It's Like This by Anne O'Gleadra Read Free Book Online Page A

up?”
    I take a drink. “Look, do you want to rent a movie or something?”
    “You’re seriously not going to tell me.”
    I don’t answer her.
    “You show up randomly at my school looking like microwaved shit and you’re not even going to tell me what’s wrong.”
    Yep, sounds about right.
    “You are so frustrating, sometimes, Niles.” She rolls her eyes. “But sure,” she’s humouring me, “let’s rent some movies. By the way,” she says as we climb back into the car, me feeling stable enough to drive somehow. “Nice neck. Violent, much? God, you and Rylan are practically cannibals.”
    I wish she’d stop saying his name.
    * * *
    Matilda and I sit on the couch in amicable silence. There’s some movie that she chose playing, and I’m paying more attention to it than it warrants in hopes of tuning everything else out. Tilla’s glancing over at me every few minutes, but I pretend to be so engrossed that I don’t notice.
    After about a half hour, we hear the garage door open and as it’s shutting Dad and Kya come in. We shout hello and Kya races into the room. She’s fresh from swimming lessons and smells like chlorine. I wrangle her into my arms and hoist her up onto my hip even though she typically considers herself too old for this sort of thing.
    “What are YOU doing here?” she demands.
    “Just thought I hadn’t seen you in a while!” I answer brightly.
    “You can fucking say that again!” she replies happily.
    Matilda and I both stare at her. “What did you just say, Kya?” Til demands.
    “I said, ‘You can fuc—’”
    “Well, how about you never say that again!” I cut her off. Christ, my seven-year-old sister cursing like, well, like my sixteen-year-old sister, who’s gonna be in shit if our parents hear that.
    “Why?” demands Kya.
    “Because,” I answer back.
    Matilda gives me a look that absolutely says, “Honestly, you’re useless.” She kneels down, holding Kya by the shoulders and looks her straight in the eyes. “Because if you say that at school, you’ll get a DT.”
    Kya’s eyes get a little bigger and she lets out a low whistle. “I’ve never had a DT.”
    “I have,” I say. “And they are AWFUL.”
    “How come?” she asks.
    “I’m not talking about it,” I reply, with a sinister undertone.
    Kya looks appealingly to Matilda, who carries on in the same thread: “And if Mom and Dad hear you saying that, you’ll be grounded.”
    “I’ve never been grounded either,” Kya says solemnly.
    “I have,” Matilda says. “And I never want to be again.”
    “OK,” Kya whispers. “Man, it’s that bad, hey?”
    “That bad,” Matilda and I nod.
    Matilda stares darkly back into Kya’s eyes to affirm her point. Her expression shifts.
    “Niles, come look at this,” she says, her voice light, but hinting at worry.
    “Look at what?” Kya demands, twisting around to look behind her.
    “Kya-bear, don’t move,” Matilda says sweetly. Then to me, “Look at her eye.” She taps her finger lightly underneath Kya’s left eye. Kya squints.
    “What?” she whines.
    And I see it. A little part of her pupil is reflecting weirdly, almost like a cat’s eye in the dark.
    “Does your eye hurt, Kya-baby?” Matilda asks gently.
    “No, but my shoulders do because you won’t let go, Stupid!”
    Matilda releases her and Kya races out of the room, her My Little Pony backpack being yanked along behind her.
    We look at each other. “What is it?” I ask Matilda.
    “I have no idea.”
    “Should we tell the parents?”
    “Tell the parents what?” It’s my father’s voice. He sounds amused and he comes over to clap me on the shoulder.
    “Indeed,” Mom joins in, hugging me from behind and squooshing her cheek against mine.
    At this point in time, Matilda would usually make a sarcastic, snotty remark about how Mom is never interested in hugging her, and that maybe if they’d let her move out they’d like her more, and then Mom would make a point of hugging