Chapter Eight.
Rocky pulled up at their front door but left the car running. "Stay here, I'm gonna get you an ice pack and I don't want mom seeing you." Rocky explained before leaving him alone. Tum tum instantly changed the radio station to something a little more hip than Bjorne Lynne. Korn blasted from inside the radio and he hummed the song that was playing.
Rocky opened the front door and walked inside. "Mom?!" He called out. Looking around the living room with his vision, he didn't see his mother anywhere. "Mom?!" He called out again. 'Hunh, I wonder where she is?' He thought.
Walking into the kitchen he saw the very person he was looking for down on her hands and knees scrubbing. "Mom?" He called to her. "Rocky don't step there," She said holding a hand out to stop his tracks into the kitchen. "I've been trying to clean this floor to get the glass up all morning, but nothing seems to be working." Jessica worried.
Rocky made a face and nodded. Looking down at the floor he then looked to his mother. "I need something from the freezer." He asked her, since he couldn't enter the kitchen with or without shoes. "Sure baby, what is it?" Jessica stood and went over to the freezer ready to pull out a drink of some kind but he waved it away. "I need an ice pack." Rocky stated.
Reaching into the freezer, Jessica pulled out a frozen iced pack and walked across the kitchen handing it to her son. "Wait a second what do you need an ice pack for? Are you hurt?" She asked.
"Nah, it's for a friend, we were playing...." He searched for a word. "basket ball and he got his wrist twisted tossing it." He had to suck his breath back in at how lame that sounded but he couldn't tell her the truth. "Oh, well I hope he's okay. I can fix you boys lunch if you like tell him to come on in."
Jessica turned away from Rocky going back into the kitchen to start the stove. "No," Rocky held a hand out to stop her. "It's fine we already ate. Thanks anyways." Turning away, Rocky called over his shoulder. "I gotta get going. I'll be back in time for dinner and don't worry about Tum Tum I'll pick him up from school."
"Oh, alright. Thank you, Rocky." His mother called after him. When the front door closed she looked back down at the floor and sighed.
Rocky opened the car door and climbed back inside. "Here, put this over your eye." He says tossing the ice pack into his younger brothers lap. "Thanks." Tum picked it up holding it over his eye. "Ah, it's cold." He whined. But Rocky shook his head with a smile. "It's supposed to be cold, otherwise it wouldn't work."
The car backed out of driveway. Noticing they were leaving Tum tum looked at his brother with question. "Where're we going?" He asked. "The G.A.P, I'm gonna apply for a job there after that I don't know. Mom's acting really weird right now, I think it'd be better if she didn't know you were sent home from school." He explained.
"Yeah." Tum thought aloud and sadly lowered his eyes to his lap. Rocky kept his attention on driving.
* * *
Later that day. Back in Arizona. Colt turned on his radio, turning to a station that played mostly classical music. D.K. and Manga were at the foot of the bed waiting for what he was going to do. "This song goes out to all the dog's out there." He laughed to hisself. Waiting to pick up on the tune, he gently started playing his accustic guitar as the background of what ever piece was playing.
A smile began to show on his face that turned into a quaint grin. "This sounds like that friends forever song." He mentioned to no one in particular. He never heard the front door open from the music being so loud., he never heard the foot steps up the stairs and he never heard when the knob turned on the door before it cracked opened.
"Jefferson?" A girls voice said. Colt jumped slightly from being startled, but he exspelled the feeling when he saw it was just his sister. "Oh, hey Anne. Schools out already." He said more than asked.
"Yup, where's mom?" The girl asked walking into the room. "I thought she wanted to hear you play?"
Colt put his guitar down on the floor in its case and turned to her with a sigh. "She uh, went to work." Annalisse blinked in shock. "Wow, that's new I thought for sure she'd skip work and cling to you all day." The girl stated standing up. "She tried to, believe me, but her job called and I convinced her to go."
Anna nodded and walked to the door. "Well, I'm gonna go do my homework. I'll be in my room if you need me." Colt said a very low 'okay' and stood up from the bed to turn off the radio to give his sister some piece.
Manga followed her obvious favorite owner out of the room and the door was closed after them. "Looks like it's just you and me again." He said to D.K. "Wanna see if they've got any snacks around here?" The dog rested lazily on the floor but swished it's tail back and forth to show he was listening.
