"
No
!" was the first word out of Josh's mouth as he woke up late on Thursday morning. It took him a moment to come back to earth and shake off the dregs of his dream. He held his fingers to his temple and tried to clear his head.
Of course it was a dream
, he thought.
A terrifying, horrible, nightmare of a dream, but a dream all the same
. The details were fading fast now, but he could remember the crux of his reverie. Dawn had announced that she was pregnant, and almost immediately, gave birth to a child, and then another, and another, and hundreds more. And then something else had happened after that that had resulted in Josh falling off a bridge, as usually happened in his dreams.
Still feeling heavy-headed, he glanced over at his alarm clock, reading 8:00. He fell back onto the bed and shut his eyes.
So tired
, he thought.
Need more sleep.
He pulled the sheet up over his face and tried to coax sleep into welcoming him again. Alas, it was not to be.
"Josh!" screamed Jacquie's voice, which no doubt came from Jacquie herself, who was apparently standing at his door. "I've woken you up twice now!" She crossed the room and pulled the sheet off Josh. "School is in an hour."
"Shhh," Josh mumbled. "Sleepy time."
"No, Josh," Jacquie persisted, grabbing his wrist. "Wakey time. Now unless you get up right now, I'm gonna drag you out of bed."
"'S fine with me," Josh replied groggily, eyes still closed.
Jacquie grunted with ire and yanked Josh bodily off his bed. She didn't have the strength to support him – or perhaps it was never her intention – so Josh went tumbling over the side and smacked his head on a leg of his bedside table.
"Ow!" he snapped. "What'd you do that for?"
"To wake you up!" Jacquie spat back. "Now get up, take a shower, get dressed and
go to school
!"
"All right!" Josh exclaimed indignantly. "Jeez."
Jacquie stormed out of the room leaving Josh to nurse his sore head on the way to the bathroom. As he walked down the hall, he noticed Dawn's bedroom door was still closed, most likely confirming she had indeed called in sick. Even walking past the door made Josh's body respond to the memories of the previous night – one of the best nights of his life, along with his first time with Jacquie. Even better, apparently no one had noticed. They were lucky in that regard, Josh thought. As much fun as it had been though, they would have to keep their nighttime rendezvous to a minimum.
* * *
An hour and a half later, Jacquie had ushered Josh out the door, refusing to write a note of tardiness for him. "It's your own fault," she told him.
"Can't you drive me?"
"Mom's using my car," said Jacquie. "Now hurry up."
She shut the door in his face, leaving Josh to amble wearily in the direction he hoped his school was. God was he tired. He had fallen asleep the second his head hit his pillow once he was back in his own room last night. Even so, his encounter with Dawn had left him feeling drained and tired.
She really knows how to have a good time
, Josh thought to himself. He felt himself smile and almost walked into a tree.
* * *
Josh was hardly aware of anything that happened at school that day. He slept through most of his classes, slept in the library during lunchtime and even drifted off in the middle of school assembly. He did feel much better at the end of the day, but it didn't help with his first conversation with Valerie as friends. She had wanted him to come and sit with her and her friends, get to know each other better, that sort of thing. Josh, however, was having a tough time keeping his eyes open, so he muttered something about needing to complete an urgent assignment before wandering of to the quiet halls of the library. He was better prepared after he arrived home to face Jacquie, who would no doubt still be angry with him.
He didn't find her in the kitchen or in the living room watching TV, so he wandered upstairs in search of her. It was almost a ritual to him now, to seek out Jacquie after he got home. She would ask him how his day was, and he would answer her in a single word, perhaps two. Occasionally he would open up to her, which is something he would never do with the others.
Maybe she went out. But she doesn't have a car. Maybe she walked.
Josh's questions were silenced once he reached his room. Jacquie was inside, dusting over his bookshelf and chest of drawers. Josh stopped in the doorway and threw his bag inside causing Jacquie to turn around as it thudded on the floor.
"Hello," she said.
"Hi," Josh replied. "Are you still angry with me?"
"Angry? I'm not angry. You were late for school, so I had to yell at you."
"Right," replied Josh. "And you didn't derive any pleasure from doing it?"
"Of course not," said Jacquie, turning back to her dusting. "Don't be silly."
Feeling better, Josh watched her go about her dusting for a few minutes. "I'm gonna get something to eat," he announced at length, and turned to go.
"Wait," said Jacquie. Josh stepped back in the door.
"What?" He was aware, quite consciously, that Jacquie was avoiding his eyes. She seemed reluctant to say whatever was on her mind. "What is it?"
Jacquie sighed, crossed the room and held something out to Josh – something scarlet and lacey. "I found these in your drawer," she said. Josh didn't take them, but nor did Jacquie retract her arm. "They're Dawn's."
What should he say? What should he do? What should he
say
? In the end, he opted for nothing on all three accounts.
"Maybe it's none of my business," Jacquie said, though she was clearly thinking it
was
her business. "I just..."
Josh felt terrible. It was something he'd never thought of – telling Jacquie about Dawn. Somehow, he didn't think she'd take it as lightly as his other sister had. There was a way out, certainly, but it could hurt Jacquie just as much.
"I..." said Josh, trailing off.
"Did you use them to masturbate?" Jacquie asked.
