Painting The BadBoy ✔

05 | The Visitor

"Just don't go spilling it around." I told Cayden as I got off his truck.

He lashed me his evil devil-smile. "What, dear sister? That you broke your car, or had to get a ride home with your little brother?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Neither. Or those pictures of you and Jessica will somehow anonymously reach Eli."

"Please, don't." he whined. "The last time he saw me kissing Jessica, he chased me out of the house with a baseball bat."

Honestly, I didn't blame Eli.

"We have a deal." I said, hopping off his truck and taking the house keys out of my bag. "By the way, did you apologize to that dude?"

He stared at me like he didn't know what I was talking about. Then finally understanding, he nodded. "Yup, sis."

I opened the door and we walked through the hall and into the kitchen. Before anything else came food. "I'm your sister, Cayden. I think I know when you're lying. Now why wou-" I forgot whatever I was supposed to say next as I came face to face with mom, sitting on the counter with a dozen wadded up tissues and a box lying nearby. Her cries filled the room.

Margaret stood awkwardly on the side, trying to pat her shoulder. Mom would flinch or yank her arm away every time Margaret touched her.

"Where is he?" she bawled. "It's been two days."

"She looks awful." Cayden whispered to me, taking a step back. I managed a dead pan expression. Cayden never handled situations like these well.

I cleared my throat and paced towards her. "Mom," I said in her ear, reaching for her hand. "He loves you, okay? He's going to come back."

Her lips screwed into anger as she pulled her hand away. "Don't touch me." she screamed, getting up and stumbling back. With tears running down her face, she uttered, "It's your fault. It's all your fault."

A weight settled in my chest. It was the emotional Katie talking, the one that didn't make any sense. But lately, I was beginning to wonder if her words held some meaning to them.

When meaningless words were told to someone enough, the person might just start making sense of it.

When she was gone, Cayden looped an arm around me. Even Margaret held my hand.

They didn't say anything. They didn't need to.

Tuesday had been uneventful, with nothing major happening at school. Mom had been in her room all through yesterday. When we came back from school today, she was still locked up.

"I am going to do the laundry." Said Margaret, setting mom's empty plate in the kitchen sink. "If you children have any dirty clothes, please put them in the basket."

When none of us said anything, she stopped and looked at Cayden. "I mean you, child. I do not want a repetition of last time."

Last Wednesday, Margaret said the same thing, that she was going to the laundry and we should put all our dirt clothes in the laundry basket. Well, two hours later, she found all of Cayden's dirty gym clothes under his bed, as well as on his bed when she went there to clean later.

Cayden put on his best innocent look. "My room is dirty clothes-free this time, I swear."

Once she had left, Cayden got up and grabbed a can of soda from the fridge.

"At least mom's eating." He mumbled. "Why is she so cranky these days?"

I shot him a look. "You know why."

"Because Dad left for Miami?"

I shook my head. "Try again, bro."

He frowned for a minute, thinking. Then realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Oh." He said quietly. "How many days left?"

I calculated the date in my head. "About three weeks."

"And will Dad be there?"

I shrugged. "I don't see why not." I had finally got the guts to call him last night, and he had picked up on the third ring. He said he was fine, and so were Grandpa and Grandma. When I told him about mom, he was quiet for a while, before telling us he'd be home soon.

The doorbell rang, and Cayden groaned. "You get it." he said.

I would have, if I wasn't so lazy. "What if it's Jessica?"

"It's not Jessica." He replied. "She and Eli have that dinner thing today, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

The doorbell rang again and I got up, wondering if it was Claire. But then again, Claire never rang. She banged the door really really hard, and screamed my name on the top of her lungs if I took too long to open the door.

"Hold your horses. I'm coming." I muttered.

Opening the door, I came face to face with Dani, who grinned back as he took a cigarette out of his mouth.