Purple Blues [Elvis]

Chapter 24 - Words of Wisdom & Pepsi

The turkey gravy and mashed potatoes were making me feel sick to my stomach. I was normally chowing down on the Thanksgiving dinner, but this time, I had no appetite for it. I did when I got to the house, but after what Katelyn revealed to me, it left for good.

How could she not tell me about Momma? She could have easily said something when she told me about my own early death. Maybe she sensed that I would take it harder since Momma was the most important person to me. Well, she was right. It felt as if someone was squeezing the life out of my heart.

I made a glance at Katelyn. As fate would have it, she sat right across from me. She kept her gaze down on her food, moving around the mashed potatoes with her fork.

"Katelyn, aren't you hungry?" Sharon leaned in and asked her quietly, but I picked it up. Everyone else at the table was chatting away.

"I um... yeah, I guess so," Katelyn answered.

"What's wrong?"

She made a glance at me, meeting my gaze, then she looked away. "Not now. Please."

"Okay."

Sharon got back to her food and dove into the conversation between Daddy and Grandpop. I really wanted to leave the table.

"Elvis, you haven't touched your turkey," Gran commented. She sat right next to me on my right. I smirked at her, forcing it.

"I will, Gran. I just have some things on my mind, that's all."

"I bet you do, with how busy you are. You have no idea how thrilled your grandfather is to have his star grandson visit his place of work."

"I'm really excited about it, too."

And until then, I would have to do some fan meets and that commercial with Katelyn. I couldn't even look her in the eyes for longer than two seconds as she sat across the table from me. How was I supposed work with her side-by-side until Sunday?

Boy, I hated this. I hated being angry with the girl I was crazy about. I hated being angry period.

The Thanksgiving dinner went on, and I eyed Momma as she smiled as she talked with Daddy, Grandpop, and Sharon. She looked healthy as could be and she would eventually die from an illness? In less than two years?

"Will ya'll excuse me for a moment, please?" I said, then stood up and left the table. I went into the bathroom and shut the door. After my unfortunate conversation with Katelyn, I heard her crying in here, door closed. That hurt my heart more. I hated it when girls cried, and I hated it even more so when I was the cause of it. I about went in there to do something about it, but after what I said to her? That I wished she meant nothing to me?

My vision blurred and I leaned over the sink, my hands resting on the top of the counter. I was cruel to her, wasn't I?

Someone knocked on the door. I didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment.

"Son?"

My nerves eased. I opened the door and immediately embraced my father. I whimpered into his shoulder like I did when I was a kid and came home from school after some kids bullied me for playing my guitar in the schoolyard.

"Whoa, son, what's the matter, huh?"

"So many things, I couldn't even begin to tell ya, Daddy. I don't really wanna talk about it, I just wanna stop feelin' so horrible."

He patted my back as he held me. "Sometimes talkin' about it stops ya from feelin' so horrible. Or at least eases it a bit."

There was no way I could tell him what was going on with me. That would hurt him, too, since Momma was the most important person in his life, aside from me. "Just... tell me that everythin' will be fine."