AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Say it then,” my mom challenges.
My dad’s smile grows as he forks more spaghetti in his mouth. “Can’t talk with my mouth full.”
“You just did.”
He shakes his head, forks in more spaghetti and points to his mouth.
My mom throws the napkin at him. “Your dad’s a liar.”
And I’m so happy to see that.
To see them playing around with each other like they’ve always done.
God, please stay like this.
Please just be happy.
But of course not.
Because I ruin it with my thoughtless words, “Oh my God, one of my friends, Callie. Mom, she’s such a good baker. Like, so so good. You have to try her cupcakes. And her cookies, I can’t even. They’re the…” I trail off when I notice the utter stillness in the room.
The utter stillness on their faces.
Shit.
I completely forgot.
It completely slipped my mind that they don’t like to talk about St. Mary’s. Or anything related to that place. My classes, my friends, how I live there, what I do. All the rules and regulations that I have to follow.
I think they just want to forget that I go to a reform school.
That I’m still going there. That I was stupid enough to not graduate on time.
But of course they can’t.
So they simply avoid talking about it.
While he went ahead and read the manual, and asked around…
Don’t, Echo. Don’t think about him right now.
Not in front of your parents.
My face burning with embarrassment, I lower my eyes to the plate. “Sorry.”
The room goes back to being silent and tense and filled with the stupid clink of silverware. And I’m so frustrated that I’m about to start crying, begging my parents to please,pleaseforgive me for everything that I’ve done.
But then my mom speaks. “So we wanted to talk to you about something.”
I snap my eyes up, my heart in my throat. “About what?”
My mom looks at my dad and he straightens up in his chair. I do too because this is it.
This is why they asked me to come home, isn’t it?
My parents emailed me yesterday evening and said that they wanted me to come see them this weekend. It was sudden and unplanned; not something you do at St. Mary’s and they know that. Still, I got my permission slip signed and took the bus to come home this Friday afternoon.
I have been waiting all evening for them to tell me why.
