Noah Silas Anderson

Chapter Thirty-six: "Big, bad brother on board"

I woke up this morning feel like shit. My body ached and I sneezed a million times before I even ate breakfast.

I skipped my workout and decided to spend the day being lazy until I had to work late at night.

Just as went to bite into my turkey bacon, someone knocked on the door. I assumed it was Gael since no one else ever came to visit.

To my surprise, it was Brooklyn. She said a shy, "hey," and waited for me to let her in. It was weird, us not saying the usual "hey boy/hey girl."

For the first time ever around a girl, I was flustered. I didn't know what to do with myself. I scanned the messy living room, hoping she didn't think I was living like a bum.

I tried to sit and act as casual as possible, but she's smart and probably saw right through it.

"I just want to talk," she squeaked, toying with her fingers. It was hard for Brooklyn to make eye contact and she spoke kind of sheepish, like she didn't like - or wasn't used to - confrontation.

I swallowed, waiting for her to go on.

"I'm sorry I came onto you like that last night; it was wrong. I don't know what I was thinking, but it shouldn't have happened," she faltered, sighing at the end.

Damn, I felt bad hearing her say that. This is all my fault, but I didn't know she would think either of us should be embarrassed by it.

"Brooks, don't be sorry. It was great - really great. But, it's not you, it's me-"

Brooklyn cut me off and flailed her arms, pacing through the living room. "Great, now you hit me with cliches. It's because I'm easy, isn't it?" she asked so innocently, I almost went "aw" at the disheartened tone of her naturally fruity (deep or strong in a pleasant way) voice. Brooklyn hung her head and sulked away like she blamed herself and I couldn't let her do that.

"No, Brooks. What I mean is, it's my fault and I'm not mad at you; you didn't do anything wrong. And you're not easy. Plus, trust me, knowing what you want isn't a bad thing. In fact," I started to smile, "it turned me on. Don't... beat yourself up, Brooklyn, you're perfect."

I was too busy rubbing my eye to notice the grateful look on Brooklyn's bare face. "What?" I asked, oblivious.

Brooklyn grinned and let her hand fall off of the doorknob. "I didn't know you thought so highly of me," she beamed.

Then what I said hit me and I physically facepalmed. "Shit, I didn't - I didn't mean to sound so corny. I don't know why I said that-"

"Sure, I believe you. Well, that's all I came to say, I'll let you get back to living like a hermit," she joked, referring to the mess I made in the living room. I laughed, walking her to the door. She turned right into my chest and smiled small.

I appreciated her wild hair that she probably didn't brush, yet, and the way it curled at the dark roots.
As bad as I wanted to say what was on my mind, that's she's beautiful, I didn't. I couldn't. Where would that lead? No way that will end up working in either of our favor.

"See ya, boy," she said, hugging my body. That's new...

I said, "See ya, girl," quietly in response.

Brooklyn smiled and I watched her walk down the hall to her apartment where she looked over her shoulder and saw me still staring. She waved gently and then went inside, and I did the same.

The back door to my Hummer slammed shut once Emereigh and all of her things were inside.

Kim waved from the sidewalk with her new boyfriend's kids at her side.

"I can't thank you enough for all the help, Noah," Kim said to me. I just rolled my eyes at her.

I can't stand Kim, Rick's third wife. How is she going to thank me for my "help" ... when it's HER kid? Me taking Emereigh shouldn't be a favor.

*

Back at my place, I tossed my lanyard in the bowl by the door and walked straight to the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, the kid just stood by the wall with all this shit in her hands like she was expecting me to wait on her. She's six, she can manage.

"What?" I questioned, chugging some Powerade.

I didn't say anything and neither did she. For someone who can talk, she rarely chooses to.

I tossed my head back and groaned. "Emereigh, I'm Noah," I spoke slowly so she'd understand.

She dropped the clothes from her hands and said, "I know. You're my brother." I almost cringed.

"I'm your half-brother, and I'm going to be taking care of you until Rick - I mean Dad - gets back from vacation," I explained. As much as I despised Rick at the moment, I didn't want Emereigh calling him by his name, too.

