How To Save You

Step Seventeen: You Go To Her House

Adri was sick the next day. Good riddance, I thought. I didn't interact with anyone; I shrugged them all off and went to the library.

I started doing my school work. And I stayed and I did all my homework assignments after school, and then I did extra English Literature work. This was a regular pattern for me; I defied my mother for a day and then I worked so hard that before I knew it it was seven o'clock and the school library was closing.

I went back home and I did an all night study session. I skipped dinner, and only had a small tennis break where I kept the ball up in the air for ten minutes before smashing it against the garden fence.

Me, anger issues? Never.

***

The next two days were filled with these pattern. On Thursday I was scribbling in my notebook, noting down how the characters were presented. I wasn't exactly sure why i was doing this; my essay paper would be on how the atmosphere was presented in our novel rather than characters. But I had gone through the entire book three times, and I needed to do something. I needed to work for my mom.

There was a knock in my door and Brandi came in, sitting down on my bed.

"What's wrong?" I demanded. I flipped to page 394 and started to recheck my notes in that page ; they were a little thin on the middle paragraph.

"What are you doing?" Brandi sighed.

"Work on my English rather than my appearance," I sighed sourly and growled in annoyance as my pen ran out.

I swiveled round and threw it in the bin; bullseye. It went in straight away and Brandi gave me a brief round of applause. I shook my head and smirked, grabbing a blue pen from my desk draw.

"I think you've done enough, honey. You're being a tad obsessive," Brandi informed me.

I rolled my eyes and ignored her. My English Lit teacher had been extremely pleased; my grade was definitely going to go up and I didn't need Brandi to tell me that that wasn't important. I had to make it up to my mum, I had to make sure that she was going to love me

If I did it right. I sucked in my lower lip, annoyed at my obvious weakness.

I just wanted to make my mother proud. I didn't need some stepmother to give me a whole speech to take it easy. She didn't know what it took to live up to my mums expectations; she didn't understand. The only one who did was my brother Gus.

Gus and I didn't really talk anymore. Gus moved out when he hit eighteen and vowed never to come near my mother again. I guess that meant me too since I hadn't heard anything from him since. Whatever. It wasn't like I cared; I could deal with it all myself.

"Eli, sweetie, are you hearing me? I want you to go and do something fun," Brandi insisted.

I rolled my eyes and turned to look at her, "I thought you were meant to be happy when your stepson studied."

Brandi crossed her arms and pursed her brightly colored pink lips, "I'm happy when my son is happy, and this isn't happy."

I sighed and put my pen down, "you're a walking cliche."

Brandi laughed and gave me a hug, smelling like she emptied an entire bottle of perfume over herself. The sharp smell stung my nostrils but the softness of her hair brushing against my cheek, and the warmth she brought kind of made it worth it. I turned round and hugged her back, allowing myself to relax against her.

I wondered if I had been a nicer guy if Brandi had raised me, if I had been someone Adri would've liked.

****