Chapter 4

The following Monday, I have a feeling that whatever Maddox and I had going on, which was barely anything, had come to an end on Friday night after he sped to my house and wordlessly told me to get out of the car. I was barely on the sidewalk when he zoomed off again, leaving me to watch the car until it disappeared down the street. I was home by ten thirty. At least Vivica hadn't seen the sour end to a supposedly fun night.

I was right, to put it simply. Maddox doesn't even spare a glance at me in class, nor does he bother to wave at me whenever we have a few seconds of uncomfortable eye contact, not that he ever would before. I feel bad for some unknown reason. I guess it's because I went against his wishes and forced my way into his life by meeting his brother. Maddox isn't the nicest person, but then again, we all have our flaws. One of my major ones, unfortunately, is that I'm a people-pleaser. I'm trying to change that.

When Wednesday comes around, I'm content with the idea of eating alone and walking to and from school. It'll take me forty five minutes, give or take, but I'll manage. I don't want to have to depend on anyone, especially not Vivica. So when I arrive at school ten minutes before the first bell rang, I decide to go to the bathroom to freshen up. The walking will take some time getting used to and I'll have to plan rides with Aunt Gen ahead of time in the case of bad weather.

It isn't until sixth period that I'm assigned the first partner project of the school year. I would've been excited had I actually liked the project, and had someone been willing to partner up with me. Instead, I'm in the front of the class like an idiot while everyone else is partnering up behind me. The teacher begins calling out names and checking who they're partnered with to keep record.

"Jessica Fay?" Mr. Herman calls out.

"Aaron," Jessica responds in short. I glance at her and she brushes her curly hair out of her face.

"Aaron, are you okay with that?" Mr. Herman asks and Aaron nods.

I already asked the teacher if we were allowed to work alone and he said no and that this class requires a lot of group work. It's American Literature- there are plenty of authors who write their stories alone. Why can't I be one of them? It's a children's book, not a textbook. Working with someone else will only make things difficult. Besides, if we have to work on it at home, that makes things ten times harder.

"Maddox Finnegan?" the teacher calls and I stare at the ceiling, hoping that there are an odd number of students in the class so I'd be allowed to work alone. But knowing Mr. Herman, he'd force me into an already formed group so I'd be an awkward and unwanted third wheel.

"Olivia," his familiar voice speaks from the back of the class. I furrow my eyebrows when I try to think if there are other Olivia's in this class. Apparently, there aren't because Mr. Herman looks to me as if satisfied that I ended up finding a partner.

"Is that okay with you?" he questions me and I purse my lips.

Slowly, I nod. "Yeah, sure."

When Mr. H sees that we aren't moving, he claps his hands to signify that we're moving on to the next part of the class. "Sit with your partners while I pass out the project booklets," he announces and I glance back at Maddox. He's sitting back in his seat with his phone in his hands. When he sees that I'm not moving, he surprises me by groaning, collecting his things, and getting up.

Mr. H gives us ten minutes at the end of class to discuss potential topics. I take it upon myself to change the direction of our conversation. "What made you decide to actually talk to me again?" I inquire with a slight attitude.

"Have I ever told you that you talk so much?" he wonders with a quiet sigh.

"Have I ever told you that you dodge questions often?" I retort with raised brows.

"Have I ever told you that I didn't care?" he comments as he flips his phone over in his hands.

"You're very rude," I mutter as I glance down at the desk.

"And I repeat, have I ever told you that I didn't care?" he reiterates with a dry expression on his face.

"I hope you know that this project requires working outside of school," I murmur as I look through the packet.

"I'm aware," he concludes.

"And we're definitely not working at my aunt's." I shiver at the thought of being in the same house as Vivica while Maddox is there. She hates the fact that Maddox actually agreed to go to homecoming with me. Seeing me and him together after will only strike another fuse.

"Is this you begging to go to my house?" he asks with something of a smirk. I stare at him for a few seconds before raising an eyebrow. I guess he's awkward in situations where he's guilty of doing something bad. In this case, it's treating me like garbage and not apologizing. Rather than manning up and saying that he's sorry, he simply ignored me. Now he's back and trying to act as though nothing happened.

