My Brother's Dirty Secret

2. Careless Kind

After we got our tears out of the way, Miss Celia informed me that my new parents had made arrangements for a car to pick me up early the following morning and drive me to the airport. I had the rest of the day to pack my belongings and say my goodbyes.

The first thing I did was run outside and catch Angel and Juelz. They could tell that something was up as soon as they saw my red puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. I had barely gotten the words out when they guessed what was going on.

“You finally found you a family, ma?” asked Angel, though it wasn’t really phrased as a question. His lips were turned up in his usual playful smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “These ones better treat you right.”

“When do you leave?” Juelz inquired, already pulling out his smartphone. “Maybe we can take you to see Leo beforehand.”

“Ah, I leave early tomorrow, so…” I shrugged, knowing there wasn’t enough time for a visit.

“Hey, it’s worth a shot, right?”

I watched Juelz shoot a text message to someone, and after two minutes of us chatting aimlessly his phone began to ring. He didn’t even bother glimpsing at the screen before he answered.

“Leo. How you doing?” His eyes were on me, a wide grin on his face as he watched my expression shift from uncertainty to excitement. “Yeah, heard that. Hang in there, homie. Listen, you think you can tear yourself away from all your important s**t so you can see your favorite girl?”

He paused briefly, allowing Leo to speak before he added, “Yeah, it might be your last chance for a while, bro. She got adopted and is leaving tomorrow.”

Another short reprieve. “... Uh, she’s gonna be living in--?” Juelz nodded in my direction, prompting me to answer.

“Uh, Middlemoor.”

He made a face. “Uh, some place called Middlemoor? You know it?” Whatever Leo said made Juelz’s eyebrows lift. “Damn, our girl’s moving up in the world… That far? s**t. So, what time do you want us to bring her by--?”

Suddenly, his face fell. His eyes darted quickly to my puzzled expression before he held up a finger and walked further down the street. Juelz was also speaking lower than before, so I really couldn’t hear what was going on.

Angel, who had been watching Juelz’s side of the conversation with Leo along with me, pulled me into a crushing side hug. “Not gonna lie, Mimi--this don’t look good,” he grumbled.

I frowned. Did something happen?

When Juelz returned, the phone was still pressed against his ear, and hard lines were set into his face. His eyes locked onto mine, exuding apologies he couldn’t convey in that moment. “Uh, s**t’s too crazy to bring you ‘round, Mimi. Maybe we can all come visit you after he gets out.”

My heart sank. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was really looking forward to seeing Leo. I would even settle for hearing all of that from him. “Um, can I… Talk t-t-to him?”

Angel and Juelz swapped wide-eye glances while the latter guy muttered into the phone, “Uh, you got a second? She wants to talk to you?... Yeah…”

Then he handed me his phone and jerked his head to the side, signaling for Angel to give me some privacy. After they put some distance between us, I lifted the phone to my ear, my heart pounding in my throat. “H-Hello?”

I heard him sigh; out of relief or exasperation, I couldn’t tell. “Mimi, hey… So, you’re leaving Gravehurst tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” I confirmed.

“This new family,” Leo began, his tone suspicious. I honestly didn’t care--I was just happy to hear his voice for the first time in what felt like ages. “They, uh, are they nice?”

“I-I don’t know yet,” I admitted. “Miss Celia says they are, and that they’ve adopted from Hope Springs before. I don’t think she’d let me go someplace shitty after all the others, you know?”

He let out a short chuckle, but I could tell there was no humor in it. “Right. I guess if we should trust anyone, it’s Celia Dominguez.”

I frowned at that. For as long as I could remember, Leo and Miss Celia got along famously. “Yeah… Uh, so, why can’t I see you?”

“It’s not the right time, Mimi.”

I scoffed at that, feeling bold out of nowhere. “Okay, so, when is the right time? After I’m eighteen and legal? Was that all you ever wanted from me?”

Leo hesitated. “... So what if it was?”

“Ugh!” I tossed the phone back to Juelz, who caught it with a bewildered expression on his face. “Screw him! Don’t look me up in Middlemoor.”

“Artemis--” I stomped off, pissed beyond the point of no return. I could hear one of my guy friends yelling into the phone, asking their friend what he had said to piss me off, while the other called for me to come back. It was too late; Leo had said more than enough, and I refused to let some asshole dictate how I felt.

