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“I’m at home, and this is my health. You can’t tell me anything, boy.”
I step back and let out a forced laugh at her light tone. “About your health? It’s not just about you, goddamn it.” I take another deep breath. I take a deep breath once, twice, and resume in a calmer voice, “Mom, alcohol is no longer compatible with your medication, and especially not at this hour.”
She doesn’t answer anything, stares at her plate and purses her lips. A bad feeling comes over me.
“Because you’re still taking them, right?”
I approach her and bend over, dominating her with my height.
“Did you take your pills?”
“No,” she growls as her eyes cloud over again.
You’ve got to be kidding me! I want to scream, to hit something. She’s off her meds, and she’s a walking menace during her episodes, and she keeps drinking on the sly. “I don’t want you to go into Debbie’s room anymore when you’ve been drinking. I don’t want you to go into that damn room!”
She suddenly starts to hold back her tears, but I can’t be fooled. Not after everything that’s happened. I’ve always refused to have her institutionalized, and she refused it too. But the deal was clear: she has to get better.
“You are a danger, you understand?”
She stands up suddenly, and I pull my face back just before she can hit it with her right hand. And now she’s getting violent…
“The real danger is you! You destroyed this family. You are a filthy piece of shit!”
“You’re wrong,” I say again in an implacable voice. “You destroyed it. You killed our family the day you let Dad die without lifting a finger.”
I can’t stay here anymore. I collect my things and walk towards the huge front door without a backward glance. I open the door but freeze when I hear her talking to Abraham.
“Don’t forget to wake Debbie up,” she tells him gently, “I think she’s going to be late for class.”
***
My engine hums loudly as I reach the campus center parking lot. My fingers are still tight on the steering wheel. I can’t even think straight. I thought I’d calm down for the twenty-minute drive, but I’m even more grumpy, my patience having been tested to the limit.
I curse when I discover that my usual seat is taken by the only Chevrolet convertible around. A used car, which seems to tell a story.
Iris’ car.
Strangely, knowing I’ll be meeting her in a few minutes calms me. I know what she’s going to be like: acid, reckless, and ready to show her fangs. Exactly what I need right now. I need to…to see her, damn it!
I park a little further away, slam my car door and ignore everyone who tries to talk to me on my way, in a hurry to get to my criminology class. I take the upper door and enter the huge lecture hall where hundreds of students are waiting for Mrs. Richards.
Since I came in from the top, I have a view of all the rows below. I should be sitting in one of the two seats usually reserved for me, but I am only looking for one person: my redhead. I walk down a few steps, analyzing the students with my eyes. A hand rests on my bicep, and long fingernails graze my skin.
“Tucker,” Sophie says as she appears at my side, “it’s been a long time.”
Not long enough. I stare at the little brunette for a second, wondering what she’s after. Noticing her eyes resting on my mouth, I hold back from sending her packing.
“I heard there’s going to be a party at your place Friday night.”
Fuck politeness. I abruptly get out of her grip and walk away.
“I don’t have time,” I mumble as I run down the stairs, having finally spotted my little redhead.
There’s nobody sitting next to her, and seeing her grumbling in her corner, I understand that she is also in a bad mood and probably a bad company. I don’t hesitate for a second and join her row.
“Why do I always have to lose everything?” she mumbles, rummaging in her bag without having noticed me.
A smile, surely stupid, appears on my face. I swallow it and let myself fall into the seat on her right. She continues to search through her things, cursing softly.
