Mockingbird: a Songbird Sequel INCOMPLETE- ON GALATEA 11/10

One: Colt

"It's not like that," Beau mumbled, his eyes not leaving the floor.

"Yeah? Well tell me what it's like then, Beau, cuz it ain't lookin' real good for you right now."

Beau's eyes lifted to a silent Lennie, sitting silently in a chair across from him. "Will you tell him to..."

"No, Beau. Talk to me. Not her."

"I'll talk to you if you calm the fuck down!"

"Watch your mouth," I snarled. "You may think your grown, but I promise you, you ain't."

"Maybe if you stopped treating me like a kid!"

"MAYBE IF YOU STOPPED ACTING LIKE ONE!" I caught Lennie wince at the tone of my voice and took a breath. "Talk."

"Maggie got in a fight with her parents," Beau began, his eyes once again on the slats of wood. "I wasn't trying to sneak her over here to mess around or anything. She was sad. She just needed to talk. That's all we were doing, Dad, I swear."

"Explains why your grandma caught you in your room with the door locked, huh?" I retorted. Beau rolled his eyes and I bristled. "Lose the attitude, kid. It ain't doing you any favors."

"Why does it matter?" he asked, raising his shoulders to his ears. "Anything I tell you, you don't believe anyway, so why the fuck do I bother saying anything?"

"Curse at me one more time, Beau. I dare you."

"Enough," Lennie's voice interrupted, hard and firm. "You two bickering like children isn't going to solve anything."

"Tell him that," Beau mumbled.

"Look," Lennie continued, "I'm sorry Maggie is having issues with her folks, but I kinda doubt this little situation is gonna help that. Regardless of your intent, Beau, sneaking around makes you look guilty..."

"What was I supposed to do?!" Beau cried, flinging his hands into the air. "I just wanted to hug her. I just wanted to tell her it'd be okay and get her to stop crying."

"And that's incredibly sweet," Lennie stated, softly. "But, sweetie, all you had to do was tell your grandma that. She would've understood. All you had to do was talk to her, talk to us. We're not as cold hearted as you seem to think."

"He is," Beau argued, tipping his chin in my direction.

My fists clenched, but Lennie went on before I could snap. "He's not. He just acts like it sometimes," she stated, though she wasn't looking at me. She climbed out of her chair and crossed over to my son, kneeling before placing her hand gently on his knee. "Honey, if you want us to trust you to be at the house alone, we've gotta be able to trust you when you're here, first."

"I know."

"Next time just talk to your grandma. Or me. Or your dad..." He scoffed, but she didn't stop. "If you want us to trust you, you gotta communicate, okay?"

He nodded and sniffed and finally met her eyes. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"I know you are, sugar," she said, brushing his sandy curls from his forehead. "Go get some sleep. Tomorrow will be brighter."

"What time you guys leave?"

"We gotta be in Atlanta by eight."

"Okay. I'll see you when you get home," Beau stated before wrapping his arms around her shoulders and squeezing. "Love you."

"I love you, too, sweet boy," she practically whispered, stroking the back of his head and pressing her lips to his cheek. "Be good, okay?"

"I will." He rose from his seat and barely looked at me, muttering a quick "Bye" before turning toward his room and disappearing.