The soft but lively sounds of the Duke Ellington Orchestra flowed throughout the house. studies showed that plants loved classical music and the blues, and it was pretty obvious why. All those other kinds of music spoke words to you; telling you exactly what they wanted you to think. Classical music, blues music, that spoke without words. It spoke to your soul. Also, it lets you make your own meaning out of it. She's probably given the same songs 30 different lyrics at this point. It was fun.

The front door swung open. "Grandma! Aubrey fell!" Basil was holding Aubrey's hand as the two walked inside. Aubrey was covered in dirt and grass stains, with some nasty cuts etched across her overalls and arms. A dot of blood was bubbled up on her cheek.

"Oh?!" She ushered out of the kitchen. "Oh, you poor thing! What happened?"

"I-I-I saw the rose bushes and," Aubrey sniffled, choking on her tears. "I wanted to get some. And I fell in the bushes and they hurt me!"

Grandmother sighed. "Knew I should have clipped those things. Basil sweetie, can you—"

Basil was already coming back from the closet with Band-Aids. "Here you go, Grandma! I'll get the washcloth."

"Aww, thank you, Pookie! Now Aubrey, why don't you have a seat?" Leading Aubrey to the couch, she pushed the girl's back with her hand. Aubrey jumped up with a yelp. "Oh, I'm sorry sweetheart; I didn't mean to hurt you." Wow, those bushes must have really hurt to make her act like that. She might need to call the professionals to have the bushes done right.

With the damp, lukewarm washcloth, Grandma tapped the blood away before wiping the dirt and scratches away. "Scrub-a-dub-dub." Aubrey flinched a little bit, trying to avoid squirming from the pain. Grandma went slower. "Beep boop beep boop. Little sways make the pain go away." With her wounds clean, Grandma opened the Band-Aid box. "See anything you like?"

Still a little teary-eyed, Aubrey pulled out the unicorn Band-Aids.

"Fine choice." Granda applied them where they needed to go. "You look so cute with them. Do you feel better?" Aubrey looked at herself. Cute? I mean, the unicorns did look pretty. Everyone seemed to always call Aubrey cute, except...mother.

"Aubrey?"

"Oh uh, yes. I feel better. Thank you, ma'am."

"Excellent!" Grandma clapped her hands together. "Would you like some food? I made lasagna!"

"All right!" Basil jumped up. "Grandma's lasagna is the best!"

Aubrey walked to the dining room table and sat down. Lasagna? Sounds like some kind of alien food.

"Won first place at the Faraway Town Food Competition of '77! Let me know what you think!" Grandma laid down their meals in front of her and Basil. It was some kind of food cube. Stacks of meat and pasta on top of each other.

Uhhhhh...

"Here's some veggies with it, to get all big and strong!" She scooped out some peas from her pot and put them on the side. "Oop, one second." She went to the fridge and pulled out a pitcher from the freezer. "Can't let all that food just get packed down in there. Make sure to wash it down." She poured two tall glasses of lemonade. Aubrey could feel how cold they were just by the air.

Aubrey was still trying to figure out how to eat this. Was she supposed to eat one layer? Stuff the cube in her mouth? She looked at Basil, was was cutting off a slice with his knife and eating all the layers in one go. So she did the same.

It was...amazing. Her eyes lit up. She went back in for a second slice. A third.

"Ohohoho! Don't cut the plate in half now!" Grandma was grinning ear to ear. It was the same way Basil used to eat before he learned how to savor his food. Better than any first-place ribbon.

"Can I have some more, please?" Aubrey looked at her excitedly.

"Now, now. I still see some untouched peas on that plate." Grandma wagged her finger. "You need to finish your firsts before you ask for seconds." As if she wasn't going to let Aubrey go home with half the leftovers. She'd done this song and dance with Basil plenty of times before he wised up. It was just a pleasure to do it again.

"Aw, come on!"

"Basil's grandmother is...dying?" Kel felt her hand twitch her knees wobbled and she fell back into the booth. Her chest heaved up and down.

"Hey, hey hey!" Kel slid in next to her. "Just keep breathing Aubrey, okay?" She latched onto him, already starting to sob as she gripped his shirt. "I know. I know. Take all the time you need it's okay, Aubrey. I'm here. I'm here.

Neither of them could hear anything over her crying for...however long it took.

Slowly, steadily, her breathing returned to normal. She felt the urge to pull away from Kel but, she didn't want him to look at her. She could feel how puffy her eye had gone.

"Hey, Aubrey?" She heard behind her.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want a milkshake?"

