Denial

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Serenity

As I got dressed, I thought about everything Rae had told me earlier today. She was definitely going through something serious, but she refuses to talk about it. It's frustrating, but I have to get her to trust me enough to confide in me. Maybe if I open up to her more about myself, she'll open up to me even more. It's obvious she has a pretty bad relationship with her family, and it somehow started before Mr. Farley and Junior joined the family.

There was a knock at my door and then it swung open to reveal the broad grin of Gideon. "Hiya, Rennie! Dad wants to know what you'll be up to tonight. He and mom have an officers' dinner to go to and I got nowhere to go."

"Tell him you can go out with me."

"Okay!" he squealed in excitement. He raced out and I could hear him charging down the stairs.

Chuckling, I pulled on a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a black polo that hugged all of my curves while showing just a bit of cleavage.

Grabbing my phone, I jogged down the stairs to find my parents dressed and ready to go. Dad was in his Dress Blues while mom was wearing a midnight blue gown that sparkled in the light whenever she moved.

"You two be home before midnight, understand?" dad asked in his deep, booming voice.

"Yes, dad." We answered.

"Have a great time. Use protection." I teased.

Mom turned a deep shade of pink, waving me off in amusement before pulling dad out the door before he could respond with something dirty.

A few minutes after they left, there was a knock at the door. Before I could get to it, Gideon screamed he got it and ripped the door open.

"Hello, Joseph." he said politely. For some reason, Gideon doesn't really like Junior. He's a great guy and always tries to include him in everything we do, but Gideon doesn't really care for him.

"Hey, Gideon. How's it going, man?" He reached out and ruffled his mop of light brown hair.

"Good, I guess." he grunted, fixing his hair.

Hurrying over, I planted a quick kiss to Junior's cheek. "Hey, Junior."

"Hey, babe. You ready to go?" he asked, his eyes glowing with affection.

"Yes. Is it okay if Gideon tags along? My parents had this dinner to attend and---"

"It's all good. Of course he can come." he interjected.

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked back out of the house. Once we were all settled and buckled in to his car, he drove off. "Hey, I noticed the dogs didn't attack me this time."

"Oh yeah. I locked them in my room before my parents left."

"Oh ok. Hey, Gideon? How's school going, little man?"

Gideon subtly rolled his eyes before answering. "It's fine. Boring as usual."

"Boring?!" Junior exclaimed. "Elementary school was some of the best years of my life. You still get recess, dude! Enjoy it while you can. Once you go to middle school, it's just one classroom after another."

Gideon made a noncommittal sound from the back of the car just as we pulled up to his house. It was a two story, single home, the color of burnt sienna. There were five windows, two on the first floor and three on the second. The yard was of decent size, surrounded by a chain-link fence. We got out of the Cruze after Junior parked it next to the F-150.