Chapter 7
2183 Words
~Christa~
The rest of the week flies by, and we are drilled beyond what we even think it is physically possible to achieve.
Chante’s parents come to pick up her things late on Thursday afternoon, and her mother gives me one look, mumbling something about having warned her daughter that there would be jealous girls, and she would get hurt.
Chante’s father is a clear man of the force and stops her in her mid-sentence saying that he warned Chante that it wouldn’t be a fashion show and to get her things packed so they can get out of there.
The atmosphere is so thick in the room, but I’m no longer going to be intimidated and stand my ground. He was standing at ease in front of my bed, purely because of his rank. As soon as they leave, I sit down on my bed and take a breath. Well, guess I’m the only girl left in the squad.
My stuff is packed for the weekend. I try to call my dad to make arrangements on what time he should pick us up tomorrow, but he doesn’t answer his phone. Then I try mom, but she also doesn’t answer.
I meet the boys in the dining hall, and Miller tells me not to worry that he already spoke to them earlier, and they said something about being outside in the garden.
Great! He knows more about what’s going on at home than I do! But I’m over the insecure feeling about the entire situation, and I guess they are the boys my parents have always wanted. They sort of became the brothers I’ve always wanted.
Miller and I seriously talked about the kiss in the shop that day and decided our friendship meant more to us.
***
We walk up to the gate after having been warned, double warned and triple warned by Cappie and Tank to behave over the weekend, but I don’t see my parents' car anywhere. Starting to get really worried after also not being able to reach them the night before, I nervously start looking around the parking lot.
Mom
“Over here, sweetie!!”
I hear mom’s voice and look in the direction I heard it. She is waving at me, standing next to dad in front of a brand-new minibus…
I immediately look at Miller, and he shrugs.
Miller
“The family grew, and they needed more space for all the kids.”
He grins at me, and I’m ready to punch him in the face!
Mom “Boys! Bags in the back, we don’t want your stinky clothes stinking up the new car.”
She hugs them and points to the back of the van. Hugging me last after Miller takes my bag. They shake dad’s hand and dad walks over to hug me. They climb into the van and dad presses a button making the side door open. Miller and Freddie jump in like two over-excited kids, and it doesn’t take me long before their excitement infects me!
Miller
“How is she behaving, Mr. Bradley?”
Dad “Really good, son. We got everything you ordered for your flat into the back. I didn’t realize the seats could all fold up so nicely, and you then have so much space back there.”
Miller “And you had no problems at the sales office, I take it?”
Mom “Oh, gosh, the lady was so nice! I thought I was royalty! Thank you, Miller.”
Mom turns around to look at us, and she is smiling so brightly, I don’t think I’ve seen her this happy in years.
Miller “That is awesome news. If they didn’t play along, I would have had to let my parents know to take our business elsewhere.”
He grins at them and winks at me.
Dad “No, son, we were treated very well. As I told you when we spoke on the phone, it's really spoiling us. We really appreciate your gifts. As long as you don’t go overboard.”
Miller “No, Sir, I would never! Scout’s honor.”
He says, but none of us believe him. We don’t have scouts, and if we did, I can promise you he definitely wasn’t part of that group of kids.
Miller “Besides, I spoke to my dad about it, and he and my mom are on board and just thankful that someone is willing to take in their unruly son. They’ve been trying to sell the house since we moved to the barracks, but they were worried about what to do with us when we are out on weekends. So, you guys are actually helping us out. I will give you my dad’s number. He wanted to thank you personally in any case.”
Dad “Oh, well, it’s nothing really, but I would like to talk to him as well and just let him know you are in safe hands.”
Dad’s chest suddenly swells like the proud father of a son who just won first place in some big contest! Seriously!! We pull into the driveway and the boys jump out to open the gate.
Mom
“Such well-mannered boys.”
Christa “You clearly don’t know them well enough yet.”
I mumble from the back.
Mom
“What was that, honey?”
Christa “Oh, nothing. Just wondering how all this is going to work now that you have two new sons in the house!”
Dad “Christa, don’t be jealous. We are just helping out a couple of YOUR friends, remember.”
Christa “I’m not jealous…”
I start as the back door opens automatically when dad presses one of his many buttons and decides to rather just shut up. Miller has given my parents a lot, and, honestly, they do deserve to be treated well. We weren’t ever poor, but we weren’t rich either.
The boys carry our bags to the washing room and grab my hand.
Freddie “Do you mind if we go look at the flat before dinner?”
They are so over-excited that they don’t really wait for an answer before pulling me away from the front door to the back of our garden. Their so-called flat is the size of a two-bedroomed house that walks out onto a patio, then walks out right onto the pool… With deck chairs and everything.
Christa “It’s only a little wooden hut, girl… Nothing serious!”
I mumble a bit sarcastically, and Miller looks my way.
