Season Five
Brooklyn Noelle Brankovich

Chapter Forty-two: "Chlorine dreams"

"Hey, Mom," I spoke on the phone after picking up on the second ring.

"Hey, you sound... happier?" She noticed.

I giggled, sniffing the flowers centered on my counter. "I feel happier, Mom. Sorry about last night, I was just being dramatic," I let her know.

Noah telling me last night that he was going on a date, was just the cherry on top. I felt as if I'd been discarded just that fast; first at the club, then to my new friends.
I had to understand that Cassie has another responsibility right now and I can't force her to jump into best friendship with me.
Gael is Gael.
And Noah has a lot on his plate and he just wanted what was best for me, even if that was hard for me to understand at the time. Well, he's just hard to understand overall, but we're getting there.

"Brooklyn, when you left I did some self-evaluation and started seeing my therapist. One thing she told me about you, is that your feelings are valid. So, maybe you weren't being dramatic," my mom said.

"Mom, I don't like this new you. Are you- have you been drinking again?"

She laughed. "No, honey, it's medicinal marijuana. Medicinal," she repeated.

Well, I might as well tell her I've dabbled, too, I thought.
"I smoked," I blurted, kind of excited to admit it.

"You did what?!" She roared, getting angry like the tiger-parent she is.

"Nothing, nevermind," I quickly retracted my statement, covering my mouth.

Mother sighed and started a light laugh. "We're coming to visit in a month, Brooklyn - or whenever your dad can get off again."

"That's fine, Mom. I'll see you then. Say hi to Sutton and Mel for me! Tell Dad I asked for him," I talked, getting ready to hang up.

"I love you, darling. Kisses!"

"Love you, too, bye."

*

There was a knock. I ran over in my big fluffy sneaker-slippers and glared through the peephole only to see Noah standing there.

"What's this?! Gimme, gimme, gimme!" I exclaimed, snatching the box of donuts from his hands. "I love Dunkin, please tell me there's lemon-filled in here."

"There's lemon-filled in there," he replied dryly.

I opened the box and frowned, seeing that there was no such thing. "You lie," I scoffed.

He chuckled and snatched the half-dozen from me. "That's because they're not for you, they're for Emereigh. Me and Gael are gonna pick her up from daycare and hang out, do whatever she wants today."

"Aw, look at you being nice to your sister for once. Loving the improvement," I teased him. I licked the icing from my fingers and walked around the counter to grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"What are you doing today?" he asked me.

"I don't have practice today, so I'm going to-" my own phone cut me off. It was a call, from Will.

"Ugh," I sounded in annoyance and silenced the ringer.

"What was I saying? Oh, yeah-" I asked out loud, scratching my head. An interruption in the form of my phone's screen lighting up stopped me from talking again.

"You're pretty popular today," Noah griped, leaning over my counter.

I rolled my eyes, pulling up our message thread. "It's just Will again. I'm surprised he waited so long to call, though, it's been a while."

"Were you expecting him to? I thought you didn't like this guy, why do you care if he calls you?"

With my eyes glued to the keyboard, I said, "It's not about him calling me, I don't want him to call me. I just was worried when he stopped is all."

"You worry about the wrong things," Noah told me.

I pressed 'send' and locked my phone. "What were we talking about?"

"What. Are. You. Doing. Today?" He enunciated, palming my head. I laughed, my eyes rolling back, and got dizzy.

Spinning away, I said, "The pool, Cassie and I are going to the pool!"

"You didn't ask me to go to the pool," Noah commented, popping one of the green grapes in his mouth that I had just washed and put in a glass bowl before the conversation with my mother on the phone.

"You're on brother duty," I taunted, snatching the bowl away so I could eat some fruit, too.

"Eh. I'll see you later?" Noah asked, walking out.

I followed him to the door and swallowed. "I'm sure you'll find a way to."

"What a beautiful day!" I gawked, striding through the gate. Cassie giggled and soaked up the sun as we found an area to claim.

The Weather App said it was about eighty degrees, and that's what it felt like, but with a constant breeze that was refreshing to the skin.

There weren't many others around, but a few. A family of three sat around the pool. The little boy, probably four-years-old, splashed in the shallow end, demanding his plump mother in her polka dot one piece look at him. She faked her excitement and cheered him on, encouraging him to show his father, too, but the large man in the lawn chair didn't seem too concerned. He sunbathed and enjoyed strawberry ice cream on a waffle cone.