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" I question him. "Is this your way of trying to apologize for getting mad at me for something that wasn't my fault? And being an overall jerk to me when I was just trying to be nice?"

He sighs and looks the other way. "I'm not going to apologize, if that's what you're asking of me."

I gaze at him for a few more seconds before shaking my head and turning back to the packet on my desk. So he's just working with me because I'm the only one he can "tolerate", not because he actually wants to work with me.

+ + +

When the last bell rings, I get up, take my time walking to my locker, and slowly put my books. I even use the bathroom and put my hair up. Once I'm ready to leave, I exit the school and notice that many cars are missing, including my cousin's. I told my aunt that I would be walking back and forth from school from now on so she wouldn't yell at Vivica for arriving home without me. When she asked why, I told her for exercising purposes; I was too embarrassed to tell her that her daughter hates me.

Maddox's car is still outside when I push open the doors to the building. Like usual, he's leaning up against it with his phone in his hands. I know he's not waiting for anyone, but for some reason, he's still here. I zip my jacket up as I walk across the lot. Because Maddox parks his car near the entrance, I have to walk past him, and as I'm doing so, he calls out to me.

"They left," he states the obvious as if my eyes don't work.

"I'm aware," I respond.

"So what are you doing?" he wonders as I continue on. I found a shortcut through some woods that shaves twenty minutes off the typical hour long walk. It's not the safest bet but I figure I'll be fine. I survived this morning either way. Let's just hope there aren't any creeps hanging out in there.

I motion towards the exit of the lot. "Walking," I say as if it's obvious.

"To your house?" he asks as he allows his eyebrows to rise. It's not as bad as he's making it out to be. Yeah, it's a good distance but it's such a long drive in a car because of all the one ways and dead-ends. Those don't affect walkers.

"Yeah," I nod at him.

"Do you want a ride?" he asks me after a few seconds of us just staring at each other.

"So you can kick me out of your car again? No thanks," I retort with a quiet scoff.

"I didn't kick you out of my car," he states. I stop walking and turn to look at him with my hands tucked in my pockets.

"You leaned over me, unlocked, and opened my door. That's kicking me out," I state.

"No, I'm pretty sure that's unlocking and opening your door. It's usually considered a gentlemanly thing to do," he responds as if it wasn't rude of him. I give him a flat look in response. "It's supposed to rain."

"Then let it rain," I scoff as I keep walking, leaving him to stand in the parking lot.

+++

When I arrive home, I'm informed that my mom is coming to visit on Halloween with my little brother Charlie. According to her, she just wants to see how I'm settling in. I personally feel like she wants to have an in-depth discussion with my aunt to remind her of the thousands of rules that are set for me here. She keeps telling me that my time spent in Harrington is not a vacation. I simply shrug her off because this is not the type of vacation I'd take.

"Are you excited?" my aunt asks me with a small smile as she ducks into my room. I'm cleaning it, mainly because I won't have time to this week and I know my mother will call me a slob if there's so much as one sock on the floor. I'm also going to try to get Maddox to start the project one of these next few days. We have a month to do it, but I want to get it over with now so I won't have anything to worry about when the project is actually due.

"Yeah," I lie.

"You don't sound like you're excited," my aunt acknowledges.

I shrug as I get up from the floor. "My mother's just coming here to enforce her rules, you know that, right?"

My aunt tilts her head at me. "I don't think so. I think she misses you."

I shake my head. "I've been gone for a week."

"A week is a long time to be away from your daughter," my aunt tells me.

"Then how is she going to do a year?" I scoff. My mother sent me away because I was being a teenager with friends. She didn't like seeing me happy so she sent me here because she knew I wouldn't be happy. Why should I care if she misses me?

"You don't know if you're going to be here for a year," my aunt explains in an attempt to comfort me.

"My mother just isn't going to sign me out of school, again, just to sign me back into my old school," I declare with a shake of my head.

"Do you not like it here?" my aunt mumbles with a small frown. I feel guilty for putting that thought in her head.

I look at her and quickly shake my head. "No, no, I love it here! You're so kind and your house is so nice! I'm just...having a hard time making friends."

