Fall Rising: Chapter 5

Groceries: soft shells, an onion, garlic, salsa, tomato paste, tomatoes, Jack cheese, cilantro, sour cream, lettuce, olive oil, tortilla chips.

By the time Jess had her enchiladas in the oven, and people were starting to arrive, she was fully convinced that she was going to wring Emily’s neck. When she walked into the kitchen that afternoon after her shift, her socks still stuck to the linoleum where Mountain Dew had dried but not been properly cleaned. The table was worse, and there was a pale green stain on the ceiling.

When she called for Emily, Legend said she was shopping, but had promised to be home in time for dinner. So again, Jess had been left to clean the mess herself or recruit other people who hadn’t made it to clean it. She wiped down the table first. Libby and CJ had scrubbed the floor together, while Jess stepped around them, trying to get everything done in time. Now, Morgan was standing on the kitchen table with a wet rag, trying to scrub the ceiling.

The phone rang, and Legend answered. She buzzed in Coby, Liam and Jonathan. Seconds later, Emily arrived, with Bryan and Aaron in tow.

“But I don’t like tacos…” Christian whined, as lots of big boys came in his house. This wasn’t a fun day at all. He didn’t get good treats or any good leaves for his party and all the kids said they didn’t like what he brought. Now, his mom was making her yucky tacos that he didn’t even want to eat. And there were strangers over to eat dinner too.

“I told you, you can have enchiladas, or a peanut-butter sandwich.” Jess maintained, taking the pan out of the oven.

Christian started to cry. He hugged Bacony. “Peanut-butter gives me a bellyache!”

“That’s because it was off the floor and mixed with tar,” Jess explained, trying to be patient.

Jess took his hand and guided him to the living room to meet their company. She had given Libby plenty of time to prep Liam about Christian.

Liam’s attention was suddenly drawn to the face of a little boy. He looked like he was from the inner-city, with African-American features - curly black hair that needed cutting and skin the color of Nathaniel’s.

Libby was coming back from her room, where she had retreated to invite Nate over, having realized that Liam never passed on the message after the botched first Bible study, when she noticed Jess coming in with Christian. She opened her mouth to say something - anything - but nothing came.

He shot a look of disbelief at his sister. She had been living here for over a week. She had gotten letters and emails from these people, and never once did she mention this. This boy, obviously abandoned like some kind of unwanted pet, and taken in by one of the girls. He just hoped it wasn’t Libby. Liam scanned the room, his eyes coming to rest quickly on Legend. Now it made sense. This kid could be her clone, afro and all.

Libby stood by uncomfortably, hoping to God her brother didn’t say something stupid. She could see him thinking. She hated when he did that.

She didn’t get her wish. When Liam spoke, it made Libby want to melt into the floor.

“Legend, I didn’t know you had a kid.” He eyed Christian and Legend in turn, ignoring Jess, who held the child’s hand.

Legend gave Liam a look that clearly insinuated that she thought he was a moron. She was insulted on her own behalf as well as Jess and Christian’s.

“This is my son, Christian,” Jess introduced, trying not to be offended that Liam had jumped to the wrong conclusion. “Christian, this is Liam. Can you say hi?”

Christian couldn’t say anything. He was too busy hiding behind his mom’s leg even though he tried very hard to be brave. Liam was big, and he was looking at him like Christian did something really bad, only he didn’t even know what.

Now that Liam knew the truth, pieces started falling into place. Thinking about it, it made perfect sense that Jess would be the suspect for premarital sex. She dressed okay now, but Liam could see a small heart tattooed on the inside of her wrist, and noted what used to be an eyebrow piercing, now without its jewelry and scabbed over. Liam understood everything now. Of course, Jess had just come to faith. Still, that didn’t justify hiding something this serious.

The child was dressed in camouflage shorts, which were now grey from frequent washing and a red Spongebob tee shirt that Liam figured had been washed and worn at least three-hundred times. It was so faded that the red looked pink, and Spongebob was cracked and starting to peel off. The neck of the shirt was stretched, and there was a hole by the seam that Liam could probably fit a finger through.

Christian himself stared back at Liam with wary eyes, much more adult than they should have been. This kid couldn’t have been that far out of toddlerhood, and he already acted like any new face was a potential threat - hidden behind Jess, but braced for a blow. His little fists were clenched, and Liam could swear he saw the boy’s chin tip slightly in what looked like a challenge.

