Free

Chapter 2

It'd been a week since Brodie last visited. Marie was coming home tomorrow. Great... Another reminder of how crappy a person I am. I sighed and pulled my bedsheets over my head; putting my headphones in and blasting sad music to cry to. As I sobbed, the memories of my old life came rushing back to me. When I was five years old, Dad had taken me to the lake as a little treat for getting a good report card at the end of the school year. We'd been a few meters away from shore and were on an inflatable, waterproof mattress. He'd gone underwater and flipped me off of it, catching me before I could sink. I was playfully pissed at him for the rest of the day, but he took me to get pizza to make up for it. When I was seven, Mom, Marie and I went camping. We saw a snake and started freaking out, but it turned out to be an incredibly wiggly twig; That was fun. When Brodie first showed up, he used to be friendly. He showed up when I was about 11 years old. As thanks for "letting him into the family", he took us to the Grove for a movie and burgers. I wished he'd stayed that way... As my memories flashed through my mind, I heard faint footsteps near my bed. I ignored them and closed my eyes, letting my tears violently flow down my cheeks. I felt a hand on my shoulder through the sheets but it wasn't mom's. This hand was bigger, sturdier. Dad?! I sat up almost immediately; taking my headphones out. I gasped as – instead of Dad – I saw Brodie. His face was friendly this time, though. Welcoming. I narrowed my eyes on him. How'd he get in my room?.. We stared at each other for a long moment until he finally broke the silence.

"Listen, Jackie. I know I've been a pretty big a-hole to you and your sister," He began.

"Whoa.. Really? I didn't notice!" I spat back sarcastically, trying to figure out why he was being so nice compared to last week.

"Hah... I just wanted to apologize. I really want to be a part of this family. I don't want you to hate me. I guess I'm just one of those dumbass late 20-year-olds, huh?" He laughed, his smile friendly but showed hints of sadness.

I nodded, bringing my knees up to my chest and curling myself into a ball. We talked for a little while and it seemed like we actually had a lot in common! I didn't fall for it right away, though. Some jokes he made went a little too far, so I'd say: "Too soon, man." He'd nod understandingly every time. Was Brodie actually a nice person? I wasn't sure, but I guessed I'd find out with time. When he left, he told me he left some snacks on the kitchen counter for my stash. I only gave him a crooked smile as he gently shut my door. When I heard it click into place, I laid back down and sighed. Maybe things are finally coming up Jackie... I thought, staring at the ceiling. Kind of stupid of me to think Dad was going to visit me instead of vice versa, though. He's probably somewhere on the other side of the world by now. I sat back up and got off my bed; opening my door just a crack. I saw Mom and Brodie chatting at the kitchen table. He wasn't kidding when he told me about the snacks. They sat on the counter, still packed in grocery bags. Deciding I'd try to be funny, I pulled my hood over my head and the hem of the hoodie over my knees, disabling my ability to walk normally. I waddled over to the counter and climbed "Tarzan Style" up onto one of the chairs. Mom spotted me and looked away with a snort. Seeing this, Brodie gave a confused chuckle.

"What's so funny, Love?" He asked, not having noticed me yet.

Mom didn't give me away just yet. She only continued laughing until he finally turned around and began dying of euphoria as well. I made my voice as demonic as possible and hissed out a phrase from Lord of The Rings.

"MY PRECIOUS!" I blurted out, stroking one of the grocery bags.

Mom and Brodie calmed down a bit and helped me off the chair. I fixed my hoodie and stood up smiling. Mom's face contorted into a shocked frown. Brodie looked at her with concerned eyes and asked what was wrong. 

"They've never smiled like that before..." She muttered.

I shrugged and gave her a hug. As I did so, I playfully kicked Brodie aside. He hissed out a playful: "Hey!" and laughed. I let go of the hug and gave Brodie a firm handshake despite his fingers stinging my cuts. I tried with all my might not to wince so I wouldn't be suspicious. I grabbed the bags and ran to my room; kicking the door shut. I unpacked everything and saw the snacks were all my favorites. Wow... He really went all out, didn't he? I giggled and stuffed them all into a box in the corner of my room a foot beside my bed. I shut the lid and opened my window. To my surprise, my best friend Aiden was about to throw pebbles at me. I ducked below the window sill before they could, and we laughed. I waved down to them and signaled for them to wait a second. They showed me a thumbs up and I went back into the kitchen. "Mom, Brodie, I'm heading out with Aiden for the day. Don't ask why I'm going out the window. It's just fun."

