SHIFTED.✔

54

My weekend dragged on and on. Katie had gone camping with Chris. Mum and Dad both had to work on Saturday. I concentrated on my homework and assignments. Kerry rang late Saturday afternoon and asked if I'd baby sit Matty that night because they wanted to go to one of the night clubs. She drove over to get me around six o'clock. I hadn't seen her since Sunday night. She smirked as we got in the car.

"What?"

Kerry jerked her head. "How's things?"

I frowned and grinned back at her. "Things are good." She kept smiling.

I said, "What?"

"You seem happier. Did the hot guy finally notice you?" Kerry looked over her shoulder to check the traffic.

"He might have," I said and couldn't help but laugh.

Kerry's mouth dropped open. "Charlie don't keep it to yourself." She rolled her eyes and chuckled when she saw the look on my face. "Geeze...I hate that about you. You're always so secretive." I laughed some more as she emphasized the word. "Well..?"

"We're talking." I grinned. "He might have told me he likes me," I added and tried to look uninterested.

She shook her head and chuckled. "You're such a bitch. He either told you or he hasn't. Spill, Charlie."

"Okay..." I said slowly with a big grin on my face. "We're going together. He asked me last weekend."

Kerry's mouth dropped wider than the first time. "Were you going to tell me about this?"

"I don't want Mum to know. Okay." I pointed my finger sternly at her. "So don't you tell her. I'll do that when I'm ready."

She looked at me as if to say 'who me' then said curiously, "So why aren't you out somewhere with him tonight?"

"It's a bit complicated." I grimaced. "We only get to see each other in the mornings and at school."

"What do you mean in the mornings?" Kerry gave me a worried look as she pulled into her car park and turned off the engine. "I think you and I need to talk."

I couldn't see what the problem was so casually said, "He's almost eighteen and has a car so he's been picking me up and taking me to school."

"Does he come to the house?"

I nodded.

Kerry peered at me. "Charlie you better not let Mum and Dad know. Maybe you should meet him down the street."

I thought this was a really dumb idea. As I got out of the car I said, "We wouldn't get any time on our own together if we did that."

Kerry closed her door and walked around to my side of the car. "So you've been letting him go inside."

"Yeah," I said and shrugged in question at her reaction. After all Kerry had done worse than this so I didn't get her.

"You know Mrs. Nosey Parker from across the road will have every visit documented," Kerry said as we walked to the unit together. "She'll eventually find a way to tell Mum and Dad."

I bit on my lip. She had a point. I didn't want to give up any time I had with Keean. When we got to the door of the unit Kerry added, "Maybe you should bring him here in the afternoons."

I turned up my face and tilted my head. "Like I said it's a bit complicated."

Kerry looked at me curiously as she slid open the door. "Charlie you and I are going to talk about this tomorrow morning. I don't want you getting into trouble over a boy. It sounds to me like he might be spinning you some bullshit."

"Kerry it's okay. He's being honest with me. There's a legitimate reason."

She looked doubtfully at me. "Well you won't mind telling me all about it in the morning then will you."

I went to protest but she held up her hand. She was acting so much like Mum that I almost laughed so I clamped my lips together.

Matty was a good boy to look after. I fed him his dinner then bathed him. He played with some blocks on the lounge room floor while I watched the TV then he crawled up on my lap. He grumbled a bit and rubbed his eyes so I went and got him a bottle. Matty fell asleep in my arms. I put him in his cot then made a bed for myself on the couch. I fell asleep while watching the Saturday night movie and woke up when Mathew and Kerry came home. It was around two o'clock. Kerry was having trouble manoeuvring Mathew into the unit because he was drunk. I got up to help her. He was so funny because he kept trying to kiss her. When we got him into the bedroom he pulled her onto the bed with him. Kerry got herself free of his hold and started to remove his shoes.

"I love you babe," he slurred. Kerry laughed and looked at me.

"He is going to be so sorry in the morning." She chuckled again. "I've never seen him this drunk."

"Do you want me to get him a bucket?" I asked.

She nodded and then called out to me as I left the room. "A bottle of water too."

By the time I got back to the room she had removed his shoes, jeans and shirt and was tucking him under the blankets. I went back to the couch with Kerry following.

"How was Matty?"

"Yeah, really good. He's so easy to look after."

She put the kettle on and went in to check on both Matty and Mathew once more. "You want a coffee?" she asked as she came back into the room.

"I guess. If you're having one."

She sat down on the couch with me and handed me the cup. "So tell me about this guy?" I screwed up my nose. Kerry looked at me sternly. "Come on, Charlie what's his name?"

She wasn't going to give up. I resigned myself to the fact I'd have to tell her the whole story. "His name's Keean Crone," I said then went on to tell her almost everything from the first day I'd met him to yesterday's goodbye. I told her about the detention centre, his curfew and youth worker.

Kerry sighed when I finished. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Charlie. If he's been in that kind of trouble, he might just be trouble?"

Her reaction disappointed me but I realised if it was the other way around I'd be saying exactly the same thing to her. "Please don't tell anyone, Kerry. Not even Mathew. I don't want anyone to judge him because of it." I sighed. "He's a really good student and wants to be a doctor. If you met him then you'd know straight away. You'd be able to tell straight away."

She must have seen the stress on my face and touched my cheek. "Don't worry I won't tell anyone, but I want to meet him."

"I don't know how."

"What if he picks you up from here on Monday morning? You can sleep over."

I shook my head. "I can't get in touch with him to change it. I could ask him to come on Tuesday though."

Kerry finished the last of her coffee and thought it was a good idea. "Okay," she said. "Mathew starts work at seven thirty. What time does he pick you up?"

"Around eight."

"Perfect." She got up. "I'm going to hit the sack."

"You can sleep in if you want I'll get up with Matty in the morning," I said.

"That'd be great, Charlie and I promise I won't say anything to anyone."

"Thanks, Kerry," I said and grinned. She was the best sister a girl could have.

Copyright © 2017 by Donna Fieldhouse. All rights reserved.

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