone knocks on my door halting me from my thoughts. “Come in,” I shout.
“Do you have everything for tomorrow?” my dad asks, glancing at my suitcases. His eyes turn watery, and he coughs to cover the emotion. I move over to him and give him a big hug.
“Yeah, Dad. I’m almost finished.” I pull back and wander over to my bookshelf, take down the hand-carved wooden box, then turn and hand it to him. “Will you keep this safe for me until I get back?” He gently takes it and nods, the tears now flowing gently, unashamedly from his eyes. “Of course, baby girl.”
I return to the edge of my bed and reopen one of my suitcases. I can fit a few more things in here—we had a few of my boxes shipped to the campus to make moving day easier. I open my nightstand table and pull out some scrapbooks I’d made with my mom during her chemo hours. I hesitate to pack them. I’d be crushed if something were to happen to them, but I like to look at them and think about her from time to time. I wrap them in a baby blanket that she had knitted for me and place them gently on top of my clothes. “I think that’s everything.” I glance around and sigh. “Who knew packing up eighteen years of memories would go so fast?” My dad snorts and looks around with me.
“Did you have to take the wall decorations too?”