An inward laugh came from the dirty blonde and he walked out of the room saying to his lazy little friend. "Suit yourself, more food for me then." Travelling downstairs the door bell rang and Colt shouted over his shoulder. "I'll get it!" He trotted over to the front door and pulled the knob.
"Hi." He said to read haired girl standing outside. The girls eyes nearly fell out of her head seeing the boy up close. He was gorgeous! "Uh, uh...." She stammered. "Anna's upstairs." Colt said casually, standing aside for her to come in. The gaping girl walked inside not taking her eyes away from the retreating figure. "Oh my god." She whispered lowly. Not noticing Anna beside her, she suddenly felt her jaw snapped shut.
"Natasha, don't you know staring and drooling with your mouth hung opened is a turn off." She mentioned. "Whatever," Natasha stated feeling her weight leaning to one side as Anna tried to steer her upstairs. "Geez were you always this heavy." Anna strained to tug her friend up the stairs. "Go ask him something for me." Natasha said with plead in her voice.
"Nooo! Why don't you, if you like him so much." Anna dropped her friends arm and stood beside her with her arms folded over her chest.
Meanwhile in the kitchen, Colt can hear the two girls talking and he laughed to hisself. 'Girls are really weird.' He figured and opened a cabinet grabbing a bag of fun sized baked potato chips. Opening the bag he walked back into the hall eating a chip as he went.
"Ssshhh here he comes." Natasha said feeling a blush explode onto her cheeks. "Want one?" Colt said to Anna but she shook her head and he held the bag to her friend. "Chip?" He asked. Natasha broke into a fit of laughter and took one from the bag. "Thanks." She said trying to calm her voice down.
Colt smiled at her and she blush, if possible, deepend. Anna watched the display and rolled her eyes. Feeling Natasha nudge her on the shoulder, and she shot her friend a dirty glance and reamined quiet until she felt it again. With an angry sigh she said. "Fine. Jefferson, this is Natasha Pinkly from school." Turning to her friend. "Tasha this is my brother Jefferson."
Colt took her hand shaking it. "Hi." He said. The girl shyly looked away and replied. "Nice to meet you." An umcomfortable silence fell over them, soon interupted by Jeremy walking through the door slamming Natasha into Colt. "Oh!" They both cried out backing away from each other. "I'm sorry." The girl stated.
"No it's okay." Turning his attention to Jeremy who was tugging on his shirt sleeve. "Yeah Jerm'?" He asked.
"Wanna help me with my homework?" The boy asked. "Sure kid, come on." Colt went into the kitchen waving to Natasha who waved back. When he was out of eye shot she grabbed Anna's shoulder and silently screamed into her friends clothes. "He is drop dead gorgeous! You are so lucky."
Annalisse shook her head saying. "How am I lucky? He's my brother." Natasha shrugged saying. "Yeah, but you get to see him everyday." With an aggressive sound of dismiss Anna walked upstairs. "You're hopeless, Tasha. Hopeless."
"So what if I am," she started up the stairs after her. "Hi John." She said when she saw the boy coming in the door behind her. John said 'hello' to her to and led his friends inside. "Let's get something to eat from the kitchen then we can head out." John was saying to his friends. The five of them followed the boy into the kitchen talking about something.
One of them meantioning how cute Natasha was, but John brushed his thoughts of her off, by saying no dating his sisters friends. Another boy talking about his parents leaving for the weekend and they should get together and have a party or something, another of the boys saying he was hungry enough to eat a horse having the two other boys agree with him.
"Here's the man of the hour." John was saying when he saw Colt sitting at the kitchen table with his little brother. "Hey squirt." He said tossling both boys hairs. "What's up little man." A mixed boy of black and white said to Jeremy. "Hey Ishmail." Jeremy said fixing his hair.
"Guys this is my younger brother Jefferson." John introduced and they greeted him with a 'hello' and 'what's up.'
Colt waved a hand. "Hey." He replied. "Jeff' this is Ishmail," He gestured to the mixed boy. "Eric," A boy who looked somewhat Asian but he could be wrong. "Manuelo," to a hispanic boy. "Peter and Joshua." He pointed to two other brunette cocasian males.
"They're brothers." He mentioned. "Nice to meet you guys." Colt said. "Heey don't be so formal man." Peter said sitting down beside him. "This is totally freaky that you're here. We heard about everything that happened." John frowned hearing his friend and grabbed him by the shoulder yanking him up out of the chair replacing hisself on it. "That's enough DICK tracy."
