I Knew A Boy

"One Jack," I said smoothly, slapping down my card onto the pile that lay in the middle of the circle. I looked to my left at Zack's friend Brian as he looked at his hand and then at the pile.

"Two Queens," he said, placing his cards on the pile on top of mine, waiting to hear the call of someone challenging him. When no one made a sound I turned my attention to my good friend Sam, who was sat between Brian and Zack.

"One King," she replied, almost daring anyone to counter her. My eyes fell upon Zack's, as it was now his turn, to see his gazing back at me. He quickly looked down at his cards, nonchalantly grabbing a few and placing them on the ever-growing pile.

"Three Aces," he said coolly. I looked at him hard a moment and his gaze caught mine again. As we held that stare, I could feel it deep down in my bones that I didn't want it to ever end. My eyes moved down to his lips as Zack cocked a smirk at me, and everyone sat quiet, just waiting for me to challenge.

"Bullshit."

The smirk on Zack's face grew and one eyebrow rose. he pushed his three cards to me, as if telling me to look for myself. Three Aces stared back at me as I turned the cards over. "I do believe these belong to you," Zack quipped, sliding the pile of playing cards in the center at me. I looked up and playfully glared at him, t which he just smiled. I huffed, taking the cards and placing them with the rest of my hand. I was so sure I had gotten him that time.

"Hey guys! What're you up to?" I heard a familiar voice ask from above me. I looked up from my place on the floor to see my sister in all her glory.

"Playing Bullshit, you wanna join?" Zack offered, and I looked at him, watching as he perked right up. His eyes seemed to glow, spreading that green hue that I had fallen in love with. I sighed to myself, feeling as if the spotlight had been taken from me as soon as she turned the corner down here in our secluded back hallway.

"Sure," I heard Ashley's reply, and could just see the smile on her face as she took a seat next to Zack in the spot where Sam had been sitting before.

"Hey, I'm going for a walk," Ashley said as she bounded down the stairs later that day after school had gotten out.

"Um, no, you're not," I said pointedly, looking up from my book as I sat on the couch. "Mom told me that I'm not allowed to let you leave the house when she's gone. You're grounded, remember?"

My sister rolled her eyes at me. She had such an affinity for breaking the rules. "Yeah, but how's she ever gonna find out? You won't tell, and I won't tell. And besides, I'll be back before she gets home," she said, shrugging me off.

"And what if you're not? What do I tell her then?" I asked as she grabbed the doorknob and twisted it, pulling the door open.

"You tell her I went for a walk, just like I told you," she said firmly before stepping out the door. I sighed and looked down at my book, but then heard the front door re-open. "And Amanda?" I looked up to see my sister's face once more. "If you tell mom flat out, I'll tell her all about how you were looking up porn on the computer," she said, a sick smile on her face, before leaving for good. She always dragged me into these situations by finding some way or another to blackmail me. I was left to cover for her once again.

My mother walked in the back door as I sat, lethargic, on the couch. I heard her greeting as she put down the few grocery bags she'd brought home with her, and I quietly responded. It had been clear two hours since my sister had left, and honest to God I was worried about her. I was worried about her getting in trouble.

"Where's your sister?" I heard my mother's smooth voice ask from beside me. I knew she was standing next to the couch, waiting for an answer, but I knew that if I made eye contact there'd be no way for me to effectively lie to her face.

"She went for a walk."

"I thought I told you to keep her here..." she said, almost in a scolding tone.

"I tried, Mom, I did. But she's sixteen and there's no way she'd listen to me... She left anyways," I said, finally looking up at her. She stood there a moment before glancing up at the TV and then back down to me.

"How long ago did she leave?"

"Um... about ten minutes I think?" I lied, thinking of how long it normally took my sister to walk around town and back. This meant that she had about ten more minutes to get back or she'd really be in trouble. But fifteen minutes later, Ashley still wasn't home. Fifteen turned into twenty, and my mother came into the living room again.

"Now I want you to tell me the truth. Where'd your sister go? It doesn't take half an hour to go walking."

"She told me she was going for a walk. That's all I knew," I said, telling the truth, and then heard the back door in the kitchen open and close quickly. Ashley came walking into the living room out of breath, her face contorting into a look of surprise when she saw our mother in there with me.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Ashley stayed silent. She knew she was going to get caught. Our mother always had this uncanny ability to figure us out.

"I went for a walk."

"No, you didn't. Where were you?" my mother asked again, and I could hear the anger dripping from her words. I knew my sister would somehow turn it into a fight, and I didn't really want to get caught in the middle of it, but I stayed anyways.

"I went-"

"Don't lie to me."

"I went for a walk and stopped at the school. Zack was playing basketball on the courts with his friends and I was invited to join," Ashley explained quickly, barely covering her ass. I felt the hot sting of jealousy enter my veins. She didn't even like basketball. "I didn't realize the time so I ran back here as fast as I could."

Liar, you could have gotten Zack to drive you.

I looked over at my mother. She seemed to buy it. "Alright. But next time, when I tell you your ass is grounded and that you're not to leave the house, I mean it. No more mind games, you hear me?"

Ashley just nodded her head before going to the stairs. I got up and followed her, reaching her room just as she was about to shut the door. I put my hand out to block it, and she turned back to look at me.

"You didn't tell?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Told her you left ten minutes before she got home. To her, you were only gone half an hour." Ashley nodded, and tried to shut the door again, but I pushed on it against her.

"What?"

I took a breath. "...Where did you really go? You were gone for over two hours."

I earned a blank stare in response. "I went exactly where I said I went," she almost spat at me, and then shut the door in my face.

I felt the pang in my heart as I thought of all the things she and Zack could have been doing.

"Liar."