Remi's Choice

Chapter 2: Growing Crush

Travis walked out before I could respond to his thanks. Mrs. De Luca paid me and sent me on my way. My heart fluttered as soon as I was outside again and saw Travis walking back toward the door, holding several bags.

“Thanks again, Cherry." He smiled big. The combo of hearing the term of endearment and seeing the smile had my heart pitter-pattering again. “I really didn't do it, you know."

“Really?" I turned back to the front door to make sure his mom wasn't within hearing distance then glanced back at him, lowering my voice. “That's not why you came bolting in the door just minutes before Mr. Bishop showed up?"

“It's not." He laughed as my heart continued to beat wildly. “That shithead Bruce shoved me into the river. It's hot as hell today, so I wasn't even mad, but I knew I had to get home to change and hide my clothes before my mom smelled them. I saw her at the stop of Main and North Shore, so I ran all the way to beat her home."

My jaw dropped. “You beat her home from there?"

“Yeah. Why do you think I didn't have time to say a word to you guys when I ran in?"

“You sure she doesn't know," I asked, remembering what Mrs. De Luca had said to him inside. “She said she's not done with you."

“Nah." He frowned. “All the school s**t online was updated today. She probably got an email notification, and I've got a boatload of missing assignments." He turned, walking backwards up the steps of his porch. “But I know what today must've looked like to you, and you still covered for me." He smiled at that. “I owe you one."

His mom calling out for him to hurry up and get inside had him mouthing the words, “Bye, Cherry." With a wink, he then blew a kiss. My face was instantly afire. Little did I know that playfully blown kiss would mark the beginning of Travis's incorrigible behavior and his affinity for making me squirm.

Two years later

Travis opened the door and greeted me with that same evil smile he always did. “This is getting ridiculous, you know?" Travis took a step back to let me into his house. “If I didn't enjoy having you here so much, I might protest louder about it. But the more you do this, the likelier it is to get around."

As much as I wanted to go along with his playful greeting, assure him that everyone knew I was there to watch his brothers not him, I needed to address something else. Trying in vain to steady my nerves, because Jesus what just being around him did to me now, I just blurted it out.

“I know about what happened in school, Travis. Lana told me . . . everything."

The big smirk on Travis's face waned. He shrugged, doing what I knew he'd do, make less of his being in trouble now—because of my sister. “s**t happens. The guy was an asshole."

“But Lana should've spoken up and told the dean—"

“f**k no! And have everyone know why I did it? Assholes like him are why some girls like that Dotty chick killed herself last year. So, I'm suspended for a day, and I'm grounded for a few days. Big s**t. That's nothing compared to what Lana would be dealing with right now if more people knew why I broke that guy's phone."

I followed behind him into the front room, feeling my heart swell. Travis was almost two years older than my sister Lana. But having started school early because she'd just made the November cut and Travis starting late because he just missed it, they were only a year apart in grades. So, they often ended up in some of the same classes.

Lana had been in tears today when she told me. She'd made the same mistake so many girls her age do only with one even bigger added error. She'd sent a picture of her boobs to some i***t she was infatuated with and trusted him to not show anyone. Her bigger mistake was showing her face in it.

Fortunately, said i***t showed it to the wrong person. Travis had been among the boys in the class where the boy was showing it off, the same class Lana was in. When the phone was passed around to Travis, he'd seen who the photo was of, and Travis took matters into his own hands. Lana had told me Travis approached her after school to explain why he'd broken the phone then proceeded to get in the fight that got him sent to the dean's office. He warned her the guy had been bragging about trying to convince her to send even racier photos.

“Well, thank you. We're both extremely grateful for what you did. I just wish you hadn't gotten in trouble."

“Totally worth it and no need to thank me." He plopped down onto the sofa across from me where I'd begun to take a seat. “I enjoyed it."

“We both know I'm not here to watch you," I said, nervously straightening out in my seat. “Everyone knows I'm here for Trace and Trevor."

