Contessa (14 page)

“
You know your dad. You know he
’
d always rather be where his family is–especially if someone needs him.
”

“
Think about it. Please? It
’
s not like he
’
ll be a lot of trouble,
”
I tell her.
“
He
’
ll probably just be in bed, right? I have to finish that stupid book this weekend, anyway.
”

“
We
’
ll have to see how he feels. Definitely not if he has a fever. But it
’
s sweet of you to offer.
”

“
No problem, Mom.
”
I grab a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and hug my mother on the way out.
“
I
’
m going to bed.
”

“
It
’
s early,
”
she says.

“
I
’
m gonna read.
”

“
Right. Okay, Livvy. Sleep well.
”

“
Love you, Mom. Tell Dad good night, okay?
”

“
I
’
ll send him down to tell you–
”

“
No, it
’
s okay, Mom. I need to read. If he comes down there, he
’
ll just start back in on his John the Savage theories about
Brave New World
. He doesn
’
t shut up about it.
”

She looks at me with disapproval and shakes her head.
“
Alright, Liv.
”

When I get home from school the following day, I immediately check on my brother. After spending the day at home with Dad, Trey
’
s fever has broken and he
’
s in much better spirits, playing with his robot and watching cartoons in the living room. I worry that I
’
ll end up having to go to to dinner with them after all, and start to go downstairs to get ready.

“
Do you think you can give Jackson his bath tonight?
”
Dad asks, coming up from the basement with a laundry basket of clean sheets.
“
And make his bed?
”

“
You
’
re still going?
”
I ask, surprised.

“
The doctor said it
’
s nothing, and he says he feels fine. He
’
s not running a fever, but I guess after sleeping soundly through the night, he couldn
’
t nap at all today, so I don
’
t think it
’
s a good idea to take him out.
”

“
Seriously? You stay home with him when he stubs his toe,
”
I tell him sarcastically.

“
If you
’
re not comfortable watching him–
”

“
No, I am!
”
I tell him.
“
If you
’
re comfortable leaving him.
”

“
I know you
’
ll take care of him. And we
’
re just going down the street, so we can be back here in five minutes, if anything goes wrong. But I know you
’
ll be fine.
”

“
Absolutely,
”
I tell him, taking the sheets from him. As soon as my brother sees me going into his room with his bed linens, he drops what he
’
s doing and chases after me. He likes to pretend that his top sheet is a superhero cape, so we always tuck it into his shirt while we put the fitted sheet on his bed. It
’
s a good way to distract him from jumping on his bed, which always seems more tempting to him when his comforter isn
’
t on.

I fold the sheet in half and secure it beneath his pajama top, making sure there
’
s no fabric for him to trip over. He immediately starts running around the house, arms outstretched, buzzing past my parents.

“
Oh, yeah, he
’
s
really
sick,
”
I tell my mom and dad sarcastically as they stand at his door to tell me goodbye.

“
And a bonus,
”
Mom says,
“
he
’
s going to wear himself out doing that.
”

“
Just start his bath after you
’
re done in here–
”

“
I know, Dad,
”
I tell him, annoyed.

He nods, shutting up.
“
We
’
re five minutes away.
”

“
I know. We
’
ll be fine.
”

Trey slams into my dad
’
s leg, wrapping his arms around it.

“
You got me, little man,
”
he says, picking him up.
“
Be good for your sister.
”

“
Will you come tell me goodnight when you get home?
”

“
Of course, Jackson.
”
He kisses his cheek and leans him into Mom so she can do the same.
“
Go save some lives,
”
Dad tells him, holding him high over his head and
‘
flying
’
him over to the couch.

I have to chase him for a few minutes after they leave, eventually cornering him in the game room. He finally surrenders, lifting his arms up for me to pick him up.

“
You
’
re getting too big for this, buddy,
”
I tell him as I strain to carry him up the stairs.
“
Mom spoils you.
”

“
No she doesn
’
t,
”
my brother retorts.

“
Oh, okay,
”
I tease him, making an obvious motion to smell his hair.
“
You stink,
”
I tell him.

“
Do not!
”
he says.

“
Do too!
”
I argue playfully, setting him down in his bathroom. He tries to dart back out of the room, giggling, but I catch him and pull him back in, blocking the door with my body.
“
Bath,
”
I tell him, pointing to the warm basin of water.
“
Hand over the cape.
”

He yawns as he pulls the sheet from his clothes, and takes off his pajamas. He
’
s no trouble for me in the bathtub, and the addition of a little of my mom
’
s lavender bubble bath seems to have a calming affect on him. He goes to bed on his own after I put his sheet and comforter back on the bed. I grab his robot and take it to him, tucking it under the covers.

As I lean in to kiss him on the cheek, someone knocks on the door.

“
Who
’
s that?
”
my brother asks, sitting up quickly.

“
I don
’
t know, Trey,
”
I tell him as I wander out of his room and down the hall.
“
I
’
ll find out.
”

“
Don
’
t answer it,
”
he cautions me.
“
Daddy says not to answer the door if we
’
re not
‘
specting someone.
”

I roll my eyes as I walk into the foyer. Not wanting whoever it is to know that anyone
’
s home in case I don
’
t recognize the person through the peephole, I tiptoe to the door. Two familiar–albeit distorted–people greet me. My best friend and her boyfriend are making faces.

“
What are you guys doing here?
”
I ask them as I open the door, welcoming them in.

“
Who is it, Livvy?
”

“
It
’
s Finn and Camille,
”
I tell my brother.

“
Finn?
”
he yells. My brother looks up to Finn like he
’
s his own brother. We consider ourselves cousins. My uncle is married to his aunt, so although the relationship is distant, we are always thrown together at family functions. We all go to the same private school, too.

“
Trey just went down for the night,
”
I tell them,
“
and it
’
s your job now, Finn, to calm him back down again.
”

“
Whatever,
”
Finn says.
“
Steven told us you
’
d be home babysitting. We thought we
’
d stop by and keep you company.
”
He makes a beeline into my brother
’
s room to say hi.

“
So in other words, my dad didn
’
t think I could handle this? Figures.
”

“
Your dad is so overprotective,
”
Camille says. She
’
s a few months younger than me, but has been dating Finn for about a year. Since I skipped a grade, he and I are now in many of the same classes.

“
I know,
”
I say, shaking my head.
“
Were you just hanging out tonight?
”

“
Yeah. Both of our parents are being homebodies tonight, so we
’
re a little displaced,
”
she explains, shrugging her shoulders.

“
So you came here to make out?
”
I ask her quietly.
“
Ummm, no. If I can
’
t, you can
’
t.
”

“
Livvy!
”
she pleads.

“
No way! You
’
re crazy.
”

“
You have the guest bedroom,
”
she tries to reason with me.

“
Nope,
”
I laugh as I sit back down on the couch.

“
You
’
re just jealous,
”
she says spitefully. I glare at her, studying her expression and realizing she
’
s kidding.

“
It
’
s Finn,
”
I tell her.
“
Not
jealous.
”

She sits next to me on the couch and checks over her shoulder to see if Finn
’
s around.
“
I think tomorrow
’
s the day,
”
she whispers.

“
For–
”
My eyes widen as I realize what she
’
s implying.
“
Really?
”

“
Yeah.
”
She doesn
’
t look at me when she admits this.
“
His dad
’
s going to Chicago and Gabby will be at his Mom
’
s this weekend. We
’
ll have the whole apartment to ourselves.
”