Kevin Died

2. Blood Doesn't Make a Family

But it was Kevin. I had to help him.

___

After getting ready for school I headed downstairs into the kitchen. My dad was sitting at the table reading something on his iPad and my mom was making coffee.

"Hey, sweetheart," mom greeted me, turning around to give me an inviting smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning," I replied.

Dad looked up from his reading to observe me.

"You want any coffee?" Mom asked. "I don't suppose you got the best sleep last night. I'm sure you had a lot on your mind."

"No, I'm fine," I said.

"You don't have a hang over?" Dad asked.

My eyes widened and my head snapped in his direction. "What?"

"We're not dumb, Ricky. And I heard you slugging your way upstairs last night with your slow, irregular steps."

"It wasn't enough to give me a hangover," I admitted.

Dad nodded. "Don't drink and drive. Call a cab or something next time and the next day we can go get your car together."

I nodded. My parents were laid back. As a high school senior they fully understood that there were things that I was just going to do, like drinking. So instead of trying to keep me from doing it, they just advised I be smart about it and not become an alcoholic and such. Not that I needed them to tell me to be responsible, but I did slip up and drove while tipsy, so I accepted what he had told me.

"Okay, Mauricio," mom said, "the coffee is ready."

"Thank you Mariana, my lovely wife," dad said flashing mom a smile.

Telling my parents about the messages I had received the previous night had briefly crossed my mind. Ultimately I didn't tell them, and even though I had gone into the kitchen to make a quick bowl of cereal, I ended up leaving and heading out to my car to get to school.

___

"You're a moron," Luke said.

"The only moron here is you," Jory retorted. "It's white and gold, man!"

"I still only see blue and black," Luke said with a shrug. "And why are you even concerning yourself with this? Didn't that dress pop up like a year ago?"

"Well, I was just scrolling through a list of old trends and found it again," Jory said. "I just don't understand how you can see a totally different color than me!"

"I remember how you two went back and forth about that dress for days," Danielle said. "Honestly who cares?"

"I do," Jory said. "Ricardo!"

I jerked my head up to look at Jory across the table. "What?"

He shoved his phone screen in my face. "What color is the dress?"

I rolled my eyes. "White and gold."

"Ha!" Jory retracted his phone and sent Luke a triumphant and mocking look.