THOSE SUMMER NIGHTS

[35]

She let out a sob, "Roman keeps calling me an idiot and I know I'm not, but he won't stop! Nova stopped talking to me because I screamed at him and Ms. Werner took his side as always."

As I opened my mouth to say something, she sobbed again, "And, Eden? Who is Ethan?"

My eyes widened a fraction and I felt my stomach solidify and plummet into my feet. Blood rushed in my ears and my head started to spin. I opened my mouth to say something, but realized that there weren't any words leaving my lips. Breathing started to seem like a laborious task.

"Eden?" Lydia asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

I sucked in a breath, "Lydia, everything will be okay, you understand? Put Mom on the phone."

She let out a meekly sound and I listened as she walked out of a room and knocked on a door. A few seconds passed and then I heard Mom. "What?" She asked, obviously at her wit's end.

"It's Eden," Lydia whispered and Mom let out a sigh.

"I'll talk to her later," She said, "Okay?"

Lydia sighed, "She said she needs to talk to you. It's urgent,"

I assumed Mom took the phone and after a few seconds, she finally spoke. "Hello? Eden? What's wrong?"

I felt my fist tighten in anger and my face burn red, "What's wrong?!" I asked, my voice rising considerably. "What the hell is going on at home?" 

Mom was quiet for a second, two seconds, three seconds, when she finally said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

I stood to my feet and started to pace, "You know what I'm talking about, Mom. Stop lying to me!"

Mom sighed on the other side of the phone, "Eden, everything is fine here. Go enjoy your time with your friends."

I let out a small groan, "Mom, I'm not stupid. If everything is "fine" over there, then why is Lydia calling me crying about this kid at her school and you and Dad always arguing. She's hurting and you both are too pathetic to even care."

Mom took in a deep breath and stayed quiet for a very long time before she said, "Eden, you're just a kid and don't need to know about every decision your Dad and I make for our family, okay? We'll deal with Lydia, we'll talk to her, but you need to stop, okay? Go back to your friends."

I don't really know why, but I was deeply hurt by her words. All those times she fell into such a deep depression because of Dad or because of life, I was there to help her. Whenever she didn't know what she was doing, I was always there to let her know that she's got this. But now, her words were like a kick in the gut.

I stayed quiet and when Mom let out a sigh, I held back a wave of tears, "What's going on with Ethan, Mom?"

I heard her hold her breath and waited for her to say something. And when she didn't, I felt my legs weaken and my shoulders slump. I hated her so much right now, I couldn't think straight.

"Why is everyone talking about him all of a sudden?" I asked, worry and anger creeping into my voice, "Tell me!"

Mom sucked her teeth, "Nothing, he just needs a little help, but he's fine."