Grandpa and dad were shaking their heads and chuckling at us quite often these days. When the day had come for mom and Aunt Mimi to celebrate their birthday, everyone's jaws dropped when mom unwrapped the gift Gilly and I got her. Well, Uncle Frost didn't seem to be surprised, but that was obvious. Mom couldn't believe we'd gotten her the holographic toy. She hadn't expected anyone to go for the most expensive present on her list, and how we'd managed to afford it absolutely baffled her. How we got a hold of it was a constant question of hers over the past several weeks. However, now the enraptured attention Gilly, mom, and I all had with mom's toy kept us distracted during all our free hours.
"I finally taught him how to do a flip," mom revealed to us one weekend afternoon, "Geode, flip."
The tear shaped purple blob giggled and jiggled as it completed a merry backflip.
"Good. Now speak, Geode."
A series of unintelligible squeals and squeaks came from the creature. Mom pet the top of his intangible form. Geode reacted to it, and I continued to be astounded by the toy. The disk mom held in her hand that created the whole spectacle took in sounds and hand movements to make it appear as if we were actually interacting with something that wasn't there.
"Mom, it's almost two." I had to remind her though despite me wanting to see more.
"Oh, right. Say goodbye to Dia, Geode."
As Geode released more nonsensical squeaks, my sister turned to me wearing a frown.
"Wait, where are you going?" she asked in confusion, "I didn't know you had plans."
"Timber and I are meeting at the library. We're going to hang out with Crackle, Swirl, and Mandarin afterwards."
"You and Timber are going to the library again? What are the two of you doing there so often?" Gilly wondered with a pout.
"We're working on a project."
"What kind of project? It can't be one for school. We're all in the same class, and I haven't heard of anything."
"It's going to be a present for Mr. Mountain," I lied quickly, as mom got a look on her face that clearly showed recognition that she hadn't bothered to really figure out what we were getting up to there all the time either, "I don't want to say too much so as to not ruin the surprise, but the Christmas gift Timber wants to give him isn't really traditional. We're figuring out how to best go about doing it. Timber and I are also just hanging out."
"I was hoping you and I could watch that movie though. I managed to save the last bag of popcorn. If we wait, everyone else is going to get home and we're going to have to share." Gilly said in disappointment.
"How about we do that tomorrow?" I proposed.
"I have my camping group meet up tomorrow."
"We'll find another time for you two to watch the movie. I'll make sure you have plenty of popcorn as well," mom comforted, shutting Geode down, "Gilly, I'll be right back. Dia, go ahead and grab whatever you need."
The several minute drive to the library was now all too familiar. It seriously was a good thing my parents trusted me so much. The only concern they had was me falling down the stairs again. It was why they had told me just to take the elevator for the time being. Such a thing felt silly now, but if there was anything I could do to prevent them from scrutinizing my actions too closely I would do it. I did feel awful about lying to them all the time now of course. A day could barely go by without me spitting out deception after deception. However, there was nothing to be done. That letter I'd received brought Timber and I in contact with the very person we'd been seeking out. Satisfying details about the past hadn't come out yet, but an email address had been given in the letter that Timber and I used to contact his mother. The two of us set up an email address of our own using a fake birthday. Naturally, we had to meet at the library to avoid anyone knowing we'd made it or were using it to talk to someone Mr. Mountain was adamant Timber not know.
"Has she replied to the last email we sent?" Timber asked as he walked over.
Even though we had direct contact with his mom, communication was still slow. Days would often go by without word. Sometimes a whole week and a half would pass before a reply came. This day though, a new email awaited me in the inbox.
I stood up instantly.
"She has," I revealed, "I'm not sure how I think we should answer her back though. Timber, she wants to meet up with you. Well, with both you and me. Without your dad. I-"
"That's great! Did she say when?" Timber's abrupt and incredibly enthusiastic question punctured my words that were beginning to grow hesitant.
"She says her schedule will be clear closer around Christmas. The 16th or 17th would be the best. She asked if there was a place that would be okay to meet without your dad stumbling upon us. But, Timber, I don't-"
"I know just the place!"
Timber interrupted me again, pushing past with almost a disturbing amount of determination. It took a lot of effort to hold him by grabbing his shoulder and making him take a step back.
"Hold on. I know this is really exciting for you, but I'm not sure about this. I think we've pushed a limit here with these emails, and meeting up with your mom in secret...I don't think we should. Something about it doesn't sit right with me. I think this is the point where maybe you should try to talk to your dad. Maybe not tell him everything we've done, but admit that it's time for your curiosity to be satisfied."
