Mystery Boy

"So, Airea," my aunt called as I played with Will and Kara on the floor in the living room.

I looked up to her with a smile on my face.

"I hear you have a boyfriend out in Las Vegas," she continued, grinning at me from where she sat curled up next to my mom on the couch.

I smiled at the woman sheepishly and shrugged my shoulders.

Before I could shrug off the questioned completely, my mom nodded animatedly and pointed at me. "Don't even pretend that you don't know what she's talking about, Airea. All I've heard about is 'Jacky this. Jacky that'." She laughed when she saw the embarrassed smile on my face.

My aunt raised her eyebrows and asked, "So, his name is Jacky?"

"Yeah," I said, wiping the embarrassment off of my face, "Jacky Vincent."

"He sounds cute," Haliegh replied with a grin, "What's he like?"

My cousin, Will, plopped down in my lap and continued to stack the colorful, giant Legos in no specific order. I ran my fingers over his two year old curls and answered, "He's really great," I told her, "He's really quiet, really smart." I nodded my head as I trailed off.

Aunt Haliegh grinned and folded her arms over her stomach as she leaned forward towards me. "You're such a pretty girl, Air," she said breathlessly, "You're turning into such a wonderful young woman. I'm sure whatever man you chose to have in your life is just as wonderful as you are."

I looked down to Will as I grinned and nodded. I looked back up to her as I spoke, "I hope you get to meet him someday, Aunt Haliegh, he's the most brilliant person I've ever met. Not like the boys around here. He's... different."

"Just be careful," she replied, tucking her blonde hair out of her face as her adorable daughter raced over to her and climbed into her arms.

I didn't reply as my aunt spoke with her daughter, mentioning how she and Will needed to lay down and take a nap soon so that the five year old and two year old wouldn't be so cranky for the rest of the day. I scooped Will up in my arms and called for Kara to follow me up the stairs of my mother's townhouse.

Kara opened my bedroom door for me and followed me into the room. I laid Will down on my bed and crawled in next to him, Kara on my other side as her younger brother curled into my side.

"Are you leaving again, Air?" Kara asked softly since her little brother was already starting to doze.

I nodded my head. "Yeah," I murmured, "I have to go home on Monday because I have school on Tuesday, Kar."

"How come you don't live here anymore?"

"Because my dad lives in Las Vegas now."

I pushed Kara's dark hair out of her face as she looked up at me with her father's equally dark eyes. She pushed my hand away from her face and dropped her head onto my shoulder. "Why doesn't he live with Aunt Heather, anymore?" she asked softly, looking to her brother quickly as he shifted.

"Parents don't always stay together, Kara," I told her, "My parents just don't love each other anymore. They love other people now."

Kara didn't reply, instead she closed her eyes and moved so that she was laying on my pillow instead of my arm. I climbed off of my bed and slid Billy closer to the middle. I pulled my blanket over both of them and left the room quietly, closing the door behind me in case Will woke up and wandered towards the stairs.

I headed back downstairs and stopped short when my I saw Mom and Haliegh huddled together on the couch. I was about to turn and head back up stairs when they both turned their attention to me.

"What's wrong?" Mom questioned, her eyebrows raised.

"Are the kids okay?" Haliegh echoed.

I nodded and walked over to sit on the opposite end of the couch from them. "They're fine," I added, "What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing important," Mom told me with a smile on her face, "Just some girl talk."

I looked at her plainly. "I'm a girl."

Mom shook her head and climbed up from the couch, uncurling her legs from underneath her. She walked past the stairs and into the kitchen. She disappeared when she hooked a left farther into the room.

Aunt Haliegh smiled at me.

I narrowed my eyes. "What's going on?" I questioned suspiciously.

"Airea," she laughed, "Why do you think there's something going on? We were just talking. We're sisters, it's what we do, sweetheart." She stood up and walked into the kitchen, too.

I sighed and jumped up to follow after them. Mom was peaking in the fridge and Haliegh was sitting at the table. They looked up to me again when I entered. "Can I borrow your car, Mom?" I questioned, glancing towards the keys that sat on top of the wooden table.

"Why?" she asked as she stood up and pushed the fridge door shut, "Where are you going?"

"I wanted to run over to Kelley's house," I told her, pulling out another chair at the table.

She thought about it for a second with her hand on her hip. Then she nodded towards the keys to tell me where they were but my fingers were already locked around them. I thanked her happily and raced up the stairs as quietly as I could so I could grab my new jacket and the bag of things I brought with me from Vegas for Kelley.

I made sure I had my phone before I called a soft goodbye to my mom and aunt and hurried out of the door and down the driveway. The neighbors were sitting outside as I emerged and the couple smiled at me and the woman lifted her hand in a wave.

I smiled back as I slid into the driver's seat. I buckled my seatbelt and started the car. I backed out of the driveway and headed towards my old neighborhood. It was only a twenty minute drive to the community that held large houses that were surrounded by large black fences.

I deliberately stayed off the street that used to belong to me. Kelley lived two streets over from my old house. I pulled up in her driveway and smiled when her car was there, parked behind her parents'.

I climbed out of the car and grabbed the bag that I brought from Vegas. I walked up the driveway of the large house and down the sidewalk that led to the front door of the large house.

