Emmitt sat at his desk, doodling the tree that stood tall outside his window. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ms. Shepard's dark grey car pull into her driveway. He fixed his gaze on the car, curious. He saw Ms. Shepard get out of the driver's seat. A boy, who looked his age, got out from the back seat, walking slowly with his head hung low.
Maggie jumped around, running to Emmitt's room. "Emmitt, Ms. Shepard's back! And she brought her son!"
Emmitt quickly broke out of the trance and turned around to see Maggie. "Number one rule is to knock, thank you."
"Isn't this so exciting?" Maggie asked, running up to where Emmitt was sitting, trying to peer out of the window. "I wonder if he's nice."
"Yeah, I guess so," Emmitt answered, also looking back out of the window. "I don't get why you're so excited."
"There hasn't been any cool kids on this street. All my friends from school live in the next neighbourhood over, and most of them have boyfriends."
"Oh sure, boyfriends. Like those will last, what? Two weeks?"
"That's not the point, idiot. It's a boy, who's moving here. On our street."
Emmitt looked at Maggie in disbelief. "You aren't seriously thinking of dating him?"
"Why not?" laughed Maggie, her ponytail waving around. "I think he looks cute."
"He looks like he's my age, Mags. You're only ten, you realize that, right?"
"Mom and dad are like...eleven years apart or something."
"They're only six years apart, Maggie."
"I don't care," Maggie said reluctantly. "You're just jealous."
Emmitt felt his stomach drop a bit. He looked at Maggie. "Why would I be jealous?"
"You probably want to be his friend, and as his girlfriend, he will want to spend more time with me."
Emmitt sighed, laughing it off. "Right. You're crazy."
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Ms. Shepard got inside her house, placing her keys on a shelf at the door. She walked into the kitchen to place some papers down. She looked up at Gavin, who still hung low, timid, and afraid. He stood still.
He hadn't spoken the whole plane ride. He didn't speak driving to the airport and didn't speak driving on the way home. He had just stared out the window, keeping his hands tucked into his pockets. His brown hair was frizzy now, and his eyes looked more tired.
"I have an office area that I don't use right now. I was thinking that could be your bedroom. Of course, we'd have to make it a bit more... your own. But as long as you have a bed and are comfortable, that's all that matters."
She nodded, as Gavin didn't say anything back. She walked to the office and started picking up sheets of paperwork and lined school paper. She scrambled around to pick up garbage, clearing up a space that had a single mattress with some sheets and a pillow. "I've had this extra bed for a while now. Got it from a friend and never used it. My room is actually down the hall."
Gavin slowly walked over, staring at the bed.
"It's nothing amazing, really," Ms. Shepard stuttered, moving her hands around. "But, it should do. It must be better than what you had before. I mean, sorry, no, I shouldn't speak like that. My bad."
Gavin slowly bent down to sit on the mattress, still staring at the ground.
"I'll get the suitcases from the car, okay? If you need anything, please, let me know."
As Ms. Shepard left, Gavin stayed still on the mattress. He looked up the ceiling. It was plain; plastered white. He moved his gaze to the window with the stained blinds, halfway down. There was a large desk still covered in papers, mostly bills and notes. He didn't feel anything. He felt like he should be happy that he was safe, but he still felt nervous. He still felt like waiting alone in his room, sitting quietly. He still felt the gaze of his father's piercing eyes that would stare at him, begging him to come closer. He still felt afraid of what his father would do next. He did feel angry. He felt rage unlike he had ever felt. Angry at the world, and angry at himself.
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"I really would come over tonight, Izz, but it's not a good time," Ms. Shepard's voice said quietly over the phone. Mrs. Hendrix stood in her own kitchen, her cellphone raised to her ear.
"Oh, alright. Are you sure you don't need help with anything?"
"I'm good. Don't worry about me. You've got the kids to worry about."
Mrs. Hendrix took a breath, and then continued. "Um, Daphne. How's your son? Was the move difficult for him?"
"Uh, yes. Difficult is one way to put it. He's adapting to what's around him. He's getting used it."
"He's warming up to you just fine?" asked Mrs. Hendrix.
"I think so," Ms. Shepard said. "He just needs some time."
"Well, if you need any help, or want to come over for dinner, let me and John know. We would love to meet Gavin. He's invited as well, if you want to let him know. Maybe he can make friends with Emmitt. God knows the kid needs some better friends."
Ms. Shepard paused for a moment. "Uh, yes. Thank you, Izzy, really. I appreciate it."
"Take care, Daphne. See you soon."
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"Hey, Emmitt," Isabelle Hendrix called to her son, as she scrubbed dishes in the sink. "Would you do me a favour?"