"You don't understand, Dia, he won't tell me anything," Timber professed with steadfast assurance, "You should see him when I've tried just mentioning mom lately. He shuts down the subject without a second thought. If I press too much or if he finds out anything about what we've done, I'll never see the outside of my house again. Besides, I really have to wonder if he's been truthful to me about what I do know. He's the one always keeping me away from her. Mom so far has proven to want to desperately be in my life, but she can't come around because of him. What if dad's kind of the bad one? Not that he's been a bad parent, but what he's doing definitely can't be right..."
"I...maybe..."
"And this is my mom. If you hadn't seen your mom for forever and had a chance to, wouldn't you take it? And it's not like she's going to be dangerous. I get that there are truly terrible people in the world, but your mom wouldn't hurt you. Neither will mine. I know it. So, please, just hold out a few more weeks with me. We just have to meet with her, and then you don't have to have anything to do with this ever again."
"I'll hold out with you, Timber," I promised, smiling softly, "For however long it takes."
I said that, but I still wasn't entirely sure. Timber crushed me with a giddy hug that stole most of my breath before leaping into the desk chair to start planning the meeting. Honestly, I didn't pay attention to what was going on at all. I paced about, my thoughts racing without ceasing, as I contemplated what I genuinely believed. I definitely believed Timber. Surely, I had to. He just had to be right. It was deceitful to see his mom without telling anyone else, but she was indeed his mom. What kind of mother would just hurt her child for the sake of hurting her child? Why do something bad after making the massive effort to come down to Berrybrook? However, what if Mr. Mountain's adamant attitude about staying away from her was fully justified? There was a whole lot to the story we were missing, and just assuming things were a certain way could turn out disastrously.
What could I do though? I had promised Timber I would see this through to the end. So, I was going to see it through to the end. I even agreed to take a walk with him to see the place we would be meeting at instead of staying at the library until it was time to hang out with the others.
My footsteps were slowed by both guilt and fear. There was so much I was doing that mom and dad wouldn't approve of. Then the fear came from two different sources. I cringed at the thought of getting in trouble for going off without an adult once more, and a true, intense chill of paranoia shot up my spine the further we got away from the library. My walking turned into shuffling, and when another chill blasted up and down my back I could hold it back.
"You alright?" Timber glanced back to see me stopped and rubbing at my arms.
"Sorry. I know no one's around, but ever since that weekend with that guy I always get nervous about being followed."
"They got him though, didn't they? I know there were no actual crimes he had done that they could get him for, but he's still being watched really closely. He doesn't even live in Berrybrook."
"I know. I know all of that, but..."
It was easy to rationalize why a fear didn't have to be a fear. It was another thing entirely to dismiss the emotion. When Timber held out his hand for me to hold and find support in, I understood why I was alright supporting him.
After quite a walk, we reached a place I knew of but had only been to once. It was a small lake that had a decent view, but not many people came here. There were way better camping spots, and the fishing was poor. This being the destination for the meeting wasn't what I'd had in mind at all. I thought maybe the activity center would be good or even the library itself. Someplace where it wouldn't be out of place to see us all together. I suppose Timber really wanted the event to be a moment where he and his mom could talk openly without having to worry about others listening in though.
Speaking of listening...
"Do you hear that?" I asked my companion, my ears picking up a strange sound.
"No? I don't think so. What should I be hearing?"
"Listen."
So we listened. The noise became clearer to me while it made itself available to Timber.
"That weird crying sound? That's what you're hearing, right?"
"Yeah. It's coming from over here."
Around the small lake and near the old bathrooms I don't think anyone cleaned anymore, Timber and I discovered the source of the commotion. A mother sat watching over her two kittens. She spotted us immediately, but didn't bolt or show signs of wariness like one would expect her to do.
"I wonder if they're strays. They seem friendly." I spoke quietly so as to not disturb the romping kittens.
"I think they might be. They seem alright, but definitely not like they're looked after by an owner. Street animals can be incredibly friendly though depending on what kind of interactions they've had. Or so I've heard." Timber explained.
"Ohh, I want to pet them so bad." I whined as I stared at the balls of fluff longingly.
"You probably shouldn't. The mom might get really angry at you." Timber warned.
"I know." I accepted with a sigh.
