Good Girl (Playroom) (11 page)

“What?” I know what.

Since Violet could talk, it was cat versus… well… cat: claws, fangs, and a whole of hissing fits. When Violet was four, she was the same size as me at nine. When she was nine, she was bigger than me. If I wanted to fight, I’d call her Violent Violet. If Violet wanted to fight, all she had to call me was Seth. We both have permanent scars. Violet broke my pinky by yanking it back while we fought over a Barbie- it was her Barbie and I was chopping its hair off with pruning snips. Violet tried to take the Tonka truck I gave to Seth- I broke Violet’s thumb with the toy’s dumpbox. Me being nice to Violet is an anomaly.

“I’m an adult now. I won’t lower
myself by fighting with a child,” I snidely murmur.

I giggle at the expression on Violet’s face when the dig hits her. Violent Violet wants to erupt
and she’s fighting its call. I tauntingly smirk at her and catch Robbie’s eyes across the table. He’s excited for tonight, too. The energy radiating off of us is palpable.

“Willow,” Clover chastises. It makes me laugh becaus
e she has nothing on Augustus.

“Oh, fuck, I’m coming home mor
e often now,” Robbie snickers. “Bratty Willow was a blast, but this new version has teeth.”

“Robbie,” I purr, “Ya better hope I don’t bite you,” I taunt
, and he chuckles in response.

“Bitch,” he mouths at
me.

“Language,” Clover hisses.

My parents are seventy. They sit with pleasant, oblivious expressions on their faces. I could fuck on the table while eating a drumstick, and Mary Prynne would ask if I wanted seconds, while Dave Prynne would offer instructions on my fuckage. Clover would have a stroke.

“Violet called me a dick when I got home. I’m pretty sure she knows what you do with one, Mom,” Robbie mocks Clover.

“Fuck it,” Clover smashes her linen napkin on her plate. “You guys are horrible. I don’t know why I try to keep you all from turning into savages. It amazes me that the girls haven’t killed each other. Rob, you’d probably sell tickets to the show. Animals,” growls from my sister’s pursed lips. 

“You need to get laid- proper,
” I seriously tell Clover.

“Willow’
s right,” Mom offers her two cents and the table goes insane.

Milk sprays out of Seth’s nose and I thump him on the back
as he chokes. Clover stands and smashes her plate on the table, while our mother consoles her with words that bring flames to her pale cheeks and smoke to our ears. Dad and Robbie are laughing so hard tears are sliding down their cheeks and they’re grabbing their bellies. Violet’s fury erupts and she screams vile insults at me-
cunt… little boy… skank… whore… Tranny…

“See…” Robbie
gasps out while Dad finishes Robbie’s sentence, “No need to worry about Violet hearing swear words, Clover. Violet knows a bunch that I didn’t even know,” Dad says in wonder.

Clover glares at each and every one of us in turn. Her hands form fists at her sides until her knuckles turn white.

Now I feel bad for saying what I did. Even when Sam was alive, Clover had a stick firmly planted up her ass. Now that Sam’s gone that stick is shoved so far up there that there is no hope of ever retrieving it.

“I think my work here is done,” I grab my plate and run for the
kitchen before Clover beats me.

Violent Violet inh
erited her rage from her mother, and Clover makes Violet look like an amateur. Clover had blackened my eye after I took Seth to an amusement park. I didn’t ask first. I called after we got there, that way it was too late for her to say no. When we got home, I was two steps from the car door when Clover knocked my ass out cold. I also didn’t have a Driver’s License, but Mom said it was okay to borrow the car… I was only fourteen.

Clover rationalizes
that since she is my sister, hitting on me isn’t child abuse. She’s only my sister when I’m in trouble. Every other time, Clover tells everyone she’s my parent. In Clover’s defense, I usually deserve the ass kicking.

Robbie meets me in my bedroom.
“Nervous?” He asks me.

“Nah- scared shitless. You?”

