Read Online Getting Played by Celeste O. Norfleet - Free Book Online

place. He hasn’t noticed me yet. His eyes are glued to the screen. Whatever he’s doing on the computer, he’s really into it.
    Then he looks up and sees me. His eyes widen in surprise. I know I startled him. Still, he has this annoyed expression on his face, like I’m interrupting him or something. He pulls out one earbud and presses a key on the keyboard. I look at him, waiting for him to say something. He doesn’t, so I do. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing?” I ask indignantly.
    â€œWho the hell are you?” he asks right back, with the same indignation. He pulls the other earbud out, cusses under his breath and then stands up.

CHAPTER 6
    Anybody’s Guess
    â€œI’m so tired of getting it wrong. It seems every turn I take is the wrong one. Every move I make leads me to a dead end.”
    â€”MySpace.com
    Shit. He’s way taller and bigger than I first thought. He gives me this threatening look, but for real, I don’t back down. I smacked Darien, so I am seriously up to smacking him down, too. “I live here,” I say, then drop my bag in the chair and then pull my cell phone from my jeans pocket, ready to call the police. “Who are you?” I ask again.
    â€œYou must be his kid,” he says, looking me up and down.
    â€œExcuse me?” I say, looking at him the same way.
    â€œJames’s kid,” he clarifies.
    â€œAnd you are?” I ask again.
    â€œCash, I’m Courtney’s brother.”
    I look at him suspiciously. Figures. Then yeah, I can kinda see it now. He does look a little like Courtney. They havethe same eyes and mouth and definitely the same angry expression. It must be a family trait, to look perpetually pissed off. “My father’s name is Kenneth,” I correct.
    â€œMy sister calls him James,” he says.
    â€œYour sister’s wrong. James is my dad’s middle name.”
    â€œYeah, whatever,” he says dismissively.
    â€œSo what are you doing in here?” I ask, glancing at the back of my dad’s computer monitor. That’s all I can see from this vantage point.
    â€œGetting away from them. What does it look like?” he says, then sits back down, more relaxed like he was when I first came in.
    I nod. It makes sense. Anybody with half a brain would want to get away from my dad and Courtney when they argue. It’s like listening to a banshee and a barking dog. He rumbles low and loud and she squeals in this high-pitched whine that comes out like ear-splitting screams. Together they sound like some demented rap duet. I swear they drive anyone within listening distance insane. All you want to do is get away from them. “Where are the boys?” I ask Cash.
    â€œOut back.” He motions out the side door that leads to the big backyard behind the house. “I figured they didn’t need to hear all that, so I sent them out. I told them to stay close.”
    I nod again. At least it sounds like he has some sense. I used to hate hearing my mom and dad arguing, too. I’d turn the TV up or the stereo up really loud, so I didn’t have to hear. I walk over to the sliding glass door on the other side of the office to see if the boys are okay. They’re rightoutside the door playing with a toy basketball and hoop. They aren’t really playing, just tossing the ball back and forth. They look so sad.
    I glance up at the reflection in the glass door. I can see the rest of the office behind me. I look at Cash. He’s watching me. He doesn’t see that I see him. Then I look at the desk, then the computer screen. I assumed Cash was downloading music, but he wasn’t. There is one of my dad’s company spreadsheets on the screen. It looks to me like he’s going through my dad’s company files. I turn back to the room.
    â€œSo, are you here this weekend?” he asks, pressing a key quickly to clear the screen, acting like nothing