Chapter 8: Clara And Else Make A Move

(Clara's POV):

"Abby Miller, she's back in town and working there at Huck's now so I'll just ask her to swing by and pick me up." E's words from lunch played over and over in my head as I scrubbed at the linoleum floor of our entryway. The sight of him shooting off that text with such a dopey grin brought a grimace across my face. My hands blurred as I took out my anger on the dirty floor.

"You know what—this is good." I muttered to no one in particular, my grip on the sponge tightening like a vice. "Ethan can finally stop dragging in those trashy mags from work."

"Is that really how you feel?" Elsie's question snapped me out of my mindless cleaning as I laid the sponge back in the soapy water bucket beside me. My blue eyes met hers and I found myself desperately trying to maintain eye contact with her.

"Yes…I think it's better for Ethan to have nothing to do with us in the sexual way you want. We're his family and we need to remain that way or he'll die inside if we ever do anything to break that bond. Right now he's putting on a brave face and acting tough but Veronica hurt him, just imagine what we could do being as close to him as we are." My words flowed from a place of genuine fear. Elsie herself paused as she let my words wash over her.

"Do you think I'd hurt him?" Her tone was quiet and yet it was lined with a dangerous energy. Like a tripwire to a booby-trap, I was dangerously close to setting off my best friend.

"I think your love for me would hurt him, and I doubt he'd ever be able to accept that he would be anything more than a living breathing dildo—" One of the ugly green throw pillows from the couch hit me in the middle of my face. Elsie got up off the sagging cushions and marched toward me with fire blazing in her honey-colored eyes.

"Don't belittle my fucking love for him! You thinking he wouldn't be smart enough to see my affection for him says more about you than me!" I recoiled as her finger was nearly shoved up my nose, the girl leaning over as she scolded me.

"I'm not belittling your love I'm saying that Ethan won't share and if he tried it would cause him pain. You can't project your selfish fantasy onto others, Else!" I yelled, my hands grabbing hold of the pillow as I smacked her in the head with it. Her face was knocked to the side before she wrestled the pillow out of my hands and grabbed my shoulders. We fell to the floor, my back pressed against the green carpet of the living room as Elsie straddled me.

"You would know a lot about projection Clar, the bullshit you're spouting isn't even Ethan's opinion on the matter. Remember when we played truth or dare in the 9th grade and I asked him if he would be jealous if his girlfriend kissed another girl, and what did he say?" Her hands wrapped around my wrists as she pinned them against the carpet, my body squirming trying to break free of her surprisingly strong grip. "Answer me or I won't let go!"

"H-he said 'It's impossible for me to get jealous if both girls kiss me right after.'!" Elsie let go as she stood up, her smug eyes looking down at me.

"Don't misunderstand Clar, I love you both because you two were there for me the moment my family moved to Munford. You helped the shy girl no one would talk to, and your brother fought tooth and nail for the both of us. The thought of the three of us splitting up is just something I couldn't bare to see, but don't think for a second that if you try sabotaging your happiness and my own I won't stop you. Now get up, we've got something to do!" Her hands pulled me up and I found myself being dragged to the front door.

"W-where in the hell are you taking me!?" I asked as she slipped my old pair of sneakers on my feet, the girl herself slipping on her shoes without even bothering to tie them.

"We're going to Huck's of course, we'll make sure that other Miller bitch doesn't screw with Ethan!" She snagged a pair of keys that hadn't been grabbed in ages, Dad's.

"No, Else, we can't take Dad's car, he said Ethan can only have it after—"

"He gets a girlfriend right, I remember you saying that. Well, guess what, if you'd stop dragging your heels he'd have two right now!" She opened the aluminum door of the trailer, her hand dragging me along past the groaning screen door of the porch as we walked across the concrete pavers leading to the driveway.

The sound of our feet crunching across the gravel filled the quiet night air, our steps taking us past the old shed and to the corrugated metal lean-to attached to the other wall not facing the house. Inside was a 1987 Oldsmobile 442, and despite the thing not having been driven in around 4 years it looked as pristine as ever. Ethan had washed and polished the black paint and grey trim religiously, not a speck of dust was on the car's sleek frame.