Peter shrugged. "I was just asking, I wasn't gonna say anything rude." He explained but John shook his head replying. "Uh huh."
While his friends scanned the kitchen for something to take with them to eat when they went out. John asked over the noise. "What happened to mom, her boss tell her to come in or she's fired?" He laughed. Colt nodded saying. "I think it was somewhere along lines."
Seeing Johns group heading to the door Colt followed them with his vision. "Where're you guys going?" He asked. "Shoot some hoops." Said Eric. "You wanna come?"
Colt looked at Jeremy who waved him away. "Yeah sure." He stood up and walked out of the kitchen with them.
"Jeremy," John called over his shoulder on their way out of the kitchen. "When mom gets in, tell her we're gonna go play basket ball with Jeff."
"Alright." He said not taking his eyes from his work. When the door closed he took his ear phones out and looked around. "You say something John?" He called but heard nothing. "Hm." Replacing the ear phones back into his ears he nodded his head to the music playing humming the song outloud.
Natasha was looking out the window watching the boys walk down the street bouncing a ball back and forth to each other. A lovely sigh came from her and Anna looked up with question. "What?" She asked.
"Jefferson, isn't he cute. He has like the best nose I've ever seen." Natasha commented. "Now you're scaring me." Annalisse said.
"What's so wrong with noticing somebody?" Asked Natasha, not really wanting an answer but from Anna she knew she was gonna get one anyway.
"You're noticing his nose, don't you think that's a little pathetic?"
This time it was Natasha who rolled her eyes. "Don't worry Annie, someday you'll be in love too then you'll see what I'm talking about."
Throwing a pillow at her friends butt, Anna shook her head. "That's where you're wrong, I am not going to all in love, ever. So you can just forget it." Looking down at the homework infront of her she mumbled. "Get over here and help me with this."
"Alright alright, I'm coming." The girl took one last glance out the window then walked over to the bed sitting down beside her best friend. "Not to mention his butt." She said out of nowhere. "Tasha!" Anna shouted popping her with a pillow and she laughed shielding herself.
Rocky pulled up at their front door but left the car running. "Stay here, I'm gonna get you an ice pack and I don't want mom seeing you." Rocky explained before leaving him alone. Tum tum instantly changed the radio station to something a little more hip than Bjorne Lynne. Korn blasted from inside the radio and he hummed the song that was playing.
Rocky opened the front door and walked inside. "Mom?!" He called out. Looking around the living room with his vision, he didn't see his mother anywhere. "Mom?!" He called out again. 'Hunh, I wonder where she is?' He thought.
Walking into the kitchen he saw the very person he was looking for down on her hands and knees scrubbing. "Mom?" He called to her. "Rocky don't step there," She said holding a hand out to stop his tracks into the kitchen. "I've been trying to clean this floor to get the glass up all morning, but nothing seems to be working." Jessica worried.
Rocky made a face and nodded. Looking down at the floor he then looked to his mother. "I need something from the freezer." He asked her, since he couldn't enter the kitchen with or without shoes. "Sure baby, what is it?" Jessica stood and went over to the freezer ready to pull out a drink of some kind but he waved it away. "I need an ice pack." Rocky stated.
Reaching into the freezer, Jessica pulled out a frozen iced pack and walked across the kitchen handing it to her son. "Wait a second what do you need an ice pack for? Are you hurt?" She asked.
"Nah, it's for a friend, we were playing...." He searched for a word. "basket ball and he got his wrist twisted tossing it." He had to suck his breath back in at how lame that sounded but he couldn't tell her the truth. "Oh, well I hope he's okay. I can fix you boys lunch if you like tell him to come on in."
Jessica turned away from Rocky going back into the kitchen to start the stove. "No," Rocky held a hand out to stop her. "It's fine we already ate. Thanks anyways." Turning away, Rocky called over his shoulder. "I gotta get going. I'll be back in time for dinner and don't worry about Tum Tum I'll pick him up from school."
"Oh, alright. Thank you, Rocky." His mother called after him. When the front door closed she looked back down at the floor and sighed.
