Hellion, a New Adult Romance Novel (The Rebel Series) (2 page)

“Nope.
 
You’re totally invisible.
 
Where are you?
 
In the kitchen?
 
Oh, what a great idea.
 
Why don’t you go to the kitchen?”
 
I shut my door and go back to my bed, sitting against my headboard and putting my laptop back on my legs.

“Dad said he can see me.”

“Dad’s a damn liar.”
 
I tap away at the keys, putting another bulleted point on the list of things I want the lawyer to see.

“Dad’s a damn liar,” he says.
 
“Dad’s a damn liar.”

“That’s what I said.
 
Don’t wear it out.”

“Dad’s a damn liar.”

I ignore him.
 
It’s the only way to get him to shut up.
 
He gets wound up with too much attention paid to him.

“Mom’s a damn liar.”

I can’t help but grin.
 
“You should go tell her that.”

“I’m not stupid, you know,” he says.

I look up to find him frowning at me.

“No one said you’re stupid.
 
I’ve said you have half a brain, but that’s only an expression.”

“What does it mean?”

I sigh, feeling just a touch guilty.
 
“It means you’re awesome cuz you’re not like other lame kids.
 
Now can I please do my work?”

“Dad’s a damn liar,” he says.

“Yeah, I know.”

“So is Mom.
 
Mom’s a damn liar.”

“Yep.”

“I’m gonna go tell her.”
 
He crawls out from under the desk.
 
“I’m gonna go tell her right now.”

“Good. Go tell her,” I say absently, not really paying attention to him.
 
Another glitch in these stupid reports just jumped out at me and makes me want to slap myself for not noticing it earlier.
 
It’s added another hour to an already too-long project that I need to have done by four o’clock.

I’m alone for about five minutes before I realize that it’s way too quiet in the house.
 
With four maniac kids and two loud adults at this address, it’s never
ever
this quiet, not even in the middle of the night.
 
Jersey’s a sleep-walking maniac so we always have shit going on.

My brain alarm goes off when the only thing I can hear is my bedside clock ticking.
 
I didn’t even know that thing
did
that.

“Jersey?”
 
I look up and out into the little bit of hallway I can see from my bed.
 
No answer.

“Shit.”
 
I put the computer down and wander out of my room, fully expecting my brother to be pressed up against a wall pretending to be invisible.
 
He can be very determined when he’s in the mood.
 
“Jersey?
 
Where are you, punk?
 
Stop fucking around.”

My other brother and sister are at camp, so they’re nowhere around at this time of the day.

“Jersey!”

No answer.

My blood pressure creeps up.

After a quick search, I realize he’s not inside the house.
 
I move out to the backyard.
 
Anxiety settles in as I come to the conclusion that he’s not in his little clubhouse or the shed.
 
The only thing left is the front yard and then the great big wide-open world out there, otherwise known as my mom’s worst nightmare.
 
Jersey is ripe for the picking.
 
Any kidnapper, molester, or run-of-the-mill murderer would take one look at him and yell
Bingo! Cha-ching!
 
Come to papa!

For the first time in my life, I believe I’m getting a taste of what my mom deals with on a daily basis, and I don’t like it one bit.

“Jersey!” I scream, as I run down the front stairs and out into the yard.
 
“Where are you, Jersey?!”

Old lady Ludke from across the street waves at me frantically and then points to the side of her house.
 
Putting her finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, she smiles.

My heart-rate drops in half.
Fucking Jersey.
Thank God we have understanding neighbors.
 
Living in the same place for twenty years has its benefits.

I storm across the street, waving to her as I pick up the pace and jog over to the side of her house.
 
Jersey’s there, his back pressed into her bushes, staring off into space.

Invisible, my ass.

There are two ways I can handle this.
 
The first is tempting, where I grab him by the arm and drag him back home, lecturing him the entire way about giving me a damn heart attack.
 
