Rachael

“What do you mean you lied to the cops about the accident? Dad’s going to flip when the guy gets a hold of you and sues him.” I pressed my hand to my head. My brother was a complete screw-up. Every other day it was something. This was going to be big if he didn’t spill the beans.

“The guy had a Mercedes, he probably wouldn’t even notice if they charged his insurance for the repairs,” he argued his position. I wondered if I could continue to support my kids if they turned out just like Teddy. He was refusing to accept being an adult and my mother was too compassionate to let my father give him some tough love.

“Dad is going to lose it. You’re so going to be in trouble,” I warned him. My dad loved my mother, but he had a breaking point and Teddy was pressing on that crack.

“Hey, don’t say anything, Rach. You know Dad’s already pissed about the whole bad investment deal I made him take. I thought the guy was legit. How was I to know the guy was a crook?”

“You told Dad you went to school with the guy’s son which was another lie. You met the guy when you were on drugs,” I reminded him. It was Dad’s fault as much as it was Teddy’s. Common sense should have told him to look into the person before jumping into a major investment scheme. 

“Why the fuck are you such a little shit head? It was just some pot. Grow the fuck up,” he complained, jabbing me in my arm.

“Look who’s calling the kettle black. Do you mind getting out of here? I’m trying to study,” I asked, ready to kick him in the nards. He was a total dick sometimes. I missed the big brother who wasn’t a stoner. He missed the hippy days by a couple of years, but he didn’t let that slow him down. His hair was long and puffy like his favorite band, Def Leppard. Another thing we had no longer in common. I was a pop princess. I loved Culture Club. The only thing we had in common was our love of jean jackets.

“What for? You’re going to be rich anyway. Dad is leaving you tons of money when he dies,” he informed me.

“Seriously, he’s not going to die for a long time. What am I going to do in the meantime?” I had finals this week. Then school was over for the winter break and it was important that I get a good test score so I didn’t get put on academic probation. This class was my hardest. College freaking sucked and was harder than I thought it would be.

“Live here and mooch off them.”

“What is with you, bro? You’re like acting stupid again. Just leave me alone,” I told my twenty-five-year-old brother.

“You’re the stupid one. That’s why studying is pointless for you. That’s why Dad has to invest for you because he knows you’ll never be smart enough.” That was a dick move and I had enough.

“You’re a dipshit. Piss it.” I got up and walked out of the room. I knew I wasn’t a genius, but I managed to do just fine. Dad was doing it for all of us. It wasn’t his fault that he had a bunch of flunkies. None of us were super smart and my brother was a total slacker. He’d already been to juvie and now he was an adult, next crime was regular jail. I wished he’d get his shit together. It was really depressing that my brother was a straight up loser of his own making. My dad worked his rear off to give us the good life and Teddy had no intentions of learning that work ethic. 

I was in college at the moment, but I didn’t want to be. However, I wouldn’t let my dad down and turn out like my brother who refused to get help.

The house phone rang as I walked into the hallway, so I picked it up, forgetting to calm down my anger at Teddy. “Carrigan residence,” I answered with annoyance.

“Hello, sunshine,” the man on the other end mocked. “I’m looking for Mr. Carrigan,” the deep voice that could melt butter said.

“Um, sorry. Who should I tell him is calling?” I asked him.

“Tell him it’s Richard Kane.”

“Yes, sir,” I whispered, feeling strangely overwhelmed by his voice alone. That was seriously weird. Duran, Duran’s Hungry Like the Wolf popped into my head. A pleasant shiver ran down my arms as I replayed the song in my head.

I set down the receiver, then I walked over to Dad’s office lost in the lyrics, and thinking about the stranger on the line. I tapped on the door and walked in. “Daddy, a Richard Kane is on the line for you.”

“Oh yes, I left him a message to see if we could move the dinner to an hour later. Give me one minute,” he answered, lifting his head from the papers in front of him.

I picked up the receiver and added, “Mr. Kane, my dad will be with you in one minute.”

“Yes, that’ll work perfectly for me, Ms. Carrigan.”

“My name is Rachael,” I replied. I don’t know why it mattered, but I had to tell him that.

“Well, Rachael, I look forward to seeing you…um…your family at dinner,” he told me.

“I can’t wait. Bye,” I replied.

“Bye, Rachael.” Oh goodness, I had to get dressed in something totally pretty. I ran upstairs and started to look through my closet. Why was it that when you are looking for something, you can’t find it?

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t you know how to knock?” I asked my older sister.

“You ran up here like a bat out of hell. I thought something happened.”

“Nothing happened. Just trying to get some time alone from Teddy. He’s being a jerk again.”

“Well, he just left, so who knows when he’ll be back. I think Dad hopes it’s after the investment broker guy leaves, but you know Teddy.”

“Yes, he’ll probably be drunk or stoned when he gets back.”

“Yep. Thankfully this guy has nothing to do with the family and it doesn’t matter when it comes to the investments.”

“That’s for sure. Now if you’ll excuse me, I want to study some more before I have to help Mom with dinner.”

“Okay. Good luck.” She left my room, giving me a raised brow and curious stare. Hopefully, no one else noticed my behavior.