It Happened Last Summer

03

{Sean}

"So baby, how was practice?" My mom asked the second I walked in the door with my little brother. She seemed concerned that we were home before tryouts were even over.

"They were fine. Practice was cut short because not many new kids tried out for the team," I lied. Cayden looked up at me disapprovingly, but I glared back at him.

You promised, I warned.

I told Cayden that I'd forgive him for telling that girl some of my personal business if he promised to not tell mom that I didn't practice. I may or may not have bribed him with some ice cream from McDonalds as well. He caved right away.

"I'm so happy for you Sean! This is the first step to getting things back to how they were." My mom came and wrapped me in a big hug and I returned it, thankful that I didn't have to make eye contact with her. I hated lying.

"And how was your first day of Kindergarten, my little bumblebee?" Mom grabbed Cayden by his waist and threw him up in the air as he giggled the whole way down. She set him back on his feet.

"God, either I'm getting too old to lift you, or you keep growing too much," she joked as she stretched out her back.

"It was great, my teacher is the bestest!" Cayden cheered.

"Well that's great, I told you that you'd like her!" Mom smiled down at him, and I decided to go to my room to let them finish their conversation.

Once I entered the safety of my own room, plopped down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. I let my thoughts wander to the field, when Cayden had stolen the lollipop back from me and started running after someone. It wasn't until the girl turned around that I recognized her as the one who borrowed my pen and then ran. I ran after Cayden to keep him in my sight.

Then, I looked up at her as she was watching Cayden. She couldn't see me looking at her because she was too focused on the lollipop that was being handed to her. I watched her closely and saw her wiping her eyes slowly as if she'd been crying.

All of a sudden, my ex girlfriend's mocking voice filled my ears and Lacey and I turned to look at her. Ashley was making fun of her.

"Are you okay?" I asked Lacey, suddenly understanding why she seemed to be so upset. I didn't know what to say to her, and I knew talking to Ashley would be no good for my reputation as much as hers, so I figured checking on her would be best.

She said she was okay and tried getting away as fast as she could. When she turned to give Cayden back the lollipop, she whispered something to him that I couldn't hear. Not believing her response to my question, I asked another one.

"Why were you crying?"

"Um, just tired I guess," she responded, but refused to look at me when she spoke. I couldn't tell if she was truly scared of me, or if she just didn't want me to see she was lying, again.

Then Cayden had to go and open his ironically big mouth about how I take sleeping pills for being tired. Cayden didn't know that I had only taken sleeping pills the one time, and it sure as hell wasn't so I could sleep.

***

"Bubby, are you still mad at me?" Cayden asked later in the night as my door creaked open. I never kept my door closed, because I knew that if he needed me, he wasn't tall enough to get it open. I always kept it cracked so that all he had to do was push.

"I'm not mad at you, munchkin. Come here." Cayden walked over to my bed and I lifted him up.

"Can I sleep in here tonight?" He whined.