Courage by J.L. Drake

Author:J.L. Drake [Drake, J.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

John

As the heart monitor faded from my consciousness, I slipped into a more pleasant memory from my childhood.

“John!” Ellie popped up from behind a rock covered in mud with a shit-eating grin. “Whatcha looking at?”

I rolled my eyes and jabbed her in the ribs as I moved to join her behind the rock. “Just scopin’ the Maverick boys, waiting for the perfect moment to attack them.” I showed her the homemade mud balls I’d made earlier.

“Maverick boys,” she narrowed her gaze in on me, “or Maverick sister?” She giggled, and I jabbed her side again. She yelped but continued to laugh.

“Shhh,” I warned and waited for the little shits to move closer. Tyler, Elliot, and Josh were the new kids on the block and thought they owned the woods around our property. It was time to set things straight.

“Look, there’s Bethany,” my sister whispered over my shoulder. “You have a mud ball for her too, right?”

“Yup,” I lied and shook her hand off my shoulder. “I’ll get Elliot and Josh, and you take out Tyler.”

“And Bethany?”

“She’s all yours,” I muttered.

“Yes.” She moved into place, and we both waited.

“One,” they came closer, “two,” they stopped like they always did to claim their space, “three.” I stood and biffed the mud ball with all my might at Elliot’s back.

“What the hell?” He whirled around when Ellie stood and nailed Tyler and Bethany square in the face. Both kids fell to the ground with a cry. I nailed Josh in the neck and high fived my sister, who was very pleased with herself. We hopped to our feet and bolted back to our own yard. We didn’t miss a beat as we climbed the ladder to the safety of the barn’s loft.

Ellie dropped down on the hay in a fit of laughter, and I joined her. We laughed until our stomachs hurt and we were out of tears.

“We showed them!” She giggled as she pulled pieces of hay out of her muddy hair.

“We did.” I high fived her and turned on the Christmas lights Dad had let us hang up once he discovered we used it as a clubhouse.

“John.” She rolled onto her knees, her expression serious.

“Yeah?” I moved a chicken out of my way and sat on the ledge to let my legs dangle over the open double doors.

“Will you promise me something?”

“’Kay.”

“Promise me that no matter what happens in our lives, we’ll always be a team.”

I glanced over and saw her arms were hugged around her knees and her chin rested on their bony tops.

“Of course. We made that pact years ago. Why are you bringing it up now?”

She shrugged, and her mouth drooped into a frown. “I know Bethany and a few other girls are starting to look at you differently, and that’s fine, ’cause boys are doing the same to me. But you’re my brother, and I want to make sure that we come first. You know?”

“I know.” I understood her fear. It had always been the two of us, and the idea of anyone breaking that up was scary.

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