In the end, however, I got my wish. Timber and I sat and watched at our acceptable distance, and the kittens eventually became aware of our presence. They stumbled over curiously to pinprick our legs and knees with their small claws as they scrambled to climb into our laps. Timber's kitten had particular trouble, and when he gently helped it up the mother cat had no issue with it. She even came over and nuzzled against my knee herself. That broke away much of my restraint. I played and cuddled with the little baby in my lap, and I was able to discover both kittens were female.
"We should give them fall names since they were born in the fall and they have fall colored coats. I like the name Autumn for mine." I decided.
"Well, I think both kittens belong to her," Timber laughed, motioning to the mother cat who looked highly proud of herself, "But I suppose I'll call this one November since it's November."
"Sounds good. Autumn and November."
I glanced around. The three cats definitely had to be strays. Searching around in the bushes, there appeared to be some sort of resting place under the bushes against the side of the wall of the bathrooms and the cliff face.
"Oh, Timber! I have an idea!"
"What?"
"Remember that house at the bottom of the hill? It's collection week, and I saw they had dumped some old shelves or something into their pile on the sidewalk. We should go get those, and we can use some of the big rocks around here to build these guys a little home!"
"That house that's alllll the way at the bottom of the hill? With the shelves that we're going to have to carry one at a time?" Timber questioned reluctantly.
"It'll be fine. C'mon!"
Timber grumbled a bit, yet I got him to comply without much prodding being necessary. I could afford him some complaining as the walk down the hill presented no issues. Us having to slowly trek back up the hill each carrying one end of the shelf was another matter entirely. Thankfully, we only needed two. The rocks were problematic as well, but they were rolled into place without majorly hurting our backs. The fun part was digging out a small hole underneath so the cats had plenty of room. The best part was seeing the mother cat and Autumn and November excitedly make the space a place of their own.
"Maybe we should get some mud by the lake's edge and patch up the holes to help make it more weatherproof. Mixing some leaves or grass with the mud makes it sturdier too, right?" I put out there.
"Dia..."
"What?"
"We're going to have to run back to the library in order to be there in time for your aunt to pick us up." Timber reminded me with a somewhat nervous chuckle.
"Let's run back there super fast then so I have time to look up if I'm right about the mud!" I called, dashing off forgetting that I hated running.
"Dia!"
Timber helplessly followed.
Sadly, such a search had to wait for another time. Timber pointed out as we approached the library that we were a mess. Sweaty, shaking, and covered in dirt, we snuck into our respective restrooms to do what we could to mitigate the damage. There was no helping the slight stains on our clothes, yet Aunt Cerise didn't question anything when she arrived moments later. There was also a small playground in the back of the library we could use for an excuse if we really needed to. Thankfully, we didn't need to. Aunt Cerise brought us to this combination of cafe, comic store, computer lab, and hangout area. Of course, there were others along for the ride.
"I'm telling you, by the end of next week all the people living up to Route 17 are going to be up to their ankles in water."
First, there was Crackle. Aunt Cerise's only child and son, he was three years younger than Gilly and me. With him also being born red except for his purple eyes, most strangers assumed he and Merlot were brothers. That was also what Crackle jokingly referred to him and Merlot as. It had made a younger Merlot back in the past very upset when he found out they were just cousins.
To both sides of him were Uncle Midas' kids. To be specific, Swirl sat on his right. He was the same age as Crackle, and the two were best friends.
"I heard it was going to be all the way up to Spiral Avenue." Swirl joked along.
"Ugh, you guys are seriously talking about the weather?" I groaned.
"Don't tell me you're not concerned, Dia? Your house is before Route 17. You're super close to the ocean. Dad says this is the rainiest it's been in over a hundred years. The city has only just been able to keep back the flooding." Crackle prodded in his same sarcastic tone.
"Then you should be even more concerned, huh?" I teased back, "Your house is twice as close to the shore."
"Yeah, I don't know why you keep acting as if we're the ones who are going to be drowning," Swirl came to my side in the lighthearted conversation, "You're the one who's the worst off out of all of us here."
"Is it really going to rain that much?" Mandarin asked worriedly.
She was Swirl's sister, younger by one year.
"No, it's not," I comforted genuinely, "This is the rainiest season Berrybrook has seen in over a hundred years, but it's not going to be drowning anything. The city really does have a good system in place to divert flooding. They're able to get all the excess water in the rivers, contain it until it reaches the ocean, and even the houses by the shore aren't allowed to be built that close where they have to worry about the slightly higher shoreline."
"Oh, that's good." Mandarin sighed in relief.
However, then a mischievous expression unexpectedly overtook her face as she smiled a bizarre smile at me.
