Page 46 of The Pretender

Her response is nearly instantaneous.

Mom #2: I’m calling you and you better fucking answer.

Ugh.See? This is why I can’t tell her shit. She’s worse than our mom. My phone rings a few seconds later and I know I can’t ignore it. I answer with a loud sigh, so she knows I’m not in the mood to have this chat.

“Do you think I give a shit that you don’t want to talk to me, little boy?”

I grin. “Oh, I’m well aware that you don’t care that you’re disrupting my college sinning.”

She ignores the sinning comment and gets to the point. “What’s wrong? Why are you sick?”

“Uh…” I chuckle. “Because apart from what most women say, gods can fall to mortal illness every now and again.”

I love giving my sister a hard time. It makes it easier to deal with her guilt too.

“Shut up. Tell me what’s going on.”

There’s no point in lying. She really will come down here and see for herself. “Bad fish tacos last night,” I tell her. “But I’m fine and before you ask, I’m hydrated and I’m not running a fever. Looks like I’ll make it another day to worry you.”

She’s quiet for a moment and I worry that I might have upset her. “Cal?”

“I’m here.” She exhales a breath and then, “Bash, are you sure you’re okay? I’m worried about you.”

I fight the urge to pop off with something shitty. This is my sister and no matter how much she gets on my nerves, I know it comes from a good place.

“I’m fine, I promise. You have nothing to worry about.”

She isn’t talking about today. Calista knows I want to leave Georgia like yesterday, but I think now that I’m getting closer to leaving, she worries I might actually follow through with it. Then she won’t be able to force her quality time on me like she does once a month. I’m not saying I don’t love my family but like everything in my life, it’s complicated.

“Okay,” she responds, sounding unsure. “If you promise. Do you need me to send you some Gatorade or electrolyte drinks?”

I laugh. “No. I’m capable of going to the store.” And Vee already brought some, but even if she hadn’t, I wouldn’t go to the store. Maverick’s apartment is closer and cheaper.

“Okay. Well, I’ll stop by next week when I get back, okay? I’ll bring Emmy too. She’s been asking about you.”

Emmy is my one and only niece. She’s much cooler than my sister, so I don’t mind hanging out with her.

“Sounds good,” I return. “Tell her I want a rematch in cup pong.”

We play online, and for a seven-year-old, she’s much better at it than I am.

“Okay. Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

When we’ve finally hung up, I’m tense and ready to alleviate some tension by torturing the neighbor.

“Vee! You better not be stealing anything!”

I pound on the door until I hear, “Fuck you.”

CHAPTERELEVEN

Sebastian

University CamFlix Competition Submission

Entry Number: 75

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