Dishonorable Conduct

Chapter Seventeen

Rosa covered her eyes as the light blinded her. Although she couldn't see who was coming, she could hear their footsteps; she could hear their breathing as they came closer; the sound their shoes against the concrete ricocheting off the walls.

"Rosa? Are you okay?" the soft and familiar voice asked. She slowly uncovered her eyes and stared at her brother. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, a small smile crept across her face.

* * *

Spring 2017

"Order!" the judge shouted to the room. The courtroom grew silent as the defendant walked through to the box.

Latrelle stared at Simon, whose face, once so familiar and easy to read, was now as unreadable as the owner's manual written in Chinese.

Suddenly, Simon looked at Latrelle and smiled, and the boy ground his teeth together.

* * *

Latrelle, Rosa and Kevin stood before the cold slab of stone. Rosa placed the flowers she had picked from the garden in front of the marker before the three of them left.

* * *

Summer 2017

"Don't be a bother to Mom and Dad, go it?" Latrelle said as he threw the last bag into the back of his pick-up. "And listen to everything they say."

"Yeah, yeah. I know," Rosa said, looking down. Latrelle smiled, ruffling his sister's hair.

She's gotten more reliable in the past few months, so they should be okay, he thought, then smiled. I'll need to stop treating her like a kid when I come back.

Latrelle waved as he climbed into his truck and drove down the street. When he got to the intersection, his phone decided to ring, and he answered.

"So, are you ready for college?" Kevin's voice said from the other side.

"Yeah," he replied. He had turned eighteen a few days ago, and had decided that instead of going to college straight away, he would wait until he was eighteen so he could spend more time with Rosa, especially after what happened with Simon. "Are we really in college already? It doesn't feel real."

"I know what you mean. Like we were playing in your backyard just yesterday, then we woke up and are off to college," Kevin said, making Latrelle laugh.