Bro Code(22)

Nick laughs. “You know, if anyone was going to jog in this terrible weather, it would definitely be Barrett. I'll bring him back some coffee too.”

The bedroom door clicks shut, and I finally let out the tense breath I'd been holding. Counting to thirty inside my head, I wait until the last sound from the stairs fade before I chance to step out of the closet. Relief is written all over her face, and my first instinct is to comfort her, but I know better. I have to do better.

“We can't be alone together.” The words snap out of me, sharp and decisive. “Not in the same room. And it has to be that way until I leave.”

My stomach sinks when I see her defeated expression, but I don't give her the chance to answer, walking out of the bedroom before temptation overwhelms me again.

“Feel better,” I whisper as I head down the stairs.





Chapter Ten


Ava


“Ah-choo!”

Mom squeezes yet another bottle of lemon juice into whatever concoction she has boiling on the stove and grabs her wooden spoon to stir it. She swears whatever family remedy she’s cooking up will have both me and Barrett feeling better by the morning, but I have half a mind to think she’s just making hot toddies. Not that I would turn that down, mind you.

“I can’t believe both of my best helpers got sick at the same time,” she says, throwing a dash of ginger into the pot. “You guys are ruining all the fun.”

When she returns to the fridge to dig out her next round of ingredients, I sneak a peek at Barrett. He’s slumped over the kitchen table, the tip of his nose cherry red. I shoot him a knowing smile and he lets out a quiet huff before mouthing “your fault,” with one eyebrow cocked.

I can’t deny that, he’s right. Then again, I never would have been out in the cold if he hadn’t been all moody and brooding out in his car. And he was the one who kissed me earlier, fully knowing I wasn’t feeling well. I guess neither one of us was thinking too much about germs at the time.

I tap the side of my pointer finger against my lips and give him a silent “shush.” I try to mouth “keep your tongue to yourself” back at him, but it comes out as more of a whisper.

“What’s with the whispering? Do you guys have a secret?” Nick walks into the kitchen and right into the middle of my almost silent conversation with Barrett. I can feel my pulse quickening. Does Nick know? Is he really going to bring this up in front of Mom?

“Did you team up to get me a new car for my birthday?” Nick asks. My heart rate returns to normal. As long as we’re dealing with normal, joking Nick, we’re in the clear, but the second he’s actually suspicious of us, we’re done for.

“Yup, you caught us,” I admit, hiding my sigh of relief by playing along with the joke. “Any car you want, as long as it’s in the twenty-five-dollar range, we’ll buy it for you.” I punctuate my punch line with another sneeze, which Barrett echoes.

“Whoa, didn’t realize I’d wandered into the nurse’s office. Keep those sneezes away from me.” He backs away swatting away at invisible germs.

“More importantly,” Mom interrupts, waving the wooden spoon at Barrett and me, “keep them away from your father. We can’t run the risk of him catching anything. I think we’re going to have to do some resituating here in terms of sleeping arrangements to keep you two away from the rest of us.”

“I can get a hotel,” Barrett volunteers, his voice muted with the congestion.

“No, no. Here’s what I’m thinking,” Mom says, giving the pot another stir. “I think we just keep anyone feeling even the slightest bit feverish on the lower level tonight, everyone else upstairs.” She nods to herself, satisfied. “Sick people on one floor, healthy on the other. It’s about containment.”

“But Moooooooom,” I groan, my former whiny teenage-self making a return for a brief stint of complaining. “There’s only one pull-out couch down here. Why can’t I just sleep in my own bed?”

“And get your father sick right before his big party? I don’t think so. I’m sure Nick will be happy to go down to the basement for us and grab the air mattress so you can both sleep in the den.” Mom shoots Nick a look through the steam of her bubbling cauldron. “Won’t you, Nick?”

“Yeah, sure,” Nick says, already shuffling toward the basement door.

“No, Nick, wait!” He jolts to a stop and pivots back to me, startled by the urgency in my voice. I know I sound a little bit too desperate not to spend the night downstairs, but it’s almost ten, way past my mother’s usual bedtime. I need to come up with a better excuse, and fast.

“Mom, I don’t even think I’m sick!” I announce, trying to speak clearly enough to mask my congestion. “It might just be allergies, really. I don’t think it’s anything worth switching up sleeping arrangements ov-” Just as I’ve almost finished my monologue, my throat contracts and I break into a coughing fit. Looks like I don’t have much of a future in acting.

“Alright, that’s enough of that!” Mom instantly grabs the disinfectant spray and waves it through the air, releasing a giant cloud of chemical-laden mist. “Nick, grab the air mattress. Anyone who has blown their nose more than once today, get your germs out of my kitchen. I’ll bring you mugs of my remedy when it’s done.” Frantically waving her hands, she shoos us into the family room. Barrett sinks into one end of the couch and I strategically position myself at the opposite end.