Testing The Waters

Chapter Five

When I finally get the nerve to head back to the kitchen, I'm surprised to find Alex sitting at the counter, calmly eating a cupcake as though he didn't just threaten my entire existence.

"Did you find the bathroom okay?" Mrs. Richard's asks warmly. 

"I did. Thanks."

"We were beginning to think you fell in," Alex murmurs. 

"Alex!" Mrs. Richards looks at him in annoyance before giving me an embarrassed smile. "We didn't think that."

Alex ignores her, grinning evilly into his cupcake. "Please tell me you did a courtesy flush."

Anna covers her mouth to stifle a giggle.

I deserve an award—a freaking Nobel Peace prize—for the amount of self-control I maintain to not punch him again. 

"Alex!" Mrs. Richards admonishes him before laughing nervously. "He's just kidding."

"Of course, I am," Alex says, turning to me. "Care for a cupcake, Babbie? You look hungry." He grins wickedly, his eyes skimming over my body suggestively.

Jerk. Ass. Prick. Dick.

"No, thank you." I say tightly. My eyes shift to the yellowish bruise below his brow, and I narrow my eyes in challenge. "What happened to your eye?" 

I know I'm walking a fine line, seeing I'm the one who gave him that black eye, but when Alex's grin jumps off that smug face of his, I almost high-five myself.

"He got hit by a football!" Mrs. Richards says incredulously. "Can you believe it?"

I knew he was too prideful to admit to anyone that he got hit by a girl. That and he probably doesn't want his mom knowing what actually warranted that black eye. 

"It came out of nowhere," shouts Anna, before looking up at her big brother. "Right Al?"

Alex gives me a dirty look before smiling down at Anna, patting her on the head. "That's right, Bean."

Bean? Like a Lima Bean?

Anna grins up at him, and I'm kind of shocked to see the adoration on her face. It's like watching an angel worship a demon. She turns to me. "Do you want to see my room now? I can show you my penny collection."

"I would love to," I smile, and then remember the penny still in my pocket. I pull it out. "I was hoping you might have room for this in your collection." I look at her mom. "If it's okay with you?"

Mrs. Richards nods. "Of course! Anna, say thank you."

Anna squeals and jumps out of her seat. I hand it to her.

"Thanks," she says, squinting her small face towards the coin, tongue out in curiosity.

"What does it say?" she asks.

"Well, it doesn't really say anything, but it's a picture of the Grand Canyon. Do you know where that is?"

She nods. "Arizona."

A small smile forms on my mouth. "That's right."

Grabbing my hand, she starts pulling me towards the kitchen door. "Let's go put this with my collection."

My smile falters when I look up to find Alex staring at me, brows slightly lowered in... confusion?  There's still annoyance there, but it's muted by something I can quite decipher. Frowning, I turn away and let Anna lead me out of the kitchen. 

I can just make out Mrs. Richards's hushed voice scolding Alex for being so rude to me. I bite my lip and try not to internally gloat... too much.

Anna and I spend the next hour going over her entire penny collection.

It's quite large, and there are pennies scattered all over the carpet of her bedroom where we're seated. There are pennies from just about every state, and some are actually vintage from the 1930's. It's pretty cool but a little overwhelming, if I'm being honest.

Anna is showing me her "favorite" penny—on top of the other 30 that were her favorite before this one—when her partially cracked door pushes open the remainder of the way. Alex is standing there, arms crossed.

"Having fun?" he asks, looking directly at me with eyes full of some unspoken warning.

"Yeah!" Anna says in excitement. "I'm showing Babbie my ENTIRE penny collection!"

Alex snorts, stepping into the room. "I'm sure Babbie loves that. Don't forget about that box of pennies your grammy got for you in that garage sale. They're in your dad's office." He smirks at me.

"Oh yeah!" Anna pops up in excitement and runs out of the room. 

Alex doesn't follow leave with her, so I focus my attention on the dozens of pennies lining the carpet below me. I pick up a random coin, rubbing it between my fingers. I can practically feel Alex's stare burning a hole in the back of my head.

Starting to feel antsy, I glare up at him. "Can I help you?"

He doesn't even hesitate. "Yes. Leave and never come back."

I smile sweetly at him. "Not gonna to happen, Satan."

He grins at the use of his nickname.

"So, you and Anna have different Dads?"

His grin vanishes. "It's none of your business."

"I found it!" Anna proclaims as she enters the room, carrying a decent size box for her size. She drops it by my feet and looks up at Alex. "You want to go through these with us?"

Alex eyes me in contemplation. I'm sure he'd love nothing more than to stay and police every little thing I do with his sister.

Instead, Alex smiles down at her. "Sorry Bean, I can't right now. I just came to check on you." He gives me a long look, and I turn away to hide my eye roll.

Anna makes a pouty face, and I take that as my cue to distract her. Alex doesn't need any encouragement to stay. I tap the box. "Let's see what goodies we find!"

Anna squeals, forgetting all about Alex as she starts unpacking all of the shiny treasures from the box. 

Giving me one final foreboding look of warning, Alex walks out of the room. As soon as he's gone, I release a breath, silently wondering how I'm ever going to survive this.