Don't Hurt Me

Chapter 36

"What the hell are you two doing here?" our father demands, though not as loudly as I'd feared.

I stare at him, my hands shaking. Sam speaks up first. "Nothing," he answers stiffly, holding his ground. "We just came back to pick up our stuff."

He looks over our bags. "Oh. Well, you're all going to have to get everything cleared out. Because this house isn't going to be mine for long."

"What do you mean?" I squeak.

"I'm selling this place."

And I thought my Mom's bombshell about us having to move to Callville was shocking. I blink at him. "You're selling?"

"Yup."

"But … why?"

"I'm going to get out of here and buy a smaller place, since I don't have a wife or kids now."

"You can't do that."

"Sure, I can. I've got someone coming in to see the house next week. It's all in motion, Clare."

I'm reminded then of the private investigator issue. It's amazing how my dad can go from an uncaring slob to someone of initiative with the right motivation.

I bite my lip anxiously. If he sells the house, that will be it. There'll be no possible place for Rob and I to stay. There'll be no way we can finish school in Delcott.

I want to beg him to reconsider, to ask him to find it in his heart to take Rob and me in temporarily. Pride is the only thing that keeps me from trying.

"You know, I'm going to make a ton of money once I sell this house," my father adds, nodding around him. "I bet that would make your mother feel pretty stupid, wouldn't it?"

Sam starts forward in anger, but I grab him by the shoulder quickly enough to stop him. Of course, I'm pissed off. To think that Mom's leaving him actually gave him the opportunity to do this. To make money! It's ironic and cruel. Just as Sam probably wants to punch him, I want to say something back, something smart and biting. But while I'm no longer living in this house, the fear is still there. Not just of him, but of what might happen. I don't want to relive that episode where my father knocked Sam out cold, where for a terrifying moment, I imagined losing one of my brothers.

"Come on, Sam." I urge him down the stairs, not saying anything to our father. I can feel his eyes on us as we descend, but he doesn't say anything.

The moment my brother and I make it out of the house, he releases his temper. "Son of a bitch! He thinks he's so damn smart!"

I blink, aware of Alex and Mrs. Caruso watching us from the car. "Calm down. You can bitch all you want when we're alone, but right now, don't let them catch on, alright?"

"What does it matter if people know or not? We've been keeping quiet way too long. Why not just tell everybody what a bastard Gavin Conroy is?"

"No. Don't you dare, Sam."

"Why? What's the big deal?"

"Oh, what's the big deal, right? You're not going to be around, so what do you care?"

"You and Rob aren't going to be here, either."

"You don't know that."

"You heard what he said. No more house, Clare. You're out of options."

"Don't remind me," I snap.

Just then, Mrs. Caruso lowers her window. She fixes us with a worried eye. "Is everything OK, guys?"

Sam and I glance at her. He nods curtly, answering for both of us.

"Well, come on. I can't keep this thing running."

Moving stiffly, we walk back to the car. We drive Sam to a friend's, and he gets out without a word, only a backward glance at me. I know Alex and Mrs. Caruso can sense the tension between us. Thankfully, they don't ask questions. That’s the last thing I need right now.

That night, Alex asks if I want do anything tomorrow, a Saturday. "We could go to the deli for lunch, or we can hang around the park."

I'm staring at her lavender wall, wondering why it's so perfect, no cracks, no spots. "Thanks. But I'm really not in the mood."

A frown draws over her features. "You know, I think it'd be good for you, Clare."

"Really."

"Yeah. I really think you need to get out and do something. Take your mind off all the stuff that's been going on with your family. Whatever happened to your wanderlust?"

"It may have been destroyed by my parents."

"Are you sure it had nothing to do with Sam?"

I look up at her, seeing the knowing look in her eye. "Siblings argue. You should know that."

"Yeah, but it looked pretty bad."

"It was nothing," I answer, annoyed.

"Clare?"

"What?"

She hesitates. "You know ... sometimes, I can't help but get the feeling that there's something you're not telling me."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. My mom thinks so too."

"What is it you think I'm hiding?"

"I don't know. I'd hate to think there was something you couldn't talk to me about."

"Of course not. There is nothing else, Alex." I gaze into her pretty lined eyes, thinking about how I'll never see her again once I move to Callville. It makes the lie easier. In a year or so, she'll have forgotten about me. This whole town will have forgotten about me. I will be someone else, and none of this will matter.