The other is more of a pain in the ass, but seeing him standing there with that ratty-ass cape over one shoulder and dirt smudged across his cheek is just too much. I’m left with no choice.

I look away instead of manhandling him and stare off into the back yard.
 
“Jeeeeerseeeeey?
 
Where aaaare
 
youuuuuu?”
 
I walk right past him towards Mrs. Ludke’s back yard.

He giggles, but I keep going.

“Jeeerseeeyyy!
 
I can’t see you if you’re invisible!
 
You have to talk to me!
 
I don’t want you to get left outside all day!”
 
The evil part of my personality decides to join in the fun.
 
I’m never one hundred percent angel, ever. “I’d hate for that lion that’s been roaming around the neighborhood to find you when he’s hungry.
 
You know how much they like to eat little boys.”

The leaves in the bushes rustle as I reach the gate leading to the backyard.
 
“I’ll check this yard and then I guess I’ll have to call the police.
 
And the animal control people, just in case the lion is nearby.”

Little footsteps come up behind me, but I pretend to be busy with the gate latch.

“Boo!” he yells, poking me in the back with a pointy finger.

“Ack!
 
Mother
fucker!”
I spin around and grab for him, but he’s too fast.

He takes off, shrieking the entire way, across the neighbor’s lawn and ours too before disappearing inside the house.

I’m out of breath as I follow behind, half of my energy spent waving to Mrs. Ludke, the other half getting control of my heartbeat.

Ten minutes later I’ve finally got him locked in my room with me and happy enough to settle down and let me work.

“Tastes good,” he says, licking his lips.

“Yeah. Yummy.
 
Just don’t bite it.
 
Put it on, lick it off.
 
That’s how it works. That’s how the cool kids do it.”

He lifts the grape chapstick to his lips.
 
“Put it on …,”
 
he smears it all around his mouth about ten times, “…lick it off.”
 
The licking part is kind of nasty, but as long as I don’t look directly at him, I’m fine.

My fingers fly across the keys as I finish up my report.
 
All the while I’m working, I follow the rhythm set by my little brother …

“Put it on … lick it off … put it on … lick it off…”

CHAPTER THREE

THE BURBLING OF THE ENGINE outside jerks me out of my computer fog.
 
Snatching the papers off my printer, I don’t even spare a glance at Jersey on my way out.
 
“Stay here, turd breath.
 
I’m going to see Teagan outside for a couple minutes.”

“Put it on … lick it off ...”

Two people are getting out of her Beetle by the time I get to the front porch. I fully expect to see her boyfriend with her, but instead am pleasantly surprised to see his younger brother, Mick.
 
Holy hotness.

I put on my coolest expression and add a little sway to my groove, slowing down my arrival so he can fully appreciate it.
 
I know I shouldn’t be trying to catch his attention like that, but I can’t help myself.
 
He makes me want to drop my panties right here on the sidewalk.
 
I have a slight addiction to tattoos and bad attitudes, and he fits the bill perfectly.
 
Plus, he’s gainfully employed, so that’s just a bonus.

“Hey, Quin.
 
You all done?” Teagan asks.

I throw my arms around her and pull her into a hug, knowing she’d never do it if I left it up to her.
 
“Yes.
 
All done.”
 
I draw back and hand her the papers.
 
“It’s all in here, with a report and list of stuff all laid out.
 
It should be really easy for him to see what’s going on. Then he can pay an expert to do it the official way.”

I look over at Mick.
 
“Hey,” I say, all nonchalant, like I have hot guys driving up in front of my house every day.
 
No big.

“Hey,” he says, a lazy smile coming over his face.
 
“What’s up?”

I shrug.
 
“Nothing much.”
 
Turning my attention back to Teagan, I smile again. “So, you off to your appointment?” I can ignore hot guys like they’re not there.
 
Invisible hot guys.
 
I can’t see you, Mick.
 
I’m too cool for that.

“Yeah.
 
You want to come?”

