Zenon's Game Chapter 69

Zenon touched him again.

"You don't have a monopoly over her!" Jake argued.

"No but I can defend her from assh*les like you."

"What makes me an assh*le?! Last time I checked you were the monster."

"Are you both going to fight over my daughter?" Mrs Turner asked, "Because I have a prettier daughter I could introduce you to."

Jake glanced at Mrs Turner. He paused, and then returned focus on Zenon, "I told her I liked her, but she ran away. Why is this your problem, Zenon? You're not involved."

Zenon's voice lowered into a strong, intimidating tone, "When it comes to Candace, I am involved."

Jake felt the emotions boil up within him. He asked, "She's lived next to you for the last seventeen years and you never cared.  Why does it take me coming here to show you that?"

"Great question," Mrs Turner nodded from the sidelines.

"Don't flatter yourself, brother. You've got nothing to do with our relationship," Zenon replied, thinking of the very first day she ran over his laptop.

Candace literally came crashing into his world.

Jake shook his head, calming himself down, "Let me get this straight. After I told her I liked her, she ran to you?"

The hurt was apparent in his voice. Event Mrs Turner went silent.

Zenon stared down at an unconscious Candace as she slowly began to stir. He broke the silence, "She ran away from me too."

"So she doesn't like either of us?" Jake asked.

"I never said I liked her."

"Yeah. Whatever."

"Wow, I need a drink," Mrs Turner said, accidentally interrupting the brothers' conversation.

She couldn't believe this conversation. Not even if it were part of a movie. This was all getting a bit too much.

"It's getting hot in here," Mrs Turner fanned herself and unbuttoned her shirt a little bit.

"Maybe you could open a window?" Jake suggested, staring at her weirdly.

"Great idea," she winked at him and opened all the windows in the living room.

While her back was turned, Jake mouthed to his brother, "What's up with the mother?"

Zenon shrugged his shoulders. "No idea."

Suddenly, Zenon's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, relieved for the distraction. Candace's home life was a bit stranger than he expected.

"Hey Char... oh Nicole, yeah you're on my sister's phone... it's all good."

Candace stirred a little on the couch and Zenon immediately dropped his phone on the table. He bent down to check on Candace, forgetting all about Nicole. Jake came over and tapped the screen so that Nicole's voice was on loudspeaker.

"Where are you, Zenon? We've been looking for you. The Jeep's outside but you're not at home and your friends are here. They're like the Mickey Mouse Club."

They could hear Bryce protest against that description in the background.

"We're with Candace across the street."

"You're at her house?"

"Yeah. Number four."

Axel yelled through the phone, also apparently in the background, "We're coming!"

Through Candace's open window, Zenon and Jake saw their own front door open and a parade of the Mickey Mouse Club walk across the street. Axel, Bryce, Oma and Bianca sauntered over. They were unintentionally matching: wearing blue, white, gray or black.

"Visitors?" Mrs Turner asked, "Let's get some coffee going. Jake, would you like to help me?"

Jake mouthed to his brother, "Save me."

Like a lost puppy, Jake followed Mrs Turner to the kitchen. Zenon stayed by Candace's side. He raised her head and propped a few cushions under it.

"Come on Candy, wake up," he sighed in disbelief, "You have me babysitting you here."

The front door to 4 Dupont Avenue was wide open and the four musketeers marched inside.

Oma fixed her hair in the glass reflection and Bianca made a beeline for Zenon. Axel checked out the foo statues by the living room entrance and Bryce exclaimed, "Are they poor? Why is there no art on the walls?"

"Coffee anyone?" Mrs Turner asked, walking out of the kitchen with a tray of cappuccinos.

The boys took one each and Mrs Turner offered one to Nicole, who was smoking outside in the front yard. She had come over to check out what was going on, but wasn't planning to stay.

"No thanks," Nicole waved her hand away.  

She finished her cigarette outside.

Mrs Turner had offered her the cappuccino through the open window, but now retracted her hand.

"What's going on?" Candace slurred, her eyes half open as she took in the sight around her. "Am I dying?"

"Another great question Candace, as usual," Axel said, turning to Zenon and Jake for answers, "What is going on?"

"A misunderstanding," Zenon muttered.

"Is it about the photo again? Did someone take another na*k*ed photo of Candace while she was sleeping?" Oma guessed, finally paying attention to the situation.

"What photo? There's a na*k*ed photo?!" Jake asked.

"Let's not spread this," Zenon said and then told his brother, "She's not na*k*ed and you won't see them. Oma, how did you hear about that?"

Bianca folded her arms across her chest, "Stacey from summer camp."

"I thought we talked about that."

"We did, Zenon."

The front door creaked open for the eighth time that afternoon and Heidi entered the home. She had just come back from a coffee date with Matt. He'd used his employee discount at the Coffee Bean.   

Heidi dropped her bag onto the floor and gasped.

"I don't know what's going on here, but I'm gonna go with it," she said, staring at her idols in front of her.  Her hands reached out towards them, almost expecting them to disappear.

"How did you find me?  Was it my outfits this week?" she asked them.

The most popular people in school were in her living room.  This was a dream come true.  

Axel pointed at her, "And you are?"

"Heidi Turner. This is my house," she said.

Axel continued to stare at her. "So that makes you...?"

"Heidi Turner. Aren't you here for me?"

She tried to sneakily take out her phone to record this.  She was going to post it online later.  

"Did I miss something?"