But That Makes You Family (Craig Cody)

Pt 4

Craig had taken his hint to go, yet Olivia had found herself sitting in the air stream the rest of the night, her mind racing and the most unlikely scenarios coming to her thoughts. Pacing the length of the trailer, a lit joint pinched between the tines of a fork in her hand, Olivia rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes.

Fuck Craig!

Fuck Craig and all of the doubts and worries that he had somehow managed to plant in her head for the last nine years. Even when he wasn't around, the bastard was invading decisions she made.

Somewhere between 2:30AM and 3AM she gave up trying to rationalize every decision she'd ever made, be it good or otherwise, and crawled into bed. Stoned she had very little trouble sleeping, the trailer was quiet and the air blowing through the open windows cool enough to be comfortable. She'd grab a short nap and then head inside, shower, and be back in bed for a proper rest before Corbin was up and ready for the day.

The loud thumping startled Olivia. Rattling on the side of the trailer jolted her upright, hair in her eyes, and her mouth dry she slowly came to comprehend what was happening. Shuffling out of bed, her shawl bunched under her head, she wrapped it around her body, covering her bare arms to shield from the already warm morning.

"Mom?" Corbin yelled banging on the door, again. "Mom? Are you in there?"

"Yeah, hold...hold on." Olivia grabbed the mess from the table and hastily shoved it back in the top cupboard. The faint smell of weed lingered, shit. Corbin had never witnessed such behaviour from his mother. Hell, Olivia couldn't remember him seeing her drink or even light a cigarette.

"Mom, I'm hungry! What's for breakfast? Are we going to the beach? Mom! Hey, hello?"

Locks clicked and the door swung open to reveal the boy on the other side. "Corbin, please." Olivia's head popped out of the trailer, stepping down onto the grass. "Stop yelling, some people are trying to sleep. It's only 6AM."

"I know, but we have to go, if we want to catch the good waves. Deran said today would be killer and I don't want to miss it." Shaggy brown curls fell in his face, Olivia was forever at him to cut his hair or tie it back. "Get dressed, we can eat and go."

Chuckling, Olivia shuffled toward the house behind her son. "Are you sure you can handle that kind of swell? You don't have much practice, besides, what if I don't want to surf this morning?"

Calm and passive, Corbin turned in the door way to face his mother. His blue eyes seeing through her, in a way his father's always had, a smirk beginning to tug at the corner of his mouth. "We didn't come here to sit and play video games and drink lemonade all day, we're going surfing."

If Corbin could get ready for school in the record time that he could for surfing, Olivia would be the proudest parent on the planet. In the car and driving in less than twenty minutes was a world record, if it wasn't, it should be.

In the passenger's seat Corbin chatted idly about this and that, Olivia listened smiling at the excitement her son had found over his vacation. Her decision to drive them across the country was one she was glad she made.

Oceanside held a magic, it was something the locals felt, and those who came often caught the bug. It was inevitable.

"Mom!" Corbin groaned when she pulled into the coffee shop owned by his grandmother. "Waves do not wait."

"And you can't catch waves on an empty stomach. I thought you were hungry?"

Knowing that the argument was not going to end in his favour, Corbin opted for an eye roll and following his mother into the cafe.