Liam knelt down to the child’s height. He could easily see the shiner healing on the boy’s face. “Hi, Christian. What happened here?” he asked, reaching out to indicate spot under his eye.

CJ moved away. He knew you didn’t have to let grown-ups touch you if they made feel bad inside.

Rising to his feet, Liam addressed Jess gravely. “You never mentioned this.”

Jess clenched her teeth, but forced herself to be gentle when addressing her son, “Baby, why don’t you go in the kitchen and help Morgan?”

Christian ran away fast like the gingerbread man. When he got in the kitchen, he saw Morgan standing on the table. So was another one of the big boys. He had dark hair and a kind of beard that looked really scratchy. They were washing the inside-roof, because Mom told him Emily made another mess there.

“Here, get down,” Coby insisted. “I’ll do this.”

“Coby, I was doing it fine. I’m almost done,” Morgan insisted. “Get down, dude! You’re crowding me!”

“You’re a midget. Let me do it,” he insisted, impatient with her now.

They looked at each other, almost nose-to-nose on the table top. Coby took half a step forward. “Don’t make me lift you down.”

“Don’t make me take you down,” Morgan returned, her eyes shining at the thought.

Christian piped up. “She really could, Coby. She does it to me a lot.”

Coby jumped down, and walked over. “Thanks for the advice. What’s your name, kiddo?”

“Christian Gray,” he said proudly.

The pieces clicked suddenly, as he realized he was staring into the eyes of Jess Gray’s little boy.

--

Jess put her hands on her hips. She stared at Liam. “Christian is my son. He’s not an inconvenience or a burden. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t need to justify his being here to you or anyone else.”

“How come he has bruises?” Liam challenged. He matched her posture. Her glare.

She crossed her arms protectively, wishing the collar on her shirt came up higher. “He has bruises for the same reason I have bruises,” Jess maintained stonily.

“And why do you have bruises? Are you sure you didn’t just…lose your temper sometimes?” he quizzed. He knew the signs of abuse, and those of an unsafe environment from all his work with children at camps, as well as the training he was getting for his new job. So far, Jess fit the bill perfectly.

A quiet fury burned in Jess, that he would even suggest she would hurt her baby. “That would be private information. And no, I would never hit Christian, even if I lost my temper.” Jess could play this game. She could match him point for point.

“Why are you being so evasive?” he demanded. “Wait,” Liam stopped short, as a thought came to him. “Why is he black? Is he even yours?” He sounded skeptical and disgusted.

“You’re an ass,” she told him. It was a quiet threat. Tears burned at the back of her eyes, and Jess had to tuck her hands in her pockets to keep herself from using them on Liam and proving him right. She could not believe this guy was related to Libby, who was so sweet and helpful - who loved Christian and never judged either one of them.

A knock sounded behind them, and Jess turned gratefully to answer it. She could hear Christian coming to see who it was, too, and had to fight the urge to physically shield him from Liam.

She pulled the door open and smiled, seeing a familiar face on the other side.

“Sorry,” Nate apologized. “I didn’t know we were coming over.”

“Hey, Nate’s here!” Christian said happily.

Liam’s eyes darkened slightly. He bent down to address Christian, ignoring the fact that Jess moved in front of him. He leaned around her and asked, “How do you know Nathaniel?”

“He came over before…” Christian hedged. “He had a robe like my mom when she’s gonna shower.”

Jess blushed and could see Nate doing the same. She stepped back, inviting him inside.

Liam gave him a hard look. “What were you doing over here in your robe?” he whispered fiercely. He said robe like it was something dirty.

“Bringing Libby her brush,” he muttered, walking around Liam to the kitchen.

Liam shook his head. What was he going to do with these people? He wanted a Bible study - to share life with people who were likeminded. Not these people with questionable morals at best.

He joined the rest in the small kitchen setting the table.

“Nope. Out,” Aaron insisted, steering Legend comically toward the living room, where the rest of the girls sat. “We got this. Right, guys?” he asked.

“Speak for yourself,” Jon muttered.

“How come you don’t do anything to help out around our place?” Coby asked, elbowing Aaron.

“Because! I’m sensitive to smells! They give me a headache,” he protested.

Christian made a face. “Tacos give me a headache, I know what you mean.”

