Chapter 20

Jack

“Okay, now hold your hands out," I instructed. "And whatever you do, don't open your eyes."

Melissa did as instructed. One of the things I loved about her was that she was very good at taking instructions. Maybe later I'd play with that a little, but for now, I had something else I wanted to give her.

I pulled the rectangular box from behind my back and placed it onto her outstretched palms.

"Okay, open."

Melissa's eyes flicked open and she looked at the object in her hands. Her lips curved into a smile, but it was a weak one. "You got me paint," she observed.

"I know it's not much..." I scratched the back of my head nervously, self-conscious about her lack of enthusiasm.

"No, baby it's great." Melissa leaned over and pecked me on the cheek. "Thank you. I can't wait to get started on it."

"I just noticed you haven't been drawing much recently and you said you would paint if you had paint… I thought it might help inspire you," I offered.

"I'm sure it will. That's great. Are you all ready to go?"

"Yeah, basically," I answered, trying not to sound as deflated as I felt.

It had taken Melissa over a week to reveal how much she loved art, and only then because I'd stumbled on her doodling on some napkins at work. Apparently, Donnie had done a number on her in that regard, and even though she was talented, he'd always discouraged her from pursuing her passion. Melissa didn't even consider it a passion because she never thought she'd be good enough to do anything with it. She was wrong, of course, and I hoped if I kept encouraging her, it would only be a matter of time before she figured that out for herself.

Maybe I was overstepping my boundaries with the gift. Why was I so useless at shit like this? All I was trying to do was cheer her up a bit since she'd been in a rut for days now. She would deny it if I brought it up, but something was bothering my girl, and nothing I did seemed to help.

Today's outing was an example of me meeting my wit's end in my attempts to cheer her up—the Fall Fair. It was a cheesy date idea, but it was hard to be unhappy when surrounded by laughter and music and screams of joy. Now I was beginning to wonder if I should just call the whole thing quits and suggest a movie marathon instead, but she seemed enthusiastic about it. We spent so much of our time in our room together. We both needed to get out.

I pulled on a shirt and turned to the door, where Melissa was waiting. Someone rapped forcefully on the wood.

I dropped all thoughts of fun and games and strode for the door, putting a possessive arm across Melissa's shoulders to guide her away.

"It could be Donnie," I murmured.

"And you don't think I can deal with him?"

"Of course you can," I said, kissing her on the cheek. "But I'm not taking any chances."

I pulled on the handle, fully expecting to see the smug prick's face. What I got instead was a bushy mane of sandy hair.

"Jack!" my sister squealed, tackling me in a hug.

"Oof." I caught her, spinning her in a circle before setting her back on the ground. "Jeez, way to give a guy a heart attack."

"I'm glad to see you too," she tutted. Her wide hazel eyes swung to Melissa and Sadie grinned. "You must be Melissa! I've heard so much about you!"

"And you must be Sadie," Melissa greeted.

Before she could say anything more, Sadie enveloped her in a friendly hug as well. Melissa clapped her awkwardly on the back and backed out of it a second later.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

Sadie let out a great sigh and pushed her way into the room. "Ugh, you would not believe the week I've had. I swear to god one of my professors is out to kill me with all the homework she assigns. So I thought hey, why not visit my big brother and I can finally meet the mystery girl in his life. And here I am." She finished with a flourish of her hands as she dropped her bag onto the floor. "You're cool if I sleep on your couch, right?"

Fuck. I looked over to Melissa, nervous about how she would take all this. Sadie could be a lot to handle, and she'd just muscled her way into our little life without any warning while Mel was already in a bad mood. This could be disastrous.

Surprisingly enough, Melissa laughed and nodded enthusiastically. "I can't wait to hear all about what Jack was like as a kid! I have this theory that he was secretly a little sweetheart and he's just too tough to admit it."

"Not quite a little sweetheart, but I'm sure I've got a few tales to tickle your funny bone."

"We were actually on our way out," I interrupted before Sadie could reveal anything I couldn't take back. Not that I knew what the devious little thing had up her sleeve. "We're going to the town's Fall Fair if you wanted to come."

"A small-town Fall Fair?" Sadie made a show of cleaning her glasses on her shirt and putting them back on with a determined expression. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, big brother. Not for the freaking world."

"Great, it's settled." Melissa grinned and threaded her arm through mine. “Cannon doesn’t have much of a social calendar, but the fair is the highlight.”

I hadn't seen Melissa in such a buoyant mood all week. I never thought that my saving grace would be my annoying kid sister.

"To the fair!" Sadie declared, thrusting a finger into the air like she was a seasoned general on her final battlefield.

I rolled my eyes. It was going to be an interesting day.

"Sadie, no."

"Um naw a dah."

"What?"

Sadie finished chewing her mouthful of popcorn. "I'm not a dog,” she argued. “You can’t tell me no.”

