SILVERBONE: The Blood Medallion (Book One)

Chapter Four

Katie’s bedroom door was slightly creaked open, but I still knocked before pushing in, finding her already sitting up with her arms crossed and her brown eyes glowering at me. She was probably just moody because she had to stay in bed all day, at least, that is what I hoped anyway.

“I brought you breakfast,” I said.

She pursed her lips at me before she retorted, “Do you think I am blind?”

My cheeks flushed, but I waved aside her rudeness. I moved to her bed and placed the plate on her nightstand. She glared at me. “Did you hear me? Do you think I am blind?”

I knitted my brow at her to signify my confusion. She rolled her eyes and explained, “I told you to stay away from Peter last night, but you didn’t, did you? What? Did you think I wasn’t going to catch you?”

I shrugged, defensively. “I didn’t go to him; he approached me.”

She scoffed incredulously.

“Honest!” I told her. “And he’s not a good guy, Katie. You should stay away from him.”

“Are you serious right now?” she squealed. “Oh, I see how it is. He gave you attention and now you’re scared that I will take him away from you? You know I have a crush on him!”

“He groped me!” I argued. “Even after I told him to stop. Had the barn not collapsed, he might have done something worse.”

She spat back. “In a public area, Gennifer? Really?”

Tears began collecting behind my eyes as I said, “I’m telling you the truth.”

“Get out of my room, you slut,” she sneered.

Taken aback, I paused. That was the worst she ever called me. Unpleased with my lack of reaction, she thrust her index finger towards the door. “Get out!”

I scrambled away before she could see me cry.

I secluded myself in my room where I allowed my tears to escape as I huddled in the corner of my closet. After a couple sobs, I practiced deep breathing to calm myself in the comforting darkness until I regained composure. My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I checked the text from Wes. A relief cooled my insides, giving a rest from the despair as I read his message:

Hey, how r u? I was wondering if u would like 2 hang out this weekend. My family is having a bbq on Saturday. Wanna come?

A guy never asked me to hang out with him before, and I liked Wes; he seemed really nice, anyway. I replied:

Yeah, that sounds great.

I paused, debating if I needed to use a smiley face. Why did I have to be so analytical? I decided to add the emoji. Seconds later, he answered:

Cool. I can pick you up Saturday at noon.

He added an emoji as well.

I decided not to allow Katie’s insensitivity to haunt me, nor would I allow stupid Peter to break me away from my sister or ensure fear in me. I returned downstairs for my breakfast and my books to find Dad hovering above my spot at the table as he read my letter from Blackstone. My parents have read my mail before, and I was never really bothered by that, but the way Dad’s brow furrowed with intensity suddenly left me defensive. Across from him, Mom stood rigid with her arms crossed. She noticed me, and an uneasiness wavered in her hazel eyes. Although my throat closed to the tension building up in the kitchen, I forced myself to sear the silence with, “They have the wrong Gennifer.”

Dad surprised me with a scoff, inclining Mom to shoot him a warning glance. I bit my bottom lip. Did I want to know what was happening? Did they get into a fight? Maybe if I distracted them things would clear up?

Nervously, I blurted, “I was invited to a friend’s barbecue this Saturday.”

Apprehensively, Mom faced me, and although distracted, still managed to reply, “That’s nice, Gen. Who is it?”

Before I could answer, Dad slapped the letter on the table and demanded, “Sit down, Gennifer; we need to talk.”

“Stan-” Mom started, but Dad cut her off. “We can’t avoid this anymore,” he said.

The acid in my stomach bubbled.

Dad motioned me to my spot, and I sat as if to start my breakfast, but just the sight of it begged me to reject the empty contents of my belly. Dad sat next to me with Mom across from him. For a minute, we shared the silence; Mom watched her fingers twist against each other, and Dad stared straight at nothing.

Dizziness disoriented me to the coldness of Dad’s utter. “I am not your father.”

The modest chirping from the birds outside became too loud.

I demanded, “What?”

Dad’s brown eyes turned to me. Katie’s brown eyes. “Your mother and I were dating when we had Katie, but we had a falling out. Shortly after, your mother rebounded-“

“That’s not fair, Stan,” Mom interjected, shooting a reprimanding glare at Dad before she faced me. “I wasn’t looking for a way to get over the breakup. It so happened he was a friend of Stan’s, but I genuinely fell in love with your father, Gennifer. We even got married. But…” She paused, her bottom lip trembling, and she looked away before I could catch the glimmer of tears forming near her hazel irises.

Dad continued. “He died in a car accident a year after you were born. Your mother and him went to Washington state to celebrate your birth, and while he was out for some errands, a semi rammed him off the road and into the bay. His body was never recovered. He made me promise, though, that if anything happened to him, I would step up and take care of the family, so here I am, married to an ex-girlfriend/widow, caring for a child that isn’t mine.”

His bitterness astounded me.

Dad observed my reaction, and for once, I felt very uncomfortable under his eyes. The distance he had towards me, the lack of favoritism, the coldness- it all made sense.

He ended with, “His name was Robert Silverbone.”

I left my body, or it felt like it, anyway.

Mom sniffled before she added, “He also went to Blackstone. I suppose he wanted you to go, too.”

I had so many questions, but my mouth couldn’t seem to obey my brain’s command to move and speak.

“So…” Dad started, impaling the silence. “Do you want to go to this school or not?”