Read Family Ties Online

Authors: Debi V. Smith

Family Ties (7 page)

BOOK: Family Ties
2.56Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

An invisible weight of misery heaped upon misery presses down on me.

“What are you doing?” I ask, my hand covering my cheek. I should know better than to ask. I know full well what he’s doing.

I think maybe one day he’ll stop when I ask the question.

Me and my far-fetched ideas.

There is no stopping my father.

“Shut the fuck up.”

 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I take my seat behind Jason in English the next morning and find a note waiting on the desk. He doesn’t make an attempt to look at me or turn around.

This is it. I’m losing half of my friends.

I open it and read:

 

I would wait forever for you.

 

I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand while I choke down a sob. His sentiment is beautiful and simple, but we can never be. I fish my pen out of my backpack.

 

I’m not the girl for you.

 

I slide the note under his elbow.

He writes a quick response, then sets it in front of me. This time his eyes pierce me with an intensity conveying his sincerity before he faces front.

Crap.

 

Yes you are.

 

My forehead drops onto my crossed hands and his desk and chair squeaks as he moves.

He lifts my head. “You are,” he murmurs, kisses my forehead, then turns back around as our classmates stream in.

 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Rose and Andrew take me and Arissa to the second high school football game. Andrew buys us hot dogs and sodas and we head for the metal bleachers, choosing seats behind the band.

“Well, well, well. There are my girls,” Jason says, joining us.

“Hey,” I point behind us with my thumb, “have you met Arissa’s parents?”

“Oh!” He shakes their hands. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jason, Arissa’s eternal tormentor.”

“She needs someone to keep her on her toes.” Andrew chuckles. “I’m Andrew and this is my wife, Rose.” 

“Ma’am.” Jason nods at her.

“Don’t ma’am me, young man,” Rose says, feigning sternness before smiling.

“Ooh, now I see where you get it from, Jericho!” 

“Are you here alone, or did Mommy bring you?” Arissa asks him.

“I’m here with some friends and Becky. But since I found my girls, I’m thinking about ditching them.” The corner of his mouth quirks into a half-cocked grin as our eyes meet. “Do you have plans for after the game?”

“I’m spending the night at Arissa’s.”

“Do you two want to go to Joe’s Pizza after the game?”

“I thought you were here with Becky and your friends,” I remind him.

“She pales in comparison to you,” he gushes theatrically.

Arissa and I look back with raised eyebrows at her parents and they confer in a whisper. “We’re all going,” Andrew says, adopting a protective tone and posture.

 

We pick a table by the front window while Rose and Andrew eat in the back, but pay for our pizza and drinks.

“Any fun plans for your sleepover?” Jason asks.

“Why? Do you want to join us?” Arissa quips.

“I don’t think your dad would let me.” He grins.

She pushes her chair back. “I have to pee.”

“Thanks for sharing.”

“Bite me.”

“Ooh. Anytime, anywhere, Jericho.” His fingers slap the edge of the table like a bongo.

I laugh and shove his shoulder. “Are you ever serious?”

“You know I am.” His arm slides over my shoulder and he whispers in my ear, “I
do
like you.” 

Heat rises in my cheeks. It feels good to hear him say it despite the conflicting feelings since school started. And his girlfriend.

“Yeah, but you’re the one dating Becky.”

“I told you, she pales in comparison to you. Do you want to go to the game with me next Friday? It’s an away game.”

“Are you forgetting something?”

He looks at me, confounded.

“Becky?”

“I think I’m at the end of the road with Becky,” he states.

“Why the sudden change, J?”

“It’s not a change in how I feel. I’m just changing what I do about it. You didn’t know what you wanted me to do. And now, I’m asking you to go to the game with me next week.”

I sigh. “How would we get there?”

“I could ask my parents to take us or we could take the bus transporting kids to and from school.”

“I’ll get back to you on that.”

“That’s right. Your parents. Well, let me know.” 

Arissa returns, blurting out, “Break it up you two.”

Jason raises his hands next to his head. “I didn’t do a thing.”

She smirks. “Likely story.” 

“Jason!” Becky looms over our table, hands on her hips. “You left me alone with your friends!”             

“Bec, I—“

“What kind of person does that to their girlfriend?”

Jason stands, setting a hand on her shoulder and leading her away. “Let’s go outside.” 

Arissa and I stare wide-eyed at each other as they head through the door.

“No way,” I say under my breath, looking out the front window.

“What?” she asks.

“While you were in the bathroom he said he was ‘at the end of the road’ with Becky and then he asked me out to the game next Friday.”

“He what?” She stretches her neck for a better view through the window.

Becky’s arms wave wildly about as she yells at Jason outside, then she pushes him with both hands. He steps back, palms facing her in surrender, but she pushes him again. He keeps pedaling back and she keeps pushing him. Becky backs him up against a light post in the parking lot and his head turns towards us. She follows his line of sight and locks eyes with me.

