SETH
"Quick! You have to hide!" Emily started pushing me off the bed.
"Are you crazy?!" I whisper shrieked at her, "This is my room. If I hide, and he finds you here, you're going to look suspicious. You need to hide."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"Ruth, are you there?" Cale called out from the other side. "If you don't open the door, I'm going to open it with the spare key I've got. I'll count to ten."
I pulled on my jeans hastily, and zipped it. Emily slid on her underwear and picked up her robe lying on the chaise.
"Nine...Eight...Seven."
"Where should I hide?" She mouthed to me.
I opened the closet and pushed her inside, closing the door on her face.
"Six."
"Give me one second." I called out.
"Ruth, why do you sound like a dude?"
I was about to open the door when I noticed Emily's bra lying on the floor. I picked it up and tossed it beneath the bed. I ran my hand through my hair, and went to open the door.
As soon as I opened the door, Cale frowned.
Cale Vázquez was not only Emily's older brother but he'd been the former captain of the Hockey team. He was only a few inches taller than me, familiar dark eyes and had the same Hispanic mix complexion as Emily. He wore a t-shirt that said 'Fuck you'
Literally. Fuck you for interrupting us, man.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my room?" He asked me, straight-up. "Where the fuck's Ruth?"
If I wasn't as big and intimidating looking as him, I would have shat in my pants. But that's the point, I had a reputation for being intimidating.
God knows, I'd probably brew up more trouble in one year than this guy ever did his entire life.
"She's my mother and she's being hospitalized, but I'm sure you already know that. Diego...I mean, your father allowed me to take her place as the temporary housekeeper."
"He never told me anything." Cale said, fixing me with a hard stare.
I wasn't sure what to say. I had a nagging suspicion he was going to throw me out.
"Whatever dude. Have you seen Emily? I saw her car parked outside but she's not answering the door or her phone."
"I don't know. Maybe she's sleeping." I feigned innocence.
From the side of the open doors that blocked his view, I saw Emily sneaking out of the closet and walking to the window. She opened it slowly and jumped out of it. She'd probably made a run for the house.
"I'll try calling her if you want." I suggested.
"Don't bother." He said, "do you have a spare key to the house?"
"Yeah. I'll get it for you. Just give me a sec." I padded back into the room and pretended to waste time by looking into places that didn't actually have the key. I wanted Emily to have enough time to get inside the house. "I'm sure it's here somewhere."
"Dude, can you make it faster?"
I turned to the other drawers, wasting some more time. I was getting on his nerves for sure.
Until...
He noticed the hooks on the wall and grabbed the house key. "Got it. It's here."
Before I could say anything to distract him further, he was already out of the door and heading towards the house.
Fuck my life!
*~*
EMILY
I'd managed to make a dash for the house and hastily put on my robe, making my way upstairs when the sound of the door opening stopped me.
I was at the foot of stairs when I saw Cale's head peeking through the foyer. He looked haggard, not the same goofy brother I knew. He’d lost weight and it didn’t seem like he was in his element at all. He’d dropped out of college recently and had taken money from dad to start his own business which wasn’t doing well. I wasn’t sure what he’d done with the cars he had. He would sell his soul to the devil but not the cars. My brother had too much pride for his own good.
"I rang the doorbell and called your phone like ten times. Didn't you hear anything?" He asked.
"I'm doing fine, Cale, how have you been?"
He rubbed his temple. "Okay, I'm sorry. I just needed to get some stuff."
Reluctantly, I descended the stairs.
"And why wasn't I told that some dude is now living in my studio? Dad didn't bother informing me, and neither did you. I remember giving the space to Ruth, specifically, not her bratty son."
I rolled my eyes.
"He's not a brat." I said defensively, "Seth is a sweet guy. And since he's a live-in replacement housekeeper, it makes sense he would take Ruth's accommodation while she's away."
"Teenage boys are not sweet." Cale muttered before storming towards the kitchen, forcing me to follow him. He opened the refrigerator and started putting food into the back-pack that he was carrying.
"What are you doing?"
"Raiding the fridge. What does it look like to you?" He asked, dropping a six pack of beer, an unopened carton of chocolate milk, cheese and a slab of meat inside.
Dad blocked his cards.
Again.
"What did you do, Cale?"
