My Best Friend's Brother

Chapter 16: I'm Here For You

Chapter 16: I'm Here For You

Carter
I finished my homework right as Tommy walks in the room. "Mom says she's done making dinner if we're eating."

I nod. "Alright."

"Do you want to go know or...?"

"We can go," I say, putting everything in my bag. "I was just doing my homework."

He nods and I follow him downstairs. His mom is very nice. She was born in Peru. So she can speak Spanish. She is an amazing cook. She's petite and about as tall as I am. She has dark brown hair that would look black if you were standing at a distance. She smiles at everyone - one of those people that hates to frown.

She smiles at us as we walk inside the kitchen. "Hello, Carter. How are you?"

"I'm good," I say as she hands me a plate. "What about you?"

She sighs. "I'm all right. There's rice, there's beans, and there's a steak. Eat whatever." That's all she says before heading to her room.

I look at Tommy. "She's literally the best."

He chuckles. "Yeah."

We each fill our plates to where the food is almost falling and head in the living room to watch Netflix.

"You know," Tommy says when I shove a spoonful of rice in my mouth. "I've never seen a girl eat so much."

I laugh quietly. "My mom would complain because I ate too little."

He stays silent for a while. I knew what he was going to ask before he said it. "What happened to your parents?"

Suddenly, I wasn't so hungry anymore. Thinking back to that day. My eyes water but I quickly recovered. "I'll tell you later."

He nods slowly. "Sorry."

I shake my head. "Its okay."

We finished eating in silence before taking our stuff to the kitchen. Tommy insists that his mom will wash the dishes before leading me up the stairs. Ryan's room door was open so we decided to crash in.

He looks up from his math book and stares at us for a while. "What are you doing?"

I shrug. "Your door was open. So we walked in."

He lets out a huff. "Stephanie is in the bathroom."

"I want to meet her," I say. "Is she pretty?"

He nods, going back to his work.

"Is she nice?" he shrugs, telling she's probably not.

"Is she..."

"Probably not," Tommy says for me. "She cakes herself with make-up and makes fun of people for no reason. And she likes to pretend she's a victim. So be careful what you say."

Ryan glares at him before shaking his head. "She'll be out in a few minutes."

Right as he says that, she walks in. Like Tommy said, she wears a ton of make-up. But she is sort of pretty. She gives me a once over before sliding in the bed beside Ryan. She whispers something in his ear and he gives her a look.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, a text from Aunt Hellen.

She looks at me with a gleam in her eyes. "You must be Carter."

"Stop," Ryan hisses.

She ignores him. "I talked you your friend Lindy."

I nod, answering her text. "Sounds like fun," I say distractedly.