A World Apart

Thanks for the review, Kylee. I really appreciate it. Yes, he\'s very confused, but his confusion is so sweet! Enjoy this chapter, too! This is a double post, this chapter and the following chaper together.



Chapter 16



I woke up extremely late the next morning. I rolled out of bed slowly, rubbing my eyes and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost 11:30. I groaned, stood up and stretched. I walked down the two steps and went to my door. Walking out into the hallway, I went to the restroom and took a warm, but not too hot, mid morning shower.



I stood in the shower for a long time, just allowing the water to fall down on my back. I ran the shampoo through my hair and rubbed it along the sides of my ears and then dumped a bunch of it in my hand to soak in my tail. I had thrown Robin\'s clothes on the floor and opted for something a bit more casual this Saturday morning. I found a pair of loose, sandblasted jeans and an airy white t-shirt to wear today. When I finished, I went to search for the rest of my family.



The house was unusually quiet, so when I couldn\'t find my mom, dad or brothers, I went to the back of the house and finally heard voices chattering from the back porch. I pulled the sliding screen door open and all eyes turned to me.



"\'Morning, Rave," Rhea greeted me.



He was sitting on our new patio set with his feet propped up in an empty chair. Ren was on one side of him, sipping on some lemonade and Robin was on the other, still eating breakfast. I sat down next to Ren and poured myself a glass of lemonade and took a sip.



"Where\'d you go last night?" Robin asked with concern edging on his voice.



"Home," I replied.



"Why?"



I shrugged," \'Cause I was bored."



I wasn\'t going to tell him what I really did last night.



"You came in later than him, Robin!" Ren said, leaning back in the chair and glancing at his twin.



"So?" He said and swirled some raspberries around in his cereal, “I had fun. You should go with us next time."



"Rave, I can\'t believe you went to the club too! I was surprised. You\'re not the partying type," Rhea said with a grin.



"Well, the girls really wanted me to go, so what could I say to that?" I said, making it sound like it was all about the girls.



"Oh yeah, what are their names? Beth and...Sadie, right? I hate to say it, but it seems like you and Logan are getting pretty friendly. Didn\'t think we\'d notice, well-"



If I were closer, I would have kicked Rhea under the table, but I was just too far away, "Shut up, Rhea! Jesus, I was just out at a club."



He laughed. Rhea always did like to get me riled up about the smallest of issues.



"What are we going to do today?" Ren said, slinking down in the seat and staring at us.



"Do we always have to entertain you, Ren?" I asked, “You need to make some friends or something!"



He frowned, glared at me, and even managed to pout a little. Ren\'s hair was extremely disheveled this morning and he was in need of a haircut. It looked like he had gotten a little sun the past few days, making the freckles across his nose stick out even more. His ocean blue eyes seemed to be just ready for an adventure, when I just wanted to veg out on the couch.



"Well, you guys should bond today, because Robin and I already have plans, right?" Rhea said, leaning over to Robin.



Robin smiled softly and Rhea laughed and leaned over the table, "Get this...we\'ve both got dates. I met a girl a few nights ago when we were just hanging out downtown. And, I think you and I both know who Robin\'s got a date with."



I glanced over at my younger brother, noticing the tense way he sat and the way he wrung his hands in his lap. I could have gotten into a big argument with him, but decided that probably wouldn\'t be the best thing to do. He looked up at me with nervous blue eyes, awaiting my response.



"Whatever."



Robin was silent before finally asking," You don\'t care?"



I shrugged, “Not really."



"So...it\'s okay with you? I mean, I don\'t want to do something and have you guys - any of you - hate me for it," He said softly.



“We’re not going to hate you for it, Robin," I replied.



He smiled a little, “I\'m glad. I was afraid you would get mad again and I didn\'t really want that."



"So where are you guys going to go?" Rhea asked.



"I think we\'re going to the movies. Justin told me they have a nice theater north of town. So I think that\'s where we\'re going," He responded.



"When are you both going on your little \'dates\'?" Ren asked in an almost...jealous way.



Robin offered him an odd look, “Around four or five. We\'re going to go out to eat too. Rhea\'s going to take a shower and leave sooner than me for whatever him and...umm...what\'s her name - were going to do."



"Charlotte."



"Yeah, Charlotte were going to do tonight." Robin finished.



"You guys should go do something together. How about you guys go pick up some chicks tonight?" Rhea said.



I cocked my head to the side and raised an eyebrow, “Me and Ren?"



"Yeah. Who else?"



I looked over at Ren, who hadn\'t said much lately. He looked kind of bored.



"What do you want to do, Ren?"



"Well....since you asked, I\'ve actually been wanting to go swimming," He said.



I raised an eyebrow, “Where? At a pool?"



"No, they don\'t have a pool. They have more of a...what do I call it? A watering hole, but it\'s really nice. It was created to look like the ocean. It has a beach and the water is really clean and looks just like the ocean, too. Oh, and there\'s no fish. I only eat fish. I don\'t like swimming with them."



"Aw, Ren, I really don\'t want to go swimming," I murmured, and glanced up at him.



"Oh...okay. It\'s okay," Ren said a little downhearted.



Rhea leaned over Ren and hit me with a quickly rolled up newspaper, “Take him, Rave. You guys\'ll have fun!"



"Oh Fine!"