Her head shook and I looked at her funny for it. Emereigh glanced around the room and simply said, "He's not on vacation. He's in rehab."

I stopped myself from laughing and followed her to the window in the living room. Scratching the stubble that went down my neck, I asked her, "How do you know what rehab is?"

"Mom told me. Why don't you like Rick?" She asked in this Disney Princess voice of hers.

"Why do you have so many sweaters?" I asked, my eyes darting to the two sweaters she dropped on my floor.

"My mom makes them and sells them at her store. Why are you so tall?"

The longer we went back and forth, the closer in each other's faces we got.

"Why are you so annoying?" I questioned childishly.

"Why don't you make me something to eat?"

"No. You don't come in here and make demands," I spat, walking back to the kitchen. She folded the little arms across her small chest and glared at me as I ate some goldfish.

"You," I whistled, "come." Emereigh skipped over and looked up at the pantry I alluded to. "These are my snacks, okay? You don't touch Noah's snacks. Follow me," I ordered.

Except, she didn't move. I sucked my teeth. "What now, Emereigh?"

"I'm tired," she complained with closed eyes.

I inhaled deeply and in a rush, scooped her up to give the grand tour. Because I wanted to attempt to get to know the kid, I wanted her to spend some time with me before I handed her over to Cassie.

"This is my hallway. This is my closet. This is my kitchen, and that's my living room. Got it?" I asked and she nodded on my hip.

I lunged to the guest bathroom. We stood in the mirror by the door. "This is the bathroom you'll use, and this is the light. Flick it," I said to Emereigh.

When she turned it on and off, I slapped her hand and said, "Don't touch my light." Emereigh just laughed as I walked to the second bedroom.

"And this," I exhaled, putting her down, "is where you'll stay. Good night."

"But-" I closed the door before she could finish what she had to say.

That was easy enough, I thought with satisfaction.

*

Later in the day, I was making a sandwich when Emereigh came out of the room after a nap.

"Can I eat now?" She sassed, struggling to climb up on the stool.

"Eat what?"

She blinked her big green eyes at me and threw her arms up. "I don't know, food!"

Yikes. We probably really are related, huh?

"Listen here, Em-er-eigh," I said and paused. She squinted her eyes like she meant business and I put the butter knife down.

Suddenly, Brooklyn walked in just in time to hear the end of my sentence where I said, "I don't like you that much." Note to self: start locking my door.

"Noah!" Brooklyn gasped, "why are you talking to her like that? Oh, is this your sister?"

I texted Brooks to come and meet Emereigh, hoping she could level with her because I needed help.

I just nodded to answer her question and bit into my turkey sandwich.

"She's so beautiful," Brooks cried.

"The word you're looking for is evil. And needy," I commented.

"Noah is mad because I'm Rick's favorite," Emereigh boasted.

"Listen here, you little-"

"NOAH!" Brooklyn gritted again. She gave me a threatening look and then inched towards Em. "You can't approach kids like that," she told me.

Brooklyn sat beside Emereigh on the stools and tried smiling. "Hi, I'm Brooklyn-"

Emereigh hissed at Brooklyn so I sprayed her with a water bottle I had on hand.

Brooklyn cut her eyes at me in shock. "Noah, she's not a dog!"

"No, she's a cat. Obviously," I returned, still eating my sandwich.

"I like cats!" Emereigh exclaimed. Both she and Brooklyn looked at me.

"I hate cats," I grumbled and they both sighed. The girls rotated their chairs to face each other and carried their own conversation.

"I'm Emereigh," my little sister spoke.

"I'm-"

"Brooklyn. I remember you just said it."

Brooklyn made a face with a tight mouth and mumbled, "I was just trying to be polite."

Then, Brooks returned to their talk. "Anywayyyy. You're really pretty, I like your hair. And eyes."

"Are you Noah's wife?" asked Emereigh.

"Fuck no," Brooklyn scoffed with no hesitation. In unison, Emereigh and I tilted our head and blinked at her.

"Now, honey, that's not language we should use around the kid," I said to Brooks who then softly apologized.

"She has a name, Noah," Brooklyn told me, making my eyes roll.