"Alright sweetie! Have fun." Mom smiled.

"Who's Aiden? What... DO YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT?!" Brodie panicked; I watched him freak out and laughed at him.

"No, they're my best friend. You'll meet 'em someday, man! See you both soon!" I waved; jogging back into my room.

"Are we clear?" Aiden called from the sidewalk.

"Affirmative!" I yelled back.

Hopping out the window, I climbed down the white bricks of the house. My foot slipped when I was almost at the bottom, but Aiden caught me by the waist and set me down. I giggled at the sudden touch and hugged them. Aiden smiled and hugged me back, swaying me lightly. They grabbed my hand and took me to our favorite place. The abandoned playground near Acorn Road. It was where we used to play as kids. We used to find cool bugs and weird-looking animals. We'd play tag around the swings and write weird and goofy songs together. I remembered one of them being about how we found a half-blind squirrel that decided a pebble was a nut. Weird, but it's cute! We sat on the swings and talked about our childhood together for around half an hour. Then, we found a dead bird and decided to bury it and make a funeral for it. We even invited Brodie and Mom and they agreed. We all dressed in black and did the whole procedure. I stepped up to the "stand" first.

"I didn't know him too well, but Sir Birdlington was a good bird. He had a family and kids. A stable job collecting sticks for their nest. He was a great guy. Rest in peace, Sir Birdlington."

Everyone clapped and fake cried. After that, Mom and Brodie decided to head back home and left waving at us. We smiled and waved back, running into the small forest we grew with our 3rd grade class. We ran through the trees, giggling and joking, climbing up some of them and picking apples from their branches. Aiden took a bite and spit it out as soon as he felt a meal worm inside.

"BLEGH! Why?! Ew..." They blurted out, throwing the apple 10 meters away from them.

I laughed loudly and called them a coward(I would've swallowed the worm, but I won't lie it would've been with a face of disgust). We started reminding each other of stories about us eating the strangest things. Back in 3rd grade, I ripped a handful of grass out from the ground and ate it. It tasted horrible, but I was playing a horse in a make-believe game and I was committed to the role. A teacher yelled at me, of course, but I didn't mind. When Aiden and I were about 6 years old, they found a quarter and stuck it up their nose. Then, they found a whole column of pencil graphite and ate it. They said it had a nice "cronch". We'd talked for hours until the sun was barely visible. I took my phone out and noticed Mom had texted me asking when I'd be home. Aiden and I had agreed that we'd go to one more place and come home. I told Mom that and she replied with an "Ok". I figured she'd probably relayed the message to Brodie. Aiden and I went to our favorite boba shop and got random flavors that were on the menu. While walking home we had a little heart to heart. It'd been quite a while since a conversation I had had gotten that deep. It was nice to have someone to talk to besides Mom. She already had too many problems on her hands. Aiden dropped me off at home and went on their way back to their own.

"Don't die on me, Loser!"

"Not if you don't die on me, Idiot!"

We waved at each other and the meet-up ended. I came through the front door smiling. Glancing at my cup of boba, I took a quick sip. I coughed, almost having choked on one of the tapioca bubbles. When I walked into the living room, Brodie was relaxed on the loveseat; all dressed up in a suit. I raised an eyebrow and looked at the TV. "Friends" was on! I watched it with him quietly. Subconsciously, I spoke.

"You clean up nice. Going somewhere with mom?" I questioned, not taking my eyes off the TV.

"Yeah. Asked her out for the first time in — like — forever." He sighed, lazily shifting his tie.

I nodded a little and pushed myself off the door frame, walking to my room. I kicked off my converse' and shut my door. Looking out the window, I fell into a daze. The sky was a beautiful purple and the stars were starting to shimmer into view. I opened my window and took a few pictures. I had a lot of pictures of the sky in my camera roll. It was something I enjoyed doing other than drawing. Just capturing moments where nature is at its finest. I sighed through my nose and shut my window so mosquitoes wouldn't get in. Plopping down on my bed, I stared at my ceiling for a little while before turning on my galaxy light. Fabricated stars and swirls of color coated my room. Peace... I thought and closed my eyes. Things were finally turning around. Next was to see what would happen once Marie came home.

"Good luck, Jackie..." I whispered to myself and let my thoughts whisk me away.