Aaron laughed. He had known Jess and Christian all Christian’s life. He’d gone to school with Jess and Legend junior and senior year, and remembered meeting Jess for the first time when she was very pregnant.

“I don’t want tacos at all,” Christian whined. “They’re too spicy.” He laid down on the floor.

“What’d your mom say?” Coby asked, sitting down on the floor with him.

“She said if I don’t want those I have to have a peanut butter sandwich, but that doesn’t help either. I get bellyaches from peanut butter.” Christian knew it wasn’t good to whine, but he couldn’t help it. Tacos were so yucky.

From his place at the silverware drawer, Liam was concerned. Christian wasn’t being properly fed. He sat down too, ignoring it when Jonathan kicked him in the leg. “Do you ever go hungry?” Liam asked.

Christian moved closer to Coby. “I’m hungry now…” he said in a tiny voice.

Coby gave Liam a heated glare. “Lay off. Let Jess handle this.”

“That’s what I’m saying,” Liam maintained. “I don’t think Jess can handle this.”

Bryan put down the bowl of chips and salsa so hard that he saw Nathaniel jump all the way across the room. He had just about enough of Liam interrogating Jess and Christian. Now, he was putting Jess down in front of her son. Bryan set his jaw, and walked up behind Liam, hauling him to his feet by the back of the tee shirt.

Christian was very impressed. He decided he liked Bryan with the comfy pants because he took mean Liam away.

“Come with me,” Bryan said lowly, taking Liam to the back hall. Once they were out of sight of everyone, Bryan released him roughly. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m ascertaining child safety,” Liam maintained, though the look in Bryan’s eyes was enough to take all the conviction out of the words.

“You’re full of shit. Stop all the detective crap. They’re both beat. Obviously Jess isn’t at fault.”

“Then she endangered him!” Liam exclaimed. He didn’t understand why everybody but him was taking this so lightly.

“I’m gonna endanger you, if you don’t knock it the hell off,” Bryan growled, stepping into Liam’s face.

Swallowing, Liam nodded. He wasn’t stupid. Bryan looked like he outweighed him by a good amount in muscle alone.

“And quit putting Jess down, especially in front of Christian.” For a good measure, Bryan gave Liam a little shove.

“Dinner!” Morgan called.

Bryan walked back into the kitchen, letting the scent of home-cooked enchiladas calm his temper and warm his heart.

--

“So then,” Emily continued. “I dropped them all in, and it just erupted!” she exclaimed, shoving a bite of enchilada in her mouth.

Aaron cackled. “Oh, I bet it was so awesome! I tried it before, but never in the house.” His eyes watered from the onions and salsa. He was sweating so bad. He was halfway out of his shirt when he heard Jess clear her throat and shake her head.

“Dude, that’s nasty,” Jon declared, grateful when Aaron put his shirt back on. He ate hungrily. It was the first time in more than a week he’d gotten a decent meal. And, he reminded himself, he had brownies to look forward to.

Morgan’s phone rang playing two lines of her favorite rap song. She snatched it up quickly, seeing her home number. She excused herself.

“Hello?” she said, swallowing the bite of enchilada.

“Morgan, it’s Kate.”

Morgan rolled her eyes. Her sister was a senior in high school with a bad case of senioritis and a taste for parties.

“What do you want?” She couldn’t keep the wariness out of her voice. Kate was always calling at the worst times, wanting her big sister to bail her out of some huge trouble she’d gotten herself into. Morgan could picture her sister. It was unspoken that she was the prettiest. Her dad certainly never let her or Alyssa forget it. He was proud to have a daughter who looked like him, instead of his wife, like all their other kids.

Kate was fairer-skinned than the rest of her siblings. Her hair was lighter brown with a hint of red. Her eyes were wide and expressive, though Morgan had to admit, she hadn’t been able to see much of anything in them lately. She partied so often and so hard it took the life right out of them.

“Mom wants you home.”

“I know that. I just left. I can’t come home, I’m in the middle of classes,” Morgan sighed. “Listen, we have company over and we’re eating right now.”

“Fine,” Kate said, sounding put off. “Just thought you should know that Pete and Jason were in an accident this afternoon. They’re up in the hospital.”

Morgan felt her heart stop for a split second. “You’d better not be shitting me, Katie,” she threatened.

“Call Mom if you don’t believe me,” Kate shrugged.

“No, I’m coming home. I’ll be there in two hours,” Morgan said hurriedly.

