C4 Chapter 4

FELIX’S POV

"Sir, it was a complete accident," I said, my frustration is growing.

"That may be true, but you were supposed to be following clear guidelines," the principal, Mr. Ivers, replied, gesturing with his hands. "Under normal circumstances, I would hand you both a week of detention. However, this particular mishap resulted in an injury to a faculty member."

"Mr. Ivers, if we are being technical, Ms. Gomez was actually running," Ralph interjected.

The principal looked thoroughly confused. "What does that have to do with the price of tea?"

"Think about it. If Ms. Gomez hadn't been sprinting acRoger the room, she would never have lost her footing. There was a giant puddle on the floor. She should have known better than running through a spill. I rest my case," Ralph said, leaning back comfortably in his seat.

Mr. Ivers sat in silence for a moment, processing the logic. "But she wouldn't have slipped in the first place if you two hadn't covered my floor in liquid."

"Well, now that you mention it, the blame falls squarely on Felix. He completely lost focus," Ralph said, pointing a finger straight at me.

I honestly cannot comprehend why I am best friends with this absolute clown.

"Is there any truth to that, Mr. Mason?" Mr. Ivers asked.

"Yes sir, but he wasn't paying attention to this either. He was supposed to be my partner and could have easily stopped me, but his mind was somewhere else entirely," I replied with a smug smirk.

"So, we are right back where we started," Mr. Ivers muttered under his breath. He rubbed his temples. "Alright, boys, here is the deal. I can't bench you from sports because the team needs to make the playoffs, and you two, along with your brothers, happen to be my star athletes. So, you will serve your detention this coming Saturday and Monday."

"Wait, what happened to the big speech about a teacher getting hurt?" Ralph asked, completely pushing his luck.

I reached over and smacked him hard acRoger the back of the head. Naturally, Mr. Ivers took note of Ralph's attitude. Fantastic.

"Mr. Cade, you raise an interesting point," the principal said, a dangerous look entering his eye. "If this school misses out on the playoffs this year, consider both of yourselves permanently benched for the entire lacRogere season."

"What?!"

That cRogered a line.

"You heard me clearly. Now, I have already dialed both of your households, so your families will deal with your behavior when you get home. Get out of here and report to practice," he ordered firmly.

We left the office. The hallways were totally abandoned since the final bell had already rung, and everyone had left for the day. That reminded me of our new guest.

"Hey, how did Dorothy get a ride home?" I asked Ralph as we made our way toward the lockers.

"I’m pretty sure Adrianna drove her back. Do you think Sean is going to ground you for this?" He asked, spinning his locker combination.

He opened the door and swapped out his textbooks. Homework is absolutely the worst.

"Sean probably won't even mention it to me," I replied, rolling my eyes at the thought of my older brother.

Sean is my older brother. He attends college just over ten minutes outside of town, but he spends almost all his free time partying or staying at girls apartments. Walways get into big arguments because he waste his time over useless things.

"How is Jennette doing?" Ralph asked.

"She was really upset when our parents packed up and left again, but she seemed completely fine this morning," I answered.

Jennette is my little sister. She is an absolute angel and is completely obsessed with dancing. Ever since she was a toddler, it’s all she’s wanted to do, and she is honestly incredible at it for a four-year-old.

"Alright, enough interrogating me. What's it like suddenly having a foster sister around?" I asked, flipping the script.

He shrugged. "Dorothy seems really nice, but I get the distinct feeling that she's hiding a major part of her life from us."

"Well, she’s been stuck in the foster system for who knows how long. There's no telling what she's had to deal with."

"Yeah, I just wish she realized that she could trust us with anything."

We walked into the locker room, which was totally empty because the rest of the team was already running drills outside. Ralph and I threw on our gear and jogged out onto the field. The coach stood by the sidelines, marking items off on his clipboard.

Our coach has blonde hair and hazel eyes. He's only twenty-six, making him the youngest varsity coach the school has ever hired. He handles football, lacRogere, and baseball.

"Mason! Cade! You're incredibly late!" He barked at the moment he spotted us.

"Apologies, Coach. We were held back by a teacher to finish up an assignment," I lied smoothly.

He didn't press the issue and just waved his hand. "Get out on the field and line up."

He blew his whistle loudly and clearly. I pulled my helmet on and secured the strap.

Time to play some football.

"Felixy!" Jennette squealed the moment I walked through the front door of our house. She run towards me.

Her brown hair was tied into pigtails, and he hazel brown eyes were filled with excitement. She was wearing a white top with a panda on the front and gray pants. She looks cute in that outfit.

"Hey, Jen! How's your day?" I asked.

"It was so fun Mrs. Cole taught us our alphabet letters today," she beamed, flashing a huge smile.

"Man, I swear you're getting taller every single time I look at you," I teased.

She gave my shoulder a playful swat. "Stop it, I'm still little, not tall!"

I burst out laughing, and it didn't take long for her to join in.

"Thank God you're finally home. If I had to sit here and babysit for another thirty minutes, I was going to be completely late," Sean announced, walking down the stairs toward the foyer.

"Late for what? Another random hookup? I asked, shooting him a look.

"What does hookup mean?" Jennette piped up, looking between the two of us.

"It's nothing you need to worry about your little head about, munchkin," Sean told her, dismissing the question.