Miller “Did you think I would have something built that would make your parents feel shy about the way their backyard looks?”
Now he is just making up excuses, but I am curious about the place and following them inside. The furniture, luckily, isn’t brand new.
Freddie “Ah, awesome! My own bed is back. You found me, my old friend!”
He shouts from one of the bedrooms. Okay, so it’s probably their furniture from Miller’s parents’ house. The living room has an enormous chocolate brown couch in a velvety material that has seen feet up on the couch. There is no huge-screen television, but there are a wall-sized television and every possible game console you can think of with a wooden coffee table that is stained beyond repair.
You wouldn’t say that this is the house of a guy who has money!
The kitchen isn’t that different. There is an antique fridge that is painted in a bright blue color, but it still works and is stocked with beer while the freezer has a couple of TV dinners and. Funnily enough, some frozen vegetables. When I double-checked the fridge, I found bottled water in the door.
One of the two of them is a bit health conscious at least. Seeing as I’m their “sister” now, I’m taking advantage of the situation, and while they are busy in their rooms, I start going through their kitchen cupboards. Plates, glasses, coffee mugs, coffee, sugar, snacks… Just the normal stuff… how
Miller
“Find what you were looking for?”
He gives me such a fright that I nearly bumped my head on the side of the cupboard.
Christa “No! Where are the condoms?”
Freddie “Bathroom cupboard… duh! We weren’t going to let your mom see those. We brought them with us.”
They laugh at me, and I’m about to storm out when I hear mom’s voice on an intercom in the living room calling us for dinner…
Christa “No! You did not!”
Freddie “Yes, he did. He didn’t want them walking all the way back here to call us.”
Miller
“Or walk in on something.”
Miller presses a button and tells mom that we are on our way. This is all a lot. We’ve only known each other for a month, and they’ve moved in. And what about MOM?! Didn’t she tell me to be careful of men spending money on you, and now she and dad are having a ball with their two new sons?!
Dinner is ready, and mom had already set the table by the time we walked in… Usually, I get told to set the damn table!!
Then some weird stuck-up old gentlemen walk in.
Mom “Oh, honey, I want you to meet our new friend, Godfrey. He used to work at Miller’s house and would have lost his job. So, Miller suggested that he had come to work for us.”
My parents have a butler. Our normal middle-class house has a butler. Just f@cking great!
Christa “Any other changes I need to know about? Has my room been moved to the storeroom? Or better yet. The kitchen under the sink, maybe! Excuse me, I seemed to have lost my appetite.”
Unable to stand this anymore, I slam my napkin down on the plate, smashing it into pieces and cutting my hand. Storming off to the bathroom to clean it up and then planning on locking myself up in my room, I hear one of the other chairs moving and know that he is coming after me.
When I walk into the bathroom, he asks me where the first aid kit is and orders me to put my hand under the tap so I don’t bleed all over the place.
Clicking my tongue at him, I do as he says and point to the corner cupboard where we keep the box with first aid stuff. Strangely, mom isn’t right behind him, and I really don’t feel like talking to any of them.
He cleans the wound, and when he is done, we see that I will need stitches.
Christa “Dad! DAD! I need stitches!”
I shout from the bathroom and he looks at me as if I have just lost my mind. My dad walks in with a very old greenish tin that has a white cross on top of the lid.
Dad “Girl! What are you going to do when I’m no longer here to do your stitches?”
Christa “Miller will do them. Watch what my dad is doing.”
If he then wants to be such a family member, he has to learn to fix whatever I break.
Miller looks a bit white in the face.
Christa “What’s wrong? It’s just a little bit of blood, an open wound that needs stitching, you know?”
I watch him as he physically turns slightly green when dad puts the needle right into the wound to clean it.
Christa “One, two…”
He disappeared into the toilet, and I burst out laughing.
Christa “You are such a woos!!”
I shout and dad reminds me to keep still. He stitches up the wound, and I walk back to the dinner table when it’s all cleaned up and bandaged.
Mom
“Stitches I take it?”
Dad “Yes, we will need some new bandages for my kit after Christa finished them… Yet again.”
Freddie looks my way, and Miller joins us.
Miller “Now I need details.”
Mom “Christa’s dad was a medic in the army. They learned almost everything a doctor could do in those days. Our darling Christa here has been getting into trouble since she could walk, and instead of spending a fortune and hours hanging around the hospital, her father decided to treat her wounds at home.”
He turns to look at me.
Dad “She developed a very high tolerance for pain over the years. Well, she has actually always had one, to tell the truth.”
Freddie “And a short temper to go with it if you ask me.”
My dad bursts out laughing.
Dad “That’s the reason for most of her injuries there, Freddie. Now Christa, will you please stop all this faffing so we can eat dinner in peace. Look at poor Godfrey! You nearly gave the poor man a heart attack!”
- Writer