Kate sighed, relieved. “Great, can you pick Alyssa up then? She’s at a friend’s.”

“Whatever,” Morgan insisted, hanging up.

Rushing back in the kitchen, Morgan apologized. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

“What’s wrong?” Jess asked, noting Morgan’s serious tone and eyes bright with tears.

Morgan fought to stay in control. She fidgeted, rocking from one foot to the other, not really letting her gaze rest on Jess or anyone.

“My brothers were in an accident today. They’re in the hospital. I have to go home.”

Liam sat forward. “How old are your brothers?”

“Pete’s my twin brother. He’s twenty-one. Jason’s twelve,” she filled in, her mind already racing with what she would need to do before she left and how long she could afford to stay gone.

“Jess, I’m sorry, I won’t be able to give you a ride tomorrow,” Morgan apologized.

“That’s all right, I‘ve got my bike.” Coby interrupted, thinking of the motorcycle he cherished. “She can have my car as long as she needs it.”

Jess eyed Coby, but nodded her thanks. She had overheard him in the kitchen, talking to Christian. She had seen how her little boy had instinctively leaned toward Coby for protection, when Liam got too intrusive. That meant something.

“You won’t be back in time for tomorrow?” Liam asked, concerned. At Morgan’s confused look, he elaborated. “Testimonies?”

Morgan sighed, her mind still going a million miles an hour.

“Jeez, Liam, you think you could stop obsessing about Bible study for two seconds and let Morgan go home?” Libby snapped.

“I was just wondering,” he defended, holding up his hands.

“You know what? Look. I’ll give you the short version. I’m one of five kids. Pete’s technically the oldest, then there’s me, then Kate, Jason and Alyssa. I came to Christ at twelve, right around the time Pete and Kate started getting in more trouble. My parents are still married, but they always need me home to take care of my siblings. So, I guess this is pretty typical. I really have to go, though.”

And without another word, Morgan turned and left.

--

Two hours had never passed more slowly in Morgan’s life. It was rush-hour, so traffic was crawling. She alternately cursed it and prayed that God would make it move faster.

Morgan spent the excruciating time in her car thinking the worst, but hoping for the best. In true Kate fashion, her sister failed to say anything about Pete or Jason’s conditions. She wasn’t too worried about Pete - he was sturdy like her, and had been in so many accidents Morgan had lost count. But Jason was small for his age. Even Alyssa, at nine, was almost his height. So, while she prayed hard for both, Morgan felt an extra burden for Jason.

By the time she got home, Morgan was frantic. She hadn’t been able to get a hold of either one of her parents, and Kate had turned her phone off. Pete’s car wasn’t in the driveway. She pulled haphazardly into his usual spot, completely forgetting about her promise to pick up Alyssa, and rushing into the house.

Ironically, her youngest sister was the first person Morgan saw. She was dressed in too-short shorts and a halter. She had blond clip-on extensions in her long dark hair. She was wearing eyeliner, mascara, eye-shadow, lipstick and probably foundation too.

Morgan still couldn’t shake the memory of right before she left for school, when she had come home from skateboarding with Jason and messing up her hand, to find Alyssa in tears. When Morgan pressed, she learned that Kate had gotten her drunk a week earlier. It had been up to Morgan to tell their parents, and it seemed that any punishment they gave to Kate wasn’t sticking. Alyssa just continued to grow up too fast.

“What are you doing here?” Alyssa scoffed. An unfamiliar blond girl stood beside her and was dressed similarly.

“Where are the boys?” Morgan demanded. She hadn’t known which hospital to check, so she had come home first.

Alyssa turned and pointed up the stairs.

“Why are they home? Kate called me. She said they were in the hospital. That Mom said for me to come.”

Alyssa shrugged. “Kate probably just told you that so she could go out and you could pick me up. But Kiri’s mom dropped me off.“ She paused for a breath. “Dad’s really mad at you for not getting the brakes tested before you left like he told you. And Mom said that if you had been home, none of this would have happened.” Alyssa glanced Kiri. They snickered like the cool fourth graders they were trying to be.

Morgan braced herself and made her way upstairs. She told herself it couldn’t be that bad if Pete and Jason were home already.

“What are you doing here?” her mother asked, seeing her oldest daughter come into the kitchen.

Morgan could tell by looking at her what she could expect to look like in twenty years or so. Divina Davis was petite, and still looked as youthful as she had two decades before, having just given birth to twins.