“Can’t.
 
I gotta watch Jersey.”

Teagan nods her understanding, but Mick laughs. “You watch that show?”

“What show?” I’m momentarily confused, knowing I’m somehow being mocked but now sure how or why.

Mick is about to answer, but then he’s suddenly distracted.
 
His mouth freezes halfway open and his gaze shifts to focus on something behind me.

Jersey’s voice comes over my shoulders.
 
“Put it on … lick it off …”

I roll my eyes as Teagan smiles.

“Yo, Jersey, how’s it hangin’?” she asks.

I look over at Mick, suddenly nervous about what he’ll think.
 
I hate that I’m feeling this way, so it instantly pisses me off.
 
Mostly at him but also at myself.
 
I’ve been dealing with reactions to my brother for more years than I care to think about, and it never gets any easier. If anything, it’s tougher.
 
I hate that the world is so judgmental, because there is no one on this planet with a bigger, squishier heart than my Jersey boy.

Jersey stops at my side, staring at Teagan. “Hi, Tea-Tea. I have chapstick.”

“I can see that,” she says, battling to keep the smile from turning into a laugh.
 
“Looks good on you, buddy.”

“I have to put it on and lick it off.
 
I can’t bite it.
 
Sister says only assholes eat chapstick.”

Mick snorts and Teagan turns around, suddenly interested in the neighbor’s lawn across the street.

I grit my teeth to keep calm.
 
“Go back in the house, Jersey.”

“You can’t see me,” he says, staring at Mick.

“I can’t?”
 
Mick looks at me.
 
“Is he talking to me?”

“Don’t make fun of him,” I say, my anger hitting level-ten in an instant.

Mick frowns.
 
“I’m not.”

“You can’t see me.
 
I’m invisible,” says Jersey, stepping towards Mick.

I grab Jersey by the arm.
 
“In the house, turd basket, or I’m telling Mom.”

“Mom’s a damn liar,” he says.

Teagan is chuckling but she does a great job of keeping most of it controlled. I’m torn between laughing and crying, knowing Mick is standing there judging me and my brother and finding us lacking.
 
I hate Mick for that.

“I’ve gotta go,” I say, defeat and disappointment lacing my voice.
 
“Come on, Jersey,” I say, taking him by the hand.

“I want to talk to him,” he says, pointing to Mick.

“He doesn’t want to talk to
you
, though, so come on.”
 
I tug on his arm, but he’s stuck to the ground like a statue.

“Hey, I never said that.”
 
Mick steps forward, like he’s going to follow us.

I lean towards him and drop my voice so Jersey won’t hear.
 
“Hey, no offense, but fuck off, okay?”

Mick leans away, his expression going dark.
 
“No offense?
 
Kind of hard to not take offense to
that
, don’t you think?”

I close my eyes to get a grip on my anger.

Jersey pulls his hand out of mine and walks over to Mick, taking his instead.
 
“Come on.
 
I’ll show you how to be invisible. You can use my chapstick if you don’t
 
bite it.”

Mick actually takes a few steps with Jersey before I intervene.
 
“Hey!
 
That’s enough, okay?”

“Mick, I’m leaving,” says Teagan, giving me a hopeless look.
 
“My appointment’s downtown at four-thirty.”

“Go ahead without me.
 
Rebel’s meeting you there.”
 
Mick continues on towards my house.

“What the fuck?” I say, looking from Teagan to Mick’s back.
 
He’s getting closer and closer to my front steps.

“I guess he’s going to hang with Jersey for a little while.”
 
Teagan leans in and gives me a quick hug, which is enough to shock me into silence.
 
She never ever does that.

“I have to go.
 
I’ll swing by in about an hour and pick him up if he’s still here.”

“But … but … he can’t
be
here.”

“Why not?
 
Jersey invited him in to play. He’s going to show him the whole put-it-on-lick-it-off thing.”
 
Teagan’s smiling again.