The Cell Phone Swap

Chapter 8 iHave a Bad Feeling

"Zach," Keeley whispered as she nudged his lifeless arm. "Zach!" she hissed. Her brother slept like the dead after he drank. Nothing short of a tornado could wake him up. She grabbed a bottle of water off his desk and poured a small stream over his face.

"Ahhhh!" he screamed. Zach bolted up and looked around wildly, trying to discover what happened. Water was dribbling down his face and his brown hair was pointed in all different directions, making him look like a rabid animal. He wiped his face and glared at his twin sister who was perched on the edge of his bed, smiling like a Cheshire cat. "What the hell, Keels?" he asked her angrily.

"We gotta get the car from Laura's house," she reminded him. Even though their parents were okay with Zach occasionally attending parties, they didn't approve of his excessive drinking. If they saw a car missing from the driveway, they would know that he had drank so much he couldn't drive. To avoid their parents' wrath, Zach and Keeley would sneak out early the next morning and drive the cars back before their parents woke up.

"Ugh," he groaned and slumped forward, head planting into his covers. "Can we not?"

"You're already in trouble with Mom and Dad as it is. Let's not push it." Keeley grabbed both his hands and started dragging him off the bed. "Come on," she grunted.

"Fine. Fine," Zach grumbled and got out of bed. His eyes glinted when he saw the open water bottle on his nightstand. Before Keeley could react, he grabbed the bottle and doused his twin with the rest of the contents. Laughing at her shocked expression, he shoved his twin out of the room and locked the door before she could retaliate. "Meet you at the car in five sis," he said over her cursing. He chuckled when he heard her stomp back to her room and hiss at Tucker, "Stop licking my face! You have a perfectly good water bowl in the kitchen!"

Five minutes later, they were in the car and driving to Laura's house.

"Hey, what was with you last night?" Zach asked her, while pulling out his phone.

Keeley took her eyes off the road for a second and gave him a puzzled glance. "What do you mean?" She had been her normal, perky, slightly sarcastic self.

"When I texted you last night, asking when you were going to pick me up, you said," Zach scrolled through his phone and read off the screen, "and I quote, 'Man up and get your own ride home. Or do you not have any balls because my feminist ways shriveled them up?'"

Keeley rolled her eyes. God, could Talon get any more annoying? "Ignore him. He's an ass," Keeley replied.

Zach's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Whose him?" he demanded.

"Just some jerk who has my phone," Keeley responded in an offhanded manner as she concentrated on driving. At those words, Zach's posture stiffened and his eyes went hard. Out of the corner of her eye, Keeley saw his demeanor shift toward big brother mode so she quickly added, "I accidently swapped cell phones with him at the fair. I should have it back by Saturday."

Zach crossed his arms over his chest. "Who is this guy? Do you know him?"

Keeley shook her head. "No. Never met him. He says his name is Talon." Keeley looked over at Zach to see if he recognized the name but Zach's face remained blank.

"Never heard of him," Zach said with a disapproving frown on his face.

Keeley thought it was odd since Talon played football. Zach knew almost every opponent's name and stats. It was what made him such a great QB and captain.Maybe Talon was on the junior varsity team. Zach had played varsity his whole high school career. In an effort to distract Zach from getting super protective, she commented, "I heard the football team is going to be great this year."