“Shit!” I jump out of my chair and scan for a hiding place.

“My parents!” Arissa shouts, dragging me to their table.

I hide behind Andrew and Arissa hides behind Rose. I sneak a look under the table, watching Becky study the restaurant with narrowed eyes and then storming off to the restrooms.

“Girls. What’s going on?” Andrew asks, keeping his eyes on the restroom doors.

“I’m pretty sure Jason just broke up with his girlfriend and now she’s after me because she thinks he broke up with her for me,” I answer.

“I see. Maybe I need to have a talk with him,” he suggests.

“No!” I grab his shirt even though he’s made no attempt to leave. “He probably did break up with her for me, but he knows my parents won’t let me date.” 

“Where is she?” Becky asks, high pitched like a squawking bird.

“I don’t know, Bec. Let’s go outside, you’re disturbing everyone,” Jason pleads.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” The sarcasm in her tone is unmistakable. “I didn’t realize I was supposed to be thinking about everyone else when you
left
me alone with your friends!”

“Bec, please.”

“Whatever, Jason! I’m leaving!” 

I wait to peek out until the door clicks closed, taking a seat once I verify Becky and Jason are gone. 

Arissa crawls into a chair. “That was insane.” 

“Well, after all that, I can say I don’t miss high school at all,” Rose says.

We snicker together, stopping when Jason returns. “Do you mind if I talk to Sara?” he asks, his tone somber.

“Not at all,” Andrew answers, but no one moves.

“Uhm, do you mind if we talk alone here?” He runs a hand through his hair. “Becky is waiting for her ride out front and I don’t want her to see Sara back at our table,” he says, hooking a thumb at the window.

“Right,” Rose says, a sly smile crossing her lips as she stands, glancing at Andrew. “Let’s go raid their pizza.”

“All over it!” Andrew takes her hand.

Arissa rolls her eyes before following them.

Jason sits in Andrew’s vacated chair. “I’m sorry,” he says, leaning into the table and keeping his hands in his lap.

Being threatened in public is enough to unhinge me, but I let my chagrin speak instead. “You’ve been saying that a lot lately.”

“Have I?” he asks, folding his arms on the table.

“Yes. What exactly are you sorry for this time?”

“How I handled this. That she tried to come after you.” 

“Yeah, you should be sorry about all that,” I say, my irritation increasing. “What were you thinking, J?”

“I was going to break up with her this weekend. I just didn’t expect it to be tonight or so public. I seem to lose my ability to think clearly when I’m near you.”

My breath catches at his admission, erasing the aggravation. I have an effect on someone that isn’t directed back at me with derision or violence. 

In spite of this knowledge, I want to keep pushing him away for both our sakes. This conversation gets harder each time we have it, because I want to reel him in and never let go just as much as I need to push him away.

“Maybe next time you’ll think twice about ditching your date,” I caution him.

“There won’t be a next time. My next date will be with you and there is no way I’d ditch you.” His hand curls over my forearm.

I stare blankly while my heart pounds furiously in my chest.

“I told you I’d wait forever for you and I mean it.” He gives my forearm a gentle squeeze.

“J, I can’t—“

“You’re not asking,” he interrupts, slipping his hand into mine. “I’m choosing this, Parker. I would rather not date than hurt you.”

“You know they’re going to say no, right?”

He smiles. “They can’t say no forever.”

 

When I arrive home the following morning, Mother and Victoria are getting ready to go shopping for the day.

“Can I go to the football game next week with Jason?” I ask.

“A boy asked
you
out on a date?” she asks, raising her brows.

“Sara has a boyfriend. Sara has a boyfriend,” Victoria taunts.

“Yes, Mother. That’s why I’m asking,” I say, exasperated.

“Watch your attitude.”

I fold my hands in front of me. “Yes, Mother.”

“Sara has a boyfriend. Sara has a boyfriend,” Victoria continues.

I glower at my sister and she sticks out her tongue.

“I’ll talk to your father about it later,” Mother answers.

I exhale. “Okay,” I say, turning to leave when my father walks in.

“Well, there you are,” Mother says. “Sara wants to go on a date.”

“A boy asked
you
out?” Father asks, scowling.

“Yes.”

“And you want to go on the date?”

“Yes.” More than anything.

“Then the answer is no.”

I open my mouth to argue, but stop myself and go to my room instead. I curl up on my bed, fighting the urge to cry.

Sara must remain miserable.

Father skulks in like a predator; head low and eyes never leaving his prey. “What makes you think any boy would want you? You’re damaged goods,” he says, stripping off his shirt and shorts.

