"Mom!" Fourteen year old Wendy's annoyed voice sounded from the living room. "Why do I have to watch her?!"

"Because your father's out of town, and Jimmy's at his friend's birthday party. I have to go to my sister's," Marni replied, checking if everything was in her purse.

"Mom!"

Linda cringed from her spot in the kitchen. She was hiding next to the counter, on the floor, listening to their yelling. She had been excited when Marni told her Wendy would be watching her. She was hoping her sister would play with her, or braid her hair, or paint her nails.

"Why do I always have to watch her?"

"Winifred Mabel O'Shea, I will not argue with you! You're going to watch your sister. I don't care if it's a Friday night, understand?"

"But Mom!"

"You'll watch your sister, or no new dress."

Wendy had been begging and begging her mother for the latest cutest dress. She had finally gotten her mother to give in, and now she was going to have it all taken away.

Linda didn't hear Wendy's answer as she sadly walked to the stairs. Her sister didn't like her; her sister didn't want to be with her anymore.

Linda and Wendy were sitting at the kitchen table, eating dinner. At fourteen, Wendy didn't really know how to cook, so they were eating a frozen pizza. Linda was fine with that- like any seven year old, her mood was instantly lifted when the pizza come out of the oven.

She was finishing her second slice, ready to eat the bones which she always saved for last, when the phone rang. Wendy answered it, Linda only hearing her sister's side of the conversation.

"Dwane!" Wendy had a smile in her voice. "I would love to! Oh, wait. No... no, I can't... I'm busy babysitting my dweeby little sister."

Linda frowned- she wasn't a dweeb! She continued eating and listening.

"Well, I don't know... well... okay, but only for an hour... okay, bye."

The seven year old looked to her sister, "who was that?"

"Dwane."

"Oh... your boyfriend."

"He's coming over."

"But Mama said-"

"I know what she said, it won't matter."

"But Wendy, you're supposed to be watching me. Mama said-"

"I know what she said!" Wendy almost yelled. "I know! And if you know what's good for you, you won't tell a soul."

She frowned, only taking a bite of her pizza crust, thinking about how much trouble both of them would be in if Mama- or worse Papa- ever found out.

"Listen, when Dwane comes, I don't want you here. Stay in your room. Don't come anywhere near the family room." Wendy had an almost threatening tone to her voice.

"But the tv's in there," Linda argued. There wasn't much to watch at night for a seven year old, but she didn't really know that.

"Linda, I'm warning you. Now go upstairs and stay there."

Her lip quivered, but despite the tears wanting to fall, she stood her ground. "Wendy, Mama said that you had to watch me. You're not watching me if I'm up there and you're down here."

"Linda Rose!" Wendy grabbed her sister's arm and practically yanked her up the stairs, the seven year old protesting and fighting all the way there. The babysitter slammed her sister's door shut. "You stay in there, Linda!"

"I didn't do anything! And if I stay here, how can I have desert?" There was absolutely no eating in the bedrooms.

"I don't care if you don't have your precious cookie! You're staying in there!" Wendy ran down the stairs to wait for Dwane.

Being a seven year old, Linda thought she was locked in her room. She pounded on her door, yelling to her sister. "Wendy! Wendy, let me out!"

After five minutes of pounding the door, shouting at her sister, and tears now flowing freely, Linda gave up. She slumped to her bed and buried her head in her pillow. Why didn't Wendy like her anymore? She could vaguely remember a time when her sister wanted to play with her, but now all Wendy wanted to do was talk with her friends and hang out with boys.

"I'm never gonna do that," Linda vowed. "I'm never gonna be obsessed with boys."

That was true- she wouldn't be obsessed with boys. She would be obsessed with only one boy, far into the future.

Linda knew Mama would be back at ten, right as she would be falling asleep for the night. She sighed; what was she supposed to do before bedtime? She was hungry, she needed her cookie. But Wendy had said no; she said to stay in her room.

Linda looked at the clock; 8:30. How was she supposed to survive sleeping if she didn't get her cookie? She couldn't sleep when she was hungry! She had been in her room for an hour and a half; she had heard Dwane come in, and he and Wendy talking. Now they were quiet... maybe they were watching tv? And if they were, they wouldn't notice her sneaking into the kitchen to get her cookie... would they?