“Kate called and told me about the accident. I thought Pete and Jason were really hurt. I guess I misunderstood. My mistake.”

“You know what’s a bigger mistake?” her dad asked, walking in the kitchen. “Not checking the brakes on the car before you left like I asked. Now look what happened! Your brothers could have been killed!” Her dad Bruce was a big guy - tall, imposing and muscular. He glared down at Morgan from his over-six-foot height, his dark eyes blazing.

Morgan knew it was pointless to make the argument that it was Pete’s car, so Pete should be the one to take it in. She knew Pete wasn’t held to much as far as responsibilities went. He was the oldest son. Morgan was just the daughter that had “come with the package.” Part of the “two for one deal,” her dad said.

“If you were home instead of living in some apartment with strangers, Peter wouldn’t have to fill your role, and Jason would still have a big sister to take him places,” Divina scoffed.

“I’m sorry,” Morgan apologized, knowing this was why she was so excited to go away to school. She always ended up feeling like crap at home.

“Well, what good does that do?” her father snapped.

Wordlessly, she made her way in the living room where a sitcom was playing. She found her brothers on opposite ends of the couch, looking pathetic. Pete’s foot was in one of those cast-boot things. He was pale, and looked either dazed or drugged. Morgan wasn’t sure which yet. His dark hair was sticking up in all directions, like it did when he just woke up in the morning, despite it being close to eight o‘clock at night. He wore a wrinkled brown tee shirt and green sweatpants.

“Hey sis,” Pete greeted, sounding drowsy. “Aloha,” he waved, opening his arms for a hug.

“Aloha, yourself!” she admonished lightly. She gave him a gentle hug. “What happened to you guys?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged carelessly. “What happened to us, Jas’?”

For the first time, Morgan dared to look at her little brother. Jason was staring at the TV, dressed in his favorite white sweatpants and pale blue tee shirt, looking bored. His head was bandaged, just above one eyebrow. Morgan could see blood seeping through the gauze, beneath the hair that flopped into his eyes. His arm was in a sling and held against his chest.

“Lei aloha, what happened?” she asked Jason, sitting between her brothers on the couch. “How’d you do this?” she asked, gesturing vaguely toward his arm.

Shrugging, Jason finally looked away from the sitcom, which was now ending. “I asked Pete to take me skating. I’d been asking him ever since you left. He finally said he’d take me today after school…” Jason trailed off, smiling faintly at Morgan as he heard Pete snoring lightly.

“What’s up with him?” Morgan wondered, laughing.

Jason rolled his eyes. “He’s on some weird pain medicine. Or it could be the concussion. After the skate park, where I crashed and did this,” he indicated his injured arm, “we were on our way home. Pete saw the light turn yellow and gunned it. Didn’t see the car in front of us until it was too late. That’s when Pete got hurt, and I cut my head on my board. I was holding it.” Jason dropped his voice, “It wasn’t the brakes. Dad’s just mad about everything. Sorry you came home for nothing,” he apologized.

Morgan shook her head firmly, taking his face in her hands. This close, she could see that he looked pale. She could see the fear in his eyes. “You are not nothing. You’re everything,” she said gently, kissing his forehead.

--

“How can not one person know what Morgan’s number is?” Liam complained, pacing the living room where everyone now sat.

“Maybe because we haven’t been roommates that long,” Emily quipped.

She was still reveling in the amazing strawberry shortcake Jess had served for dessert. “Jess, is there anymore you-know-what left?” she asked, eyeing Christian, who was sleeping sitting up against his mom’s leg. Emily was craving that delicious homemade short cake, whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

Nate glanced at Jonathan, remembering the comment he’d made when Nate revealed he was allergic fresh strawberries. He could handle them cooked - his mom made awesome homemade strawberry jam, which Nate loved - but he wasn’t about to make a big deal out of it.

When Nate had politely turned down dessert because of his allergy, Jon had leaned over and whispered so only Nate could hear:

“I’ve never heard of a fruit allergic to fruit…”

The words had affected Nate more than he wanted them to. He’d heard comments like this and worse most of his life, but somehow, he thought once he hit college, people would grow up. He certainly never imagined himself being harassed by his roommates. It made everything tense up inside, so he couldn’t even eat the plain shortcake that Jess sweetly offered him.