"You'll need to fill it up, E took the gas out to prevent it from going bad in the tank." I grabbed hold of the red five-gallon gas can sitting next to the shed's wall, my fingers unscrewing the yellow cap. Popping the fuel door Elsie worked on unscrewing the gas tank's cap, and when it opened I shoved the black nozzle inside. The sloshing sound of gas filled the air as the familiar stench burnt at my nose. For four years Ethan regularly filled and refilled this thing, like a soldier following orders from a general. His fear and respect of Dad drove him to follow his command to not drive this car even when his broke down, the times we walked in the December cold to get to the bus stop were still fresh in my mind.

"Are you really going to go through with this?" I looked over at the girl as we sat in the pitch-black darkness of the lean-to's shadow. My eyes could barely make out a detail of her face but I knew despite the confidence she held she was nervous. I must have looked far worse as I knew the severity of the consequences should Ethan take this badly. We were doing something against both his and Dad's wishes, the potential fallout could fracture what was left of my family.

"I…I don't want my brother to date anyone other than…u-us. Seeing him happy to text Abby made me want to vomit—God, I'm such a bad sister!" I could feel the heat spreading like wildfire across my cheeks as a groan left my lips, the cool night air practically steaming against my skin. Why the fuck was I doing this? This is crazy!

"So how do you want to play it, fast or slow?" Elsie wanted to immediately jump his bones. Ever since the girl hit puberty she's had eyes for only two people, me and my brother. For me it wasn't like I didn't find E attractive, but the thought of starting a sexual relationship right off the bat had no appeal to me. I didn't mind the idea of making out and foolin' around, and I wasn't a prude who wanted to save my 'purity' before marriage, but I did want me and Ethan to actually spend time as lovers and not just a brother and sister duo who engages in incest.

"Slow, I don't want to play games. I-if he accepts we need to make sure this relationship lasts 'til the day I die because if I lose my brother for any length of time it will kill me." More like I'd kill myself but I doubt Else would want to hear such an ominous thought before we take a leap of faith and hope my brother doesn't spaz out seeing Betty out on the prowl. Yes, the car is called Betty, Black Betty more specifically. Dad's naming sense really came in clutch, speaking of I hope I remember his lessons on driving stick because this transmission is manual.

"Ugh—fine, I've waited since I was thirteen so surely I can wait some more, but before you think I'll let you drag your feet forever just know I have ways of making you beg for it~!" She sounded so cheerful despite the ominous threat, the sound of the last bit of the gas draining from the fuel can filled our ears. It was time to fire up old Betty!

***

"Pffthahahahaha–do-do you remember when we all went trick or treating and you didn't have a costume so me and Roni wrapped toilet paper around your head like a mummy?" Abby snickered as she sat on the counter poking at my face. I myself fought desperately to hide the embarrassment creeping up my cheeks as she drug up a memory I wish I had forgotten.

"I looked like the Michelin Man…" I groaned as my hands covered my face. They'd dolled up Clara with fancy makeup and jewelry as she was turned into Cleopatra while I got the short end of the stick. I used to be chubby, an unhealthy diet of cheap junk food and undiagnosed activity-induced asthma meant that I carried some chunk in my face. So when the toilet paper was wrapped around me it made me look less like an undead servant of the Queen (Clara) and more like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.

"Phew, we should totally go trick or treating—"

"We're both way too old for that, and I definitely don't want the cops called on me because I'm out actin' like a creep." I interrupted her wishful thinking, our eyes locking before we burst out in a fit of laughter.

"I guess we can do a Halloween party, your sister and her friend and me and uh—never mind." She winced as she tried tiptoeing around the elephant in the room, her fingers twirling a shock of her ebony hair as she looked away.

"Oh come on, Abbs she rejected me not killed my dog! I've already calmed down from when it happened and in a month and a half, it will be nothing more than a slightly embarrassing memory." I gave her a reassuring smile, my hands fiddling with one of the counter displays. Before she could respond and by looking at the worried frown on her face I knew she'd ask if I was really okay the sliding doors opened with a hiss. The loud chime resounded in my ears as I watched a familiar face walk in.

"Hey, Persimmon!" I yelled, my feet taking me past the counter as I walked toward the break room. The girl who just entered froze like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck, her black eyes widening at the sight of Abby behind the counter. Pepper Simmons or as I like to call her Persimmon is one of my night shift regulars.

She had short black hair done in a pixie cut, wild strands sticking out told me she had just woken up. Bleary ebony eyes peered from behind thick Coke bottle glass, one of her hands adjusting the black square frames of her glasses as she blinked owlishly at Abby. Her dark lips opened and closed like a fish out of water, and then she scurried off past the magazine aisle.

