We just cuddled in his room until his parents came home around five o’clock. I slept for part of the time, and I was asleep when his dad arrived.
“When did she show up?” I woke up to James, Arrakis’s dad, asking him calmly.
“Around noon,” Arrakis told him slyly, while I pretended to still be asleep.
“How did she get here?” He questioned.
I faked a yawn and sat up. “I got kicked out of the house. I had a friend of mine, Shantel, drive me down here. I called my parents earlier and they told me to stay here in Astoria and that I wasn’t welcome home.” I looked down, trying to be depressed-looking. “I’m still figuring out where I’m going to live. My cousin doesn’t have room.” I spoke smoothly, weaving lie after lie together, mixing in little truths here and there.
James thought for a minute. “Raven – that’s your name, right?” I nodded. “How old are you?”
“I turned sixteen yesterday.”
James pondered a thought. “I guess you could stay with us for a while. Jessica, my daughter, is gone for the rest of the summer. You can stay in her room.” He stopped. “How much stuff do you have?”
I looked down at the floor. “I have nothing. Everything I had is two hundred-fifty miles away now. I might have Shantel or Melissa send me some of my favorite things, but that’s it.”
H nodded his head. “I guess Jessica’s stuff isn’t the kind of things you’d wear, so we might have to make a shopping trip to Portland soon.”
I was shocked. “You’d do that for me? I… I mean… I have nothing that I could possibly repay you with…”
“There’s no need. You’ll start school next year with Arrakis, here. You can just repay us by being a part of the family.”
“Thank you, Mr. Etemir. I’ve very grateful for your help.”
Arrakis smiled. “Yeah. Thanks, Dad.”
James grinned. “Raven, you can just call me James or Dad. I don’t care which. We’ll go to Portland tomorrow. It’s Wednesday and I have the day off.”
“Okay.” I thanked him again and then he went downstairs to talk to Mary, my new mom.
“Wow.” Arrakis said suddenly.
“What?”
“I thought my parents would freak out and kick you to the curb.”
I chuckled. “Well, maybe I’m just too cute to say ‘no’ to.”
He sighed and laughed. “Ain’t that the truth.” I elbowed him and I lay back down on the bed. He lay down next to me, and I passed out again in his arms.
