Young Writers Society

“Are you coming or not?” I asked Kenny, sitting down on her bed as I braided Rose’s hair.

A groan sounded from underneath the blankets.

“Should I take that as a hard no?” I tilted my head, finishing off the pigtails.

“What’s wrong with Mackenzie?” Rose questioned, poking the blob of our sister under the covers.

“She’s sick.” I offered, taking her hand as I stood up. “Ken we’re leaving without you if you don’t get up right now. Look, I know you’re, uh, you know, but you need to pull it together before tonight.”

“I will, I will.” She mumbled as her blonde head appeared from under the sheets. “Have fun with your boyfriend, Bray Bray.”

I rolled my eyes, but let a smile escape, “Come on, Rosie. Let’s go get Cody and then we can head out and you can meet my friend from You Nork. Sound good?”

I picked her up and she wrapped her arms around my neck, her curly haired head falling onto my shoulder, “Is he your boyfriend? Kenny said he was.”

“No, Rose,” I laughed, peering over her head to make sure I didn’t fall headfirst down the stairs, “I don’t have a boyfriend. Mackenzie does.”

“I have a boyfriend,” Rosie whispered in my ear, giggling, “He’s cute.”

“Oh gosh, Rosie Posie,” I sighed as we reached the door, “Don’t grow up too fast, little girl. It’s more fun being six, I promise.”

She shrugged and called, “Cody! C’mon we’re going to meet Bray Bray’s boyfriend.”

“I give up,” I sighed, pulling Cody over to me so I could secure his back pack. He smiled devilishly at me and grabbed my hand. It always amazed me how I could survive watching Rosie and Cody every Saturday. They were sweet, but crazy. Just like Kenny. It must have just been a familial thing for us.

“Can I start the car?” Cody asked as I locked the house, reaching for the keys, “Or can I drive? I’m not a baby anymore, you’ll let me drive, right?”

“I didn’t let you drive last week and I most certainly won’t today,” I waggled my free hand at him. I pointed towards the car, trying to direct attention towards where we were going. Cody ran down the walkway as I unlocked the car, jumping into the passenger seat as if I wouldn’t notice.

“Hey! Get in the back, buddy.” I laughed as my brother pouted so clearly, crawling towards the back seat. I opened the door, placing Rose in her car seat. She looked at me with a little smile on her face.

“What’s up, Rose?”

“You’re just so pretty. And a good sister. I wanna be just like you, Bray Bray.” Rosie smiled angelically, touching my curls as I buckled her in. I touched her face lovingly as I kissed her on the cheek. As wild as they w///////ere, they were my babies.

“And I want to be just like you, Rosie,” I smiled, leaving them and shutting the door.

I slid into my seat, starting my 2014 red Ford Focus. Apparently, Kenny had a class with Rowan where they decided where to go to lunch. I was just happy that they picked ‘The Coast’ rather than any other restaurant, due to the stellar kid’s menu. I was like a teen mom. With two kids. Good for Rowan.

The drive was short, and my siblings were distracted by the Kidz Bop tunes that I never left the house without. Rosie’s little voice travelled through the car singing a demure version of ‘I love it’ softly. It was not long until we pulled into the seacoast restaurant. I grabbed my money and stepped out of the car, immediately going to the back to get my siblings. I took their hands and pulled them into the lobby before they could get distracted. I took a glance at the mirror behind the desk, wondering how the hell I had wound up looking so out of sorts. My hair, which had been tamed only moments before, was now gathered around my shoulders, rather than in the bun I put it in. My eyeliner was smudged, and my dress lopsided. I quickly fixed myself, then stopped. I always cared about my appearance, but never to the point of quickly fixing myself in a restaurant lobby. I was certainly not going to be that girl.

“Whatever,” I muttered, as the hostess noticed us.

“Hi!” She shouted, wearing a huge smile, “Would you guys like to sit in the play area or the dining room?”

“The dining room, I think,” I pulled Cody away from the fish tank, “I’m meeting someone, do you mind if I go see if he’s here?”

Her smile faltered, as she took a look at my siblings.

“I’ll take them with me,” I offered, “And we will be right back.”

I didn’t wait for her answer, but just walked right by her to peek into the room. Sure enough, Rowan was sitting by one of the windows, gazing out at the ocean. I told the hostess we were with him, and she gestured for us to go in, handing me menus.

Before he saw us, Rosie escaped my grip, running to the table where Rowan sat. She plopped down next to him on the booth, talking rapidly with her hands waving in the air. He looked as surprised as I felt. He peered up from over her head, giving me the most dazzling smile.

“Braylie!” He called us over, as I walked along with Cody. I sat across from him, shushing Rosie quietly.

“It’s fine,” Rowan reassured me, as he redirected his gaze to my sister, “You must be Braylie’s sister.”

“I’m Rose Zoe Burdon,” She clarified, giving him her hand as a queen would, “And that is Cody. He’s my brother.”

“Nice to meet you, dear lady,” He took her hand, kissing it graciously, “And nice to meet you, young sir.”

