Not unexpectedly, Sonia demanded he visit soon. She either wanted to dote upon him or lament him in person. Either way, the visit wasn’t going to go well.
He sighed, but knocked on the door anyway. When Sonia answered, she looked anything but happy. Her arms were crossed, her hips cocked, and her jaw clenched.
He smiled tremulously. “Che piacere vederti.” Occasionally, speaking Italian could placate her. She and Raul had spent a lot of time teaching him to be bilingual, and she liked to see her hard work pay off. The sentiment in these words could help him as well: it equated to ‘how nice it is to see you’. Chances were she’d take it as sarcasm, but Aaron took the risk anyway.
“Nice try,” she grumbled, raising an eyebrow. “I’m still angry with you.”
He ducked his head. “I said I was sorry. In two different languages, actually.”
“I know you did, but that doesn’t change the fact that you neglected to call me.” She shook her head, then took his arm, examining the cast. “Your friends have turned you into an art project.”
“For some reason they just love drawing all over this thing. I don’t understand it.” He shrugged, and she let go of his arm. “It’s gonna get replaced in a couple weeks anyway.”
She led him inside silently, and Aaron saw that Caleb was once again sitting on the living room couch, doing nothing.
“Has he got a job?” Aaron asked his mother.
Sonia shook her head. “He generally disappears for most of the day, maybe three or four hours, and is always back before dinner time. He refuses to tell us what he does. He takes one of the cars, turns off his cell phone, and just disappears. He never even offers to pay for the gas he wastes.” She tsked. “It has to have something to do with the hospital bills. I can’t think of any other reason!” She rubbed at her temples, as if she had a headache. “He’s beginning to frustrate me.”
Aaron let out a curt laugh. “Just beginning?”
“You have absolutely no room to talk,” Sonia said, holding up her index finger. “You frustrate me too, just not as much as he does.”
“I don’t know about you, but that definitely sounds like it goes in the win column to me.”
She huffed. “Such a smartass. I don’t even know where you get that from.”
Aaron knew exactly where he’d gotten it from, but he kept his mouth shut. He was a smartass, after all; not a dumbass.
“What happened to you?” Caleb asked from the couch, nodding at Aaron’s cast.
“Knife fight,” Aaron said dryly. “You think this is bad, you should see the other guy.”
He gave a derisive snort. “Right. I heard you fell down the stairs.”
“Up,” Sonia corrected.
Caleb smirked. “Even better.”
Aaron clenched his fists. “Yeah? I heard you’ve got more credit card debt than you can deal with, so now you’re bumming off our parents. Apparently you aren’t even telling them why.”
“That’s none of your business.” Caleb sneered.
“Boys,” Sonia warned sharply. “The last thing I need is you two fighting.”
Aaron obeyed for a little while, and sat down next to Caleb. For a few minutes, they watched TV in silence, but then Sonia walked away.
Aaron cast Caleb a sideways glance, only to find Caleb doing the same thing.
YOU ARE READING
I'm Going Slightly Mad
Humor'I'm Going Slightly Mad' follows Aaron Magro, a college student trying to adjust as life throws obstacle after obstacle at him. Balancing his studies, a job, and friends begins to wear on him, and as he finds himself resenting every unneeded turn of...