I can’t believe I almost wanted him to beg me to stick around, or to stay in touch! I cursed internally. That f*****g creep! That disgusting asshole! Joke’s on you, Leo--I’m the one who’s free to come and go. I’ll have a better life in Middlemoor, no thanks to you.

I marched upstairs and packed my things. Sure, I probably should have felt sad and rejected that the guy I had spent the better part of my life crushing on, wanted nothing to do with me. Instead I felt this sudden spark within, this burst of determination that enveloped my entire being.

In the morning, I was getting on a plane to Middlemoor--and I was going to make the most of it.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

I tossed and turned all night, my anger at Leo resulting in a miserable morning. I roused early, getting ready before anyone else, and I bid my goodbyes to a sleepy Lola and a teary-eyed Miss Celia. Walking out the front doors, I nearly ran into Leo’s crew. Each and every one of them appeared regretful, with Juelz taking my leave the hardest.

“Sorry about yesterday, Mimi,” he muttered, his eyes downcast.

I hesitated. Juelz was never one to apologize, especially in front of the crew. It wasn’t a good look out on the streets. He and another one of the guys took my bags from me and followed me to the car parked at the curb. It was a spacious, luxurious sedan; it and its driver looked out of place in the slums of Gravehurst.

“Good morning, Miss Hunter,” the driver greeted me with a nod. “My name is Daegal, and I’ll ensure that your journey to Middlemoor is a safe and comfortable ride.”

I tried to smile at Daegal, but I think I ended up grimacing more than anything else. “Ah, th-thank you.”

He unlocked the trunk and watched as the boys hoisted my bags inside. “Is this the extent of your luggage, miss?” When I nodded, he closed the trunk and led me to one of the car doors, opening it for me.

“Mimi?” I granted the guys one last look over my shoulder. Angel and Juelz were at the forefront, their eyes shining with a blend of emotions that neither could voice.

Juelz cleared his throat. “Uh, ‘til the next life.”

I frowned. “What?”

“It’s just a thing we say,” he muttered. “We never know what could happen out here, so we’re always telling each other that we’ll see each other in the next life… So yeah.”

I nodded slowly as understanding hit me. This was their special way of saying goodbye, not just as a fellow orphan from Hope Springs, but as a member of their crew. I threw my arms around Juelz’s neck and buried my face in his shirt, hoping to hide the tears. “Yeah. See you in my next life.”

He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a tight squeeze before the other guys followed suit, passing on well wishes and warnings about guys, bullies, and adult life. When it came time for Angel, the last person, to wish me goodbye, he scooped me up into a bear hug and whispered in my ear:

“Artemis, give ‘em hell.”

Then he set me down, and the guys watched as I stepped into the car. Daegal shut the door behind me and strolled out of sight, only to enter through the driver’s side and promptly start the vehicle. The beating of my heart sped up as the engine purred to life; this was it. I was leaving behind everyone and everything I ever knew… And this time, there was no going back.

I waved through the window as we pulled away; Leo’s crew watched us as we drove off, and in spite of all my anger I couldn’t help but wonder what I ever saw in Leo when there were two fantastic guys right in front of me all along.

After thirty minutes of traffic, we made it to the airport. I expected Daegal to pull into the parking lot of the adjacent rental place, but instead he drove up to a gate off to one side and presented his ID to one of the security guards. It was only another moment before we were driving down a private runway and pulling up to a jet. My mouth was agape--I had never before seen an airplane so close in real life.

“The pilot is waiting, Miss Hunter.”

I jumped at the sound of Daegal’s voice. I hadn’t even realized he had opened my door, and he already had my backpack slung over his shoulder and my duffel bag in his other hand. I clambered out of the car and followed him up to the jet, where two flight attendants were waiting for us at the bottom of the steps.

“Welcome, Miss Hunter,” they nodded in unison. They were both varying degrees of blonde, with one having blue eyes while the other had brown. “It is a pleasure to serve you this evening.”

“Please, call me Mimi,” I told them, glancing at a disapproving Daegal as I added, “All of you. I’ve never been waited on before, so I’m not really sure how to feel about it. Maybe I’d feel more comfortable if you called me by my nickname?”