"If your house did get flooded, I know you have a good place to go though." she said in yet another teasing tone that matched the boys'.
"Huh?"
"Well, you'd go to Timber's, wouldn't you? I heard Melrose say you were dating when I went to go play with Des."
To be honest, that stumped me. My mind had been racing earlier. Now it couldn't come up with anything. It was a miracle that I remembered how to breathe. Everyone awaited my reaction from Mandarin's comment, and I think it was funnier to them that I didn't have one.
"I see how it is. She can't deny it or admit it, so it has to be the truth." Crackle eagerly pushed the topic along.
"I've heard they've been going to the library a lot. Must be dates." Swirl agreed.
"At the library? Those would be boring dates." Mandarin commented with such an earnest confusion I almost laughed.
"We're not dating," I spoke with an eye roll after I found my voice, "Melrose was just messing around. We're only ten, guys."
"In just a few months we'll both be eleven. Only two years away from being teenagers. I think that's plenty old enough." Timber joined in with a jovial attitude I didn't expect.
"Don't you even start," I gave him a small push, although the corners of my mouth twitched, "Even if we were old enough, I'm not interested in dating. Sorry, buddy."
"Aww, am I not handsome enough?"
"I'll be going to school for far longer than most people will. I don't need any distractions until I get where I want to be."
"I see. One of those 'married to your career' types? Can't say I didn't see it coming." Timber sighed sarcastically.
"I think you'd make a cute couple." Mandarin spoke, once again, too genuinely that it amused me.
"I think you and Breeze would make a cute couple." I bantered back.
I laughed softly at her recoil at the idea. Breeze was a kid in her class she found bothersome, and bringing him up was a good way to switch the loving teasing to her for a second until Aunt Cerise came over a minute later with snacks from the cafe.
Far too much of our time was spent talking after that, for we struggled with how to fill our time. The plan had been to hang out at the store for a while before playing in the field across the street. However, the arrival of more of the now never ending rain ruined that. The five of us simply had to make do inside instead. Time passed quickly enough until Aunt Cerise needed to bring us home.
After that, time continued to pass. It hadn't even been a full week yet, and the rain transformed into snow. Not a lot of it, but enough to constantly keep the ground coated. The changing of the season worried me much more than it typically did. That, naturally, was because of my new furry friends. I went up to the lake every day I was able. Timber came sometimes too, but mostly it was me. The house we'd built was a better shelter than the bush for the three cats, but it wasn't perfect. All my money went into buying blankets, food, and whatever else could help the little animal family survive. Constantly poor because of that, I didn't mind when I saw how big Autumn and November started to grow. The few short weeks that came and went had them looking more like their mother each day.
Unfortunately, I might have gotten a tad too obsessed with checking on the cats. It took an incredible amount of lying in order to cover up where I was constantly going. Even then it got to the point where my parents were growing suspicious, and I accepted an invitation to hang out at the park to try to shake some of that off. The ultimate day Timber and I had confirmed with his mother to meet was almost upon us. The last thing I needed to do was get caught or grounded.
So, there I was at the park with Merlot, Crackle, Swirl, Mandarin, and Gilly. Merlot and Crackle, classic daredevils, leapt onto the spring riders to see who had more confidence in rocking those things back and forth with more force than the riders could probably support. Swirl looked on while Mandarin zoomed down the slide. She liked winter slides the best as the icy coating on the plastic allowed her extra speed.
Not into that kind of play at the moment, I turned towards my sister. My sister, however, didn't want to turn towards me.
"Do you want to play on the seesaw, Gil?" I asked her.
No response came. The best I got was a quick yet heavy frown before she turned away with a huff with her arms firmly folded. Immediately at a loss, my head tilted to the side in confusion as I studied her.
"Are you mad?" I asked.
Still silence.
"Gilly?"
"I'm not talking to you." she finally answered, her tone sharp, short, and snappy.
"I can see that," I replied, "But why?"
As I anticipated, the answer to that question didn't come right away. I knew I could coax it out though. Gilly knew as well as I did that she completely lacked the nerve to give someone the cold shoulder for more than a few minutes. She simply wanted the opportunity to reprimand the person she was mad at to present itself.
"I'm sorry. I guess I've been doing something to upset you, but I'm not sure what that is. Mind telling me?" I prompted.
And Gilly took the opportunity I presented her. The intensity of her anger caught me off guard though. We had fought before, oh how we had fought, yet something about her expression was as heartbroken as it was furious. I didn't like it.
