Curse of the Sacred Fountain -3- by Melanie Brown

Melanie Brown

Copyright © 2024

Part 3

Billy drove the car up into the driveway of his and Denise’s house. Denise turned around to look at me, seated in the back seat. She grinned.

“Here we are! Home sweet home. When were you here last, uncle… er Nellie?”

I shook my head and snorted. “Well, ‘Nellie’ has never been here, but as your uncle, I was here last Thanksgiving. I think you were expecting me to die or something because I had a cough.”

Denise rolled her eyes. “Nonsense, Nellie. So you’ve met Riley already?”

I folded my arms and leaned back. “That insufferable little brat?”

Denise frowned at me. “Now, now. That’s no way to talk about your new sister. And roommate. You two get to be roomies.”

I grunted. “Or we can move into my old house, and we can each live in a separate wing and never have to see each other.”

Shaking her head, Denise said, “That’s no way for a family to live. Look. We’re going to have fun. Come on. Let me show you around the house.”

In a low voice, Billy said to Denise. “I’ve had fun before, and being around your uncle isn’t.”

As I opened the back car door, I said, “I heard that.”

In an angry huff, Denise grunted, “You two knock it off.”

She reached for my hand, but I pulled it away. She flashed me a hurt expression, so I sighed and held my hand out for her to take.

At the door, she said, “Remember. You’re a fifteen-year-old girl. And you’re happy to finally be a part of a family again. You don’t want to talk about your past.”

“Gotcha,” I said after taking a deep breath. “Is Riley still that little blabber-mouth that never stops talking?”

Denise chuckled. “The same.”

I shook my head. “Wonderful.”

“Oh, stop being such an old man. Let me show you around.” Denise opened the door and we entered.

Riley was sitting on the floor watching TV. Without looking up, she said, “Hey, Mom.”

Denise said, “Riley. Come here and meet your new sister, Nell.”

Riley laughed as she got to her feet. “Nell?”

“Yes. Get over here and greet her.”

Riley was wearing a T-shirt and shorts. She was barefoot with her hair in pigtails. I don’t know if that’s normal fashion for ten-year-old girls or not. She stood in front of me. She was a bit shorter.  I wasn’t dressed much better as I was also in a T-shirt and shorts. Only I had on sandals, and my long, straight, dark brown hair hung to the middle of my back.

Riley said, “Hi.”

Feeling uncomfortable, I said, “Hi.”

Carrying a suitcase into the house, Billy said, “Now that we got that out of the way, what’s for dinner?”

Riley grinned at me. “You like pizza?”

I shrugged. “Who doesn’t?”

Denise shook her head. “Okay, pizza it is.”  Well, it’s easy to see who runs this house.

Holding her phone with a pizza app, Denise said, “Riley, go show Nell your room.”

Riley tapped my arm. “Come on. I think you’ll like it here.” I just shrugged.

We entered a room with two twin beds, a built-in desk with a computer sitting on it and a large closet.

Pointing at the bed furthest from the computer, Riley said, “That’s your bed. The computer belongs to me.”  There was no TV in the room. Riley plopped down on the other bed.

Riley grinned. “Let’s get to know each other. You’re an orphan?”

I sat down on the other bed. “Well, that’s direct. Yes. I don’t like talking about it, but my parents were killed in a freak bowling accident. At least Dad made the spare.”

Looking sheepish, Riley said, “Sorry to hear that. Okay, well, what bands do you like? What’s your favorite music? What actor do you think is cute? I like Nathan Adams. I think he’s dreamy. What about you?”

Denise should have prepped me better. I said, “Well I…”

Grinning, Riley said, “I bet you like K-Pop don’t you? You like BTS? Stray Kids? Personally, I love BTS!”

“Well, I…”

“Mom says Monday you’ll be starting at HM Murodock. Tenth grade? Lucky! I’m stuck in middle school. Did Mom tell you I’m a cheerleader? Are you going to try out for cheerleader? You should. The football players at HMM this year are really hot. Did you have a boyfriend at your last school? There are a lot of hot guys at HMM. Not so much at my school. Well, Mom isn’t too hot on me dating yet. I can’t even wear make-up yet.”

“Well, I…”

“Pizza’s here!” shouted Billy.

How can I put myself back into a coma?

                    *

“You look tired,” giggled Denise.

I shook my head. “That daughter of yours. How can you stand it?”

Denise and I were sitting in a backyard swing, the kind that looks like a couch, near the back fence amid some flowers. Dinner was over and Billy and Riley were playing a video game in the living room. There were a few stars peeking out through the city lights.

Denise laughed. “She can be a bit intense, that’s for sure.”

I shook my head. “Does she ever stop talking?”

“No.”

I chuckled. “I didn’t think so.”

Denise clasped her hands in front of her. “It’s almost bed time but I wanted to talk to you about a few things…”

“Whoa, whoa.” I made the time-out gesture, even though I don’t watch football. “Time out. Bedtime?”

“Mmmhmmm” nodded Denise. “You’re a child. Monday will be a school night so you and Riley both will need to be in bed by nine-thirty. Weekends, Riley will get a 10 o’clock bedtime. You’re older, so you get a 10-thirty bedtime.”

“I’m sixty-eight.”

Denise shook her head. “Not anymore. You’re fifteen, and I’m the boss.”

I frowned. “That sucks.”

Denise leaned back on the swing causing it to rock a bit. “Anyway, I wanted to lay down a few ground rules. I know you’ll object, but dammit, uncle, you’re the one that had to drink the water.”

“Yeah. Blame me.”

Denise laughed. “I do blame you. Anyway, we already covered bed times. Dates are only on weekends, and you must be home by ten.”

I grunted a laugh. “We don’t have to worry about that!”

Denise looked at some notes she was holding. “We’ll get you your own make-up. I don’t want you digging in mine.”

I waved my hand dismissively, “Next.”

“Tomorrow is Saturday. We’re going shopping to get you appropriate clothes and shoes. Homecoming is coming up, so you’ll need a dress.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

“You’ll need some PJ’s. Riley has some really cute ones. Oh. We’ll need to get your ears pierced.”

“Definitely not.”

Denise grinned. “Trust me. You’ll want your ears pierced.”

She looked through her notes again. “Oh yeah. I forgot. On dates, except for certain occasions, dates are only Friday or Saturday nights. Either Billy or I must meet the boy before you go.”

I smirked. “No problemo.”

Looking serious, Denise said, “Nell. You’re now a teen girl. You’re life is going to start changing. You better get ready for it.”

I waved my hand. “Horseshit.”

Denise frowned. “Watch your language, young lady.”

End of Part 3