“Nauseous.” Robbie rubs his flat tummy and smirks. “Mom cooked tonight, that has to be why. Too bad Clover didn’t. I may have behaved for her food.” He flashes a charming smirk that if used on anyone else, it would’ve been a panty-dropper.

“I wouldn’t have. I’ve ate their food for eighteen years. I can’t boil water because they wouldn’t let me try. Blame them if
I ever have to cook you a meal,” I warn. 

“Auggie and I will be impressed if you d
on’t give us food poisoning.” Robbie winks to lessen the dig. “On second thought, I’ll cook for you instead.”

“Dumbass,” I
affectionately say. I hug Robbie because I have to. I burrow next to his chest and curl my fingers in his t-shirt. Robbie isn’t a big guy, so doesn’t intimidate me. He’s just my Robbie.

“I… a
re you alright with me being there tonight? I won’t stay away for you, but I’ll try to understand your point of view,” I mumble against his chest. 

“I don’t want to se
e you that way, Willow,” Robbie sadly says, and pulls away so he can look me in the eyes. “But no one on this planet understands why you need to be there as much as I do. It’s weird seeing you. I see you as a little shit running around causing havoc, and over that image is the look on your face at the
Playroom
. It’s discombobulating. I’ll deal. You need this.”

Robbie
pulls me closer and sighs. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for your birthday. I wanted to be, but I didn’t want to admit what I’ve known all along. Auggie has been telling me for months and I couldn’t face it.”

“I’m sorry. I feel like
all I do is apologize lately.” I hide my face in shame and sniffle.

“Don’t be sorry, Willow.
I can tell you were properly punished. It’s finished and never to be revisited. That’s why we are the way we are. We can’t handle guilt. Come on, we gotta get downstairs before Auggie gets here. He’ll kick our asses. I’m still nauseous. Are you still freaking out?” Robbie pulls me away and closely watches my expression.

“Yup!” I chirp.

“
Well, it’s a good thing fear and illness turns us on then, or tonight would suck,” Robbie sarcastically mumbles and steps out of our embrace.

“What do I wear?”
I ask from my closet.

“What you always do. Robbie
won’t want you too dressed up.”

“Wait here. I need to take a quick shower and change. The hooch is behind the Iliad on the bookshelf. Don’t start
without me,” I tease as I breeze out of my bedroom.

“You’re a freak,” I s
ay to Robbie when I return. He’s actually reading the Iliad. I can’t make it a paragraph without conking out.

“Holy shit!” Robbie
shouts when he sees my clothing choice. He sits up and gawks at me. “Are you trying to kill Auggie?”

“Too much?” I
innocently ask.

I stand in front of my floor-length mirror and gaze at myself. The pigtails are back, but I braided them at the nape instead of creating two buns on top. My
favorite skin-tight jeans hide the pink panties with lace ruffles adorning the ass. My ribbed tank is light pink with rainbows printed all over it. I pull on my sneakers over top of white socks that have lace trim. I’m pushing the toddler envelope with the socks.

“What’s wrong?” I ask with false innocence. Essie said never to lose the innocence
even after I was experienced. I’m still innocent, but I’m proving I can act. It amps up the play. I feel fucking high.

“You
know damn well what’s wrong.” Robbie pulls the
99 Blackberries
from the shelf and guzzles a mouthful. “Jesus, you really want this, don’t you?” He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

“And you don’t?”
I smirk at how uncomfortable I’m making him.

“Fuck… Cheers to
like Brother, like Sister!” Robbie takes another slug. “Good shit.”

“Watch out. It really is ninety-nine
proof.” I drink three mouthfuls without coming up for air and hide the bottle behind the snoozefest read.

R
obbie gives me a strange look- that
I don’t know you
look.

I narrow my eyes and say,
“I’ve been drinking since I was younger than the twins. I don’t do it often, so don’t get alcoholic intervention disillusions in your head. When you look twelve and hang out with people way older than you, your options are limited. I was coveted as a teammate on drinking games while Essie’s knees got carpet burn.” I try to mask the pain in my voice, but some leaks through anyway.

