Overcoming Fear (Growing Pains #2)(50)

“It’s one of Sean’s first performances!” Cassie said, giggling like a little girl.

Mary, Ray and Krista moved into the living room. Krista sat on the love seat, Mary and Ray grabbed the couch, Cassie yelled for Sean to come back, and then sat in the recliner. Keith was off pouting somewhere.

Sean slowly moved into the room.

“Not fair, Cass,” he said with an embarrassed smile.

Cassie shrugged. The way Cassie looked at Sean proved what Sean had said earlier. They were very close, and he was everything to her; her role model, her savior, her big bro. It was cute. Krista wished she was closer to her sister.

That thought lasted long enough to remember that her sister was a bitch, and Krista would rather punch her in the face than hug her. The feeling was mutual. And that worked for them.

Her thoughts were disrupted as Sean, seeing that Cassie wouldn’t relent the torture, plopped down next to Krista. Then, surprisingly, he put his arm around her and snuggled close as the DVD started.

It turned out that the movie was a bad recording of a bunch of little kids on stage. Everyone could immediately tell which one was Sean by the way he stood, but if they couldn’t, Cassie made it easier by pointing him out. Even at that young age his charisma drew the eye.

It became apparent that Sean had always had an eye for the ladies, just not in the way one might think. Young Sean was delivering a line, when his attention was drawn away from the audience. He stopped talking as he looked at a little girl in a sparkly pink dress near the edge of the stage doing a pee-pee dance. She was supposed to be the princess, it looked like, and Sean the prince.

The prince walked over gallantly, seemingly to help the princess safely away from the edge of the stage. When the courageous hero reached her he gave her a mighty shove!

“Oh my God!” Krista exclaimed as she leaned forward.

The little girl quickly exited the stage, via the ledge, and landed on the ground in front of the audience. The music in the background was interrupted by a loud gasp as a surge of adults crowded the stage.

Undaunted, Sean waltzed back to the center. The footage continued to watch the girl, everyone shrieking and her howling, but from the background Sean could be heard, talking loudly over the din, continuing on with the play. The show must go on.

“That should have been on America’s Funniest Home Videos!” Krista exclaimed, wanting to see it again.

“Sean kept going until they made him stop,” Cassie laughed. “I barely remember, but I hear the story every time I meet up with Sally—that was our neighbor back in the day. She was the one who took the video.”

Krista leaned back, an incredulous smile on her face. Sean adjusted her so she was once again in the crook of his arm before he laughed and kissed her head. Cassie replayed the scene and they all laughed anew.

“That must never get old!” Krista exclaimed in delight. “I want a copy!”

“No way!” Sean laughed, squeezing her. “That is for my eyes only. It will be burnt as soon as everyone leaves.”

“I copied it to my laptop, so go ahead,” Cassie said with a know-it-all air about her.

“Cass!” Sean couldn’t stop smiling.

“Cassie, you have to give me a copy!” Krista turned her face up to Sean’s. “It’s only fair! You have that piece of art even if you didn’t put it up.”

“Oh yes, the art!” Mary exclaimed. She looked around the room. “But I thought you said you hung it?” She looked at Sean with raised eyebrows.

“The abstract painting, wasn’t it?” Ray asked.

“No one knows that is you, though,” Sean said, kissing Krista lightly on the nose. “Or what it means.”

“No one will know that video is you unless I tell them. Which is the same situation as the art.”

“Did you get it from Ben yet?” Ray asked, following Mary’s example and looking at the walls.

Sean did have art up, but not Ben’s painting. Or anything really decent. Ben had to come over and sort Sean out.

“I did, yes,” Sean said quietly.

Krista tensed. That had been the other part of their problem, Krista remembered. Sean hadn’t hung the picture like he said he would, probably because it was her. He still hadn’t. It didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Going into this night with her eyes open, and no regrets, meant she had to battle through the unpleasant things. And she would. She would get satisfaction, damn it!

“Show them, Sean,” Cassie said, noticing Krista’s unease.

Sean followed his sister’s glance and caught the meaning of her pointed look. Sighing greatly—Krista had to remember to tell Jasmine--he got up and pulled a reluctant Krista up with him. “I do need to move it out into the front room. I need to move some things around, though, first. So in the meantime, I… just follow me.”

Krista trailed behind Sean, being dragged by her hand. Ray and Mary joined, followed by Cassie and a sulking Keith. They went up the stairs and turned left, walked down a small hall and came to the master bedroom.

“No way!” Keith exclaimed. “I am not going into another man’s bedroom!”

Everyone turned as Keith thumped back down the stairs. A second later they heard the front door slam.

Cassie looked at everyone apologetically. “Excuse me. I’ve already seen it anyway.” She looked at Krista. “It really is remarkable.”