"Do you want to play, or something?" Brooklyn asked Em.

Emereigh dramatically sighed and put her chin in the palm of her little hand. "No thank you," she said politely, "I just really want to eat." Yup, she's definitely my sister.

"Awwww!" Brooklyn cooed, swooning over the six-year-old, but I was not impressed. "Noah, feed her," she said, nudging me.

"All I have is junk food, meat, and protein shakes. Her mom said she's a vegetarian now," I let out.

"Why is the six-year-old a vegetarian?" Brooklyn whispered to me.

"I don't fucking know," I groaned, leaning over the island.

"Emereigh, you want pizza?" asked Brooks to which Em nodded her head and filled with excitement.

"Of course you do, let's go get some pizza," Brooklyn chanted, "on No-ee!"

***

The three of us took up a booth while waiting for Cassie and Gael to show up since I texted them to join us.

Emereigh sat on the other side and played Tic-tac-toe against Brooklyn.

We were at some tacky off-brand Chuck-E-Cheese type place where all the kids, and some adults, ran wild - Emereigh's choice. I definitely made Brooklyn drive us in her Porsche, though, it's nice.

My phone, face up on the table, went off with a few back to back ding's. Brooklyn instinctively looked down at it but glanced away quickly, shrugging it off, by and returned to coloring.

I pulled the toothpick from between my teeth and read the screen. It was just Sky, apologizing like I knew she would.
She sent three different texts:

Can we not fight?

Amber left because she thinks I'm cheating. I could use the stress relief...

I'm sorry okay🙄

Sky had nothing to be sorry for, really. I'm the asshole, but I wasn't going to admit that.

I replied:

😂 ok?

And locked my phone.

"Look, Noah," Emereigh squealed, waving her paper in my face, "it's a picture of me, you, and Rick. And that's his medicine in the corner because he can't live without it." The smile on my face quickly went away and Brooklyn cleared her throat, not knowing what to say or think.

"Can I go play now?" Emereigh asked after another bite of the cheese pizza. I nodded and handed her the cup of tokens so she could go crazy for a while.

Brooklyn rubbed her neck and looked at me.

"I told you she's different," I huffed.

Brooklyn disagreed and pointed out my sister making a friend that fast. "She's a normal little girl. Do you want to tell me about your dad - his 'medicine'?"

"I told you already he's a crackhead," I mumbled, pushing the tray of pizza from my area.

"You shouldn't talk about him like that-"

"Please. He's a crackhead, that's it. He's in rehab now - sixty day program. And Cassie's gonna take care of her for a while. Any more questions?"

"You're basically like a Dad now," Brooklyn said. "And Cassie's, like, her mom."

I sat back and sucked my teeth. "No. I'm her brother, then dot dot dot, Cassie's her babysitter. Temporarily."

"Relax," Brooklyn slurped her drink, "I wasn't making it a bad thing, it's cute. I'm glad Cassie agreed."

I eased up knowing she wasn't about to get jealous again.

"Noah, are you mad that I didn't say yes to watching her?"

My eyebrows furrowed at Brooklyn's question. "It's a lot to ask someone - especially a 'stranger' like you said. But Cassie wanted to do this, she told me she wants to be a teacher, so this will be good for her, we think."

Brooklyn just nodded and tucked the fallen hair behind her ear. "Sorry for asking, it was dumb," she whispered and went back to coloring just as Gael walked up on us.

I sat up, trying to make sure it didn't look like we were on a date. Although, with Gael and Cassie joining I'm sure it'll look like a double date. Fuck.
Then again, we were told to watch the girls, and that's what we're doing, right? Why can't we eat while doing our job? Loopholes.

"Hey, Harlem," Gael said playfully as he slid in the booth to claim the window seat.

Brooklyn said, "Hey, Gail," and laughed. "Where's Cassie? You didn't bring her?"

"You invited Cassie?" Gael laughed. "Not sure that was a good idea."

"Why?" asked Cassie who suddenly appeared over his shoulder.

Gael looked at her and said, "You know why." But Brooklyn and I shared the same look of confusion.

