Rules of a Rebel

Chapter 18: Never Lend a Helping Hand

Rule #16: Never Lend a Helping Hand

If anything, we're a pain in the ass.

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"Okay, listen here, you little bitch," I point my finger at her. "I have given you shelter, saved your ungrateful hide from being run over by an Audi and fed you for the past three weeks. So, why don't you show some appreciation and let me pet you?"

Lucky, unperturbed by my lecturing, ducks away from my hand and darts to the opposite corner of the porch. Her yellow eyes follow me, as if I'm one of the toy mice she likes to play with.

I narrow my eyes.

"Now you're just making fun of me."

She purrs and flicks her tail.

For the third time today, I reach out to pet her. And for the third time today, she evades me. I nearly scream in frustration. How am I supposed to take her somewhere if she won't let me touch her? Lucky meows and sprints around my feet. Even my size, I still can't manage to land finger on her fur.

In the end, Lucky hops over the railing, lands on sand and totters away, unharmed. I hop over the railing too, but instead end up face-planting the sand. The cat's gone in a few seconds.

"Damn it."

I bury my face in the sand and stay there like the failure I am.

"Peyton?" Mom's voice calls quietly from behind me.

"Yes?" I tilt my head slightly so I can talk without getting a mouthful of dirt. Mom stands in front of me with crossed arms. She's wearing her best dress today, because our annoying aunt and her pesky daughters are coming home for the family reunion.

"What are you doing?"

"Moping."

She sighs. "Again?"

"Well, what else is there to do now?" I whine. "Now that Irene, Jake and Andrew have left me, my life is gray and dark and empty and dull."

Let's not mention the fact that I just spoke to them this morning.

"Why don't you go do something productive?"

"I tried. But Peter says I work too much at the shelter and that I really need to take a day off."

"I'm not talking about the shelter, Peyton. I'm talking about helping James and Archer with that tree house they're building."

Oh. Right.

The treehouse.

The same tree house that I got stuck in a week ago. Yeah. I've pretty much avoided that for the last week or so. I'd probably end up doing something worse, like actually falling out of the tree.

Mom isn't the slight bit interested in me helping out. She's just trying to get me closer to Archer again. But I decide that this is the perfect excuse to get away from Aunt Sue and meddling daughters, who are coming today for the family reunion.

"Fine." I push myself up and brush the sand off my face.

Mom's nosy eyes follow me all the way to Archer's backyard.

Julia, Archer's sister, is galloping around her horse around it when I arrive. She stops once to let me stroke her horse's mane and then, sprints away again.

I walk over to the treehouse. The base is almost done. Dad says they're finishing the final touches on it today. I examine the rope ladder to make sure it's study, then pull myself up. When I reach upstairs, I don't see dad. Instead, there's only Mr. Raine and James.