I stuck my phone into the pocket of my hoodie and rang the doorbell, a smile on my face as I waited for my best friend to come bounding down the stairs and yank open the door.

The door didn't open for a couple minutes and I knew that was just because of the size of Kelley's home. But when it finally did, Kelley stood on the other side, her eyes wide with shock.

"Oh my god," she said slowly, looking me over like I was some kind of mirage.

I grinned. "Hey, Kell," I greeted.

"What are you doing here?" she shouted loudly, jumping forward and wrapping her arms around my neck. She leaned all her weight into me, causing me to groan and wrap my arms around her to keep us from falling to the floor between the doorway.

"I'm in town visiting my mom," I told her as she pulled back and looked into my face. "I thought I'd drop by and hang out for a little while." My eyes looked past her a tall boy came walking into view.

Kelley followed my gaze and grinned. She went over to the boy and grabbed his hand. She pulled him closer. His hair was curly and a deep shade of brown. As he walked towards me and into the sun I noticed the red-ish strands glinting in the light, causing his entire hair to look more red than anything else.

He put a friendly smile on his face as Kelley explained who I was. He reached his hand out towards me and said, "I've heard a lot about you, Airea. I'm Forester."

I shook his hand with a smile on my face as Kelley hurried the two of us back into the house and shut the door behind us. I nodded my head and replied, "I've heard about you too," I told him as we walked into the living room, "Not that much, but I know your name."

"That's good enough for me," he replied with an easy smile.

Kelley grinned at the two of us and turned to face me. "Do you want something to drink?" she questioned, motioning in the general direction of the kitchen.

I shook my head and tossed myself down onto the incredibly soft couch. "No, I'm fine," I replied. I held up the small bag towards her. "Come look at what I brought you."

Kelley grinned and raced back over to me. She sat down next to me and pulled Forester down on her other side. She grabbed the bag and dug into it, pulling out the fabric right away.

She held the shirt against her chest and grinned at it. It was black baby-doll shirt that had "Las Vegas" written on it in big, white block letters. "It's so cute!" she exclaimed, touching the colorful paint that covered the shirt.

"It's splatter-painted," I told her with a smile.

She nodded eagerly and rushed forward to wrap her arms around my shoulders. "I love it," she gushed when we pulled apart.

"Good," I replied, looking around the house. "Where are your parents?"

Kelley waved her hand in the air. "They're here. Dad's in the office. Mom's in the family room," she grinned at me, "How long are you staying in the city?"

"I leave on Monday," I told her, "I have school off."

Kelley frowned. "I don't," she pouted, "Can you spend the night tonight?"

I glanced at Forester who sat in the chair, his eyes trained on the TV. "I'll have to call and ask," I murmured, my gaze trailing back to Kelley, "But I'm sure my mom will be fine with it."

We talked about Vegas, and my dad, and my 'siblings". We talked about her and Forester, her still oblivious parents, and the friends that I had left behind.

Kelley sat back while I got to know her boyfriend, too. He was nice a guy who was really into old movies and retro video games. He had moved to West Lake around the same time I moved away and the two of them had met in history class.

"How old are you?" I asked Forester.

"Sixteen," he said simply, "You are too, right?"

I nodded. "Yes."

Kelley grabbed my arm tightly to get my attention. "How old is your boyfriend?" she asked loudly, showing off her incredibly white teeth.

"I told you about Jacky?" I questioned, wondering when we spoke about him.

Sh nodded. "Briefly. How old is he?"

I looked at her like she was insane. "He's sixteen, too. Why?"

"I thought he was a year or two older?" she asked, her expression showing her confusion.

I shook my head. "My step-brother is seventeen..." I trailed off, "Why?"

She shrugged and pushed her hair out of her face. "Older men are sexy," she said with a laugh as Forester glared at her from behind his glasses. "I'm just kidding!" she defended, jumping up from the couch and climbing into her boyfriend's lap.

I smiled at the two of them and immediately started to miss the feel of Jacky's arms wrapped around my waist, holding me against his slender body.

"What's he like?"

I shook my head and blinked. "What?" I questioned, barely hearing what she said.

"Jacky," she replied, "What's he like?"

"He's really quiet," I told her, "But he's really smart. He plays guitar, lives down the street, he's best friends with my next door neighbor." I mumbled to myself as I tried to think of what else to tell her.

"What's he look like?" she asked happily. She reached up to cup Forester's chin. "Is he as cute as this?" She motioned to her boyfriend.

I chuckled and nodded my head. "Yeah," I murmured, "He's gorgeous."

"Do you have a picture?"

I shook my head. "He's kind of shy," I replied, "He doesn't really like taking pictures. I only have a few on my laptop."

Kelley pouted but was distracted soon after as the doorbell rang. The duo knew that it was Forester's father so they hopped up and disappeared as they opened the door, him and I saying a quick goodbye beforehand.

When Kelley came back into the room she curled up on the couch next to me. "What do you want to do tonight?" she asked softly, a wide smile still stuck on her lips.

I smiled down at her and shrugged my shoulders. I was happy just to be here. I was happy to witness my best friend's bubbly attitude and to sit on her couch again like we'd done so many times before.