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My brother murmured some sort of a greeting and continued talking. He was looking at her as if she was a fucking goddess. I knew that look and the feeling that went with it.
“Lucas,” my mother’s voice was about a thousand octaves higher than usual. She knew I would be pissed, which only made me even more pissed, “Dinner is almost ready. We’re having company.”
“No shit,” I mocked her, my eyes still glued to Clem’s beautiful face.
“Language!” my mother scolded me with a laugh.
Guilty conscience, huh?
She usually gave me massive hard time for any bad words that came out of my mouth, especially in front of Troy. He was ten and didn’t have myattitude. Her word, not mine. Elizabeth Cole was delicate and well mannered, so it really bothered her when I acted like acaveman. Again, her word, not mine.
She was also the favorite neighbor around here. She joined a few DIY home repairs around the neighborhood, drove old people wherever the hell they were going at that age, who knew, as if she got paid for it, and she constantly brought homeless animals in.
That’s exactly what Clementine Hartley was these days. A homeless animal.
I still had a scratch on my arm and a view from my bedroom window that proved I was right and not at all offensive.
“Do you mind coming with me upstairs. I have… a thing,” mom literally pushed me out of the kitchen.
“I hope you have a good reason for this,” I hissed in the hallway. “And I meanreallygood. She-was-dying kinda good.”
“Yeah? Just like you then. Four nights ago,” she said in an angry whisper.
We went upstairs and into the guest room. My mother started pulling clean towels out of a drawer. A sudden headache appeared. I waited until she placed them on the bed, just to be sure. A bed that looked like someone had lain on it. I couldn’t hold it anymore.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I shook my head in disbelief.
“Come on, Lucas. Holding a grudge over a childhood crush? You’re better than this.”
“Umm, no. No, I’m not,” I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
She looked at me as if she couldn’t believe my words. So, I made it perfectly clear.
“I’m sticking with the grudge. She’s leaving.”
“Who told you you’re the one making the decisions around here?”
“I’m the one making the decisions when it comes to Clementine Hartley invading my personal space. It’s bad enough I have to see her face every single day at school.”
My mother smiled, “Well, you’re going to see her face at home too. Because she’s staying.”
I wanted to strangle them both.
“This is not a joke!” my voice was now bouncing of the walls. “Kick her out!”
“Stop yelling right now,” she pointed at me as if I was a toddler. “You’re being selfish. The girl lost everything. She was your best friend. How can you be so cruel?”
I knew this meant a lot to her. Not being cruel to others. I knew she was disappointed in me. But I ignored her words, even though she was right.
“I don’t care. I want her out! You know, you’re not the only one living in this house! Did you even think to ask the rest of us before inviting her here?” I was still screaming at her, well aware that my voice was probably reaching everyone’s ears downstairs.
“I asked the reasonable part of our household. Your father and Troy didn’t have any objections,” her voices cracked at the end of her sentence. She was lying. My mother was such a bad liar.
“By the look on Troy’s face, I would guess that dad was the one with the objections,” I smirked. She didn’t even bother to answer me. I knew the fight was over, and she had kicked my ass. I decided to go seek parental support downstairs.
The moment I reentered the kitchen and saw the look on my father’s face I knew I wasn’t getting any.
He was looking at me like I disappointed him. I knew they heard my not so delicate conversation with mom. I couldn’t care less. Clementine could crawl and sleep under a bridge for all I cared.