It was getting a little ridiculous. Travis had since shot up at least five inches taller than I was and probably outweighed me now by no less than twenty pounds. At fifteen, he was more than capable of keeping an eye on his brothers while his mother went out for the night. But apparently, his mother didn't trust he wouldn't get into trouble. So, lucky for me, she was still asking me to watch his brothers. Though they'd since become latchkey kids in the summers, the only time I got to do this anymore was when she went out in the evenings. Fortunately, that was happening more often lately.

That tiny little crush I'd had on Travis a couple of years ago had grown into something so much deeper. But it'd forever be nothing more than a secret fantasy. Along with the five inches he'd grown physically, and my affection for that vulnerable side he hid so well, so had the severity of the trouble he was getting into. If he'd already had the stigma of being a troublemaker when he was thirteen, things had only gotten worse with every incident—worse than the last—he got into.

Already my parents were beginning to discourage me from agreeing to watch his brothers. Only reason I was able to convince them to let me was because I told them most of the time Travis wasn't even there. It was the truth for the most part. It was part of the thrill for me. I'd arrive and he'd have his fun teasing and making me squirm. Then he'd let me off the hook and leave for the night: out to do God knows what with his friends.

While it was obvious he enjoyed saying things that almost sounded flirtatious, it was also pretty clear that he knew things between him and me could never be. Even though I'd be eighteen soon, my parents would never allow it. It'd become sort of an unspoken source of contention—one I hated discussing even if it was only ever touched on—but I knew it was something that thoroughly irritated Travis.

My family would likely never think him good enough for me. I felt bad, but, at the same time, it secretly irked me that he couldn't stay out of trouble. There were too many times I felt how genuinely he enjoyed talking to and being around me. Times when I felt a deep and very real connection to him, and I knew he felt it too. So, if he really had any desire for anything more between us someday, why the hell didn't he try a little harder to be good?

Tonight was different. As nervously excited as I normally was to see him, this time I was nervous for a different reason. He was in trouble again—grounded. The threat of sending him to live with his father had only grown heavier each time he'd gotten into trouble, and this time I felt somewhat responsible.

“Hi Remi," Mrs. De Luca said as she walked into the room. “There's a bucket of KFC in the kitchen, along with all the fixings. Travis isn't going anywhere tonight," she added with the confidence of a mother who knew all she had to do was ask him if he'd left and she'd know. “But I already warned him to be on his best behavior with you. So, if he gives you any sass, make sure you tell me."

I nodded, thanking her for the offering of dinner. It wasn't until his mom and her neighbor friend Maggie walked out that I was able to get back to what more I wanted to say to Travis.

“I could talk to your mom," I offered.

My heart only sped up as he took me in from top to bottom as he always did with a sinful grin. “No need, Cherry. I'll be in trouble regardless. It's done. Don't worry about it."

“But it's not fair." I tilted my head, peering at him. “Aren't you afraid your mom will send you to live with your dad?"

As he shook his head, the expression on his face went a little hard suddenly. “I doubt that'll ever happen. My dad makes every excuse for why I'm better off here. He's never wanted me to live with him."

Suddenly, it dawned on me why Travis was getting into so much trouble all the time. Was he hoping one day his mom might follow through on her threats? It made total sense; though I doubted he'd ever admit it. Just like all the times he'd so indifferently mentioned his dad was picking him up for the weekend, he'd try just as indifferently to pretend he didn't care when his dad never showed up. It may not have been obvious to anyone else, but it was to me, and Travis knew this. There was something about the way he conveyed that he didn't care. Something in his eyes that silently said he did care. He cared a lot, and he secretly appreciated my sympathy, sympathy I was sure he got from no one else, since all his mother did was bad mouth his father when he didn't show up. It made my heart ache for Travis every time.

Even though I'd always bit my tongue and never asked more about his feelings about his dad, I had to ask now. “How often do you get in trouble like this? For things that really aren't your fault?"

Staring out at nothing in particular for a moment, Travis shrugged then glanced at me and met my eyes. That silent knowing look said he knew what I was implying, and he wasn't even going to try to deny it. “Not often enough apparently."