Masked Risks

Chapter 14

Finals were over and school was out. It was officially summer and I was spending it washing my brother’s jeep in our driveway on a Saturday morning. Not the worst thing, but kind of pathetic when most teens hung out with their friends.

I scrubbed the passenger side of his car with the yellow sponge while Owen worked on the opposite side of the car. I was crouched down, cleaning out the rims. I circled the tire very methodically and quietly, much like how I had been since I left the studio Thursday night. It felt like a lot longer than two days of not talking to my friends. It was going to be a long summer.

Suddenly, I felt the splash of cold water on my back.

“Ah!” I screamed as I stood up and ran around the car as Owen chased me with the hose. “Stop, please!”

He continued to chase me and once the hose stopped stretching around the car, he was able to angle it so that I was still getting sprayed.

“Uncle, uncle!” I cried. “I surrender! Whatever you want to hear, just stop, please!”

Finally he turned off the hose. I stood up hesitantly and picked up the soapy bucket of water next to me and dumped it on him. He covered his face with his hands, which was a long enough of a distraction for me to grab the hose and point it at him.

“Woah, what’s going on over here?” A new voice said from behind me. Instinctively, I turned around, forgetting that I was still holding the hose, which then sprayed our visitor.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Kevin,” I apologized, releasing the hose so that it stopped spraying. It felt really quiet after that.

Kevin looked down at his shirt and pulled it away from his skin. He looked up. “Guess I shouldn’t have worn white today,” he laughed, which relaxed me. I figured he was mad at me, and spraying him with water probably wasn’t the best tactic to make peace again.

“I’m gonna go dry off a bit,” Owen said, walking to the backyard where there was a cabinet full of towels near the pool.

Kevin and I stood across from each other in the driveway in awkward silence. A breeze blew, making me feel a bit chilly. I looked down at my soaked jean shorts and t-shirt, wishing I wore a bathing suit like girls always do when they wash a car to show off for a boy.

“So, um, I came over here to talk to you, about the crew,” Kevin said tentatively.

I sighed. Why else would he be here? But I didn’t want to talk about it.

“I don’t think there’s anything else that needs to be said,” I said tersely.

“There’s a lot that needs to be said,” Kevin argued. “You just left the crew on Thursday and no one has heard from you since.”

“Avery said what was all on your minds. There was no reason for me to talk to any of you,” I felt my voice rising. “I thought you guys were my friends, but I was proved wrong. Did you think I would want to talk to you after that?”

“Because friends fight! The rest of us were letting you guys work it out,” Kevin yelled back.

I crossed my arms, not really knowing what to say. I had come to terms with the fact that Avery was probably right. I’m a bitch who walks around like a princess and takes control of things that aren’t mine to own. I didn’t like to say she was right, but she probably was.

“And then you just went ahead and assumed that the rest of us agreed with her,” he continued since I stayed silent.

“Wouldn’t you have done the same? None of you said anything, even when I gave you the chance before I left,” I fought back.