But she was locked in her room; how could she get out? She looked around the room- nothing in here would work! Feeling defeated, she went to the door and stared at it for a few minutes. She sighed, put her hand on the knob and rested her forehead on the door. She turned her wrist, not expecting the door to open.

Quietly, she made her way through the hall and down the stairs. She peeked her head around the corner, glad Wendy and Dwane were in the family room and not the front room. She tiptoed into the kitchen, and, plunking her hands on her hips, thought out a plan to get to the top of the refrigerator. She carefully carried the sitting stool to the fridge, and climbed in top of it.

Kneeling on the stool proved useless, as she could reach the top of the fridge, but not the cookie jar. Linda put her hands flat on the dusty cold surface, and put one foot on the stool, then the other. Now she could see the top- it needed to be cleaned. She shook her head, the cleaning could wait, the cookies could not. The ceramic jar was still out of her reach, so she stood on her tip toes and leaned forward to get the jar. She didn't feel the stool wobble out from under her.

Crash! Thump!

Wendy jumped when she heard the first crash. She bolted up from the couch when she heard a big thump and loud crying. She ran to the kitchen, Dwane on her heels. What she saw before her was the last thing she wanted to see. "Linda!"

Her baby sister was on the floor, curled into a ball, holding the left side of her head. Her cries were more like screams; she was scaring her big sister.

Wendy dropped to her knees, "Dwane, help me!"

"How?"

"Do something!"

He knelt next to Wendy, and gently moved Linda's hand away from her face. There was a lot of blood coming from her head. "Wendy, get me some paper towels."

"But she's hurt!" She had tears in her voice. She was going to be in so much trouble if they had to take a trip to the ER.

"Wendy!"

"Okay, okay!" She stood and grabbed the towels from the counter, handed them to Dwane.

"Linda, can you sit up?"

She did, using her legs to kick herself closer to Dwane. She shifted to sit on her knees... only that hurt. Falling back to her bum, she shook her head, her cries not stopping.

He scooted closer to her, gingerly took her hand away from her head. He didn't know a lot about injuries, but he did know that the head bleeds like crazy. He pressed the white cloth to her head, "hold it there."

She nodded, looked to Wendy. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I jus' wanted a cookie!"

Wendy could barely understand her through her cries. She simply hugged her sister, "it's okay, Linda. It's okay."

Once Linda's cries were reduced to sniffles, Dwane asked, "does your leg hurt?"

Linda nodded, pointed to her shin. "There. Hurts there."

He didn't know what he was doing, "can you stand?"

With Wendy's help, she stood up straight. It didn't hurt standing like this. She looked at the floor, where the broken cookie jar lay. "What about that?"

"We'll clean that up," Wendy said, feeling guilty. If she hadn't denied her sister a cookie...

After Dwane's suggestion of sitting on the couch while Linda's head stopped bleeding, Wendy took her sister back upstairs. She sat on the bed while Linda finished her nightly prayers.

"Linda-"

"Shh! Please let Wendy know I still love her, even though she didn't let me have my cookie." She paused, thinking if there was more to say. "In Your name I pray, amen." She smiled a little, satisfied, and snuggled under the covers.

"You're not mad?"

She shook her head. She had been mad, but the head injury and headache replaced the anger. The big bowl of ice cream helped too. "You didn't push me."

What snot nosed seven year old wouldn't blame their fourteen year old sister? Wendy looked down at the covers, "are you going to tell on me?"

"No."

"But-" she didn't finish, surprise over taking her when her baby sister's arms wrapped around her.

"I love you, Wendy."

She hugged her back, "me too."

Once their good nights were exchanged, Wendy walked back downstairs to where Dwane was cleaning up the cookie jar. "How did you know what to do?"

"My Dad's a doctor. I've seen him do that to my baby brother. That kid is accident prone."

She kneeled down, started to pick up what would have been delicious chocolate chip cookies. "Thanks, Dwane. You really helped tonight."

He shrugged, but smiled anyways. They worked in silence, and Dwane didn't argue when Wendy suggested he go home.

What on earth was she going to tell her parents?