"That's the problem. You don't know what's going on," Gilly began coldly, "I'm not one of those clingy twins who never wants to be apart from you, but we're still twins. We're each other's best friend. Ever since Timber moved here though, and especially in the past two months, you've been really distant. You're always going off with him now almost never letting me know that you're even going. I can barely find a moment to talk to you anymore. You haven't noticed I've been ignoring you the past two days either. You're expecting so much from me though. When you run off to wherever you go to after school, you keep telling me to cover for you. And I do. But you won't tell me what it is you're doing. You don't trust me with that. You don't trust me to keep that present you're working on for Mr. Mountain a secret. It's now just all about Timber, Timber, Timber."
My expression fell with each word she said. By the time Gilly was done, I felt properly stupid.
"I'm sorry, Gil," I apologized for real, "I am. I don't really have a good reason for ignoring you. It's just, Timber was so nice to me when Uncle Eden died. When he wanted my help afterwards, I let myself get swept away. You know how I am when I get into a project."
"You become relentless, I know." Gilly agreed, and somewhere within her there was a hint of amusement.
"I seriously am sorry. People think I'm the mature one, but that's only in some situations. I'm mostly just your silly little sister."
"Indeed."
"I promise I'll stop being so obsessed with helping Timber. Forgive me?" I requested with the best puppy dog eyes I could muster.
"I'll forgive you," Gilly began, "But, of course there's a condition."
I held my breath before reacting. Perhaps the condition wouldn't be bad. As long as it wasn't what I thought it was...
"First, I want to know what kind of stuff you and Timber are getting up to. What kind of project are you working on for his dad, and why in the world are you always taking off somewhere that definitely doesn't sound like it's Timber's house?"
But it was.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you about the project. Not until Timber and I finish it. I can tell you about the other thing though. The truth is, Timber and I found a stray mother cat with kittens up by that lake on the cliff side. We've been taking care of them."
"Kittens?" Gilly's eyes lit up, and I was glad that helped to distract her from insisting on knowing all of my secrets, "Is that why you're always broke now?"
"Yeah. I wanted to make sure they would be fine during the winter. Timber and I built them a little house. I'll bring you up there soon to meet them. The kittens are both girls. We named them Autumn and November."
"What about the mom cat?"
"We didn't name her."
"Can I?"
"She's not my cat, so go ahead." I replied brightly.
Okay, this was going rather well. I would be able to keep Gilly's suspicions low. Unfortunately, that also came at another cost.
"I suppose I can forgive you then if you'll introduce me to the cats. However, you have to answer this other question of mine since you won't tell me about the project."
"What's the question?"
Gilly leaned forward with a smile on her face that didn't sit well with me.
"Do you like Timber?" she whispered.
A thick, exasperated sigh was all the response I needed to give.
"Just had to check." Gilly giggled.
The final echoes of her giggle barely reached my ears before a loud thump proceeded a ricocheting crack. Cries of alarm followed cries of pain. I sighed again, only slightly smaller than my previous one. I knew my name would be called, and that it was.
"Dia!" Mandarin cried my name in panic.
"What happened?" I asked as I turned around to see Merlot and Swirl both on the ground in different positions holding back pain.
"They got the idea for Swirl to try to shoot off the slide as flat as possible so Merlot could jump over him at the bottom," Crackle explained, getting off his spring rider, "It didn't go so well."
"I can see that," I replied dryly, "How bad is it? What hurts, you two?"
Merlot slowly shifted in my direction, blood gushing from his nose, while Swirl groaned, grasped at his forehead, and decided to just give up and flop his back onto the ground.
"And this is what you want to do for a living." Gilly teased with a gentle smile, as much as one could be permitted in this moment, while patting my shoulder.
"It's practice, I suppose," I did my best not to sigh again before I started to walk towards my patients, "Alright, Merl, you need to tilt your head forward. Crackle, can you get some paper towels from the bathroom? Swirl, let me see your head."
Let's just say it was a long afternoon.
Speaking of listening...
"Do you hear that?" I asked my companion, my ears picking up a strange sound.
"No? I don't think so. What should I be hearing?"
"Listen."
So we listened. The noise became clearer to me while it made itself available to Timber.
"That weird crying sound? That's what you're hearing, right?"
"Yeah. It's coming from over here."
Around the small lake and near the old bathrooms I don't think anyone cleaned anymore, Timber and I discovered the source of the commotion. A mother sat watching over her two kittens. She spotted us immediately, but didn't bolt or show signs of wariness like one would expect her to do.
"I wonder if they're strays. They seem friendly." I spoke quietly so as to not disturb the romping kittens.
