Chapter 3

- You want to know how my practice went? Great! I am an attacking midfielder now, and in a week I will be on the starting lineup. But only if I want to be! Coach Hurley is a serious guy, and as long as I like lacrosse, I am ready to play by his rules. The question is different: is Hurley ready to play by mine? - I grin viciously. - And if not, I will tell him to go fuck himself, along with his team, the school committee, and his annual bonus! Because I really am the best, Al, and he knows it. And I do not give a damn about principles! I reject anything that ties my hands! You say Moran thinks your articles are not tolerant enough? Alex, are you seriously upset by the opinion of an old, half-crazy bitch who cannot think outside the system? - I laugh. - Seriously? Then make her eat her opinion. At any cost! I would!

My brother is paler than usual, and he no longer tries to prove anything to me. He speaks as if he has only just figured it out, though it is about damn time.

- So that is what you need the dark corners for, Carter? Not to hide things, but to pull arguments like that out of them?!

Finally.

- Among other things. So do not tell me how you see me. I will never--do you hear me?--never ask myself: why not me!

Nick and Lucas come up behind us and, noticing the tension between my brother and me, greet Alex briefly. He returns the favor with a dry nod and immediately loses interest in them. The conversation is not over, but Alex definitely will not continue it in front of Nicholas. Those two have disliked each other since childhood, and after Mark Holt brought a wife and daughter to Sandfield Rock, it was as if a black cat had crossed between them.

I figured out long ago that Nick can barely stand his sister, but that does not stop him, every time he sees her with Alex, from frowning after them and asking stupid questions about what my brother has going on with his stray princess. As if I care. True, if Nick got involved with our Victoria, I would behave exactly the same way, knowing what is on his mind.

Basically, it just so happens that even Alex's friends and mine are different.

My brother keeps looking at me, both lost and angry, and I give in. Let him know the conversation is not over. Damn it! And how can you end a conversation with someone who is practically yourself?!

- All right, cool down, Al! - I clap him on the shoulder. - It is not that bad. Want me to help you deal with Moran? Just forget about Tilda. She is not worth it, believe me. The old woman is right about that.

- Alex! - a girl's voice carries from far away, and my brother turns at once. A group of girls comes around the corner of the school building, and two of them turn onto the path leading toward us.

I notice my sister immediately. Today Victoria is wearing a short skirt and tall boots. Imitating the older girls she came out with, she chews gum and wiggles her flat ass, but she is not the one who calls and waves to my brother. It is her friend, the girl next door. - Hey, Alex, I am done!

She smiles and takes several quick steps toward us, but then she notices me first, and then Nick and Lucas, and that stops her. The smile vanishes from her face at once, and she quickly looks away. She is wearing a skirt just above her sharp knees and flat pumps. Her long hair, not as dark as Vic's, is braided and lying over her shoulder. Short, and at almost fifteen barely beginning to develop, an angular girl like her does not draw the eye at all. Strange that Mother considers her the spitting image of Adelie Holt. To me, she is nowhere near Chloe and her friends, let alone her beautiful mother.

Without waiting for one of us to say something nasty out loud, Alex turns, snatches his backpack from the bench, and leaves. Pausing for only a moment beside Vic as she runs past, like the total idiot he is, he freezes in front of Lena Holt. And even without seeing his face, I can swear he is smiling like a fool.

But finally he takes her hand and leads her away without looking back, and I hear a clear voice:

- Hi, Nicholas! It's me! Hey, Nick, why are you frozen like a block of ice? Thaw out already! It's Alex, he is nice! - Vic laughs, thinking it is funny to hover around older guys, even if one of them is your brother and the other is your neighbor. - And don't look at me like that, or I will think you are jealous! And that is impossible! Right, Carter? You are not jealous of Nick, are you?

- What? - Holt and I turn our heads toward my sister at the same time, and she immediately blinks like a stupid doll.

- Well, theoretically! - she finds a way out, making eyes at my friend. - We are neighbors, Nick, and you are always coming over. And I am there! And, well... we could go somewhere too. Together! To Bobby's cafe, for example, like Lena and Al!

Only at fourteen can you say such bullshit to the face of a horny teenage boy who dreams of nothing but hooking up with someone. And definitely not with a silly little brat who has suddenly decided her older brother's presence gives her permission to run her mouth.

- Are you guys going home now? - Vic's sharp nose lifts. - Can I come with you?!

We already go home together almost all the time, with one adjustment: on the same bus and five meters apart. I have no intention of asking what got into my sister today, making her force herself on our company. Instead, clenching my jaw, I snap angrily, stepping between her and Nicholas.

- Get out of here, Vic! Stand at the stop and wait for the bus!

- But, Carter...

- What did I say? No!

- You have no right to send me away... - she begins, not quite so boldly now, but I am not Alex. Arguing with me will not work, and my sister's voice trembles.

- I said get out!

- Jerk! - But Vic leaves, no longer wiggling her ass, and for now that is enough.

- Holt, if you even try to start something with that idiot... - I warn Nick coldly, but he snorts with a laugh on his own:

- Like I need her!

And Lucas, sprawling onto the bench, laughs:

- Holy shit! I am so glad I have two brothers and no sisters! I don't envy you guys! What is it going to be like in a couple of years when they grow up? You can't tie every guy's dick in a knot!