Rocky opened the car door and climbed back inside. "Here, put this over your eye." He says tossing the ice pack into his younger brothers lap. "Thanks." Tum picked it up holding it over his eye. "Ah, it's cold." He whined. But Rocky shook his head with a smile. "It's supposed to be cold, otherwise it wouldn't work."
The car backed out of driveway. Noticing they were leaving Tum tum looked at his brother with question. "Where're we going?" He asked. "The G.A.P, I'm gonna apply for a job there after that I don't know. Mom's acting really weird right now, I think it'd be better if she didn't know you were sent home from school." He explained.
"Yeah." Tum thought aloud and sadly lowered his eyes to his lap. Rocky kept his attention on driving.
* * *
Later that day. Back in Arizona. Colt turned on his radio, turning to a station that played mostly classical music. D.K. and Manga were at the foot of the bed waiting for what he was going to do. "This song goes out to all the dog's out there." He laughed to hisself. Waiting to pick up on the tune, he gently started playing his accustic guitar as the background of what ever piece was playing.
A smile began to show on his face that turned into a quaint grin. "This sounds like that friends forever song." He mentioned to no one in particular. He never heard the front door open from the music being so loud., he never heard the foot steps up the stairs and he never heard when the knob turned on the door before it cracked opened.
"Jefferson?" A girls voice said. Colt jumped slightly from being startled, but he exspelled the feeling when he saw it was just his sister. "Oh, hey Anne. Schools out already." He said more than asked.
"Yup, where's mom?" The girl asked walking into the room. "I thought she wanted to hear you play?"
Colt put his guitar down on the floor in its case and turned to her with a sigh. "She uh, went to work." Annalisse blinked in shock. "Wow, that's new I thought for sure she'd skip work and cling to you all day." The girl stated standing up. "She tried to, believe me, but her job called and I convinced her to go."
Anna nodded and walked to the door. "Well, I'm gonna go do my homework. I'll be in my room if you need me." Colt said a very low 'okay' and stood up from the bed to turn off the radio to give his sister some piece.
Manga followed her obvious favorite owner out of the room and the door was closed after them. "Looks like it's just you and me again." He said to D.K. "Wanna see if they've got any snacks around here?" The dog rested lazily on the floor but swished it's tail back and forth to show he was listening.
An inward laugh came from the dirty blonde and he walked out of the room saying to his lazy little friend. "Suit yourself, more food for me then." Travelling downstairs the door bell rang and Colt shouted over his shoulder. "I'll get it!" He trotted over to the front door and pulled the knob.
"Hi." He said to read haired girl standing outside. The girls eyes nearly fell out of her head seeing the boy up close. He was gorgeous! "Uh, uh...." She stammered. "Anna's upstairs." Colt said casually, standing aside for her to come in. The gaping girl walked inside not taking her eyes away from the retreating figure. "Oh my god." She whispered lowly. Not noticing Anna beside her, she suddenly felt her jaw snapped shut.
"Natasha, don't you know staring and drooling with your mouth hung opened is a turn off." She mentioned. "Whatever," Natasha stated feeling her weight leaning to one side as Anna tried to steer her upstairs. "Geez were you always this heavy." Anna strained to tug her friend up the stairs. "Go ask him something for me." Natasha said with plead in her voice.
"Nooo! Why don't you, if you like him so much." Anna dropped her friends arm and stood beside her with her arms folded over her chest.
Meanwhile in the kitchen, Colt can hear the two girls talking and he laughed to hisself. 'Girls are really weird.' He figured and opened a cabinet grabbing a bag of fun sized baked potato chips. Opening the bag he walked back into the hall eating a chip as he went.
"Ssshhh here he comes." Natasha said feeling a blush explode onto her cheeks. "Want one?" Colt said to Anna but she shook her head and he held the bag to her friend. "Chip?" He asked. Natasha broke into a fit of laughter and took one from the bag. "Thanks." She said trying to calm her voice down.
Colt smiled at her and she blush, if possible, deepend. Anna watched the display and rolled her eyes. Feeling Natasha nudge her on the shoulder, and she shot her friend a dirty glance and reamined quiet until she felt it again. With an angry sigh she said. "Fine. Jefferson, this is Natasha Pinkly from school." Turning to her friend. "Tasha this is my brother Jefferson."
Colt took her hand shaking it. "Hi." He said. The girl shyly looked away and replied. "Nice to meet you." An umcomfortable silence fell over them, soon interupted by Jeremy walking through the door slamming Natasha into Colt. "Oh!" They both cried out backing away from each other. "I'm sorry." The girl stated.