My body glows as the alcohol flows through my veins. Alright, I’ll admit
, I love that feeling. It’s almost as good as taking a toke from a bowl.

“Alright, Robbie, let’s go find some freaks with jailbait fantasies. What’s your appeal for Isis? I’m not saying you’re not um… hot
… if you weren’t my brother, but what’s her deal?”

Our eyes meet and flash away. I blush from discomfort, not embarrassment- that’s a first.
“I hope you never find out,” Robbie ominously mutters.

We jog down the steps and find Clover chatting up Auggie. I don’t like that
hungry look in her eye. I said get laid, not lay with my boss. Auggie takes one look at me and backs up a step. He looks frightened of me, like I’m the anti-Christ. His throat contracts as he takes a swallow- my eyes seek the vein in his neck that is visually pounding. I can almost hear his erratic heartbeat across the room.

Clover scowls at Auggie and gives me a confused look. I blush until my skin prickles and stare at my feet. A throat clearing has me eyes flashing back up and meeting Auggie’s intense green gaze.

“Yeah,” Robbie whispers in my ear. “Look farther south and you’ll know why his face is drained of blood. You’re pushing his control with the rainbows and pigtails, Willow.” Robbie tauntingly chuckles.

Robbie playfully
pushes me down the last few steps and I almost fall on my ass. I catch myself with a palm to the floor. Robbie’s maniacal laughter flows down the steps and coils around me. I giggle with him and stand upright, brushing imaginary dirt from my ass.

“Willow, get a grip,” Clove
r bitches. “I don’t know what’s gotten into these two, but they’ve been conspiring ever since they got home.” If she thinks Auggie will help rein us in, she’s lost her damned mind.

“Auggie got into us,” I
naughtily suggest. A slow smirk slides across Auggie’s lips, signally that I’m in for a world of hurt.

“Where are you off to?” Clover demands.
She tucks a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. I really look at her for the first time with adult eyes. Clover would be really pretty if that bitch expression wasn’t constantly pasted on her face. Clover and I do look just like mother and daughter. She looks younger than she is, maybe late twenties instead of mid-thirties.

I wonde
r what Clover looked like at my age. There are no pictures of her from the time she was sixteen until her wedding photos. I’ve looked. If she was small like me then I’d hold out hope of looking like a woman one day. Clover is short and thin like me. She has my ass, too. But she also has titties like Essie. I’d be jealous of her if she wasn’t my sister, and if she wasn’t such a miserable bitch.

“Adult,” I point at Robbie. “Adult,” I point at myself. “Our
sister,” I point at Clover. “Goodnight. I have no clue when I’ll be home.” I disrespectfully say, and Clover looks disappointed in me. I feel bad that Auggie sees me behaving like this, but there is too much history between Clover and me. Hell, I feel bad that I’m disappointing Clover again- maybe I am growing up.

Auggie picks up my puffy coat and holds it out for me. I walk to him
, half afraid and half exhilarated by the look in his eyes. I pull my jacket on and start buttoning it. Huge hands grip my ass, causing a gasp to wheeze from my throat. Auggie stares Clover down and growls.

The look that flashes across Clover’s face is murderous. I thought maybe she was jealous that Auggie was touching me instead of her, but it’s more like she wants to incinerate any body part of his that touches mine. They share a look I can’t comprehend
, and I wonder if they’ve had a history of violence, because right now, Clover is positively violent.

“No telling Willow
what to do anymore, Clover. If you have an issue, take it up with me. The same goes for your issues with Rob. Tell Dave and Mary that the three of us will be back tomorrow for Sunday dinner.” Auggie lets go of my ass and sets me near the door. It wasn’t a sexual touch. He was placing his ownership on me in front of the one that in all rights already owns me.

“Both of you get in the truck. I said three drinks, meaning sips. Not get drunk.”
Augustus is disgusted with us.

“We’re so in trouble,” I sin
g as I skip down the sidewalk.

“Yup,
pain’s a coming… It’s a good thing I’m a pain slut,” Robbie giddily says.