Continue Online (Book 1, Memories) by Stephan Morse Read Free Book Online Page A

Her
head was nearly tall enough to head butt me, but she shared her
mother’s slightly shorter frame. Beth had grown in the last few
years. It seemed like every time I showed up there was another
surprise. At least the hair dying phase was showing signs of slowing.
    “ So,
Beth, how’s your mom?” We stood at the door and chatted a
little bit.
    “ She’s
doing good.”
    “ She
home?” I asked.
    “ Yeah.”
    Speak
of the devil. Stairs and creakiness betrayed my sister coming to
check the door. Their house was a split level house in the suburbs.
Pricing was a bit cheaper for a dwelling out here.
    “ Oh
shit, Grant, you’re here!” My sister came down the stairs
looking slightly disheveled. I smiled and gave a half wave, half
shrug.
    “ You
know, had some spare time. Figured I’d drop by and see how life
was going.”
    “ It’s
going good.” She paused and looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Fine.”
    “ She’s
up there with Jake.”
    “ Young
lady!” My sister stomped her foot and glared at Beth.
    “ That’s
fine. At least one of the Legates is getting some.” I smirked.
    “ Grant!”
There was a slight blush to her cheeks while my sister tried to be a
proper mother. Too bad my niece was a teen and probably knew as much
about the whole process as her mother did. The internet hadn’t
exactly hidden information despite numerous attempts by Congress.
    “ So,
Jake's doing, fine, then?” I grinned at my sister. She was a
few minutes older than me and we hadn't moved past the teenage
nagging stage.
    “ He’s
doing great.”
    “ I
really dropped by to ask Beth some things about her ARC. So I’ll
let you get back to Jake and keep things,” I tried not grin too
hard “fine.”
    “ Oh.”
My sister paused. Then almost looked like she wanted to tear
something from the wall and throw it at me. “Next time, call
ahead!” She ran back up the stairs.
    “ Tell
Jake I said hi!” I shouted after her.
    “ Go
to Hell, Grant!”
    I
chuckled to myself. She often had the same sort of commentary to me
back in high school. Mostly when she was sneaking boyfriends over and
our parents were out for the night. Turnabout was expected in a
family member. Beth and I paused our conversation while my sister
finished her trek back to the upstairs room and slammed the door
behind her.
    “ She
wouldn’t have answered the phone anyway.” My niece said
with an exaggerated whisper. She stepped back and let us into the
house landing.
    “ It’s
okay. Your mom's allowed to have boyfriends.”
    “ I
know. But maybe not Jake.” I laughed at her response.
    “ He’s
doing fine.” Harassing family was a tradition.
    “ Ugh.”
    “ What
about you? Any young men I should meet? Or ones I have to scare off
with a shotgun?”
    “ That’s
a little archaic. My social studies teacher would say you’re a
backward thinking man.” Beth shook her head with a smile.
    “ Sorry,
channeling your grandfather for a moment.”
    “ He
said the same thing actually.” My niece laughed happily.
    “ The
backward thinking part?”
    “ No,
the shotgun.” There was a pause and Beth tilted her head. “Do
you really have a shotgun?”
    “ Not
telling.” I smiled down at her. Then frowned, and went through
other faces.
    “ I’m
not a baby anymore.”
    “ You’re
still smiling, though,” I said.
    “ Did
you really come by to visit me?” She almost sounded timid. Beth
wasn’t that sort. She took after her mother, attitude a mile
long and a fist trailing behind that.
    “ Yep.”
    “ Because
of the ARC?” She tilted her head.
    “ Yep!”
    “ But
you paid for mine, and you know more about them than I do, isn’t
that your job?” The company discount helped me afford a
personal ARC for Beth. I helped my father by chipping in on the
college fund. The deal was that grades came first. Beth was taking
advantage of the ARC’s time dilation to study.
    “ I
don’t actually use mine for much besides a few programs,”
I admitted.
    “