Perching on an upside down milk crate with grease and oil patches decorating her forearms, Jaylynn Feder tinkers with her 250cc dirt bike on the bike porch of her home; Citizen Solider flowing through the black headphones bridged over her backwards Looney Tunes trucker cap.
Trading out her wrench for the grease and oil stained teal cloth discarded between her feet, Jay rolls her neck while wiping her hands until a wet nose nudges her shoulder. Dropping the cloth and pulling her headphones down to her neck, the eighteen year old twists her body to face the 28' inch tall Bullypit, a smile creeping onto her face when he drops the tennis ball into her lap.
Standing to her feet with a roll of her shoulders and sequence of pops from her back, Jay glances down to the anxiously awaiting rescue as she tosses the ball and catches it. Shaking her head as the sound of her brothers' mind melting video game echoes from the entertainment lounge, Jay throws the ball across the backyard before walking towards the lounge patio.
"Jay." Lenny calls out as he spots the graduated teen entering the room, picking up the board game box in attempt to prove his point to his sons. "You remember this game right?"
"Chutes and ladders?" Jay recalls the long seen board game. "Kai, Matt and I used to play it all the time before they moved to Miami. It was our go to whenever they slept over."
Returning Cobra's now ice cold water filled bowl to it's raised port, Jay grabs her chilled water bottle from the mini fridge underneath the bar and straightens just as Keithie calls her name.
"I'm not getting you anything, Keithie." Jay instantly shuts her youngest brother down before he can voice his request. "You have legs, use 'em. Stop being a mosoco perezoso {lazy brat.}"
"Jay." Lenny scolds making the blue ombre haired girl turn to her father.
"Do you know what I actually said?"
"No." Lenny admits shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, you and Mamá raised me to tell the truth, I am not about to start lying now."
Rolling her eyes as Keithie screams fro the family nanny, Jay heads out to the back porch and pours half her water into the metal bottle sat in the raised port as Umbra comes trotting over. Sitting down on the top white concrete step while the pure black K-9 laps up the ice cold liquid, Jay sips on the remaining half with a blank expression on her face.
Glancing up, Jay's eyebrows furrow in confusion at the sight of her dad's old car rolling over the patio brick and onto the grass. Jumping to her feet as the car crashes into the rattan furniture set, Jay races towards the car seconds before her little sister climbs out and rushes into her embrace.
"I didn't mean to. It was an accident." Becky apologies to her sister, who is now kneeling into front of her to scan her for injuries, as the rest of their present family run over.
"I don't care. Are you all right?" Lenny dismisses his youngest's apology, dropping his shoulders in relief when Jay nods her head, telling him that she is okay. "What the heck were you doing?"
"I was trying to use the Navy." Becky answers as Jay moves to stand behind the five year old.
"The Navy? What's the Navy?" Lenny questions.
"The Navy in the car to ask it a question."
"You mean the navigation system, idiot." Keithie adds earning a glare from his older sister.
"Keithie, Cállate. [Shut up]" Jay scolds making the nine year old drop his head to the floor.
"Some man called. He said your friend, Coach Buzzer, went to heaven." Becky explains and Jay feels her heart stop at the news. "I was trying to find heaven for you on the Navy station, so you could go visit him."
A heavy silence falls on the group as Lenny straightens up from leaning down to Becky's height, and Jay reaches up to encase her Phoenix pendent necklace in her hand while Umbra nudges her thigh in comfort.
"Who's your friend, dad?"
"Coach Buzzer was someone very special in Daddy and Jay's life. It's terrible." Lenny vaguely responds, still processing the death of such a big person in his life. "Okay, go drink some hot chocolate with these guys."
Staring forward as her siblings disappear back into the house with Rita, Jay feels the single tear burn down her left cheek as her hand drops to her side. Lenny sees the pain on his daughter's face and quickly pulls her into a tight hug, following them both soaking each other's t-shirts with tears.
YOU ARE READING
Lakehouse Love
FanfictionFresh off graduation, Jaylynn Feder is planning to enjoy her summer before heading off to university... until her dad's middle school basketball coach dies. Now having to spend the weekend with the families of her father's childhood friends, Jay rar...
