Chapter Four
LEXI
Age Twelve
“Mom!”
I found her in the kitchen cooking dinner, and my stomach grumbled. Oh man, it smelled so good! She was making her famous fried chicken. I saw her put some on a plate and in the microwave. I wondered if she would give me one before the stupid boys showed up?
“What do you need, Sweetie?” Her kind eyes met mine, and I almost forgot for a moment what I came in here for. Then my eyes drifted beyond her and my need for her fried chicken, and yummy fried pickles rushed back! Yum!
Wait! I gotta tell Mom that the boys are being mean again...
“Jake and Kayden are being mean again!” She’s heard me say this over and over, but she and Dad refuse to do anything about it! They always say, boys will be boys, but they are picking on me! Especially Kayden. That little buttface won’t leave me alone!
He pulls my hair any chance he gets and calls me names. And my stupid brother lets him! What’s the point of having a brother if all he does is pick on you and worse, let his friends pick on you? What kind of messed up system is that?
Mom sighed, “I know you think they are being mean, but they are just being boys, honey.”
“I’m serious! They called me a bitch! Now I don’t know what that means, but it doesn’t sound very nice!”
Mom’s eyes widened. “Scott!! Get your ass in here, please!”
“Mom! You said a bad word!”
She rolled her eyes, “Alexis, I am an adult. There’s a difference.”
I put my hands on my hips, “No there’s not! A bad word is a bad word, Mom!”
Dad came in here, a yawn escaping from his mouth. “You called?”
I turned my attention to him. “Dad! Jake and Kayden called me a bitch, and Mom said ass!”
Dad laughed, but when Mom gave him a look his smile disappeared. “Alexis, we don’t say bad words.”
“But Dad,” I tried, but he cut me off.
“No butts. You know better.”
“Kayden and Jake called me it first! Can’t they get punished?”
Speaking of, the boys entered through the back door, their eyes immediately going to mine and looking around the room. “What?” Jake asked, and I folded my arms over my chest and smirked.
He’s going to get it, oh he’s so going to get it!
"Did you call your sister a name?” Dad asked in his stern voice, and that normally meant business.
“No Dad, we didn’t.” My eyes widened, and Kayden’s gaze met mine, a smile lifting on his lips.
I’m going to pummel his perfect, ugly face!
“They’re lying!! Dad, Mom, you have to believe me!” I stomped my foot.
They both shook their heads, clearly done with the conversation. I huffed and ran to my room, slamming the door behind me. I collapsed on my bed and promised myself that I would never, ever, like boys. And if Kayden ever dared to ask me out one day, I would spit in his face.
How dare he! And my brother? Boys were stupid and I wanted nothing to do with them!
There was a knock on my door, “Go away!”
The door squeaked open, reminding me that I needed to ask Dad to fix it. I moved and saw my arch nemesis standing in the doorway. I quickly moved from the bed and tried to shove him out of my room.
“Get out, Kayden. I don’t want you in my room!”
“Come on Lex, quit being such a baby. We were only teasing.”
“You weren’t! You and my brother are jerks!”
I tried pushing him out, but he was a big dork and wouldn’t move. Why did he frustrate me so much? Why couldn’t he and my brother both leave me alone and torment someone else?
“Okay, I’ll leave. But your mom said dinner is ready, so if you want to eat, I suggest you move it to the table.”
I stopped pushing on the door and his lips turned into a wicked grin. I hate him!
“Let’s play a game. Whoever makes it to the table first wins.”
My eyes narrowed, “What’s the catch?”
“If you win, your brother and I will leave you alone.”
“And if you win?”
“If I win, you’ll owe me.”
My gaze narrowed. “Owe you for what exactly?”
“Can’t tell you. Some day, somewhere, you’ll owe me a favor and you won’t be able to say no.” His face lit up, and I was sure he was plotting all sorts of favors I would do for him.
“If I win, you’ll leave me alone?”
He nodded, “Yes.”
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. “Fine.”
“Great! Meet you downstairs!” He took off so fast I couldn’t even blink.
I caught up to him, but as he slid into the chair, I tripped on something and fell. Tears fell down my face, my ankle hurting.
“See, this is why I say no running in the house.”
Meeting Kayden’s gaze, a smirk on his lips, I knew I had lost and there would be no rematch. Whatever he had planned, or wanted from me, would never go away. I was sure he would cash in on the favor sooner rather than later.
Did I sign my life away to my brother’s best friend?
Ugh.