"I think they might be. They seem alright, but definitely not like they're looked after by an owner. Street animals can be incredibly friendly though depending on what kind of interactions they've had. Or so I've heard." Timber explained.
"Ohh, I want to pet them so bad." I whined as I stared at the balls of fluff longingly.
"You probably shouldn't. The mom might get really angry at you." Timber warned.
"I know." I accepted with a sigh.
In the end, however, I got my wish. Timber and I sat and watched at our acceptable distance, and the kittens eventually became aware of our presence. They stumbled over curiously to pinprick our legs and knees with their small claws as they scrambled to climb into our laps. Timber's kitten had particular trouble, and when he gently helped it up the mother cat had no issue with it. She even came over and nuzzled against my knee herself. That broke away much of my restraint. I played and cuddled with the little baby in my lap, and I was able to discover both kittens were female.
"We should give them fall names since they were born in the fall and they have fall colored coats. I like the name Autumn for mine." I decided.
"Well, I think both kittens belong to her," Timber laughed, motioning to the mother cat who looked highly proud of herself, "But I suppose I'll call this one November since it's November."
"Sounds good. Autumn and November."
I glanced around. The three cats definitely had to be strays. Searching around in the bushes, there appeared to be some sort of resting place under the bushes against the side of the wall of the bathrooms and the cliff face.
"Oh, Timber! I have an idea!"
"What?"
"Remember that house at the bottom of the hill? It's collection week, and I saw they had dumped some old shelves or something into their pile on the sidewalk. We should go get those, and we can use some of the big rocks around here to build these guys a little home!"
"That house that's alllll the way at the bottom of the hill? With the shelves that we're going to have to carry one at a time?" Timber questioned reluctantly.
"It'll be fine. C'mon!"
Timber grumbled a bit, yet I got him to comply without much prodding being necessary. I could afford him some complaining as the walk down the hill presented no issues. Us having to slowly trek back up the hill each carrying one end of the shelf was another matter entirely. Thankfully, we only needed two. The rocks were problematic as well, but they were rolled into place without majorly hurting our backs. The fun part was digging out a small hole underneath so the cats had plenty of room. The best part was seeing the mother cat and Autumn and November excitedly make the space a place of their own.
"Maybe we should get some mud by the lake's edge and patch up the holes to help make it more weatherproof. Mixing some leaves or grass with the mud makes it sturdier too, right?" I put out there.
"Dia..."
"What?"
"We're going to have to run back to the library in order to be there in time for your aunt to pick us up." Timber reminded me with a somewhat nervous chuckle.
"Let's run back there super fast then so I have time to look up if I'm right about the mud!" I called, dashing off forgetting that I hated running.
"Dia!"
Timber helplessly followed.
Sadly, such a search had to wait for another time. Timber pointed out as we approached the library that we were a mess. Sweaty, shaking, and covered in dirt, we snuck into our respective restrooms to do what we could to mitigate the damage. There was no helping the slight stains on our clothes, yet Aunt Cerise didn't question anything when she arrived moments later. There was also a small playground in the back of the library we could use for an excuse if we really needed to. Thankfully, we didn't need to. Aunt Cerise brought us to this combination of cafe, comic store, computer lab, and hangout area. Of course, there were others along for the ride.
"I'm telling you, by the end of next week all the people living up to Route 17 are going to be up to their ankles in water."
First, there was Crackle. Aunt Cerise's only child and son, he was three years younger than Gilly and me. With him also being born red except for his purple eyes, most strangers assumed he and Merlot were brothers. That was also what Crackle jokingly referred to him and Merlot as. It had made a younger Merlot back in the past very upset when he found out they were just cousins.
To both sides of him were Uncle Midas' kids. To be specific, Swirl sat on his right. He was the same age as Crackle, and the two were best friends.
"I heard it was going to be all the way up to Spiral Avenue." Swirl joked along.
"Ugh, you guys are seriously talking about the weather?" I groaned.
"Don't tell me you're not concerned, Dia? Your house is before Route 17. You're super close to the ocean. Dad says this is the rainiest it's been in over a hundred years. The city has only just been able to keep back the flooding." Crackle prodded in his same sarcastic tone.
"Then you should be even more concerned, huh?" I teased back, "Your house is twice as close to the shore."
"Yeah, I don't know why you keep acting as if we're the ones who are going to be drowning," Swirl came to my side in the lighthearted conversation, "You're the one who's the worst off out of all of us here."
"Is it really going to rain that much?" Mandarin asked worriedly.