"No it's okay." Turning his attention to Jeremy who was tugging on his shirt sleeve. "Yeah Jerm'?" He asked.
"Wanna help me with my homework?" The boy asked. "Sure kid, come on." Colt went into the kitchen waving to Natasha who waved back. When he was out of eye shot she grabbed Anna's shoulder and silently screamed into her friends clothes. "He is drop dead gorgeous! You are so lucky."
Annalisse shook her head saying. "How am I lucky? He's my brother." Natasha shrugged saying. "Yeah, but you get to see him everyday." With an aggressive sound of dismiss Anna walked upstairs. "You're hopeless, Tasha. Hopeless."
"So what if I am," she started up the stairs after her. "Hi John." She said when she saw the boy coming in the door behind her. John said 'hello' to her to and led his friends inside. "Let's get something to eat from the kitchen then we can head out." John was saying to his friends. The five of them followed the boy into the kitchen talking about something.
One of them meantioning how cute Natasha was, but John brushed his thoughts of her off, by saying no dating his sisters friends. Another boy talking about his parents leaving for the weekend and they should get together and have a party or something, another of the boys saying he was hungry enough to eat a horse having the two other boys agree with him.
"Here's the man of the hour." John was saying when he saw Colt sitting at the kitchen table with his little brother. "Hey squirt." He said tossling both boys hairs. "What's up little man." A mixed boy of black and white said to Jeremy. "Hey Ishmail." Jeremy said fixing his hair.
"Guys this is my younger brother Jefferson." John introduced and they greeted him with a 'hello' and 'what's up.'
Colt waved a hand. "Hey." He replied. "Jeff' this is Ishmail," He gestured to the mixed boy. "Eric," A boy who looked somewhat Asian but he could be wrong. "Manuelo," to a hispanic boy. "Peter and Joshua." He pointed to two other brunette cocasian males.
"They're brothers." He mentioned. "Nice to meet you guys." Colt said. "Heey don't be so formal man." Peter said sitting down beside him. "This is totally freaky that you're here. We heard about everything that happened." John frowned hearing his friend and grabbed him by the shoulder yanking him up out of the chair replacing hisself on it. "That's enough DICK tracy."
Peter shrugged. "I was just asking, I wasn't gonna say anything rude." He explained but John shook his head replying. "Uh huh."
While his friends scanned the kitchen for something to take with them to eat when they went out. John asked over the noise. "What happened to mom, her boss tell her to come in or she's fired?" He laughed. Colt nodded saying. "I think it was somewhere along lines."
Seeing Johns group heading to the door Colt followed them with his vision. "Where're you guys going?" He asked. "Shoot some hoops." Said Eric. "You wanna come?"
Colt looked at Jeremy who waved him away. "Yeah sure." He stood up and walked out of the kitchen with them.
"Jeremy," John called over his shoulder on their way out of the kitchen. "When mom gets in, tell her we're gonna go play basket ball with Jeff."
"Alright." He said not taking his eyes from his work. When the door closed he took his ear phones out and looked around. "You say something John?" He called but heard nothing. "Hm." Replacing the ear phones back into his ears he nodded his head to the music playing humming the song outloud.
Natasha was looking out the window watching the boys walk down the street bouncing a ball back and forth to each other. A lovely sigh came from her and Anna looked up with question. "What?" She asked.
"Jefferson, isn't he cute. He has like the best nose I've ever seen." Natasha commented. "Now you're scaring me." Annalisse said.
"What's so wrong with noticing somebody?" Asked Natasha, not really wanting an answer but from Anna she knew she was gonna get one anyway.
"You're noticing his nose, don't you think that's a little pathetic?"
This time it was Natasha who rolled her eyes. "Don't worry Annie, someday you'll be in love too then you'll see what I'm talking about."
Throwing a pillow at her friends butt, Anna shook her head. "That's where you're wrong, I am not going to all in love, ever. So you can just forget it." Looking down at the homework infront of her she mumbled. "Get over here and help me with this."
"Alright alright, I'm coming." The girl took one last glance out the window then walked over to the bed sitting down beside her best friend. "Not to mention his butt." She said out of nowhere. "Tasha!" Anna shouted popping her with a pillow and she laughed shielding herself.