Read Online The Rise of the Fourteen by Catherine Carter - Free Book Online Page B

first imagined. On good days, he is nervous and quiet, especially when Luna
is around. On bad days, he is sullen and high-strung, ready to blow up over
every little thing. But one thing stays the same every day. His eyes are red
from crying.
     The kettle begins to whistle, and Luna lifts it off the
stovetop. The metal base scratches the countertop, but Luna ignores that and
moves to turn off the burner. The little black nubs have long stopped
functioning as proper stove switches, and it takes some elbow grease before the
uneven Egyptian blue flames finally die out. She turns to look at Arden and
stifles a snort.
    “No silly! You have to pour the water into a teapot first!
And what about the tea leaves?” Luna grabs the kettle out of his hand and sets
it on the countertop. She sets about finding one of the many chipped teapots
out of a cupboard and its matching tea cozy.
    She is barely aware of her surroundings as she puts in the tealeaves
and grabs the strainer, but as she pours the hot water, something catches her
eye. Is that …. She almost burns herself as she puts the kettle down. As
the tea is steeping, she turns to face her brother. And he’s smiling.
    They had only been nursing their tea for a few moments when
they hear the sound of squealing tires. Looks like someone has finally
decided to come home. Arden grabs his cup and stands up, nearly knocking
his chair over. He mouths “going upstairs” and quickly shuffles out of the
room. Luna can hear him hissing as the hot tea sloshes over the edge of the
cup, streaking burns down his fingers.
    The problem with this family is that no one wants to talk
to each other. Luna has a pitying look on her face as she turns to look at
the kitchen doorway once again. Neither of us wanted this, especially not
him. She hears the front door swing open and bash against the coat stand
like it always does, and her features change. The pity is gone, replaced by a
cool mask. The stillness before battle is unbearable.
    When Ms. Hughes walks into the kitchen, Luna has set aside
her tea. Her knees are curled up against her chest, and she rocks back and
forth slowly as if trying to calm her fraying nerves. Ms. Hughes lugs a massive
tote bag full of files across the kitchen floor and dumps it unceremoniously on
the chair next to Luna's.
    “Good afternoon, dear!” Ms. Hughes says, gently patting Luna
on the head.
    “Where were you all day? It’s a Saturday. You don’t have
work, do you?” Luna’s face is withdrawn and expressionless. Her pupils seem to
be engulfed in a wash of brown as she stares at the table, not looking up to
talk to her mother.
    “Luna, you know I’ve been following a lead for my new story!”
Ms. Hughes is not a very good liar. Her voice always goes up two octaves at the
end of each false sentence. Luna doesn’t even bother to jump on her for it. She
won’t tell the truth either way.
    There is an icy cliff on the way up a mountain, a mountain
so tall that the peak soars through the cloudbank. Luna faces a choice.
Continue to suffer and climb the mountain. Or take the icy plunge. “Why, Mom?”
    “Why what dear?”
    “Why didn’t you tell me, tell us after all these years?”
    “Luna, sweetheart, you have to understand — ”
    “Don’t you sweetheart me! Arden and I didn’t want this! Only
you!”
    “Luna! Where is all this coming from?”
    “Don’t play the innocent!”
    Their yelling goes on for some time. Arden can hear them
from upstairs. He’s grateful because Luna has the guts to say what he cannot.
But he is also forlorn, about his family, about his life, and who he has become — someone who is not Arden
Lewis.
    “Well?” Luna says shrilly. “What’s your answer?” Ms. Hughes
looks off into the distance blankly. Luna could have been a hundred miles away.
“Oh, forget it!” Luna tramps up the stairs in a huff, kicking the bag of files
as she goes. Her tea, long forgotten, sloshes from its cup and drips off the
table. The cup jiggles