I shook my head in disappointment seeing them pay such little attention to their young child. Like, why have kids if you're so unhappy and emotionally disconnected? That's why I didn't want any; they say (for girls, and sane with boys and their fathers) you turn out just like your mother, and mine had a funny way of showing her love during my childhood up until recently.

I rolled out my towel over the chair and asked Cassie, "How's Emereigh?"

"She's an amazing kid. Keeps me on my feet," she replied, smiling. I could tell she meant it by the way her eyes lit up just thinking about Emereigh. I wish I had that passion, but six-year-olds are not my speed. I've always just thought of them as snotty brats, mostly because I didn't have many cousins and I was only surrounded by older people my whole life.

"I don't know how you do it, but you have a big heart, I'll give you that - and patience!"

Cassie stared off in thought. "I don't know," she shrugged her glistening shoulders, "but it works. Just happy I can help somehow."

As I checked the notifications in my phone, I caught Cassie stepping out of her flip-flops before she removed the sheer black cover-up, and I paused to admire her thin frame in the black two piece. She was a looker, that's for sure.

"Cassie, you look great!" I enthused, grinning respectfully as she smoothly took a seat beside me.

"Thanks," she smiled with closed lips, adjusting her strapless top, "So do you. I love your bathing suit."

"This old thing?" I joked, modeling it with a 360 twirl.

My body was lathered in sunscreen because my tan naturally gets too dark. I wore my hair out, an anklet, and like Cassie, little to no makeup.

I finally sat down, and inhaled deeply, taking in the much needed vitamin D.
When I turned my neck to my right and opened my squinted eyes, I noticed Cassie with a hesitant look.

"How are you feeling about the work situation and Zane?" she asked me what was on her mind.

I adjusted my position so I could talk to her. Talk of Zane made me mad all over again, but I learned to shake it off - at work, that is.

"The guy's an asshole," I spat, "I was two seconds away from quitting! It's like, yeah it's my fault, but he didn't have to do us like that. I just feel bad for Venus, you know? That was pretty embarrassing." Cassie nodded her head in agreement. I'm sure she thought it was just as embarrassing to watch and didn't imagine I'd end up in some shit like that. I just liked that she didn't judge me or cut me off, though.

"Yeah, I thought the whole thing was kind of messed up. He could've addressed you guys in private but he is an asshole. He got in my face about my personal life and it made me feel... weird. Did she get fired?"

"Yeah, and apparently that was him being generous. What did he say to you?" I was eager to know if Zane crossed the line with her as well. However, I noticed Cassie's eyes go blank like I hit a nerve.

"Uh, he asked if I was adopted," she started to tell me in her soft, seraphic voice.

"What?!" I quickly remarked as she went on.

"-which I don't understand how that is any of his business," Cassie concluded.

"What the fuck?" I scoffed, rotating on my back. I shook my head and added, "That's because it's not his business, you should've told him to fuck off. Ugh, I'm getting mad just thinking about him. It's our day off, let's just try and relax." I squeezed Cassie's arm to get her to smile and eventually she did.

I shut my eyes under the sun for a couple of minutes but sat up when I noticed how quiet Cassie got. My eyes blinked apart and I saw her smiling at her phone.

Before I even asked, she said excitedly, "The boys are on their way with Emmy!" There was this cute, girlish smile across her plump, moisturized lips. Sure she's happy to see Emereigh, but I think Gael coming, too, had something to do with that sprung look on her bronzed face.

"So," I popped my lips, propping myself up with my elbow to face Cassie, "what part of that text made you smile: Emereigh or Gael?"

Pushing her phone away, Cassie acted coy like she had no idea what I was talking about. "I didn't smile! What are you talking about?"

"Noooo," I squealed with anticipation, "Cassie, you smiled! Have you guys done anything, yet? You can tell me."

Blushing, Cassie bashfully looked away and exclaimed, "No!" She then glanced back at me, and said, "I keep coming onto him when I'm not sober, but he's not as bad as I made him out to be. You?"

My mouth twisted. "I'm going to be completely honest, Cass... I'm super easy with him," I laughed, "and I hate myself for it! But we can never finish, and it's driving me IN-SANE!"

Cassie covered her mouth to laugh as a reaction. "Aren't you worried about the policy? I would think you would be after what happened? But I mean, isn't that what you wanted?" she asked, flickering her voluptuous eyelashes. "Sounds like a personal problem. What stops you?"