"Hey, Brook," Cassie spoke, taking a seat before she addressed Gael and I. "I see you boys found your natural habitat."

Gael and I started playfully roasting her and the table all laughed together.

Gael asked Cassie, "How's your ankle?"

"It stings," she replied, "but it's not as bad as I thought. I barely remember what happened, but thank you."

Gael's head nodded. "You're good. I hope you don't make a habit of getting drunk and calling me at four."

"Fuck off," I heard Cassie say, rolling her eyes before redirecting to Brooks.

Cassie finally noticed my little sister and gasped. "Oh, is that Emereigh?! She's seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen, she's perfect."

"She is not all that," I snarled with jealousy. I see everyone is obsessed with this kid already, not knowing how bad she is.

My arm went behind Brooklyn's head and she subtly inched in closer to my body.

"So, how'd you end up with babysitting duty?" Gael asked Cassie.

Cassie questioned Gael. "How do you know that? Noah told you already?" When he nodded to confirm, she went on to say, "Her situation reminds me of mine and I didn't feel right saying no."
Cassie saying yes was a real blessing, though, I owe her big time.

Cassie went on. "Besides, I want to be a teacher and who doesn't like kids?"

Brooklyn and I both stayed silent. The answer: we don't.
I can't stand kids, they take too long to finish a simple story, they have to lift their whole shirts to put something in their pockets, they let their noses run, and they're BAD!

Tired of talking about children, I changed the subject. "Gael, what's up with your photography? What, you haven't been anywhere new lately or something?" I inquired.
Gael's amazing with the camera - any camera - he's always had the gift and decided to take it seriously.

"Haven't been feeling it lately," he answered. "Got to find new spots."

"I'm sure Cassie would like to see those new spots," I quietly joked.

"Actually, I would," she agreed, "but in the same way you would because nothing is happening."

I looked at Gael who didn't react. I knew he wanted Cassie and probably had a plan to win her over so he didn't need to object or rush into getting any.

"I'm sure half the club has seen your spot," Cassie came back with another zinger, making Brooklyn and Gael laugh.

Touché. I couldn't even argue with that.

"Anyway," Brooklyn chimed, changing the subject, "Gael, I'd love it if you could get some shots of me. At my game. That you guys can go to. This weekend, and every weekend!" She emphasized so they'd get the hint to attended one of her games.

"You have a game this weekend?" Gael asked.

Brooklyn nodded and said, "Every weekend."

"Wait, what's wrong with my pictures?" I huffed.

"They're all blurry, you miss the shot, or it's zoomed in on someone's ass." She claimed, swirling the straw in her glass.

"That's not true," I argued, "they're never blurry." But it was true that I missed some shots because I was too busy focusing on other things.

"I'll come to your game," Cassie said then Gael vocally agreed. Cassie looked dead, I assumed it was from a hangover. These girls never learn.

"Is she good, Noah?" asked Gael, teasing Brooklyn.

"Fuck no, she's horrible!" I lied, wanting to get a rise out of Brooks. She dropped her jaw and hit my chest, making me laugh.

"Am not," she argued confidently.

"No, she's really good, actually," I had to admit.

After a while, Emereigh came back to tell us she was feeling sick and ready to go.

*

"You okay, comfortable?" I asked Emereigh.

"Could-"

I stopped her with my groan, annoyed after a long day of catering to her. "No, Em! I've read you books, we watched Sofia The First, I checked the closet for monsters, and my stomach hurts from the finger sandwiches you made for the tea party. What else could you possibly want?"

She cuddled with her teddy bear and pouted. "I'm sorry, No-ee," she purred, closing her eyes tight.

I hesitated to exit the room and flicked the lights off, cueing the pixie string lights behind the bed. She insisted I bought them earlier and hang them as a night light since she's afraid of the dark.

"Good night, Emereigh," I sighed, reaching for the door knob.

"No-ee, can you stay with me until I fall asleep?" asked Emereigh.

"Um, yeah," I agreed shakily. I sat on the edge of the bed and she wrapped her little hand around my pointer finger.
Em puckered her lips and wiggled under the covers until she was comfortable enough to doze off.