Splinters: Part One

Part One | 47

Suddenly, it hit me. I remembered that night. Marie wasn't mentioning a lot of things in that sweet, cute story she was telling. What Collie didn't know is that my dad was crying in his bedroom that night, and she was on the couch, and like always, she was going to leave that night and I knew it. Yes, I did go up and sleep with her, but just like every other time, she left the next morning.

"That's so cute!" Collie giggled.

I tried to smile for her, but when Marie and I made eye contact, we both had the same thoughts and we both knew that. Just act like that's how it was, for her sake, we both telepathically noted.

"He used to love bananas, too," Marie said. "Do you still love bananas?" she asked me.

I shrugged. No, thanks to Jorge. In my head, I could imagine Collie feeling like Marie asked the wrong question, or she at least said it wrong. She should know the answer to that question and we all thought that.

"Brayden and his father loved to go outside and look at the stars, too, sometimes."

Now she's lying. You can't see the stars in Brooklyn. At least, I never could. My dad and I would go outside, yeah, all the time, but we wouldn't look at the stars. Usually, we'd go outside after he and my mom had a fight, whether she was home or not, and he would put his big, heavy arm around my shoulder and tell me "You're a good boy, Brayden. You're my boy, and I love you."

I guess Marie wouldn't know that. She was too busy thinking of what to do next the second she left the front door.

"Brayden and his dad had a great relationship," Marie breathed sadly.

Had. I could feel a lump begin at my throat as I blinked quickly. The subject needed to be changed.

"Anyways," I began, clearing my throat.

"Right," Marie took over, noticing what I was trying to do. "Um." She clasped her hands together and set them on the table, leaning toward us. "I have some very important news."

"What is it?" Collie asked.

I kept my eyes on her, waiting for the answer that was sort of making me feel anxious.

"We've found out my release date."

"You're being released?" I gawked.

Marie nodded. "Late September."

"What are you going to do when you get out?"

She looked away. "Well, that's why I was hoping my sister would've been here, not that I don't enjoy getting to know you, Collie."

My girlfriend shook her head. "No, I get it."

Marie sighed. "I was hoping she might let me stay with her husband and children, just until I get back up on my feet. I'll get a job, a good one, and I'll eventually move out into an apartment."

"An apartment in Rhode Island? Or back in New York?"

"Honestly, Brayden, I'm not even sure how your dad and I managed to live in New York, but since I'll be on my own, I have a feeling I'll probably stay in Rhode Island for the time being. Or maybe she can lend me some money. Not that she needs it anyway. She's the one who got the inheritance."

She said it so bitterly, giving me the idea that she probably wasn't supposed to be telling me this, and that she obviously didn't like Melissa either. By the look Collie was giving me, she felt the same way. 

"Can you have a word with her, Brayden?"

I bit my lip. "Um, I'm not sure I should be the one to ask."