 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

 

Becky lies in wait for me, arms akimbo, at the door of English class Monday morning. Arissa goes inside, leaving me to deal with the spurned one.

“I really don’t see what he sees in you.” She sneers and crosses her arms. 

Neither do I. “I had nothing to do with Friday night.” I shove my hands into the back pockets of my jeans, shifting my weight onto my right foot.

“Sure looked like you did when I saw you together at Joe’s.”

“What happens and what things look like can be two different things,” I offer as the only explanation. 

“Sure,” she says.

“Seriously, Becky, Jason and I are friends. That’s it. He does what he wants to do and I have no say in his decisions. Even if I want to date him, my parents won’t let me.” 

She regards me with resentment in her eyes and I find myself in a staring contest. I sigh to cover up the tears trying to force their way to the surface. It’s bad enough I have to defend myself at home for things I don’t do. 

Jason joins us from the classroom and ends the stare down. “Leave her alone, Bec. I told you she had nothing to do with me breaking up with you,” he says, mixing sternness and compassion in his tone. Heavy on the compassion.

Becky drops her arms, pivots on her heels, and walks off in a huff.

He waits until Becky is gone before setting his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry.” 

“There’s that word again,” I say, my tone laced with bitterness. Bitter that I had to deal with Becky. Bitter that my parents won’t let me date Jason. Bitter that I have no way of stopping my father from taking what he wants from me.

“I know. I’m sorry.” 

My eyes bore into his. Anger I keep bottled about my parents and my sister threatens to break, sending shards into everyone nearby.

“I’m—I’m—“ he stammers. “I’m going inside.”

I follow him in and take my seat behind him. 

He turns around and gives me a small smile. “Did you talk to your parents?”

“They said no.”

“Are you okay?”

“No,” I answer, averting my eyes. The memory of Father stripping off my clothes and strapping my wrists together with his belt plays in my head like an unwanted channel change from sitting on the remote control.

“She was like this all the way to school this morning,” Arissa interjects.

He looks back at me, but I keep my head down and busy myself with preparing for class. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asks.

“What’s to talk about?”

“Something is obviously bugging you. If it’s Becky, I’ll talk to her again and make sure she leaves you alone.”

“Drop it!” I yell, slamming my pen down.

Everyone in the room startles and stares. I fold my arms and drop my head on them, crying. The more Arissa and Jason try to console me, the harder I sob.

Arissa walks with me to the office while Jason stays behind to tell Mr. Martin where we went when he returns. She gives me a hug before leaving me. “Whatever it is, Sara, we only want to help make it better.”

I refuse to talk to anyone in the office. No telling what my parents will do to me if I say anything, even if it has nothing to do with them.

 

I open the front door to Mother’s screams from the kitchen, paralyzing me. They’re never home when I get home from school.

“What the fuck are we going to do? See what you’ve done? All because you can’t control your temper or keep it in your fucking pants!” 

“We aren’t going to do anything because they don’t know a fucking thing!” Father shouts.

“We never should’ve allowed her to be friends with that bitch across the street.”

“Arissa doesn’t know anything. Neither do her parents!”

“I can’t believe you fucking did this to me! You never fucking think, Simon!” she shrieks.

“Shut up, you fat whore!”

“Make me, you limp prick!”

Glass breaks and bodies hit the wall. The angry shouting turns into moans. I sneak into my room and sit at my desk with my homework.

My door flies open while I concentrate on Biology homework. I jolt and twist around in my seat to my parents standing in the doorway.

“What did you tell them?” Mother asks.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to us,” Father says.

“I’m not.”

“What did you say to them?” he repeats the first question.

“I didn’t tell them anything. They kept asking me what was wrong, but I didn’t say a word.”

“Why were you in the office?” she asks.

“I was crying and couldn’t stop before English, so Arissa walked to the office.”

“What were you thinking?” she screams. “You have ruined me
,
goddammit!”

Always asking what I was thinking and making it about her because I swear, I’m not a human being to them. “I didn’t say
anything
.”

“You allowed Arissa to take you to the office. They called us asking questions,” she says in rabid hysterics. “It’s bad enough we have to put up with the Jerichos.” The heel of her hand presses her temple and her eyes close.

“You’re grounded for the rest of the week,” Father says, leaving with Mother behind him.

I wait a few minutes and then pound the side of my fist on my desk at the unfairness of it all. All I did was go to the office before class until I got myself together and I get grounded for it. Life was simpler without friends, but I wouldn’t trade the two of them for that life again.

BOOK: Family Ties
2.56Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Matilda's Last Waltz by Tamara McKinley
Out of Step by Maggie Makepeace
The Inquisitor's Mark by Dianne K. Salerni
Play Dirty by Sandra Brown
Death in St James's Park by Susanna Gregory
Asking for Andre by Malone, Minx
Red Gold by Alan Furst