a cigarette for cade | ongoing

03 | the puppet master

"Adventure is worthwhile in itself."
- Amelia Earhart -

[ T H R E E ]
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THINGS WERE ALMOST BACK to normal after a few days, but Cade was always telling me when we got home that he needed to get his things back. I was confused as to what 'things' he was invoking.

"I left everything back there," he said, referring to the house he lived in before he was kicked out. "Hopefully Jon hasn't burnt all my stuff yet... Or sold it. But again, I wouldn't be surprised if he did."

He winced when the name 'Jon' came out of his mouth. I had no idea who Jon was, but it didn't take a genius to see that Cade did not have the best relationship with him. Naturally, I was curious.

"Why not?" I asked, bringing our calculus homework and setting it on the kitchen table. Since he didn't have a bag, I crammed all of our homework into my binder.

He deadpanned. "I dunno. Because he's a dick?"

"Who's Jon, by the way?"

Cade bit his lip, and it seemed as though he was struggling to pronounce his sentence. "My dad. But I never call him 'dad'. I call him Jon. Or the 'sperm donor'."

The feeling of uneasiness wasn't dissipating. Was he hiding something? Maybe 'being a bad kid' wasn't the real reason why he got kicked out.

"Anyway," he continued. "I really need to get my wallet back."

"Isn't your house, like, really far from here?" I asked.

"Just an hour away."

"That's still pretty far."

"It has my driver's license, my money, and my goddamn health card. Now that I think about it, I also left my phone on my night stand. I should probably take that too."

I twirled my pen between my fingers. He seemed pretty determined to get his belongings.

"You're not serious," I pointed out. At least I hope he wasn't.

"I'm dead serious."

"Cade. Don't be ridiculous."

"Jon would shoot me if he saw me again within three yards of house property."

"I can't believe you..."

He lowered himself onto one knee in front of me, as if he were about to propose. "Willow Knight, will you be my designated driver?"

A coy grin broke out on his face and it took everything to hold me back so I wouldn't slap it off. I took a deep breath through my nose, wondering if he was actually going to make me drive back to his house so he could fetch a wallet and a cellphone.

"Cade."

"Is it a yes?"

"Stand up," I ordered, pinching the bridge of my nose and shaking my head. This boy was too much. "Are you out of your mind?"

He thought about this for a while, before getting back onto his feet and tapping the tip of my nose. "In the best kind of way."

➶

Cade explained to me his plan to 'get his shit back' as he put it, throughout the rest of the evening - while we watched TV, while we finished our homework and while we played with my cat.