Teen Drama

30

"I'm going to bed, mom. Goodnight." I pick up my glass of milk and the copy of Romeo and Juliet I am reading and head for our lounge door. It's late evening, and we just sat through hours of my mom's favorite series in a binge session. She had a rare afternoon off when I came home from school, and wanted to do something together.

"Is there still no response from him?" My mom is fluffing the couch cushions before heading to bed. It was just the two of us tonight, as Brian had a work dinner, and Dane never came home.

"No. His cell is ringing out, and he isn't replying to my texts."

Dane is doing what Dane does. After our talk, he dodged me all afternoon at school and blanked me at leaving time. Acting like a cold, ignorant jerk when we crossed paths in class. He went off with Tyler and hasn't been seen since. Reverting to behaviors of before, and I don't know why I'm letting it upset me. I should never let him get to me when he starts acting like a prize asshole.

My mum checks her watch, standing stiffly at the edge of the cream two-seaters, and sighs harshly. Her obvious irritation has grown since we turned off the TV, and she realized how late it was.

"I don't know why we even bother imposing rules on that boy. Curfew means nothing to him. He treats this place like a hotel and us like worthless inconveniences to his life." She snaps, not at me but in general, and aggressively moves to the next throw pillow to be beaten.

I, of old, would agree with her and add to her complaints about him, whines about his self-indulgent behavior and shitty attitude, but I don't feel it anymore. The shift in me, the different way I have started noticing how my mom always finds reasons to get at him. Now I can predict Dane's behavior based on previous interactions, he's not that hard to figure out. Leave him alone, don't pressure him with anything to give him stress, and he isn't a jackass.

I look down at my glass and try not to defend him because it will make her angry. The last thing I need before bed is a fight with my mom.

"Maybe, as Brian said, stop trying to control him and set boundaries. He'll only rebel. Let him do what he does, and then when he graduates, he's not your issue anymore." Maybe by then, she will stop fixating on everything he does and finding a reason to hate him.

"I don't know how his mother puts up with him! That day cannot come fast enough. The sooner he is out of this house and not my problem, the better. He has brought nothing but a black cloud to this home since he moved in." She fluffs another pillow with fierce hostility, muttering to herself, and I take it as my sign to make a fast exit. Curbing the urge to argue it out and say something, I bite my lip. Swallow it down.

I turn and head out into the hallway, pulling my cell from my pocket and swiping it to life. Even while watching episode after episode, I impulsively checked for responses and dialed him anytime I got up to get anything from the kitchen. Fixated on his absence.

I scroll the dozen texts I have sent him all day, and none show as read. He's probably seeing them appear on the screen and not opening them to make me think he's not looking. My call list has seven beside his name, the last from thirty minutes ago, and I chew on the inside of my cheek, silently hurting at his ignorance. It wouldn't kill him to send me one short message saying he's fine and coming home.

I should have known his knee-jerk reaction would be this. This is so true to form. Up and running away and icing me out when I present him with a choice he doesn't want to think about. I don't even want to know where he is at eleven at night on a weekday. The truth in it scares me, and my heart isn't as tough as it used to be where he's concerned.

I get upstairs and slowly stroll along the corridor to my room, pausing at my door to stare the last few feet to his and ponder checking. In case he did come back while we were closed up in the snug and then think better of it. I know I am dumb, and if Dane doesn't want to come home, he won't take time to sneak in and hide.