“What do you three trouble makers want?” Michael asked when he opened the Whitman front door to see Trent and Ryan holding Andy on the doorstep. “I want Danny,” Andy said as he began to squirm in his brother’s arms. Ryan sat him down and Michael moved out of the way and the three year old ran in the house screaming for his friend. “We have been allowed out of the house to play with Jessie. We’re so desperate that we are reduced to playing with your sister just so we can get out of the house.” Trent said clearly as he tried to imitate Michael’s patented scowl. “Well,” Alex replied from behind Michael as he tried not to grin at the boys. “Jessie went to the pool yesterday with some girl she met at the beach earlier in the week. They went over to the girl’s house afterwards to spend the night and are both on their way over here now because the girl is going to spend the day here. They should be back in a minute; Jessie said the girl’s cousin would drive them over. So, if you two can stomach playing with two girls instead of one, you can hang out here and wait for them.” “We’ll do that,” Ryan said as he tried not to laugh at his slightly older brother’s look of revulsion. As he spoke a car drove up behind them and he turned with his brother to see Jessie getting out of the car with the girl that they had defended the week before. And from behind the driver’s seat came Maria. Michael said nothing, he just watched as she walked slightly behind the two younger girls. He felt as though someone had knocked the wind out of him. “Leigha,” Maria said to her cousin as they reached the doorstep, “just give me a call whenever you’re ready to come home OK.” “Don’t worry about that Maria,” Jessie said with a laugh as she put an arm around her new friend. “Since your mom picked us up from the pool yesterday and drove us around last night and you gave us a ride to my house, we’ll get her home later today. It might be a little later in the evening, but she’ll get home.” “That’s good,” Maria said with a grin she didn’t feel on the inside. It had been a bad idea to drive them over to Alex’s house, she knew Michael would be there, and she was trying to avoid Michael Guerin as much as possible these days. But when her mother had asked her, Maria hadn’t been able to come up with a feasible excuse to say no. Her eyes noticed for the first time that her cousin was staring at the two Guerin twins in awe. “Don’t tell me that you two delinquents are the knights in shining armor that Leigha’s been talking about since she got here last week.” Both of the young teenagers blushed and nodded. Jessie squealed in delight. “Why didn’t you two tell me that’s what the fight was over?” She asked the boys as she basically jumped in excitement. “Did your parents let you off restriction?” “If our parents had completely let us off the hook don’t you think we’d be a someone else’s house by now?” Trent asked Jessie with a perfect replica of Michael’s scowl now that he wasn’t consciously attempting to imitate it. Then he blushed when Jessie’s friend leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I didn’t get to thank you before,” the small thirteen year old said with a shy smile. “Thank you both. It was really kind of you to come help me out that way.” She leaned over and kissed Ryan on the cheek as well. Jessie was looking at her like she was an odd life form. “Why in the world did you kiss Trent?” the larger girl asked after a second. “Ryan I can understand because he’s Ryan…but Trent…he’s such an idiot.” Jessie shrieked when Trent responded to that remark by elbowing her in the side. “You are so going to pay for that moron,” Jessie said as she began to chase the older boy around the house to the backyard. “Don’t mind them,” Ryan said to Leigha, who was staring dumbstruck at the space where the two had been. “They’ve always been like that. Come on,” he said as he led her away from the front porch and toward the backyard, “there’s stuff you can fool around on back here.” Leigha looked at her cousin and waved as she followed one of her knights away. “Here’s Leigha’s stuff,” Maria said quickly as she dropped the duffel bag at Michael’s feet. She turned and began to walk quickly to her car. She made it to the door before he caught up with her. “Not so fast Maria,” Michael said as he grabbed her arm and turned her toward him. “You’ve been avoiding me for over a week and we both know you have some things you need to explain.” “You aren’t my keeper Michael,” Maria said as her eyes narrowed. “Therefore I have nothing to explain to you.” “Don’t even try that Princess,” Michael said with a deep scowl. “You know damn well that you have lots to explain. What the hell do you think you were doing in that place with Doug Sohn of all people? You know what kind of reputation he has. Do you want the population of Willow Oaks to think that you’re a slut as well as a freak?” “First off,” she slapped him upside the head, “that’s for implying that there was something going on with Doug that I either didn’t want or couldn’t handle. Second,” she knocked him again. “That’s for calling me a freak. You’re one to talk Spaceboy. Now if this is all you have to say to me I’ll be going.” “I didn’t say that you could go,” Michael yelled at her. “I don’t recall asking your permission,” Maria yelled in return. They were both yelling now, there voices easily audible to anyone outside. Isabel, who had come outside to check the mail with Tess, was shocked to see Michael yelling at Maria. She heard a gasp and saw Kyle looking at the two of them from a spot in the middle of the road. Isabel and Tess squared their shoulders and made their way over to their new neighbor. “You’re staring Kyle,” Isabel said as she came up beside the boy. When he blushed Isabel grinned at him. “Don’t feel bad. I’ve known them my whole life and I was staring myself. Maria Deluca’s been the bane of his existence since we were five and he’s been hers. The two of them always go at it, but Michael’s never yelled like that before in his life. He’s pretty upset.” “Why?” Kyle couldn’t stop himself from asking. “Well,” Tess whispered conspiratorially as she leaned close to him, “Michael and Maria danced at the Prom last Spring. And something happened while they were out there on the floor. We don’t know exactly what happened because neither one of them will talk about it. But ever since Michael’s been acting like an ass and Maria’s being the harpy in retaliation.” “Maria!” Isabel yelled as she dragged both her friend and Kyle over to the Whitman driveway where Michael and Maria were still yelling at each other while the younger Guerins watched with Jessie and Leigha from the corner of the house. “I’m so glad that you’re here. We have so much to do before school tomorrow. Why don’t you come over to my house and we can get started.” “I’d love that Izzy,” Maria started to walk toward her best friend since kindergarten when Michael grabbed her and wouldn’t let her move. “We aren’t finished talking yet Maria,” he said coolly in a normal tone of voice. Then he turned to Isabel, Tess and Kyle, “I don’t recall any of you being invited over here. Why don’t you just…” his voice abruptly ended when Maria’s fist made a solid connection with his ribcage. When he doubled over and let her go, Maria moved and linked her arm with Isabel’s. “Why don’t you just go to hell Michael? Izzy,” she said to her friend, “let’s go to your house.” Isabel nodded and moved when Maria began dragging her and Tess back across the street. “Why is she always hitting me?” Michael asked Alex as he was helped off the driveway. “Probably because you’re always begging for it,” Alex said dryly. Michael had forgotten that he’d been there the whole time. “How can you be siding with Maria against your best friend?” Michael asked as he grimaced and rubbed his stomach absent mindedly. “Because in this case my best friend is wrong,” Alex said as he glared at Michael in the most anger anyone had ever seen on his face. He looked as scary as Michael did at his worst. “I can’t believe you did that to her. You deserve whatever hell she puts you through before she forgives you, including the bruises.” Alex closed his eyes for a second and collected himself. Then he turned to Kyle and Michael again. “Come on,” he said to Kyle. “Meet the rest of the neighborhood. I think they’re all over here anyway.” Kyle grinned silently and followed the two other men to the backyard where the Guerin and Whitman siblings were now playing baseball while Leigha looked on from the sidelines. TBC

Part 5