The Neighborhood Watch

Chapter Seven - The Subtle Art of Crushes

Leo was right. As soon as we had the whole suit on, I wanted to down the entire bottle of vodka and strip, and I didn't even have the jacket on yet.

There was a knock on Leo's door. He threw a pillow over the vodka before answering. "Come in," The door opened and Marrisa and Sabrina walked in, both wearing skirts and heels. Leo bowed to them and smiled. "Good afternoon, ladies, my name is Leopold Price."

Marrisa laughed and curtsied. "Nice to meet you, stranger."

"You both look very dapper." Sabrina smiled at the both of us as I pulled the jacket on to complete the look.

Leo stood straight and looked over her, a concerned look on his face. "For someone who has never drank before, you're handling shots very well."

Liar, my shadow whispered in my ear. She's lying. She has been since the minute you met her.

Marrisa turned to look at me and frowned before Sabrina could answer. "You look like Dad."

I looked down at myself, remembering the one and only night we'd seen our father in a suit. It was for Uncle Henry's funeral, and it had taken our mom hours to get him to wear it.

"Why would I dress up for his funeral?" Marrisa and I sat on the bed while our mom fixed his tie, too young to know the whole story. "He was an asshole, it's not like anyone but Elizabeth is going to be sad he's gone."

Margo clicked her tongue at him. "And that's exactly why we are going. Elizabeth needs you. Even if you hated him, you've told me yourself you like Elizabeth, she was a smart choice for a Darcy." She looked towards her children and sighed. "Besides, don't you want Mika to grow up with a good male role model? Someone who takes care of the people in his life, even after disagreements?"

"It wasn't a disagreement." Hank reminded her. "It was my little brother."

"Yes, and so was Henry."

We all went to the funeral dressed like we had known him well like our father had allowed us to get too attached. I remember that day was the last time I cried in front of him, in front of anyone. The service was over, and we were at Elizabeth and Henry's house for the wake. My aunt brought out to me Henry's favorite weapon, the one we'd trained together with the most; a tomahawk with his initials carved into the handle. He usually double-wielded that small axe with a second, but this one was the important one.

To be given it as his funeral made me upset, but Henry's older brother took the tomahawk from my hands and told me he wouldn't allow his own son to grow up to be a disappointment. He snapped the weapon in half and handed it back to me.

"When you think of your uncle, think of his axe; small and fragile," he told me, smearing my tears away with an angry hand. "And then look away."

"I'm sorry," Marrisa said softly, thinking about that day as well. "I didn't mean to say it."

I pulled the tie over my head and threw it down onto the bed, moving past all of them and out of the room. 

Out in the hallway, I pulled off the blazer and let it fall to the floor. I don't remember starting to run, I just vaguely remember bursting out the house's front doors and running out into the woods, ignoring the men driving our cars up the drive.

The only point I came to a stop, was when I ran straight into Hannah.

"Woah there," she laughed. "You out for another run?" Hannah paused and looked at my clothes, then up at my face. "Hey, Mika, is everything okay?" When I didn't answer, she took my arm and guided me to sit down. "What happened?"