beautiful baby brother or sister ruined the digestive process for you?”
“Completely.” I push a box of Drake’s cereal away to prove a point. “You know, maybe it’s just not meant to be.”
Her mouth gapes open, and she stands there staring at me in disbelief.
She stops cutting her fruit and walks over at an uneven clip with the knife still in her hand.
“Just because you’re rooting for this not to happen, doesn’t mean I’m willing take whatever you feel like dishing. I’ve got time and money working against me. The last thing I need is your attitude.”
“What the hell is going on?” Tad scampers over at a brisk pace. “Is she upsetting you again?”
“What do you mean again? I haven’t been upsetting her,” I say taking a giant step back. It’s too late, I’ve lit the fuse—I can feel it.
“I’m fine,” my mother whispers, shuddering in his arms. The drama is so thick, for a moment I think I missed something.
Tad’s eyes hook onto Dr. Oliver’s handy work braided across my neck and his face explodes in a crimson ball of anger.
“I thought I told you not to expose this family to the graffiti you’ve inflicted upon yourself.” There’s a renewed calm in him.
“It’s for Halloween,” I say, quietly running my finger across the incision.
“You are pushing the both of us to the outer limits.” His voice shakes as efforts to control himself begin to wane. “Is this family some kind of joke to you?” His voice booms across the house creating an unnatural echo. It’s deathly silent in the void.
There it is. The explosion.
I can feel Drake pulling up a seat beside me eagerly anticipating the rest of the show.
“Because if you think you’re too good for us, we’ll be happy to make other arrangements.” There is something more than anger inside of him—it’s as though the aftertaste of genuine hatred is layered just beneath. Then it hits me. Tad really does hate me. He doesn’t want me as a part of this family.
“Mom?” I want to ask if she’s going to stand there and let him talk to me like this, but she cowers into him almost as if she agrees.
“ Skyla .” She pushes her fingers into her forehead and closes her eyes. “Just get to school. We’ll start fresh later.”
“Right.” I take off upstairs.
Something tells me we can never start fresh again.
***
Gage is all hopped up on the heels of our love as we stand in the overflow parking lot.
There’s something charming about the way he smiles and gazes openly, but something alarming about the fact that we’ve let a fake relationship get so far while I’m still in the midst of a real one. The good thing about being with Gage is that I made a promise to myself that whenever we’re in public I’ll never pretend my feelings for him. The bad thing is, during moments like this, when it’s just the two of us in the woods and there’s not another soul around, I should feel far guiltier than I do.
“I dreamed about you,” he says. The smile melts off his face ever so slightly.
“Was I naked?” I bite down on my lip and give a playful smile.
“Nope.” He loosens into a grin. “Very much clothed.”
“So, what happened?” I give a light massage to the back of his neck.
“Can’t tell you. It was one of my special dreams.”
“Special? As in code for dirty?”
“No.” His eyes widen into two large pools. “Special as in prophetic.”
“You know something?” I cease all movement and gaze into him. His dark hair lies in thick wet strands—it curls up around his temples and at the base of his neck in neat little coils.
“I know lots of things.” He looks down briefly. “Anyway, I like dreaming about you, seeing you even when you’re not with me.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and sway with him in the breeze.
“I want to know the things you know. Will you tell me what you saw?”
“It’s not important what I saw.” He gives an apprehensive smile as if trying
“Completely.” I push a box of Drake’s cereal away to prove a point. “You know, maybe it’s just not meant to be.”
Her mouth gapes open, and she stands there staring at me in disbelief.
She stops cutting her fruit and walks over at an uneven clip with the knife still in her hand.
“Just because you’re rooting for this not to happen, doesn’t mean I’m willing take whatever you feel like dishing. I’ve got time and money working against me. The last thing I need is your attitude.”
“What the hell is going on?” Tad scampers over at a brisk pace. “Is she upsetting you again?”
“What do you mean again? I haven’t been upsetting her,” I say taking a giant step back. It’s too late, I’ve lit the fuse—I can feel it.
“I’m fine,” my mother whispers, shuddering in his arms. The drama is so thick, for a moment I think I missed something.
Tad’s eyes hook onto Dr. Oliver’s handy work braided across my neck and his face explodes in a crimson ball of anger.
“I thought I told you not to expose this family to the graffiti you’ve inflicted upon yourself.” There’s a renewed calm in him.
“It’s for Halloween,” I say, quietly running my finger across the incision.
“You are pushing the both of us to the outer limits.” His voice shakes as efforts to control himself begin to wane. “Is this family some kind of joke to you?” His voice booms across the house creating an unnatural echo. It’s deathly silent in the void.
There it is. The explosion.
I can feel Drake pulling up a seat beside me eagerly anticipating the rest of the show.
“Because if you think you’re too good for us, we’ll be happy to make other arrangements.” There is something more than anger inside of him—it’s as though the aftertaste of genuine hatred is layered just beneath. Then it hits me. Tad really does hate me. He doesn’t want me as a part of this family.
“Mom?” I want to ask if she’s going to stand there and let him talk to me like this, but she cowers into him almost as if she agrees.
“ Skyla .” She pushes her fingers into her forehead and closes her eyes. “Just get to school. We’ll start fresh later.”
“Right.” I take off upstairs.
Something tells me we can never start fresh again.
***
Gage is all hopped up on the heels of our love as we stand in the overflow parking lot.
There’s something charming about the way he smiles and gazes openly, but something alarming about the fact that we’ve let a fake relationship get so far while I’m still in the midst of a real one. The good thing about being with Gage is that I made a promise to myself that whenever we’re in public I’ll never pretend my feelings for him. The bad thing is, during moments like this, when it’s just the two of us in the woods and there’s not another soul around, I should feel far guiltier than I do.
“I dreamed about you,” he says. The smile melts off his face ever so slightly.
“Was I naked?” I bite down on my lip and give a playful smile.
“Nope.” He loosens into a grin. “Very much clothed.”
“So, what happened?” I give a light massage to the back of his neck.
“Can’t tell you. It was one of my special dreams.”
“Special? As in code for dirty?”
“No.” His eyes widen into two large pools. “Special as in prophetic.”
“You know something?” I cease all movement and gaze into him. His dark hair lies in thick wet strands—it curls up around his temples and at the base of his neck in neat little coils.
“I know lots of things.” He looks down briefly. “Anyway, I like dreaming about you, seeing you even when you’re not with me.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and sway with him in the breeze.
“I want to know the things you know. Will you tell me what you saw?”
“It’s not important what I saw.” He gives an apprehensive smile as if trying
Similar Books
