: Chapter 24

‘Mr. Evans, where is Mrs. Evans?’ Haven asks me as I get them ready for dismissal. She taps repetitively on my thigh as I throw on my suitcoat.

It doesn’t matter how often I tell them Raelynn isn’t my wife. The concept of me not being married seems to be the most bizarre thing to their little brains.

I’m only twenty-six, not an older man with wrinkles, after all. But they know no better, so I just sigh before responding.

‘She’s working on her flowers, Haven.’

‘In her flower shop?’

I nod. ‘Yes, a very pretty flower shop.’

I try not to think about our night last night. It was one of the best nights I’ve ever experienced in my life. Especially since it ended in the place I find my safe haven. Her arms.

Speaking of Haven, she’s talking in her high tone, repeating a statement I’ve failed to hear the first time. ‘Did-did you hear me? I said Mrs. Evans looks like my mommy.’

I tilt my head, ignoring the chattering of the other children for a moment as I focus on her words.

‘Is that so?’

Haven’s mother passed away late last year—I was informed by her father when I realized a change in Haven’s behavior. While this little girl with tight, pretty curls and a smile so bright would come in with the longest frown on her face, I knew something was wrong.

And I was right. I always am when it comes to paying attention to my kids.

I bend down to one knee to her eye level, taking her jack at the bottom to help her zip it as she answers me, ‘Yeah, she has my hair and skin just like mommy did. See?’ She points at her face, pulls at a small braid with beads on the end of it, and smiles.

‘I see,’ I say. ‘You both are very beautiful. That’s something else you have in common.’

She pokes my nose and giggles, reminding me immediately of Raelynn doing the same thing.

It makes me wonder if this situation with my father and Jenna passes us, will we get any further? Will we have children? How many? Does she even want children after her family drama and what had happened to her? I’d only have to ask, but I suppose it’s too early to bring up things like this. I don’t want to overwhelm her any more than she is now.

‘She’ll come back and you’ll be able to see her again, alright?’ Haven nods and I stand up. ‘Alright. Grab your bag.’ I clap loudly, grabbing the attention of the children holding hands in pairs and forming a line at the wall beside the door.

‘Are we ready to go home?’ I’m met with deafening screams and cheering. I couldn’t agree more.

I can’t wait to see my home either. Only for me, it isn’t a place.

***

‘Gen, hello?’ I answer the phone as I open my car door.

I was on the way to meet Raelynn at her shop when Genesis called, silent. I can hear a faint sniffle on the other end.

My body drops in the car, closing the door. The silence worries me. ‘Genesis, what’s going on?’ My first thought goes to Mum.

‘Is it our mother? Is she okay?’ I called her this morning, as I do every morning, and she seemed to be pulling along. Her surgery still sits on pause, with each day that Morgan holds off on fucking paying it. I’ll have to find a way through him.

She shouldn’t pay for the bad blood Morgan and I have.

But Gen hums a no. ‘Milo,’ she croaks, her voice thick with sobs. ‘Can you pick me up, please?’

She should be out of school right about now. Usually she ends the same hour as I do, then goes off to track practice.

I start my car immediately. ‘What’s wrong? What happened?’

‘People are being bullies,’ she cries.

It’s not normal to hear my little sister cry like this. My heart speeds up with anger. There’s only a few things that pisses me off. But someone hurting my girls is above them all. Whatever happened had to be big. Genesis isn’t one to ponder over little things. I start my car, lock the doors, and pull out of the parking.

‘Where are you right now, soeur.’

She stutters a bit before answering, loud sobs and quivers of her voice breaking my heart to hear. ‘I- I wanted to go for a swim instead of running tod—’ she breaks off to let out a cry. ‘Today. And the school p-pool was empty, so I did go in, but after my swim, I went to m-my locker. My clothes—they’re gone.’

I press down on the gas, my grip on the steering wheel tightening.

‘It’s really cold. I- I don’t want to go out there in my cozzie. They’re for sure waiting with their shitty phones and their shitty friends to catch a shitty laugh—’

‘I’m coming right now,’ I say sternly, trying to decipher exactly what she’s saying through her cries. ‘You stay put, and I’ll handle it all.’

‘Don’t hang up, please,’ she pleads.

My jaw tenses. ‘I won’t.’

I drive over the limit, steady sniffles of Genesis filling my heart. She’s crying, I know she is, silently. How long has this been happening?

How long had I not realized? I suppose there have been many things going on, but neglecting to see my sister is troubled shouldn’t be something that happens.

‘Gen?’ I’m nearly five minutes away, but the cries are breaking my heart.

‘Mhm,’ she hums weakly.

‘Tell me a joke,’ I say, hoping to distract her for the remaining time. ‘I’m sure you have one up your sleeve somewhere.’

She’s silent for a moment. ‘Okay,’ she utters. ‘How do you know if a vampire is sick?’

I pretend to think hard. ‘I’m not sure. How?’

‘You check if he’s coffin,’ she giggles momentarily, and I smile. I laugh for her, and she groans at me. ‘Don’t laugh at my jokes because I’m crying. You always think they’re terrible.’

‘They’re so terrible that it makes them funny.’

Getting to the school is when I finally hang up on Genesis before she tells me where she is. The pool building is separate from the school building but near the same area. Putting her in a private school was my mother’s way of making sure she was protected from these sorts of things. Turns out kids will be—as Gen puts it—shitty regardless.

Stopping just in front of the pool building, I eye a group of kids who haven’t yet seen my car.

They stand right outside the entrance. Three boys and two girls snickering to themselves, their phones out like she said they would have.