I folded my arms and looked down at her imperiously. “You’ve already had popcorn and mini donuts. Cotton candy’s just going to make you sick.”

Melissa snickered. “He’s so bossy.”

Sadie turned to her, wide-eyed. “Right? It’s like he thinks he’s the king of everything.” She looked back at me and, with a smug turn of her lips, shoved another handful of popcorn into her mouth.

I glared at her as she chewed.

“I’m in college now, Jack. You wouldn’t believe the kind of shit I get up to, and I won’t tell you because I don’t want you to get your dainty panties in a twist.”

Bits of popcorn flew everywhere while she spoke and I grimaced. “Disgusting.”

“Says the guy who spent years two through twenty-two covered in dirt.”

“I did not.”

She stuck her lip out. “Did too.”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

“Paxtons!” Melissa yelled, getting between us and forcing us apart. She made a great referee. “Everybody relax for a second.”

Sadie and I both burst into laughter. We'd never been able to stay mad at each other for more than a few minutes on the worst of days, and we weren't even really arguing. I missed my sister when she wasn't around, but I was glad to see she was still her normal, bratty self.

“You think they’d teach you not to be so stupid in college,” I said, reaching around Melissa to smack Sadie in the arm.

“And you’d think having a girlfriend would have made you a little more cultured,” she retorted, also reaching around Melissa to smack me in the arm.

Melissa glared up at me. I offered up an expression that I hoped was suitably chastened.

“What are we going to do now?” Sadie asked. “Besides getting me cotton candy, of course. It’s not a proper fair unless I leave with a fatter ass than I came in with.”

I rolled my eyes. Sadie was a curvy girl, always had been, and she’d always been very proud of the size of her rear in particular. I guess it was something she got teased about in middle school, and with true Sadie grace she’d managed to turn that negative experience into a positive one by owning her curves. I had no problem with that. I was proud of how confident she was. I would have a problem, however, with her getting neon-pink vomit all over our tiny bathroom.

“We could hit up the midway,” Melissa suggested. “Maybe afterward we could see about another couple of rides? I’ve been eyeing that Ferris wheel.”

Sadie snorted, and I sent her a warning look but, as she always did, she ignored it.

“You won’t get my brother on a Ferris wheel.”

Melissa cocked her head to the side, eyeing me with interest. “Why not?”

Sadie beamed. “He’s terrified of them. We went on one together when I was what…four? Five?” She looked to me for help, but I merely glared. Sadie laughed and continued. “He was in his teens in any case. And he bawled like a baby the entire time.”

“I did not!”

“Did too!”

I growled with frustration. "I'm not starting this again. And I didn't cry." I caught Melissa's eye. "I was a little bit upset. I don't like heights, and I'd never been on a Ferris wheel before."

Melissa's expression melted into pure goodness, and she took my hand. "That's okay. Everybody is afraid of something." She tossed a saucy wink to Sadie. "We can hold your hand and get you through it."

I jerked my hand away, and the two girls descended into giggles, Sadie spilling popcorn everywhere. Much as I didn't appreciate the teasing, and I would get Melissa back for it later, I loved seeing them get on the way they did. They were the two most important women in my life, and them being friends could only be a good thing.

We headed toward the midway, and I had to drag Sadie back in line when she bobbed off to get some cotton candy.

"If you want some you can get it later," I reasoned.

She pouted, but she knew I was right and let me guide her away.

My phone rang, and I looked at the screen, ready to ignore it. I saw it was my boss, however, and stopped the girls so I could answer it before we reached the chaos of the midway.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Jack, it’s Neil.”

Neil did not sound happy.

"Hey, Neil, what's up?"

"Looks like some vandals got onto the job site sometime last night or today, I don't know. Anyway, the place is a fucking mess. There's spray paint, busted walls, and they fuckin' TP'd the place." He sighed. "Think you could come around and help me clean it up? I can't leave it like this."

The girls were watching me expectantly, and it broke my heart, but I couldn't leave Neil in a bind. He'd been good to me so far when he had no reason to, and I wanted to be the best worker I could be.

“Sure. I’ll be there in twenty.”

"Great. Thanks, kid."

I hung up the phone and ran a hand through my hair, wincing. "I've gotta go into work."

“What happened?”

I relayed what Neil had told me, and the girls were horrified.

“That sucks balls,” Sadie said. She turned to Melissa. “Do you want to stay at the fair for a bit longer? No reason we have to leave just because Jack’s gotta go be a hero.”

Melissa looked at me, then back to Sadie. “I don’t see any reason why not.” She fished in her pockets and pulled out her car keys, passing them to me. “You can borrow my car. It’s not a far walk back from here.”

I was hesitant to accept. I didn't like the idea of the pair of them walking home in the dark without me, but they weren't children. I grabbed the keys, kissed Melissa, and hit the road.