"Uh, Ethan who's this?" Abby asked as she watched the black girl disappear into the bathroom, the door slamming with a thud and then the clicking sound of the lock following soon after.

"Oh right, I forgot you were in school when her family moved here. Her name's Pepper Simmons and me and her are gaming buddies!" In response the girl slammed her hand against the door with a thud, her yelling following soon after.

"This guy's making shit up! I let him borrow my Switch while I eat the food he makes for me!" The girl's voice echoed, a grin growing on my face as I prepared her meal. The break room microwave looked on in silent horror as I was about to commit unspeakable acts with it. In my hands were a crap ton of snacks I looted from the break room's cabinets. Despite my general hatred of working here they really did stock a great selection of goodies. I guess they didn't want us getting any ideas of stealing from the merchandise.

I went to work crushing up a packet of ramen noodles still inside the plastic wrap, and when I had the right consistency I pried open the top to snag the spicy chili flavor packet inside. This was a tool we'd use for later, but next came a bag of Cheetos. They suffered the same fate as the ramen as they were crushed into a fine powder of cheesy crack. Dumping both of those in one of the break rooms bowls I followed it up by prying open a can of coney dog sauce and dumping it inside. Cracking open a bottle of water I doused the ugly concoction with just enough liquid to prevent it from turning into a brick when I nuke it in the microwave.

"What're you making?" Abby asked as she loomed over my shoulders, a queasy look growing on her face. My hands never stopped moving as I cut up a hotdog left on our roller that would definitely go unsold, and thus I prevented a perfectly good food item from going to waste. I didn't even have to rough it like Dad does in prison, the plastic knife in my hand would never be allowed on the inside.

"Chichi, you know how families have a recipe they pass down from one generation to the next? Well this is Dad's spin on that." Dumping the hot dog chunks in the bowl, I uncorked a bottle of barbecue sauce as I dumped a liberal helping inside of the concoction.

A bottle of honey followed suit as I squeezed the syrupy liquid inside. The chili packet was added in alongside a generous sprinkling of some extra chili powder the break room had. Giving the mess a quick stir I nodded before shoving it in the microwave, the timer was set for three minutes as the dim light flickered on along with the buzzing of the appliance.

"H-how's he by the way?" Abby asked with a nervous warble in her voice, her hand grabbing at her bicep as she looked away from my eyes.

This would always be a sore subject for me and Clar as the nature of Dad's arrest implicated more than just the Munford Police Department. He wouldn't name names in his letters but me and sis knew that the people of this town would do damn near anything to destroy the Langston's. The Miller family were prime suspects in any conspiracy involving Dad's arrest. Our family while being poorer than dirt held something that the Miller family desperately wanted and that was land. We owned 100 acres of forested woods and underneath all of it was enough limestone to make them and their quarrying business very rich.

The reason Abby was pussyfootin' around the subject was that I had been very open with her and Veronica about my belief in their parent's role in my dad being put behind bars. Not once did I ever accuse them of colluding with them, but I made it abundantly clear that I didn't want anything to do with Momma and Papa Miller.

"Good, he's got a job workin' in the library. The man may not look it but he's a total nerd at heart!" I gave the girl a reassuring smile, the feud between my father and her parents didn't matter at this moment. Because right here and right now it was just me and Abby.

"I'm glad." She gave a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing as a small smile grew across her face. The sight was mesmerizing under the fluorescent glow of the break room's light, my breath catching in my throat.

Standing before me was a pretty girl expressing concern for someone I care for, my hands wrapping around her waist before I even knew it. Abby's black eyes widened like saucers, a crimson blush creeping across the bridge of her nose as I pulled her in for a hug. Instead of pushing away like I expected the girl's pale slender arms circled around my neck, and the soft feeling of her skin brushing against the back of my neck sent tingles down my spine. Our faces were close and our lips even closer, the damp feeling of our breaths mixing together.

"W-what was that for?"

"Showin' my appreciation." My lips drew close to hers as the girl closed her eyes, her pouty pink lips puckering in anticipation.

"Hey, Ethan is the food almost—oh!" Abby's arms let go of the back of my neck, my own releasing her waist from my tight grip. Our faces grew flush as we looked like boiled lobsters and we each took a few steps back from one another. We totally didn't look suspicious at all!

*Ding*

"Food's done!" I yelled, the microwaves chime sparing me from the mischievous grin crawling across Persimmon's face. Abby wasn't so lucky as the dark-skinned girl dragged her away, the whispering sound they made between each other filling the air.