"Ah-wha?" Did she hear that correctly? She pulled back and looked right at him. Did he seriously just ask that? Now? Basil's grandma was dying and Kel was worrying about goddamn milkshakes! What the actual fuck was wrong with—

"Here you go." Kel gently put it down on the table "One extra large strawberry milkshake."

"Thanks." She started sipping on it. Both hands on it. The condensation around it made it so slippery. If she didn't put everything she had into holding it together it would slip out of her hands and fall into her lap and go everywhere. "What's happening to Basil's grandma?"

Oh uh...Kel tried to think about how to respond. Where to even start?

"Well, you know, she's uh, really up there in age, Aubrey. It's not one thing; It's a bunch of things. She's really been slowing down lately. They don't think she's going to get better. I've been to Basil's house a lot lately and she's rarely outside watering the plants. They hired a caretaker for her and Basil. Her name's Polly. She's really nice! She's a nurse, or uh, well at least she used to be. I help her cook and she makes a lot of food for when she can't be there. Basil is constantly taking leftovers to school I'm kind of jealous."

Aubrey's expression told him he shouldn't have said that last part. Never thought he would ever see someone look so scary while drinking a milkshake.

"Anyways, Basil is in a really bad place right now. He talks about managing her bed sores and..." His breath went shallow. He looked down. "Hey, Aubrey, did you know that old people die more in the wintertime?"

Both of them felt their stomachs drop. It was already September. Aubrey had never really made the connection but that made sense. I guess that's why old people always talk about going down to Florida.

"Basil's...really worried she's not going to make it to Christmas. I couldn't imagine trying to celebrate Christmas if someone I loved just died." Kel quickly made a cross on himself. "But, what's even worse is what's going to happen to Basil when she's gone. You know that Basil is an orphan, right?"

"Yeah." It was one of the first things she and Basil talked about when they first met. Basil's parents had died in some terrible car accident. He didn't talk about them too much, and all the school assignments he had to do for Mother's Day were very...brief.

"Well, Basil is kinda rich. Well like, he's not really rich, but he has a lot of stuff tied up in like inheritance between his parents and his grandma. Basil's actually going to get the house they're staying in right now. But the problem is he won't be able to get to any of it until he's an adult. He's only 15 so he's got a few years left."

"So what happens in the meantime?"

Kel went completely sullen. "That's the scary part. If she dies and he becomes a child orphan without a guardian, that's really really bad Aubrey. He could end up losing a lot of his inheritance. He would be taken away into state foster care, some relatives of his grandma could put in a custody claim for him, or maybe something else could happen. It's a bunch of weird court stuff that I don't really know all about. It would be so much easier if he's an adult when his grandma dies, but Aubrey, they don't think she's going to make it. This entire thing just sucks, man."

Legal bullshit.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

Legal bullshit was the reason why Mom won the divorce and she hasn't seen Dad since—

"Isn't there anything we do, Kel?"

Kel scratched his head. "I talked to Mom and Dad about it. Basil's always welcome to stay at our place, but they really aren't in a position to legally get guardianship. And with the baby coming, we have enough problems as it is. Hey, what about you and your mom? Could Basil—"

"NO!" Aubrey shrieked it out. Kel's reaction was more than enough. You've been too honest. "I mean, we don't really have the money to take care of him."

"Oh, I understand. Sorry I asked." Kel's mind was racing for something to say. Mom and Dad always said never to embarrass something for how much money they didn't have. "Well, we can always give Basil our moral support! Do you want to see him and his grandma tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Sweet. I'll pick you up after church."

"Wait," Aubrey stopped drinking for a second. "You go to church?"

"Of course I do. Mom and Dad only stopped going because she's pregnant again. They have service on TV. I go by myself." Now that he thought about it, he's never actually seen Aubrey at church, even once. "So what are you going to tell Basil?"

"Tchh." Aubrey rolled her eyes."I'll keep it short. This has nothing to do with basil. This is about his granny."

"Ah, come on!" Couldn't she drop the tough girl act for this? "Do you really think his grandmother wants to see you bullying him in their house?"

"I'm not going to bully him but I'm not having a conversation with him. It would be fake. Basil and I don't have the best relationship right now."

"Well that's because you've been bullying him for four years. You need to apologize."

"I'm not going to apologize for doing the right thing." She put the milkshake down. It was practically empty anyways.

"No we are not doing that anymore." Kel shook his head. His blood pressure was already rising. He was gonna need it. "Are you seriously still on that? For the last time Aubrey, what happened to Mari was an accident."