She was Swirl's sister, younger by one year.
"No, it's not," I comforted genuinely, "This is the rainiest season Berrybrook has seen in over a hundred years, but it's not going to be drowning anything. The city really does have a good system in place to divert flooding. They're able to get all the excess water in the rivers, contain it until it reaches the ocean, and even the houses by the shore aren't allowed to be built that close where they have to worry about the slightly higher shoreline."
"Oh, that's good." Mandarin sighed in relief.
However, then a mischievous expression unexpectedly overtook her face as she smiled a bizarre smile at me.
"If your house did get flooded, I know you have a good place to go though." she said in yet another teasing tone that matched the boys'.
"Huh?"
"Well, you'd go to Timber's, wouldn't you? I heard Melrose say you were dating when I went to go play with Des."
To be honest, that stumped me. My mind had been racing earlier. Now it couldn't come up with anything. It was a miracle that I remembered how to breathe. Everyone awaited my reaction from Mandarin's comment, and I think it was funnier to them that I didn't have one.
"I see how it is. She can't deny it or admit it, so it has to be the truth." Crackle eagerly pushed the topic along.
"I've heard they've been going to the library a lot. Must be dates." Swirl agreed.
"At the library? Those would be boring dates." Mandarin commented with such an earnest confusion I almost laughed.
"We're not dating," I spoke with an eye roll after I found my voice, "Melrose was just messing around. We're only ten, guys."
"In just a few months we'll both be eleven. Only two years away from being teenagers. I think that's plenty old enough." Timber joined in with a jovial attitude I didn't expect.
"Don't you even start," I gave him a small push, although the corners of my mouth twitched, "Even if we were old enough, I'm not interested in dating. Sorry, buddy."
"Aww, am I not handsome enough?"
"I'll be going to school for far longer than most people will. I don't need any distractions until I get where I want to be."
"I see. One of those 'married to your career' types? Can't say I didn't see it coming." Timber sighed sarcastically.
"I think you'd make a cute couple." Mandarin spoke, once again, too genuinely that it amused me.
"I think you and Breeze would make a cute couple." I bantered back.
I laughed softly at her recoil at the idea. Breeze was a kid in her class she found bothersome, and bringing him up was a good way to switch the loving teasing to her for a second until Aunt Cerise came over a minute later with snacks from the cafe.
Far too much of our time was spent talking after that, for we struggled with how to fill our time. The plan had been to hang out at the store for a while before playing in the field across the street. However, the arrival of more of the now never ending rain ruined that. The five of us simply had to make do inside instead. Time passed quickly enough until Aunt Cerise needed to bring us home.
After that, time continued to pass. It hadn't even been a full week yet, and the rain transformed into snow. Not a lot of it, but enough to constantly keep the ground coated. The changing of the season worried me much more than it typically did. That, naturally, was because of my new furry friends. I went up to the lake every day I was able. Timber came sometimes too, but mostly it was me. The house we'd built was a better shelter than the bush for the three cats, but it wasn't perfect. All my money went into buying blankets, food, and whatever else could help the little animal family survive. Constantly poor because of that, I didn't mind when I saw how big Autumn and November started to grow. The few short weeks that came and went had them looking more like their mother each day.
Unfortunately, I might have gotten a tad too obsessed with checking on the cats. It took an incredible amount of lying in order to cover up where I was constantly going. Even then it got to the point where my parents were growing suspicious, and I accepted an invitation to hang out at the park to try to shake some of that off. The ultimate day Timber and I had confirmed with his mother to meet was almost upon us. The last thing I needed to do was get caught or grounded.
So, there I was at the park with Merlot, Crackle, Swirl, Mandarin, and Gilly. Merlot and Crackle, classic daredevils, leapt onto the spring riders to see who had more confidence in rocking those things back and forth with more force than the riders could probably support. Swirl looked on while Mandarin zoomed down the slide. She liked winter slides the best as the icy coating on the plastic allowed her extra speed.
Not into that kind of play at the moment, I turned towards my sister. My sister, however, didn't want to turn towards me.
"Do you want to play on the seesaw, Gil?" I asked her.
No response came. The best I got was a quick yet heavy frown before she turned away with a huff with her arms firmly folded. Immediately at a loss, my head tilted to the side in confusion as I studied her.
"Are you mad?" I asked.
Still silence.
"Gilly?"
"I'm not talking to you." she finally answered, her tone sharp, short, and snappy.
"I can see that," I replied, "But why?"