"I know it's hard being the new kid, but you'll find your group soon enough," my aunt replies hopefully. "What about that boy you went with to homecoming? Isn't he your friend?"

I sigh and shake my head. "I don't know. He's not the nicest person," I tell her.

"What's his name?" she wonders as she squints in thought.

"Maddox," I answer as I begin folding my clothes and putting them away.

"He's also the one that gave you a ride home that day?" she inquires with quirked brows. I give a short nod in response.

She goes to speak again but her phone, which is in the living room, rings  loudly. Thankfully, she jumps to get it. Though I appreciate her concern, I don't want to tell her about the embarrassing end to my junior year homecoming. The conversation would've eventually lead up to that and I just want to worry about myself alone.

+ + +

Halloween comes around sooner than I thought. The school has been decked out with Halloween decorations since the day I arrived. I just didn't think much of it. I was so used to my old school's bright orange hallways that seeing the occasional pumpkin didn't do much to me. On that frightful morning, my mother and brother set out at nine in the morning so they'd arrive when I was getting out of school. My aunt convinced me to get a ride from Vivica today, at least coming home. I walked to school, mostly for some thinking time.

I miss home, I truly do. I miss my room and my bed. I miss my dog, Alfalfa, and my little brother, Charlie. I miss walking him to school in the mornings; even though he would sing the Go, Diego, Go!  theme song on replay until we arrived. This is going to be the first year I'm not going to be able to bring him trick-or-treating. I'll truly miss that.

Even though I've only been gone for two weeks, it's dawned on me that I'm going to be here for the remainder of the school year. And who knows if my parents will have me back for the summer? And by the looks of it, this year isn't going to be so great. I love my aunt, but school isn't looking good, and with Vivica around, "home" isn't looking so great either.

+ + +

I end up getting a ride home from Vivica, just like my Aunt told me to. When I arrive back at my Aunt's, I find that my brother is already waiting on the front porch for me. It takes me a minute to see that it's him, mainly because he's dressed up as a tree and he blends in with the planted shrubs Aunt Gen keeps on the porch. Vivica simply walked around him as he was propped up on the portico.

"Olive!" he shouts as he comes running to me. I smile and hug him tightly.

"Hey, Charlie," I smile at the seven year old. "Did you miss me?"

"I've missed you this much!" he exclaims as he extends his arms out as far as they can reach. I grin down at him as he drops his arms to his sides.

"I missed you this much!" I respond as I hold out my much longer arms.

"Come on, mommy's inside!" he urges me as he grabs my hand. I allow him to lead me into the house and to the living room. My mother is there on the couch with a smile on her face and a cup of coffee in her hands. She puts the coffee on the table, stands up, and hugs me.

"I've missed you, sweetie," she whispers to me, which takes me by surprise. I was convinced she'd ask if I was following all the rules first and foremost.

"I've missed you, too, mom," I tell her as the overwhelming scent of home fills my nose. I feel a lump in my throat form once she pulls away from me. "How's dad doing?"

"He's good. He said he loves you. He wanted to come visit but he couldn't drop his shift," my mother tells me with a smile. I nod as I stare down at my shoes. He probably didn't want to drop his shift. He's still mad at me, I can tell. He hasn't talked to me in two weeks, not a call or a text. I haven't tried texting him or calling him either, to be honest, but I thought that he'd try at least once. I apologized repeatedly before I left but he just didn't want to hear it.

We sit down and talk until five o'clock. I play with Charlie while my mother and aunt discuss many different things, including me in the conversation occasionally. It's starting to get dark out so my mother sighs. "I feel like we should get going. I promised Charlie that I'd stop at a few houses so he could get candy on the way home," my mother explains as she stares at my little brother.

I stare at her, not quite wanting to say goodbye just yet. "I can bring Charlie around here," I propose, hoping she'll agree.

"The younger kids go out about this time," my aunt insists to help win my mother over.

"Would you like that, Charlie?" my mom asks him and he gives a fervent nod.

"Yeah, can I, mom?" he asks our mother eagerly. She nods so I stood up and watch him run to get his bag. It has a rock on it. I guess it went with his costume in some weird way. Dusting off my pants, I open the door.

"What time do you want him back?" I ask my mom.