“Morgan’s is left. You’re not eating that,” Jess told Emily sternly.

“Well? How are we supposed to know how to pray, if we can’t get updates?” Liam paced the floor.

Jess reached down and scooped CJ up, carrying him to bed. She came back with a piece of notebook paper and a pen.

“Okay,” Jess announced, holding up the items she brought back. “Nobody leaves here until they write down all their important contact information. It’ll be good to have in case of an emergency like tonight. Write down your home number, cell numbers, anybody in your family you would want someone to notify. Then, I’ll make copies for each of the guys’ apartments.” Jess quickly scrawled their home number across the top, and then jotted her work number beside her name, and handed the paper off to Libby, and continued.

“We’re the only household with a landline, so everybody just give this number to family. This can be, like, Grand Central.”

“That’s a good idea,” Legend nodded.

“I don’t know if I’m crazy about it,” Liam admitted. “I mean, it’s kind of like an invasion of privacy to have everyone’s number like this,” he scanned the paper, and looked up at Jess sharply. “And why does everybody else have to give all these numbers out and you just have your work number? Don’t you have family?” he asked critically.

“I gave all the numbers I have,” Jess told him coldly.

Still Liam hedged. “Maybe, I should just keep this copy. Like a master list for Bible study.”

“Now that would be scary,” Nate whispered to Libby, making her giggle. “Can you imagine Liam with all my contact information?”

Libby nodded, “Okay, Liam. Give it back now. You don’t get to be in charge of everything.” She snatched the list from him and handed it back to Jess.

She squinted at it. “Who’s Don?” Jess asked, an unfamiliar name making her heart skip.

Jon rolled his eyes dramatically. “It doesn’t say Don, it says Jon.”

Legend grabbed the paper to look for herself. “Don Mitchell,” she read. “Where’d you learn cursive? That J is clearly a D.”

They all cracked up, forgetting for a moment the reason they were all still there - Morgan‘s brothers.

By eleven, though, most of the guys had gone home. Only Bryan was still there. Jess felt responsible to stay awake as long as they had company. So they sat across the table from each other, Jess studying anatomy and Bryan looking on, and occasionally asking Jess to explain something in the text that he was curious about.

“You know,” Bryan offered, setting down cups of reheated coffee for himself and her. “Coby’s not such a bad guy.”

Jess glanced up suddenly. “I never said that.”

“No, but you act like he’s the type to eat his young or something. But he’s a great guy. One of the first times I met him, he was building our kitchen table with his kid sister, Riley. He let her use the screw-gun. Looked like she was having a ball,” Bryan offered.

Jess nodded, staying focused on her notes. But, truth be told, she liked hearing about Coby from Bryan - a guy she trusted. She liked hearing that he took time for his little sister and played with her. “I noticed he was good with Christian,” she confided.

Bryan nodded. “He’s great with kids. I’m not saying trust him one-hundred percent right off, but give the guy a chance. He’s crazy about you,” Bryan smiled.

“Why would he be crazy about me, though?” Jess asked, twirling her hair uncomfortably.

“Why not?” Bryan challenged.

--

When Morgan dragged herself back into the apartment, she was shocked to see Jess and Bryan at the kitchen table waiting up for her.

“Hey,” she greeted, yawning.

“Hey,” Jess returned, getting up and coming around the table to give Morgan a hug.

“How are your brothers?” Bryan asked seriously.

Morgan sighed, half defeated, and half relieved. “Pete’s got a concussion and a boot thing on his leg. Jason’s just got a little cut above his eye. They were home by the time I got there.”

Both Jess and Bryan simultaneously relaxed and brightened, and Morgan felt comforted by their obvious love and prayers.

“Thanks, you guys,” she said honestly, giving each a squeeze. “Hey, Jess? Is there any shortcake left? I’m starving,”

Jess grinned, getting up and retrieving the shortcake, whipped cream and strawberries. Several pieces of cake remained on the plate, and Jess began to cover them all in berries and cream.

“You lied to Emily?” Bryan asked, chuckling to himself.

“You know if she saw this, she would have eaten the whole thing herself,” Jess said knowingly. She crossed the kitchen and got three spoons, giving them each one. “Bon appetite!”

Morgan dug in happily, grateful that even at this early stage in her college life, she had friends who could get their prayer on hardcore for you one minute, and the next, share dessert off the same plate at midnight.