As I anticipated, the answer to that question didn't come right away. I knew I could coax it out though. Gilly knew as well as I did that she completely lacked the nerve to give someone the cold shoulder for more than a few minutes. She simply wanted the opportunity to reprimand the person she was mad at to present itself.
"I'm sorry. I guess I've been doing something to upset you, but I'm not sure what that is. Mind telling me?" I prompted.
And Gilly took the opportunity I presented her. The intensity of her anger caught me off guard though. We had fought before, oh how we had fought, yet something about her expression was as heartbroken as it was furious. I didn't like it.
"That's the problem. You don't know what's going on," Gilly began coldly, "I'm not one of those clingy twins who never wants to be apart from you, but we're still twins. We're each other's best friend. Ever since Timber moved here though, and especially in the past two months, you've been really distant. You're always going off with him now almost never letting me know that you're even going. I can barely find a moment to talk to you anymore. You haven't noticed I've been ignoring you the past two days either. You're expecting so much from me though. When you run off to wherever you go to after school, you keep telling me to cover for you. And I do. But you won't tell me what it is you're doing. You don't trust me with that. You don't trust me to keep that present you're working on for Mr. Mountain a secret. It's now just all about Timber, Timber, Timber."
My expression fell with each word she said. By the time Gilly was done, I felt properly stupid.
"I'm sorry, Gil," I apologized for real, "I am. I don't really have a good reason for ignoring you. It's just, Timber was so nice to me when Uncle Eden died. When he wanted my help afterwards, I let myself get swept away. You know how I am when I get into a project."
"You become relentless, I know." Gilly agreed, and somewhere within her there was a hint of amusement.
"I seriously am sorry. People think I'm the mature one, but that's only in some situations. I'm mostly just your silly little sister."
"Indeed."
"I promise I'll stop being so obsessed with helping Timber. Forgive me?" I requested with the best puppy dog eyes I could muster.
"I'll forgive you," Gilly began, "But, of course there's a condition."
I held my breath before reacting. Perhaps the condition wouldn't be bad. As long as it wasn't what I thought it was...
"First, I want to know what kind of stuff you and Timber are getting up to. What kind of project are you working on for his dad, and why in the world are you always taking off somewhere that definitely doesn't sound like it's Timber's house?"
But it was.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you about the project. Not until Timber and I finish it. I can tell you about the other thing though. The truth is, Timber and I found a stray mother cat with kittens up by that lake on the cliff side. We've been taking care of them."
"Kittens?" Gilly's eyes lit up, and I was glad that helped to distract her from insisting on knowing all of my secrets, "Is that why you're always broke now?"
"Yeah. I wanted to make sure they would be fine during the winter. Timber and I built them a little house. I'll bring you up there soon to meet them. The kittens are both girls. We named them Autumn and November."
"What about the mom cat?"
"We didn't name her."
"Can I?"
"She's not my cat, so go ahead." I replied brightly.
Okay, this was going rather well. I would be able to keep Gilly's suspicions low. Unfortunately, that also came at another cost.
"I suppose I can forgive you then if you'll introduce me to the cats. However, you have to answer this other question of mine since you won't tell me about the project."
"What's the question?"
Gilly leaned forward with a smile on her face that didn't sit well with me.
"Do you like Timber?" she whispered.
A thick, exasperated sigh was all the response I needed to give.
"Just had to check." Gilly giggled.
The final echoes of her giggle barely reached my ears before a loud thump proceeded a ricocheting crack. Cries of alarm followed cries of pain. I sighed again, only slightly smaller than my previous one. I knew my name would be called, and that it was.
"Dia!" Mandarin cried my name in panic.
"What happened?" I asked as I turned around to see Merlot and Swirl both on the ground in different positions holding back pain.
"They got the idea for Swirl to try to shoot off the slide as flat as possible so Merlot could jump over him at the bottom," Crackle explained, getting off his spring rider, "It didn't go so well."
"I can see that," I replied dryly, "How bad is it? What hurts, you two?"
Merlot slowly shifted in my direction, blood gushing from his nose, while Swirl groaned, grasped at his forehead, and decided to just give up and flop his back onto the ground.
"And this is what you want to do for a living." Gilly teased with a gentle smile, as much as one could be permitted in this moment, while patting my shoulder.
"It's practice, I suppose," I did my best not to sigh again before I started to walk towards my patients, "Alright, Merl, you need to tilt your head forward. Crackle, can you get some paper towels from the bathroom? Swirl, let me see your head."
Let's just say it was a long afternoon.
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