I shake my head, get out of the car, shutting the door, which causes their heads to snap in my direction.

Walking around the car, one of them whispers, knowing exactly who I am.

Before they can run, I speak. ‘You move, and I’ll get every one of you expelled.’

They look at each other with their phones behind their backs and their faces resembling a deer in a headlight.

As I reach them, one of the girls, around the same height as Genesis, clears her throat. ‘He— hi. Milo, right?’

‘Where is it.’ I slip my hand into the pockets of my trousers.

One of the boys says, ‘Huh? Wh-where’s what?’ He tries to laugh it of, looking at his friends who don’t seem to find it as funny.

They’re smarter.

‘I know you all are incompetent little twats but pretend for a moment that you aren’t as stupid as I know you are. Where is my sister’s clothing.’

I scan their hands, finding that the boy who spoke is holding a black bag. His smile was no longer on his face.

I step forward, right in front of him, my heart bumping hard against my chest with anger. I nod as he hands me the bag.

‘I don’t know how long you all have been fucking with my sister, but it will stop now.’ I spit out harshly, yet with a calmness that I remind myself to hold. ‘You all want to get into college, I assume?’

They only nod, their eyes still glancing at each other.

‘Your mouths work, right? Do you want to get into a college,‘ I speak slower this time.

‘Yes sir,’ they all whisper consecutively.

‘Right. If I hear another word from Genesis about any of you, I’ll strip all of your futures away before you even realize it’s gone. Do you understand?’ My eyes meet each of their eyes.

They nod. One girl with teary eyes clears her throat. ‘Yes, sir.’

‘Good.’ I wave my hand in a dismissive gesture, and they all immediately shoot down the street, soon out of sight and around the corner.

I let out a sigh. Speaking that way isn’t my favorite thing, but I’d rather die than have my little sister be a victim of damaged kids.

Wasting no time getting in the building and make my way towards the locker room where Gen said she was. Knocking, she opens the door to peep out.

When she sees me, she gasps and opens the door, running and wrapping her arms around my neck. ‘Milo!’ The tears began again, her voice straining.

I hug her back, her swimsuit on her as she said, her hair drenched, and body covered with goosebumps.

‘I got your clothes.’ I lift my hand as she leans back, looking at my hand.

‘You saw them?’

I nod in response.

‘What did you say to them?’ She grins. ‘Did you beat their asses?’

I laugh, shaking my head. ‘No, Genesis. But they won’t be a problem anymore, alright? Get dressed.’

She lifts on her toes and plants a quick kiss on my cheek, then elbows me. ‘Love you.’

***

Raelynn sits in the back seat of the car alongside Genesis as they scream the lyrics of current pop songs.

After picking up Genesis, I went to pick up Raelynn as well, filled her in on what happened, and she insisted we go on an ice cream date to cheer my sister up. All three of us.

So here I am, with two of my girls in the back of my car, eating Cookies & Cream flavored ice cream as I drive.

‘I have an idea,’ Raelynn says, licking a strip of her ice cream cone. I watch her through the rearview mirror.

‘Yes, darling?’

‘No, I wasn’t talking to you, Milo.’

Genesis laughs. ‘What idea?’

‘A sleepover at Iris house,’ she states. ‘How is she doing anyway? Is she alright?’

We go silent, not sure how to answer that question. ‘For the most part, yes.’

‘How would you know, Milo,’ Gen mutters. ‘You haven’t gone to see her in ages.’

I swallow, gripping the steering wheel. ‘I’ve had a lot going on. I call her—’

‘She wants to see you. She asks about where you are all the time. You never know when she’ll just…’

‘Enough,’ I whisper, cutting her lingering words.

I sigh roughly through my nose. It’s been hard deciding when I’ll go see my mother. I don’t want the last memory of her being a bad one, one of her passing, God forbid. I don’t want to see her sick and in pain. It’ll kill me to know I can’t do anything about it.

‘I will go,’ I tell Gen. ‘I promise.’

The next few days that pass, my mind races nonstop. Through the sleepovers, through the silent threat of my father’s words that have yet to go anywhere. Through my mother’s sickness.

Currently, pacing the living room of my apartment is when Raelynn walks in the front door, speaking on the phone.

She has a new hairstyle, her hair parted down the center, two braids ending in a large curly bun at the back of her head.

I would smile at her, but the concerned look on her face tells me there’s something wrong.

‘It’s not a problem, Gia. It wasn’t your fault, moms the way she is.’

She looks up at me, handing me the flowerpot of tulips she holds and her bag of groceries.

She sighs. ‘I’m happy for you, I am. We’ll be there.’

I wait patiently for her to hand up the phone before raising an eyebrow. ‘Your sister?’ She hasn’t spoken about her family since the day of that shit dinner.

She walks up to me, wrapping her arm around my neck. ‘I thought we had missed her wedding, turns out she pushed it back after what happened. We can still go.’

I hug her tightly, sliding my palm over her ass, the thin leggings doing it justice.

‘Do you want to?’

She is silent for a few minutes. ‘Yes. She’s my only sister, and she called several times crying to me and asking for me to forgive her when she didn’t do anything. It was all moms. I won’t let her split us apart.’

I nod. ‘So, a wedding then, hm? When?’

She kisses my neck, and I shiver. ‘Two days. Quick notice, I know. Are you up for it?’

I haven’t heard word from my father for a few days now. I hope he’s just forgotten about me entirely. Something tells me he’s just biding his time but, in the meanwhile, I don’t want to spend mine worrying.

‘Of course, my love.’