"Do you really believe that things would be the way they are if it had been an accident, Kel? Accidents happen all the time. People move on from it."

"I've moved on. Basil's moved on. Hero has moved on. M-"

"Sunny hasn't moved on! He's locked himself away in his house, and it's been four years since anybody saw him. Do you seriously think an accident keeps Sunny away from us for 4 years?"

"You know how sensitive Sunny always was. With all the rumors that have come out, I'm not surprised he hasn't left his house. Rumors that you caused."

"I've caused? Are you saying this is my fault?!" She reared her leg back and put her shoe straight through his chest. Kel hit the eggshell-colored floor with a thud. It was sticky and reeked of artificial lemon.

"Oh I'm sorry that I wasn't there the night Mari went down the stairs!" Aubrey jumped up with a livid expression. Kel was not going to do this to her. "But you know who was there, Kel? You! I had to find out the next day after half the neighborhood already knew. And for some reason, everyone is just acting like nothing is wrong! I've been the only one trying to get answers about what happened. I'm the only one who cares!"

"I told you everything I know, Aubrey. I wouldn't hold back anything from you. You have to believe me."

Wait.

She really said she was only person who cares?! Kel let that replay in his mind. Four years. He's even trying to save his friend group for four years and this is what she says to him?

He got to his feet; irate. After he had just bought her a milkshake! How dare she?

"You're the one that's been going around hunting Basil trying to get a confession out of him for four years. People talk! People have walked up to me and asked me questions and have told me things that they've heard. I've heard things about Basil, think about Mari, things about Mari and Sunny's dad! Horrible stuff that's just completely made up! And the way you accuse Basil of things is what leads to it!"

"I am not responsible for what other people do, say, or think! That's their problem, not mine!"

She wouldn't even accept an ounce of blame?! Seriously?!

"Nobody was bullying Basil before you started it. People liked him. He would make flower crowns for everyone! And now everybody shuns him. It's your fault!"

"And they should shun him. He's covering for Sunny!"

"Are you listening to yourself right now? Do you know what you're accusing Sunny of doing Our friend?!"

This. Stuff like this. Kel had been hearing this garbage for the past four years. Schoolmates. Neighbors. Enough was enough.

"I'm sick of hearing it, Aubrey! You don't have any proof of anything! What if you're wrong? What if you've been bullying Basil this entire time for no reason? Would you even be willing to apologize in front of everybody for it and admit you're wrong?!"

"I'm not wrong." Basil was lying. He'd been lying this entire time. She'd seen it in his eyes. She could hear it and his voice. Bullshit was practically flying out of his pores. And it was just infuriating how no one else could see this.

"Answer the question." He grabbed her shirt and pulled her in. Their faces were only inches away from each other. Aubrey could see the determination in his eyes. Despite how pissed she was she felt this strong base of respect for him. Still, he was touching her, and that was not going to slide.

"Fuck you, Kel." She slammed her hands into his chest. He didn't move.

Wait what?

She tried to shove him again. Just nothing. She squeezed a little on his pecs. "Holy shit dude you're a fucking brickhouse."

He grinned. "I know, right? We have our own keys to get into the school weight room and I've been doing a bunch of push-ups on my own." He flexed a bicep. Even with his shirt covering it he could still show off a little bit of muscle.

"Nice, bro!" She gave him a thumbs up.

Wait. They're supposed to be angry at each other.

He focused his attention back on her. "Answer the question. Would. You. Apologize?"

"Oh yeah, right. Fuck you, Kel." She stomped on his foot. Now that made Kel let go. He hopped around holding his foot for a few seconds while Aubrey leaned on a table and looked down.

Fuck.

No way was Basil just going to let her see his granny. She was gonna have to apologize. Honestly, it probably wasn't going to work but she had to try. She owed it to his grandma to try.

"You know what? Kel, you're right."

He stopped holding his foot. "I'm right?"

"I need to apologize to Basil. And the only way I'm going to be able to do that is if you're there to help. So I'm just going to say this now to get it out of the way." She took a deep breath. "If you want me to pretend that something isn't fishy about what went down that night—that's fine. I can do that. If you want me to pretend that the way Sunny handled everything was normal—that's fine I can do that. If you want me to trust basil— I can't do that. But I trust you, Kel. Not everybody is as trustworthy as you are. I wish you'd understand that. But I trust you."

If you want me to pretend that Basil hasn't been taking advantage of you the entire time—that's fine. I can do that.

It was a start. And a start was everything Kel wanted.