Cute New Kid | Emerson Barett | Palaye Royale

Fourteen

Song of the chapter: Curiosity Kills, by Til Death Do We Part.

Emerson. Dating. Sage. Baby. Mom. Those are the five words that crowd my minds as I lay quietly in bed trying my best to fall asleep.

I give up after two hours. I quietly tip toe down the stairs careful not to wake anyone up.

I quickly make myself a cup of hot chocolate as I get into the kitchen. I sit down on a stool at the island and drink my hot chocolate in silence.

I take small sips of my drink until my mind is clear and I feel better.

I grab my phone out of my pocket and start scrolling through Instagram until I get a notification that someone texted me from an unknown number.

I open up my messages and read the text.

Meet me at the high school. 1:30 am.

I check to see if I recognize the number but it doesn't ring a bell. I look at the time and it says 1:12.

I grab my jacket off the rack and quickly slip it on before slowly opening up the door and slipping out the house.

As I walk to the school I think of who could of sent the text.

Colton? Emerson? Declan? Sage?

I make it to the school and sit on the bleachers as I wait for whoever sent the message to arrive. I check my phone for the time when something pops up in my head.

How did whoever sent this message know that I was awake. I shake the thought out of my head when I hear someone walk up behind the bleachers.

I stand up quickly and see someone standing in the shadows.

"Hello," I say and the person steps out into the light of the street light.

I gasp. The person is familiar. Almost too familiar. I take a step forward then stop.

"Cade? Why . . . Why are you here?" I ask the familiar figure of my twin brother and he shrugs.

"I missed my sister, what can I say,"  he says with a cheesy grin.

I almost reply with a witty remark then change my mind.

"Oh my gosh, Cade I missed you a whole fuckin lot," I say running up to my twin and engulfing him in a huge hug.

Cade wraps his arms around me and my eyes start to tear up.

I suddenly pull away from Cade and punch him in the jaw. He gasps and puts his hand up to his jaw and rubs it but smiles at me.

"Yeah, I guess I should explain," he says rubbing the back of his neck and I nod my head.

"Mhm you owe me that after you go to a friend's house then not return till five years later you asshole."

"Oh. You still think I went to a friend's house," he says and I throw my arms in the air.

"Obviously, that's what you, mom, and dad told me."

"Oh. I never went to Kyle's house, Kieran."

"Well, then where did you go!?!?"

"To a party," he says quietly and I throw my hands up in frustration for the second time of the night.

"Oh, so you lied to me too? Why is everyone lying to me?! And I suppose mom and dad knew?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter. I suppose you want to know where I was?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do," I say mad that first Cade left, then dad left, then Sage left. And my mom lied to me.

"Well I went to the party and got super drunk. I went home and dad got super pissed that I was drunk. He kicked out so I went to kyle's house. Dad texted me the next day that I could come back. But I didn't want to. We got in a huge fight and he said I could never go back. I told Kyle what happened so I stayed at his house for a couple of nights then one night I snuck into my room and took all of the money I had saved up. I went to Texas and moved in with grandma and gramps, making them promise not to tell anyone I was there. Finally a couple of days ago they convinced me to come back,"

"Do you not know?" I ask and he looks confused.

"Know what?"

"About dad."

"What about dad?"

"You really don't know?"

"Know what? Are you going to tell me?"

"Cade, dad. He's . . . Cade, dad died two weeks after you left," I say and Cade's face falls.

"No . . . no he can't be," Cade says shaking his head and I feel tears start to fall down my face.

"Yup. And two days after that Sage left."

"What do you mean Sage left?"

"I thought she left because of dad but I learned just tonight that mom kicked her out because she was pregnant," I tell Cade and he looks surprised.

"So three people left you in the span of three weeks. Oh my gosh Kieran I'm so sorry."

"Yeah. Sage came back two weeks ago."

"Oh. What about her baby?"

"She gave her up for adoption."

"Oh. Kieran I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I left you,"

"Why is everyone apologising for something that's not their fault?!?!" I yell and Cade looks surprised.

"I-I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. Let's just go back to our house," I say.

"I don't know. What would mom say?"

"Who cares what mom says?" I say and with that we both start to walk back to our house not saying anything. Just enjoying the fact that we are with each other.