Cody waved and immediately turned to his menu, picking out what he wanted to eat. Rosie did the same, smiling sweetly at Rowan every couple of minutes.

“Where’s Ken?” Rowan asked, peeking out towards the door.

“She, uh, couldn’t come?” I offered, hoping that he would catch my super vague drift.

“Oh, okay,” He said, slightly confused.

“We have a lot to catch up on,” I smiled, trying to distract from Kenny, “Well, where have you been the past couple years? Still in New York?”

“Yep. My parents actually still live there, in the same house. I’ve only just decided to come here until college.”

“That’s awesome. I’m glad you came here,” I nodded, trying to look for something to say. Even if we were friends as kids, it was kind of awkward, as I didn’t know him at all as a teenager.

“Ah, well, I didn’t have much of a choice,” He awkward laughed, “I’m still a minor, so I have to live with someone like my Grammie. Just glad she was nice enough to let me.”

“Oh yeah, that’s super nice of her. So, um, why did you decide to come here?” I asked, pausing when I saw lick his lips uncomfortably, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. That was super rude of me to ask!”

“No, it wasn’t,” He shook his head, “It’s not rude. It’s just kind of hard for me to talk about. I know Kenny probably got you thinking that I got kicked out, but I didn’t. I left because I didn’t want to be around them anymore. They got kind of toxic, you know.”

Parents getting toxic? To me that just sounded like he was a teenager with rules, that didn’t want to listen. Maybe he wasn’t the type of person I thought he’d be. Maybe I was blinded by his gorgeous eyes.

“Not toxic,” Rowan put his hand to his face in embarrassment, “That’s not what I’m trying to say. What I mean is that… remember Mike?”

I furrowed my brow in confusion at the sudden topic change. He noticed my confusion and shook his hands in front of his face, “It has something to do with it, I swear I’m not just trying to distract you.”

“Oh, uh, yeah I remember him.”

Rowan’s big brother. Ten years our senior, Mike had been the biggest teddy bear brother that a boy could have. When we were seven, Mike used to drive us to baseball. Before we moved away and I realized that I would never have a future involving anything athletic.

“Well, he got married last year. He’s really happy and everything, so I’m happy for him.”

“Oh, wow, that’s great.” I nodded, wondering what the heck this had to with our conversation.

“The point is, my parents really didn’t take to he married. His husband is amazing for him, and makes him a better dude, but the main fact that he isn’t a woman is too much for them.”

I realized what he was saying. Mike was gay, and that wasn’t okay with his parents. I shook my head in disbelief. It was too horrible, not accepting your child for who they were. I could never imagine my parents wanting to change us that way.

“For me,” Rowan continued on, even though I could tell it was hard for him, “It was either cut off my brother, the dude that had been there for me since the first day I was born. Or cut off my parents, who wanted us to be nothing more than perfect molds. It wasn’t right there for me, or for Mike, so I came to live with Grammie. She’s not perfect, but she tries. The point is, she would never make me disown my brother. And I never would.”

“Wow,” I sighed, placing my hand lightly on Cody’s head, “I’m so sorry, Rowan. That’s a really difficult situation. I can’t imagine picking between my parents or my siblings.”

“It wasn’t as hard to decide as you might think. Anyone could want to cut off their child wouldn’t hesitate to do it to another. I wanted to be the one with the power to tell them no and hurt them, like they did to my brother. Not the other way around. But I get along with Grammie and she mothers me. I just could never, ever, imagine my life without talking to Mike.”

“Thank you for telling me,” I smiled sadly, reaching out to touch his hand. It felt too personal to tell me, a near stranger, but he must have trusted me.

“I wasn’t going to,” Rowan shook his head, shrugging, “But you have this weird, calming effect on me. It makes me want to share everything with you.”

I shifted uncomfortably. I wasn’t used to having that many friends. Kenny was my best friend, but other than that, I was the school’s number one loner. Everyone knew that and respected it. It was weird for me, being here with someone other than family. But Rowan was my old friend, I had to take his comfortability with me as a compliment and try to return what he felt.

“I’m glad,” I decided, looking into his light eyes, “We missed you lots after we left. Kenny came later, so it was weird for me at first, being without my two best friends.”

“It must have been,” He agreed, “It was hard for me, once you were both gone. I was so weird back then. I was lucky to find you two. Hopefully I won’t have trouble at this new school. I’ll be with you and Kenny of course, but I’m joining the baseball team too.”

I smiled and looked up as the waitress appeared, asking for our orders. I got something simple, just a salad and a hamburger. Both of the kids got grilled cheeses, and Rowan got the spaghetti dinner. Even if it was for lunch. We ate quickly, talking about our lives in between. He hadn’t changed much, personality-wise. Physically-wise was much of a change. When it was time to go, he graciously paid for the kids and I, even as I continued to protest. We stood up, guiding the kids out the door.

“I have an idea,” Rowan straightened, as he helped me bring the kids to the car, “I want to go to the ocean. It’s still chilly, but we can just walk. I want to see the sea. I haven’t touched the ocean in ages. Come on, come with me. Bring the kids! They’ll love it.”