Page 54 of Bending Under Pressure

“Speaking of siblings, where’s Cam? He wasn’t in his room.”

Mom’s worried look appears on her face. Her eyes crinkle at the corners, her lips press together, and her brows pull inward. “He asked your father to go with him to Elsie’s for breakfast. Something’s going on with him. What is it?”

I grin because this is the perfect time to throw her words back at her. “If he hasn’t told you yet, then neither am I. He must not be ready to talk to you about it.” I even repeat it back in a higher pitched tone to mock hers.

Mom laughs, slapping me in the back of the head. “You’re not funny.” But she’s trying not to smile. It falls away as she thinks about Cam again. “He’s been in a mood all week. Is everything okay with him and Jess? At least tell me that much.”

“As far as I know,” I lie. Cameron is stressing about them having sex. He must be feeling desperate if he’s out to breakfast with Dad right now. He’s surprised me with how nervous he’s been about it. I get it because it is a big deal and it is a reason to be anxious. But Cameron seems to be going overboard, like there’s something more going on than just the fact that he’s supposed to have sex with the girl he’s been dating since freshman year and is in love with. “Thanks for breakfast, Mom.”

“You’re welcome.” she wraps an arm around my shoulders, causing me to lean into her. “You know I love you, right?”

“Yeah, and I love you too.” I kiss her cheek. “I’m going to take a shower.”

I’m standing outside of some dress store in the mall, waiting for Natalie and Keira to show up, when my phone vibrates with a text.

Haley: Good luck today :)

Me: I’m shopping. -_-

Haley: Haha! What for? Buying yourself something special?

Me: Keira has a dance and needs a dress. Kill me now.

Haley: Oh, it’ll be fun. Haha

Me: We’ll see. I think they’re here. Ttyl.

I’ve just slipped my phone into my pocket when Keira gives me a rib crushing bear hug. Okay, so it’s kind of cool that she’s so excited about me.

“Keelan! I’m so glad you still came.”

“Yeah, no problem. Hey, Natalie,” I say, returning her hug next. “What kind of dance is it?” I ask Keira.

She loops her arm through mine, leading me into the store. “Just a dance. There’s no theme or anything like that.” Keira rolls her eyes. “My school sucks.”

“Do you have a date?”

She smiles and nods. “His name is Dom. I really like him.” Keira flips through a rack of dresses; Natalie is doing the same on the other side.

“Is he nice to you? Opens doors for you? Says ma’am and sir to adults?”

Keira and Natalie laugh.

“You’re already acting like her big brother,” Natalie says.

“He’s nice to me. Sometimes, he holds open the door for me. No, he doesn’t say ma’am or sir,” Keira answers, a smile on her face.

“Then he’s not worth your time. Mom told me that I must always be a gentleman, always have manners, and treat girls as such with respect. You deserve the same.”

Natalie seems to pause when I say mom, but Keira isn’t phased. Instead, she laughs. “He’s only taking me to a dance.”

“Doesn’t matter.” I’ve surprised myself by doing as Natalie suggested and turned into a big brother to her. I decide to change the subject to try to learn more about her. “Do you like school? Or have a favorite subject?”

She nods as she holds up a short red dress for Natalie to see. Thankfully, she tells her it’s too short. Answering my questions, she says, “I like school. English is my favorite because my teacher assigns books for us to read and I love reading. Sometimes, I don’t care for the books they make us read though.”

“Really? My, uh, girlfriend likes to read, too.” Haley is my girlfriend, right? “She has a ton of books in her room. Enough for three bookcases.”

Keira opens her mouth, her eyes dancing with excitement when she looks at me, but Natalie speaks first. “You’ve been in your girlfriend’s bedroom?” She raises an eyebrow. “Alone? Were her parents home? Did the Sandersons know you were there?” It bugs me how she can’t call them my parents.

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