"Depends on what that is," Emmitt answered, walking into the kitchen.
"Well, actually, I'm not asking. I'm telling you to do me a favour."
"Okay," Emmitt said suspiciously. "What's that?"
"Ms. Shepard has custody of her son Gavin now. She flew up to Chicago to get him and he's now with her across the street. I think things are hard for her right now, since she hasn't seen him in so long. So I was thinking..."
She held up a tray of cookies. "You can bring these over for the two of them."
Emmitt looked at the cookies, and then back up to his mom. "By myself?"
"Yes, by yourself. You can take your bike and go out for a ride after as well."
Emmitt grabbed the tray of cookies and headed to the front door. Maggie bounced down the stairs and saw Emmitt standing there, about to put on his shoes.
"Emmitt! Where are you going? Another adventure, I'm guessing? Can I come this time?"
"No, Mags. I'm going over to deliver cookies to Ms. Shepard."
"That sounds like fun. I'm in."
"No, no, no. You aren't coming. There's no way," Emmitt said, shaking his head.
"I'll tell mom," smirked Maggie, crossing her arms. "You have to let me come."
"Fine," Emmitt huffed. "But don't be weird. Mom says that Ms. Shepard is having a hard time."
"I won't be weird, promise," Maggie smiled, slipping on her shoes and opening up the door.
Emmitt closed the front door behind him, Maggie jumping down the porch steps ahead of him. They slowly walked across the street towards Ms. Shepard's house.
"I bet Gavin is way nicer than you," Maggie bragged.
Emmitt rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say."
"What could our ship name be?"
"Your ship name?" Emmitt asked in confusion.
"Yeah, our names mashed together. Like... Gaggie."
"That's awful."
"There's other options, idiot. Magvin is much better."
Once they got to Ms. Shepard's driveway, Emmitt gave a death stare to Maggie. "We are dropping off these cookies, saying hi, and leaving. Don't bother them."
Maggie nodded. "I already know."
She ran up and knocked on the door. Emmitt stood still, holding up the tray of cookies. The two waited there, until the door slowly opened to Ms. Shepard, standing there, strands of hair falling out. Her face had a look of surprise. "Emmitt! Maggie. I didn't expect you two."
"We came over to bring you cookies," Emmitt said awkwardly, smiling and handing over the tray. "My mom made them."
"We are also here to meet your son. How old is he, by the way?" asked Maggie.
Emmitt stepped on Maggie's shoe. She let out a small yell. "Hey! That hurt!"
Ms. Shepard took the cookies away from Emmitt, and shook her head. "It's a bad time I'm afraid, Maggie. He's still getting used to his new room. I don't think he's quite ready to meet new people."
"No worries," Emmitt added in, staring down at Maggie. "We were just stopping by."
"To answer your question, he's 16, just like your brother," Ms. Shepard said, pointing to Emmitt.
"I don't mind," Maggie smiled. "Let me know when I can see him."
"I'm really sorry about her," Emmitt said in regret. "She can be annoying. Sisters, right?"
"Oh, don't worry. I'd introduce you to him, but it really is not such a good time."
"Can you just quickly say hi?" pleaded Maggie.
Ms. Shepard suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She shook her head no. "No. Really. Thank you for the cookies. I need to get back inside."
"Nice seeing you, Ms. Shepard," Emmitt said, turning around to leave her porch.
"Maybe I could come in?" Maggie asked.
"NO," Ms. Shepard said sternly. But she stopped, as she saw Maggie's face turn scared, and Emmitt frozen in place. "Sorry, I don't know what got into me. I mean, I can take a message for you. Like I said, you can meet him another time. Just not right now."
And Ms. Shepard closed the door quickly.
"What was that about?" asked Maggie under her breath.
"It's about you not minding your business, you dingbat," Emmitt sighed, pulling Maggie's arm. "Let's go. I told you not to act like that and you completely ignored me."
"I needed to think fast! That was my future mother in law. I needed to make a good impression."
"You've met Ms. Shepard many times, Mags. You should know that mom would've been completely mad with you if she saw what you just did."
"Well, I'm not sorry. I did what I had to do. I think it's weird that Ms. Shepard yelled at us and closed the door in our face. And why can't we at least say hi to Gavin? It all seems fishy to me. I still think she's a witch."
"She's not a witch," Emmitt muttered, pulling Maggie across the street. "Think sometimes before you do things. She has our reasons and it's nothing for us to worry about."
"You aren't curious at all about Gavin?" Maggie asked.
Emmitt didn't answer, shaking his head, annoyed. "I mean, yeah, a little, but it's not a big deal."
"So you can't blame me. I tried my best."
"Let's just get inside."