Secrets, Lies and Dragonflies

Chapter 45

I drain the spaghetti and mix the vegetables into the salad. The strong aroma from the sauce on the stove entices Spencer enough to give the Stormtroopers free reign of Planet Tatooine while he eats. Aunt Amy's still not home, killing my appetite. I give him an extra mound of pasta since he passes on the salad, although he picks at enough vegetables waiting for me to assemble his plate that it doesn't really matter. Rinsing the strainer and setting it in the dry rack, I hear a loud commotion coming down the street. At a quick glance through the kitchen window, a posse of juvenile delinquents on bikes is hogging up the entire back road. When the familiar shirt comes into focus, I fumble to dry my good hand to greet the delinquents.

Peddling as fast as possible, Vincent stands on his seat and at the last second, grabs for an overarching tree branch at the base of Aunt Amy's driveway. Letting his bicycle go captain-less, it coasts until it collapses on the lawn a few feet from the café patio. "Hey, Mac. What's going on?" He shouts, swinging from the limb. I used to freak out when he'd dismount into a back flip, but now I just cringe on the inside. "How's that arm?" He asks, strolling up the sidewalk in the t-shirt I gave him for his birthday. Mom helped me find it online. It's some YouTube gamer's brand. He's worn it enough to make me wonder if he's in need of more clothes or if it's his way of acknowledging her absence. "Feel like hitting the trails with me?"

Opening the screened door, I shake my head in disapproval. "Hey, Vince. How's that mouth? Feel like scaring any more little old ladies in the woods?"

"Awe. Come on. You aren't still mad at me about that, are you?"

"Yes. Still mad." I shoot him a glare, but he knows I can't stay angry at him. Every once in a while, now for instance, I think he's quite charming. But most of the time this feeling fades and I just want to strangle him.

"See, I told you she was up," Abigail says to Lindsey, parking her bicycle on the sidewalk.

"How was I supposed to know? She didn't respond to any of my other messages. Just liked my pictures," Lindsey says lowly.

She tried to text me? That's good news, isn't it? "Sorry Linds. I haven't checked my phone in a while. My aunt hasn't come back yet, so I was trying to get Spencer dinner," I explain, growing more anxious that maybe something did happen. Since we've lived here, she's never missed a dinner.

"Is she okay?" Vincent asks, looking concerned.

"I'm sure she's fine. She was just taking this guy, Tag, home." I say.

"Tag, huh?" Abigail asks.

"Wait. You mean The Tag?" Lindsey repeats.

"Who's Tag?" Vince asks.

"No one important." Lindsey curtly says, then changes the conversation. "Think I can grab something to drink, Mac? I'm super thirsty."

Vince rubs his stomach. "Drink? Heck, got anything good to eat? I'm starving."

"How unusual. Follow me." I let them into the kitchen and put an overflowing dinner plate in front of him, which pleases Spencer to have his company. Ethan declines, saying he's having dinner with his folks. "So tell me what I've been missing out on?" I say, slightly confused by their unannounced invasion and growing desperate for the pills on the napkin.

"Well, for starters, I've been told that Mr. Jordan is going to be So. Much. Fun. Not." Lindsey says, shaking her head. "I can't believe we picked that class."

"That bad, huh?" I say, crinkling my nose. I feel like there's something on the tip of my brain about Mr. Jordan that I can't reach. Like when I hear a string of words that I can't quite place. Are they lines of a song or maybe a movie? Something about Mr. Jordan is stuck in my head and it's going to irritate me until I can pull it out.