"The goddamn policy!" I groaned, tossing my head back to laugh awkwardly.

We didn't have time to carry on the girl talk I was enjoying so much because we saw Noah and Gael approaching. Correction: we heard them before we saw them with those obnoxious laughs and brisk voices.

The black, refined gate opened and Emereigh ran over, already in her cute little one piece. Her fawn curls were tousled into a bun at the top of her head and I knew that was probably a teacher's poor doing.

Both Cassie and I sat up and grinned as Emereigh came near. She stood in between our chairs and repeatedly bent her knees with excitement.

Cassie greeted her first. "Hi, princess!" she spoke in a more nurturing voice with Emereigh. "Where's your crown?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I knew nothing about any crown, but it's adorable they have their own thing.

"It's in my bag," Emmy's small voice told. "The girls at daycare were trying to take it from me." Cassie and I pouted, hearing that story. Little girls can be so evil, it hurts.

"Maybe they're jealous?" Cassie suggested, I agreed with an enthusiastic head nod.

Emmy tilted her head like she didn't understand. "Of me?" she asked, digging a wedgie. "Well they can't have it!"

The smile never left my face even when Gael came over wearing the crown like a headband. Emereigh saw this and hollered, "Give me!"

Cassie taunted Gael. "Aw, you wanna be a pretty princess, too? Too bad you missed the mark," she joked, making myself and Em laugh.

Gael handed Emereigh the crown and she lit up with joy like her powers activated.

"Come here, Em," I called, patting the space between my legs. Emereigh plopped down and I reached in my tote bag for a comb to fix her hair even though she was most likely going to mess it up in a few minutes anyway.

Before proceeding, I squeezed her shoulders and squinted my eyes on her for a quick test. "You been working on that approach?" I asked.

She nodded with a quickness and stood to demonstrate. "One. Two... one, two!" Emereigh talked out the steps to attacking in volleyball.

"Good girl!" I squealed, high-fived her dainty hand.

Cassie watched with ease, in awe as I smoothed Emmy's hair into a more presentable style. Noticing her stare, I said, "My mom used to sit and brush my hair for an hour straight, and she'd put it in the neatest buns. She treated me like a collectible Barbie doll, sometimes." My eyes trailed off as the memories hit me.

"Yeah," Noah snarled, hopping in the conversation out of nowhere, "we remember from the cruise." Gael and Cassie laughed along with him while I playfully hit Noah's knuckles with the hard comb. He sat at the foot of my chair and told Emereigh how pretty she looked with her crown on and hair done.

"I had to make sure Noah wasn't going to jail for messing with you," Gael snickered, earning a cold and distorted facial expression from me.

"Can I go swim now?" asked Emereigh, pulling on Noah's exposed arm. He wore red trunks and surprisingly no hat today. Instead, a thin black band to keep his dark brown curls out of his face.
My eyes scanned his toned body, noticing tattoos I missed before. Under his right knee was fully tatted with minimalistic designs and numbers. The year he was born, I assume - 1996 - was on his calf in the black, bold Old English font. On his rib, the left side, a snake tangled around a very detailed winged cross.
And seeing all of Noah's and Gael's tattoos, I craved the needle myself. And I know exactly what I'm going to get. . .

***

Wrapped in a towel, I walked over to Noah at the fence. He quickly noticed it was only me and showed Gael's camera to me as he flipped through some shots Gael got from the day.

"Wow," I gasped.

Noah side-eyed me. "I know, he's really good, right?"

"No, it's not that," I breathed out.

Noah looked at me funny and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I look so hot," I declared loudly, laughing at myself. Noah sucked his teeth and walked over to return Gael's Nikon.

"I'm hungry," Emereigh managed to spit out through shivering teeth.

"Yeah, we've been out here long enough," Cassie stood, sounding just like a parent, "let's go get you something to eat, princess." She gathered her things and popped her feet into the flip-flops. Emereigh took her hand and skipped along the sidewalk with Gael following close behind them, he and Noah blabbed on about some football game.

Gael was last to enter the building and tried holding the door for Noah and I but let it close when he saw that I pulled Noah back for a second.

"Hey, girl," he spoke in a low voice, coming down from his laughter. I wanted to say "hey, boy" back but when he wet his lips I lost my train of thought. It wasn't until my lusting eyes roamed his wet skin and stopped at his tattoos that I remembered.

Tugging on his forearm, I exclaimed, "I want a tattoo," elation filling my veins.