I noticed how he dragged his leg, not bothering about the slight limp any longer. He used to try his best to hide it before, but the way he carried himself now proved he didn't care anymore.
"He looked familiar." He said ignoring my question searching for more stuff to steal, "What was his name you said?"
"Seth. He goes to my school and he's new captain of the hockey team, that's probably how you know him. Don't change the subject. What did you do to piss off dad?"
"Stay out of my business, Em." He had that same warning tone he always used with me.
"Where are you staying?"
"The same apartment." He said, zipping up the bag and walked past me, making his way upstairs.
I followed right behind him. He unlocked his old bedroom and started ruffling through his stuff. He got hold of some expensive things like his watches and bracelets, and sun-glasses. He dropped everything in the bag.
When Cale's eyes met mine, I saw guilt within them. "It's been rough." Then he quickly averted his gaze.
"Do you need some money?"
"No. I have enough to get by. Plus I'll be selling all this soon."
"I can talk to dad. I'm sure he'll understand."
He gave out a humorless laugh, "I can fight my own battles, sister. You don't need to do that for me too."
"I just wanted to help."
"I owe someone twelve grand. Think daddy would help me with that?" His tone had turned sardonic.
We both knew the answer to that.
No, dad wouldn't help him. Not in a million years.
"I thought so." He muttered, “And what the hell was he thinking? Leaving you alone in a house with that guy?"
"Seth’s not living in this house. The studio is outside." I retorted.
"It is still a part of this house, smartass." He argued back. “I know his type of guys, okay?”
“And what’s his type? Pray tell.”
“Jock, athletic type, swarmed with girls twenty-four-seven. Never the type to get into a serious relationship but always down for casual hook-ups.”
I laughed, “Don’t you fall into the same category? I don’t recall how many times I’ve seen you breaking hearts.”
He looked defeated. “Look, you’re my sister so I have to protect you from boys like him. He’s a predator, and he’s going to try his best to chase after you. I don’t need to give you an explanation as to why. You’re smart enough to understand.”
“You don’t need to worry about him. Like I said, he’s a decent guy.”
He was calling on my bullshit. I think somehow he saw a mirror of a younger version of himself in Seth. Boys usually picked up the vibe from their own caliber.
He stood at the foyer, "Can I have a bottle of water?"
"Sure." I retreated back into the kitchen and pulled out bottled water.
When I came out of the kitchen, Seth was standing with Cale in the foyer. Both were staring at each other, neither of them saying a word. It looked like a macho show-down.
Cale looked between Seth and me, pinning him with a hard stare. “I don’t want you anywhere near my sister’s bedroom, do you understand?”
“Of course.” Seth said without missing a beat.
Cale said he didn’t want Seth anywhere near my bedroom, but he never mentioned anything about me going into his. I tried not to laugh at the irony of it.
He actually did the ‘my eyes are on you’ gesture before walking out of the house. “See you around, Em.”
I reached for my Dior handbag that was sitting on the cabinet and pulled out my wallet. A hundred dollars were missing.
“He stole from your wallet, didn’t he?” Seth asked me.
“It’s okay. He’ll give me the money back eventually.”
Seth had the soft look in his eyes again, sort of dreamy, and if I didn’t know better, I would have thought he was in love with me.
“You’re a good person, Emily.”
“I’m far from perfect.” I laughed.
The back of his fingers grazed my cheek, “No one wants you to be perfect. You’re amazing this way.”
I was glad he hadn’t asked me anything about Cale, I didn’t want to talk about his screw-ups or what led to the limp in his leg.
“What do you want for dinner?”
“Ramen.” I said the first thing that came into my mouth. I realized Seth was trying to defuse the situation. “I’ll help.”
He smirked, “We were so close to getting caught. That’s kinda the thrill, right?”
I laughed, “My dad would have been so angry.”
He caught my wrist and pulled my body towards him. I could feel the muscular ridges beneath the shirt he was wearing. “It’s your birthday in three weeks.”
I knew where he was getting at.
“Don’t think your dad or your brother can stop me after that.” He said in a sultry low voice which was teasing yet held the promise.
“We don’t have to wait until then.” I protested.
“But I want to. I promise, if not the fanciest, it’s going to be one of the best birthday’s you’ve ever had.”