I set her gently back down on the floor and knelt to her eye level.

"How about you run upstairs and play with your dolls for a bit, and I'll bring up some pizza and ice cream in just a few minutes?" I suggested it.

She nodded eagerly. "Okay! But make sure it only has pepperoni on it!"

"You got it. I'll be up there in a flash."

She dashed up the stairs, and I stood back up. Sean was leaning casually against the wooden banister, watching me. He was dressed in a black leather jacket, dark jeans, and a plain white tee. His messy dark brown hair was styled perfectly, and his eyes looked completely bored.

"Take a picture; it'll last longer," he said, dripping with sarcasm.

I rolled my eyes. "Where are you heading tonight anyway?"

He straightened up, moving away from the stairs. "Just out to meet up with a few buddies."

"And when exactly are you planning to be back?" I pressed.

He raised his hands in the air like a criminal surrendering. "Probably around midnight, Dad. Relax."

"It's not funny, Sean." I cRogered my arms tightly over my chest.

He stepped closer and placed his hands on my shoulders. He had a slight height advantage over me, but I refused to let it back me down.

"Chill out, little bro. I promise I won't get wasted tonight," he said with a reassuring smile. He pushed past me and reached for the front door handle.

"That's exactly what you say every single night," I muttered under my breath.

Sean stopped in his tracks, turning around. "What was that?"

I turned to face him dead-on. "Nothing."

"Good. I'll catch you later tonight." He stepped outside and clicked the door shut, leaving me completely alone in the quiet living room.

I pulled out my phone and placed an order for a delivery pizza for Jennette and me. Once the order went through, I headed upstairs to check on my sister before walking into my own bedroom.

My room features dark gray walls with my lacRogere sticks proudly displayed as decor. Right next to the window, I have a massive bookshelf packed to the brim with sports memorabilia and trophies. My flat-screen TV is mounted on the wall with another shelf of schoolbooks sitting directly underneath it, and my closet is right next to the entrance.

I tossed my heavy backpack onto the mattress and changed out of my school clothes into comfortable sweatpants and a plain red t-shirt. Looking out the window, I could see the stars starting to peek through the sky. It was right around seven in the evening by the time I had finally made it home from practice.

A few minutes later, I spotted headlights pulling into the driveway and recognized the delivery vehicle. I jogged downstairs, snatched a ten-dollar bill out of our emergency money jar, and opened the door just as the delivery guy was raising his hand to knock. He stood on the porch, holding out a warm cardboard box.

"That'll be $6.46," he stated.

I handed him the bill and took the pizza from his hands. "Keep the change, man."

"Awesome, thank you. Have a great night," he replied, turning back toward his car.

I shut the door, locked it, and called out for Jennette to come downstairs. She bounded down the steps, and I handed her a cup of water to drink. She looked up at me like I had completely lost my mind.

"Why do I have to drink plain water?" She whined, staring at the cup.

"Because it's a school night, and you're already eating greasy pizza and sugary ice cream. You need to put something healthy into your system," I explained.

"Do I absolutely have to drink it?" She asked again, trying her best to negotiate.

"If you want any ice cream, just say so."

"Fine, but don't expect me to enjoy it."

I set the pizza box down on the living room coffee table and grabbed a handful of napkins. If our mom and dad finds out that were having meals in the living room, they would lose their minds.

"Alright, Nessa, what do you want to put on?" I asked, scrolling through the Netflix menu.

"Can we please watch Beauty and the Beast?" She begged, hitting me with her best puppy-dog eyes.

"Sure thing," I replied, clicking on the movie.

We each grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza and leaned back against the couch. By the time the credits started rolling, we had completely polished off the entire pizza box and finished a bowl of chocolate ice cream. Jennette had completely zonked out against my side near the end of the film.

I turned off the television and quietly cleaned up all of our trash and napkins. Once the room was tidy, I carefully scooped Jennette up into my arms. She stirred slightly, murmuring in her sleep, but quickly drifted right back off.

I carried her upstairs as quietly as possible and walked into her bedroom, which sits right next door to mine. I laid her down gently into her pink princess-themed bed, pulled the covers up over her shoulders, and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. I walked out, leaving her door cracked open just a bit so she wouldn't be in total darkness.

I walked down to the very end of our hallway and stepped into the bathroom. Jennette has her own private bathroom since she's the only girl, while Sean and I are forced to share one. Our parents' master bedroom and bathroom suite sit on the completely opposite wing of the house. We almost never walk down their hallway because they are never actually home.

My parents work in high-end real estate, buying and selling luxury houses and apartments across the country. When we were younger, they used to leave us with a rotation of full-time nannies until Sean, and I finally got old enough to drive ourselves around. When Jennette was born, our mom actually stayed home to raise her until she turned two. But now, they only really show up for major holidays and occasional weekend visits.

I turned the shower dial to hot and hopped in, quickly washing my hair and body. Once I dried off, I threw my sweatpants and red tee back on, brushed my teeth, and headed into my room. I pulled my textbooks out of my bag and spent the next hour grinding through my homework assignments.

When I was finally finished, I did a quick lap downstairs to make a double-check that the front door was securely locked, then climbed into my own bed. I plugged my phone into the charger on my nightstand and closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep.