Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 7

Alisha is visiting her grandparents in Detroit, so Cate's going to meet up with her in a small coffee shop about a half hour drive away. I'm supposed to cover for her, make sure that mother and father don't realize she's gone. Cate promised to text me and the others updates throughout the afternoon to make sure we have constant knowledge of her whereabouts.

As usual, my sisters and I head to the beach after lunch. Cate comes with us as far is hopping the back gate, but then boards into her waiting taxi with a wave. After my confession the night before, Cate came out to the rest of our sisters as well. As they say, blood runs thicker than water, so Cate has been accepted with open arms.

As we walk to the beach, Esme, who has taken over the responsibility of being the sound eldest while Cate's gone, looks at me with worry in her eyes. "What's wrong?" I ask hesitantly. Esme shoots a glance over at the others to make sure they won't overhear before responding. "I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about this. Before we left, I heard father mention to mother that he noticed us acting odd at breakfast. If he comes out here to speak with us, he'll find out for certain." I nod reassuringly. "I saw that, too, but it's too late now. Let's just try to have a pleasant afternoon and pray that mother and father don't find out."

I look over at Esme's pale face, her black hair flowing rapidly in the breeze and her emerald green eyes shining with alertness. I see her favorite blue swimsuit, her chipped pink nail polish, and her faded ivory colored flip-flops. She helps me lay down a picnic blanket as we watch Izzy run off into the water, the waves engulfing her tiny figure. Lilia, however seems to sense the anxiety clinging to Esme's every word. She sits down on the picnic blanket and opens her sketchbook, staring at the waves washing up onto the shore, blending with the sand until they are fully combined as one. Her pencil moves in quick, sharp strokes, creating a beautiful landscape within minutes. When I look at Lilia, I see color. I see boldness and excitement. I see thrifted denim shorts and crocheted tote bags. I notice her long lashes, fluttering ever so slightly when she rolls her eyes.

I glance back at Esme, and tears spring to my eyes. My sisters, all they ever wanted was to be free.

Free of the rules and yelling and abuse.
Free of the nerves, the carefulness, the restrictions.
Free of never being able to speak their minds, never knowing what a healthy relationship looks like.
Free to be unapologetically themselves.

Right then and there, I make a promise to myself. I will get my sisters out of here if it's the last thing I do. Izzy then calls out to me, asking to join her in the water. I smile widely and nod, tearing off my coverup and racing across the sand.

I'm in the lake, splashing and playing around with Izzy when I see a figure approach in the distance. Worried that it's mother or father, I descend from the water and run back up to the picnic blanket where the person is now talking to Lilia. As I get closer however, I can tell that it isn't one of our parents. The person is shorter than both mother and father, and has fluffy light brown hair where my parents both have deep brown. When I finally approach them, I realize it's the neighbors son, Brady.

Brady looks at me, a smirk playing on his lips. I glance over to my sisters, trying to figure out why he's here, but they both just shrug. Brady clears his throat before speaking, "I'm here for Cate." He says promptly, "Your father said that she's here with you." I resist the urge to gag, as Brady has kicked his crocs off, and shoved them onto our freshly cleaned picnic blanket. From the corner of my eye, I see Lilia gesture to me that she and Esme haven't told him anything yet.

"Um," I look around, as if hoping inspiration for a convincing lie will be found in the sand or birch trees. "she's actually back at the house getting something." "I was just there, and it was only your parents at home." Brady says. Unfortunately, he isn't as stupid as he looks. I twist my hair nervously, realizing I'm not going to be able to lie. "She's out in town with a friend." Brady smirks again, considering this all a game with Cate as the pawn. "Then why didn't your father say so?" He challenges. "Because he doesn't know." I decide that if Brady's going to be so nosy, I have the right to give him as little information as possible. Brady rolls his eyes, "Well, duh. But why did he not know?" I'm about to respond when my phone, which is sitting on the picnic blanket, lights up with a text. But before I can pick it up, Brady snatches it. "From Cate," he reads out loud, "things are going great with Alisha. Thank you for being so supportive and covering for me. I'll probably be home in about an hour." I wince as I see the puzzle pieces connect in Brady's mind. "Wait," he says, "Alisha is a girl's name. Cate thanked you for being supportive of her, and she doesn't want your parents to know where she is. Cate's gay?!"

I'm about to respond when Brady takes off across the beach. Esme smiles meekly. "Well, at least he'll probably leave Cate alone now." I nod, but I'm worried. Brady seems like the type of guy who's used to girls worshipping the ground he walks on, so he probably does't deal with rejection well. He also is basically the poster child for misogynist, rich, white males, who also happen to be racist and homophobic accordingly. As I'm about to voice my concerns to Esme and Lilia, I hear someones phone ding with a notification.

"Adelaide?" Lilia says, her voice full of distress, "father knows."