"6:30," my mother replies with a smile. I nod, grab his hand, and walk down the steps of the house.

+ + +

At 6 o'clock, my brother asks the question I'd been thoroughly avoiding. "When are you coming back, Olive?" he wonders as he peers up at me with his big brown eyes.

I stare back down at him and sigh. "Uh, I'm not really sure, Charlie," I saw as I swing our hands together.

"Today?" he asks me with a hopeful smile. I shake my head. "Next week?" I shake my head again and he frowns this time. "Turkey day?"

"I'll probably visit you guys," I suggest. I'll have to ask my mom if she'll come and pick me up on Thanksgiving. "Look, Charlie, there's a house!"

He looks at the house with a small frown on his face. It was the last house on the street and then we'd have to turn around. "Can this be the last house? I don't want to trick-or-treat anymore," he mumbles sadly. I look at the small amount of candy in his bag and feel guilty.

I look at him with a sad look on my face. "If you want it to be, it can," I agree.

He nods so I follow him up the steps to the house. He rings the bell and we wait patiently on the illuminated porch. A few seconds later, the door opens and my brother puts on a small smile. "Trick or treat!"

"You're a tree, right?" a familiar, velvety voice asks my little brother. My head snaps up immediately upon recognition.

"Maddox?" I blurt when I see him standing in the doorway. He's not wearing his uniform or a tuxedo, but regular clothes.

"Olive?" he narrows his eyes at me in confusion.

"Olivia," I corrected him absentmindedly. I'm too busy looking at the house I'm standing in front of to bother being snarky. So this is where he lives...

"Charlie!" my brother calls out with a genuine grin. Maddox looks at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"Oh, uh, Charlie, this is Maddox. He goes to my school. Maddox, this is my brother, Charlie," I nod as I introduce the two. For the first time, I see Maddox smile. He offers my brother a small, unabashed grin and my brother beams back. He happily laughs when he notices that Charlie's two, top front teeth are missing, as well as one of his bottom teeth. I'm too busy staring at a seemingly happy Maddox Finnegan to speak.

He drops candy into my brother's bag and I manage to snap out of my daze. "I'll see you tomorrow, Maddox," I nod at him once my brother yanks my hand, muttering about being cold.

"How are you getting home?" Maddox asks me after I take two steps down to the sidewalk.

"Walking," I tell him simply.

"I was going to make another candy run," Maddox announces. "Do you want a ride?"

"Yes, please! It is so cold out here," my brother exclaims with a relieved sigh.

"Here," Maddox says as he dumps the remaining candy, almost half a bowl, into my brother's bag.

"Thanks! You're cool; I like you!" my brother grins in approval.

I scoff as I stare down at my shoes. "That makes one of us," I mutter loud enough for him to hear.

Maddox glares at me before backing into his house. "One second, I'm going to go get money for more candy." He walks away, leaving the door ajar as he does.

My brother and I wait patiently for him. If he was like this all the time, maybe I'd like him. If he's not always so rude and mean, he could be a good friend. However, he's only acting this way because of Charlie. If Charlie wasn't here, he'd call me creepy and demand I get off his property before he calls the cops or beats me in the face with a coat-hanger.

"Where are you going?" yet another male voice asks. I catch a glimpse of Abel when he sits up on the couch.

"We need more candy," Maddox responds. I watch him jump around the living room as he puts shoes on.

"We just had half a bowl! What are you talking about?" Abel questions him. Maddox is silent as he jogs towards something on the other side of the doorway.

"I'm talking to you!" Abel calls as he goes to follow Maddox. He stops in the middle of the hallway when he makes brief eye contact with me. He stops and grins before jogging over. "Olivia!" He's shirtless and dressed only in orange plaid pajama bottoms.

My brother is standing beside me and Abel looks at him. "Are you a tree?" he asks curiously as he acknowledges his outfit.

"Yep!" my brother grins proudly as he shimmies around to show off his costume.

"They ran out of Superman costumes?" Abel wonders as he kneels down and smiles at Charlie.

"No, I'm an environmentalist!" my brother responds with something of a frown on his face. I snort as Abel's eyebrows knit together in slight confusion. "Protect the earth!