AllFreeNovel
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Come to think of it, was that spot here when we moved in?
What am I even doing? Trying to fix something that probably came off the production line this way. There’s no improving what’s immortalized into the fabric of the house. Not with ten-dollar store cleaner, anyway.
The sound of a knock breaks through my groaning. Confused, I strip off my gloves and walk down the hall. It’s unusual to get surprise visitors, and even though Sebastian should be home soon, I can’t imagine he’d knock over calling.
And I’m right.
It’s not him at the door.
“Hi,” I stumble, “Sebastian’s mom.”
“At least you didn’t call me Ms. Wolfe,” she jokes. “It’s Eleanor, hun. Ellie, if you get on my good side.”
“Um.” Then my brain catches up, and I remember my manners. “Come in. Oh my god. Can I help you with that?”
But Eleanor—because calling her Ellie is a little too familiar for a woman I’ve only met twice—strolls past me confidently. In her arms is a box practically spilling over with what looks like a stand mixer.
The sight of it makes me a little giddy. I’ve only ever seen them on cooking shows. God, I really hope Sebastian can bake. Otherwise we’re about to inherit a very expensive paperweight.
Eleanor stops at every door along the hallway until we reach where it opens up into the living room. “Oh, it’s cuter than I thought it would be.”
“Sebastian’s not home yet, if you’re looking for him.”
“I know. I came to see you.”
Oh no.
“Can I get you a drink?”
She hums, setting the box down on the part of the counter usually reserved for me when I’m watching Sebastian cook. We’ll see how long it lasts there.
“Whiskey if you have it.”
“Uh,” I stall. Sebastian isn’t against alcohol, but after that night at Toxicity, I asked that we don’t keep any in the house. It’s not that I don’t trust myself, but I can’t look at it without remembering that night.
Without hesitation, he threw it.
“We don’t,” I admit. “Have any.”
When she turns to face me, I brace myself, but her smile is sunny. Was that… a test? “Darn. I suppose he’s gotten to you too. I expected as much.” I have to hold back a laugh when she winks. “Tea will be fine.”
I wonder how long I can cool my face off in the freezer before it becomes weird. Two minutes?
Sebastian better get home soon, because I am not prepared.
“Coming right up.”
When I turn back, she’s admiring our handiwork on the wall.
“Seb always did like doodling as a kid.” Eleanor nods in thanks as I slide the steaming cup of tea across the counter, before adding two spoons of sugar. As she stirs it through, she looks back on the drawings. “The only time he was suspended from school was because his teacher had placed stickers over the sexual health focused anatomy figures in their textbooks. As it was told to me, Seb had deliberately defaced school property by replacing them with cruder versions.”
It takes me a second to collect myself, because (lest I forget) this is his mom telling me this story, and it probably won’t look good to laugh in her face, no matter how hilarious I think it is.
Instead, I clear my throat and ask, “What did you do?”
There’s a glimmer in Eleanor’s eyes, familiar and warm. “After a few of us loudly challenged the teacher’s actions, they were removed from the school, and I told Sebastian he should only deface his own property in the future.” She laughs. “He not so quietly reminded me of that after he got his first tattoo.”
“So he’s been a rebel from the beginning,” I say.