Daegal exhaled through his nose. He had told me it was his job to make sure I was comfortable. “Very well, Miss Mimi. Your attendants are Haylee and Kaylee. We call them the Twins.”

I c****d an eyebrow at that. Despite their somewhat similar shades of hair, the women before me looked nothing alike. “Ah, o-okay. Nice to meet you.”

The Twins nodded in unison, and it was as I followed Daegal up the steps to the jet that I realized he gave no indication of which “twin” was which. Great, this is gonna be an awkward flight until one of them incidentally repeats either their own name or that of their “twin”.

As soon as we took off, the brown-eyed twin approached me. “Miss Mimi, do you have any food allergies we should take note of?”

“Uh, no?” I answered, thinking back. I couldn’t recall having any allergies, actually.

Satisfied, she nodded. “Perfect! We’ll have breakfast served soon. Please let us know if you need anything prepared differently. She’s whipping up an omelet for you.”

“Okay, thank you,” I simpered, disappointed to still be in the dark on who had what name. She was about to walk away when I thought of something. “Oh, uh, do you know how long it will be until we’re in Middlemoor?”

The brown-eyed twin furrowed her thin brows. “I’m sorry, Miss Mimi, but our destination is Ravenburn. We’ll be there in six hours.”

I nodded--I had expected as much after the little bit of research I had done on Middlemoor. It was too small of a town to host an airport, so its larger neighbor Ravenburn was the closest town to allow for a landing. “Right, Ravenburn. I must have forgotten that part. Anyway, I was thinking of taking a nap after breakfast. Do you have any blankets? Could she bring me one with my food--?”

She nodded eagerly. “Of course we have blankets! And nonsense, Miss Mimi. I’ll fetch you one right away.”

Disappointment bubbled inside me as the attendant walked away. I was hoping that either the brown-eyed twin would have revealed the blue-eyed twin’s name while assuring me of her compliance to my request, or that the blue-eyed twin would have said something along the lines of, “Kaylee told me you wanted a blanket,” or “Haylee is grabbing one of those for you right now!”

Turns out the rest of the flight was the same nonsense--me trying to lead one of the attendants into spilling either her name or her so-called twin’s, all for nought. By the time we landed in Ravenburn, everything I did learn about them was random tidbits, neither of which led me to knowing which was which. The blue-eyed attendant was a fantastic cook, and seemed a bit more timid than her brown-eyed counterpart, who complimented my “rugged street look” and nearly talked my ear off for forty minutes about how much she enjoyed fashion.

At one point, I had all but given up when Daegal stole one of our rare moments without the Twins to lean in and ask, “Do you know the difference between Haylee and Kaylee?”

I gulped. s**t, am I being that obvious? I decided to try and play it off. “I’ve noticed a few differences. What about you?”

Daegal, who had been reading through a newspaper with a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles that weren’t on his face the entire drive to the airport, mulled over my question before revealing:

“Kaylee has the mannerisms of a princess down-pat, while Haylee has the air of a queen coming into her own. Simply put, both are royals at different stages of life.”

I stared at him incredulously. “... You’re f*****g with me, right?”

The driver made a sound that almost sounded like a chuckle. “You’ve no clue who goes by what name, do you?”

“No, and it’s killing me!” I whisper-shouted, peeking over my shoulder. Neither attendant was within earshot. “Please tell me who’s who!”

“No, I think I’d like to see how long you can drag this out for,” he chortled softly, returning to his newspaper.

“Dae, c’mon!” I urged him, causing his head to shoot up. “W-What?”

“You called me Dae, Miss Mimi,” he mumbled. His greenish-grey eyes were wide with befuddlement, though I wasn’t sure why. Someone had to have given him a nickname at some point in his life, right?

“S-Sorry,” I backtracked, leaning back into my seat. “I didn’t mean to overstep--”

“No, Miss,” he whispered, swallowing over a lump in his throat. “Dae is perfectly acceptable. Thank you.”

I nodded. “Okay, uh… You can call me Mimi, remember? Not Miss. It sounds so weird.”

Daegal looked as if he were going to argue when his mouth clamped shut for a brief moment. “... Of course, Mimi. Thank you.”

Then he returned his full attention to the newspaper, a wistful smile on his face.