BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER

Eighteen years ago…..

Kaleb Luthor hurried on. He was on an errand for his father, walking down the gravel path that cut from his house when his eyes caught something. He stopped and stared for a moment.

It was his sister’s friend, Sasha. Sasha Sullivan.

She was hanging upside down from an old tree, her skinned knees hooked over a low thick branch. She was swinging back and forth, so her long braids dangled like ropes. The whole time she hummed while she blew the biggest pink bubble he had ever seen. He didn’t know you could hum and blow bubble gum at the same time. As he walked past her, there was a loud pop.

“Where are you going?” she asked as she swung up so she was straddling the branch with one leg, while the other dangled down. Her palms propped up by her body and she stared down at him.

Dust fell all over him and scowling, he wiped off his face and head. He frowned. On the same level as his nose was a pair of blue canvas shoes. He slowly looked upward along her legs and knees to the small indignant face, which looked like a doll.

She blew another bubble, sucked in and popped out in an obnoxious way. “I asked where you were going. Big head,” she repeated like she was the queen of some island.

“None of your business, Nosey,” Kaleb replied, trying to annoy her.

It worked. He turned his back on her and started to walk away. Sasha jumped out of the tree and appeared beside him.

“My name is not Nosey,” she said. “Don’t call me that”

He grunted some response and kept walking.

“You are such a grump,” she said. “I wonder how Tilly puts up with you.”

He stopped and looked down at her. Her expression dared him to ignore her again. He started walking away again and she kept up with him, not saying anything, but he could feel her studying him. He looked at her finally. All he saw was an expressive face and a pair of frowning black eyes.

“Go away,” he said. “Don’t you have something to do?”

“Not really. I was waiting for Tilly” she replied. There was a pause, and then she added, “I’m not a baby, you know. I know a lot of things”

“Oh really” he said sarcastically.

“Yeah”

“Things like what… Nosey?” he asked.

“I dunno,” she replied with a frown. “Anything”

He almost laughed then. She was so weird. He thought… And kinda funny too. He had to admit.

“Go ahead” She said, “Ask me something”

Kaleb stood, looking at her face staring up at him with a look that dared him to argue with her. Which he wasn’t in the mood to. Didn’t want to and he didn’t have the time to either. He could have called her bluff. But he didn’t. He knew all about pride. It was something he understood. He turned away from her and went on his way.

She didn’t follow him.

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“Get your ass home, Tilly. I’m going to be bored sitting out here by myself,” Sasha said as she slid the key Tilly had given her into the lock and pushed the door open. She heard Tilly laugh on the other end of the line as she dropped her bag on the cushion and headed for the big kitchen to get a bottle of water.

“Relax, I’ll be back in an hour or so. You know I have to study so I can pick up on my grades. They have been a mess lately.”

Sasha couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her best friend’s comment. “I understand, but it’s still your fault that you missed so many classes. What were you thinking? Now I have to suffer the consequences of your actions. Sucks for me.”

She heard Tilly chuckle again, and wondered if she was just enjoying her torment. “Just keep yourself busy. Go swim in the pool or something. I’m sure you will feel better after that. I’ll be back soon, I promise.” Tilly said and hung up.

Sasha lifted the bottle of water to her lips and drank almost half of it, then she headed for the back door. She pushed the door open, and the sight of the huge pool made her smile. The water in the pool was as blue as the sky and clean as crystal… so calm and smooth as if begging for her to dive in and disrupt the calmness. She had to admit that Tilly was right about one thing; a swim would definitely make her feel better.

Without hesitation, She grabbed a towel from the rack and took off her top and shoes. She put on some music with her phone, and left in her shorts and sports bra, Sasha dove into the pool. The weather was really hot and the feeling of the water against her skin was soothing and refreshing. She swam from one end of the pool to the other a few times before her head broke through the surface, then she noticed someone standing at the door leading into the pool. Convinced that she was alone in Tilly’s house, her first instinct is to scream.

“Hey. Hey, relax”

A voice said as she screamed and struggled to clear the water from her eyes so she could see properly. Taking a closer look at the intruder, she yelled when she finally realized who it was. “You! What the hell are you doing here? You almost gave me a heart attack!”

It was Kaleb, Tilly’s older brother, who she had had a crush on since she and Tilly were in high school. He didn’t seem to care about the fact that he’d startled her. Instead, he smiled and began to walk closer, but when he reached the sunlounger where Sasha kept her phone, he stopped. He stood there staring at the rings of water she had left behind, while the music from her phone continued to play… Music that Sasha could barely hear now.

She froze in the water, and she could tell that he knew that she was surprised judging by the way her eyes were widened. She watched as Kaleb turned down the volume on her phone, then he straightened and gestured for her to climb out of the pool.