You Don't Know..What you Don't Know

Chapter Six: Summer

I slept terribly.

Every time I drifted off, I saw the football field.

The shouting.

The blood.

The look on Steve's face.

By morning, I felt like I'd spent the entire night running.

I headed downstairs hoping to gather information without actually asking questions.

Yiayia was exactly where I expected her to be.

Standing at the stove.

Cooking enough food to feed a small army.

"Good morning, Yiayia."

She smiled over her shoulder.

"Good morning, Dear. Sleep well?"

That answered one question.

Nobody had called in the middle of the night.

Nobody had shown up at the door.

Nobody had gone to jail.

At least not that she knew about.

"Fine," I lied. "Can I have some coffee?"

"You are too young for coffee."

"You tell me that every day."

"And every day you ignore me."

I grinned and poured myself a cup.

A few minutes later, I sent Steve a text.

You alive?

His reply came back almost immediately.

All good.

That was it.

Two words.

No explanation.

No details.

No apology for nearly causing me a nervous breakdown.

Typical Steve.

I decided then and there that if nobody else was worried, I wasn't going to worry either.

The city could keep its secrets.

I preferred my bubble.

The problem was that my stress level remained somewhere around eleven.

I wasn't used to sneaking around.

I wasn't used to lying.

And I definitely wasn't used to planning my day around avoiding my cousins.

By the time I walked over to Aunt Sophia's house, I still hadn't figured out a plan.

Fortunately, fate decided to help.

The boys were gathered around the breakfast table when I arrived.

Nick looked up from his cereal.

"James, Steve, Mike, John, and I are going to the mall today. You want to come?"

I nearly choked.

Seriously?

Just like that?

An entire day without cousins hovering over me?

I forced myself not to look too excited.

"Mall with a bunch of boys?"

I wrinkled my nose.

"No thanks."