The Key To My Heart

Chapter Three

                     Collins POV
                               It was about one o'clock on Saturday, and Leah was still asleep. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty cool having her around, but it was a little weird. I had grilled Devan after she had gone to bed, and he told me what she had gone through. Man, she's had it rough! I've met Kelly Jones, and she never said anything about having a younger sister. Devan and I were in the backyard, and since it was June, he has the genius idea to spray me with the hose. Yeah, it's June. Devan was coming in practically at the end of the school year, but since there were only two weeks left, and he had already passed, they had said ok. So there we were, him completely dry, and I, soaking wet, running around the backyard, yelling. Leah poked her head out a window, laughing and sleepily rubbing her eyes.

      "Nice job, Devan! I think not even Hermoine could've gotten him that wet!" He laughed, and I pretended to glare at her.
     "Now that's not even fair! Using Harry Potter against me?! Come on!" She grinned, and disappeared. A minute later, she was at the back door, in a blue and purple one-piece swimsuit and jean shorts. Devan grinned, turning the hose on her. She shrieked, hiding behind me. I ran back to the patio, and grabbed my little firecracker thingies, setting them off near him. While he was trying to avoid them, Leah got the hose from him.

     "Ha! Got it!" She yelled, running away. He started chasing her, but she sprayed him.
     "Ugh! Stop! I surrender!" He yelled, and she started to stop.
     "No! Don't trust him! He won't really!" I hollered, tossing another firecracker. She sprayed him again, and our mom came out.
     "Alright, Collins. That's enough. I'm okay with the hose, but the firecrackers are a bit much." I turned to give them to her, and something hit me in the back of the head, trickling down my neck and down into the back of my shirt. Leah had turned the hose onto jet, and was spraying the back of my head. Mom was trying not to crack up, and Devan was rolling on the grass, cracking up. Then, she sprayed him again. Then me. Then him. She went back and forth until we were completely and thoroughly soaked. We went back in and changed, and we went down to eat. Dad was grilling hamburgers, and mom had made an apple pie. There was also watermelon, chips, and dip. Then, the doorbell rang.

      "I'll get it!" I hollered, and I opened the door to see my girlfriend, Andi Jacobs, standing there.
      "Andi! Didn't know you were coming." I hugged her, letting her in. She laughed.
      "Well, your brother invited me. I can head back home, if you want me to." I chuckled, shaking my head.
      "Nah. You wanna stay for lunch? My dad's grilling." She smiled.
      "Sounds good to me. Why's your hair soaking wet? Did you shower?" I shook my head.
      "No. That was Devan and Leah." She shot me a confused look.
       "Leah? Who's that?" I held the patio door open for her, and we sat down.
       "A girl my brother has a crush on. Her parents and sister are severely abusive, so she's staying here for a few weeks." Then, Devan, Leah, and mom came out, and Andi smiled at her. They sat down, and dad brought the burgers over. Mom and dad were at either end if the table, and Devan and Leah were across from me and Andi. I had brought my phone out, and other gave Leah and Andi sneaky looks.

      "So, you wanna see something pretty cool? I don't do this often, because it kinds hurts, but...." I pulled out my earbuds and a lifesaver. I rubbed the earbuds against my neck, using my impressive magical abilities to make it appear that they were under the skin. Then, I ate the lifesaver. After a few moments, I pulled the earbuds out, and the lifesaver was on there, and it was whole. Leah stared, wide-eyed at the earbuds, and I grinned at her. Andi pulled the candy off, and promptly ate it.

      "Alright, I've got another. Leah, is there any kind of bug that you don't like?" She shuddered.
      "Spiders. I hate 'em. In elementary school, a boy put a live tarantula in my lunchbox, and took out my food." I pulled out my phone, showed her an app that I had found that helps people get rid of their fear of spiders. I explained it to her, showed her how it works, and then told her to activate the spider herself. She waved her hand over it, saw the rubber spider on the back if her hand, and screamed. She jumped up, shaking her hand to get it off, and nearly smacked Devan in the face.

       "Ahhh!!" I was trying not to laugh, and she finally calmed down.
       "Seriously?! I don't know if I wanna trust you with electronic devices." I chuckled, and Andi smiled.
       "He did that to me as well. Of course, I smacked him for doing it. The rest is history." She sat back down, and I saw Devan's hand move over towards hers. I pretended to drop my earbuds, and when I leaned down to pick them up, I saw his hand intertwined with hers. Later that day, Andi and I were in the backyard, and they were sitting on the patio.

       "I hate to bring this up, but I have a question about Leah. Do you know why she's so skinny? I mean, I've seen thin, but she's a stick. I feel so bad for her, honestly." I put my hand on her knee, gently rubbing it.

        "I don't actually know. I'm guessing it has something to do with her parents. Please don't go talking about this with anyone. If they find out where she is, that would be really bad." She nodded.

         "Got it. I think Devan likes her a little bit." I chuckled.

         "Really? What gave you that idea?" We both laughed, and Devan looked up, shaking his head. I choked back another laugh and grinned at him. Things were pretty good right now. If only they could stay this way forever. But sadly, that just wasn't how things were going to play out.

Author's note- Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to get this up. I've been busy, and haven't had much time to write. Andi Jones, in real life, is Messenger237. The picture up top is Leah. Also, the tricks that Collins did in here are in the video, so watch that please! Hope you guys enjoy! Please vote and comment!