It Started with Skinny Jeans

(Ch 8) It Started with Heartbreak

“He invited me.” I answered Jackie when I saw Scott was offering nothing. “He wanted me to see his…” I trailed off unable to say the word.

When I looked at Scott again my heart all but stopped. A tear, one single tear trickled down his cheek. Over these past weeks I’d gotten to know Scott pretty good. I’d been privileged to get to know the boy who’d grown to be a young man too early in his life. I knew he wasn’t one to cry, knew he’d see this as a sign of weakness. So when I saw that one tear, that single drop, I knew there had be more to it then just an accident of his sculpture breaking.

Before I could stop myself I was at his side, griping his arm. “Scott, talk to me. What’s going on? You’re starting to scare me.”

Scott glared at me. The cold stone look made me want to flinch, but I held my ground. That stare wasn’t directed at me, but what was it for?

With his free arm he wiped the tear away and sniffed, ripping his arm from my hold and turned to face me, staring squarely into my eyes.

“You want to know what’s wrong, huh? You want to know why all of this is happening?” his voice rose with every question, as he pointed to the destruction in the room.

“Scott, don’t do this. She doesn’t know what’s going on.” I heard Jackie plea with a tremor to her voice.

He laughed, mirthlessly as he took in what Jackie said, his unpleasantly cold eyes never leaving mine. “Doesn’t know what’s going on. Yeah, that’s something I can relate to.” he swung around so suddenly to stare angrily at Jackie. “I don’t know what’s going on either, isn’t that right, Aunt Jackie?”

I froze with shock as he spat the last two words out. I looked from one to the other, my eyes as huge as saucers. They’re family? But… why didn’t he ever let me this?

“Aunt Jackie?” I questioned still stunned by this news.

Scott turned back to me again. “Oh, didn’t I mention she’s my Aunt.” He said sarcastically. “Well, I guess now you know.” He looked at Jackie again. “She’s my lying, bitch of an Aunt.”

“Scott!” I chastised, “She’d your family. You should be saying things like that.”

“Like hell I can’t.” he retorted angrily, “She kept her from me. She lied right to my face when I asked about her. Maybe you should have kept lying about her.”

“Scott,” Jackie sobbed. “I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“For whom? Certainly not for me.” he yelled.

“Yes for you.”

“Doesn’t seem that way to me.” Scott threw back. “You had no right, no right at all to keep her from me.”

Jackie opened her mouth to say something, but promptly closed it again. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks as she stared at her nephew.

I was so lost. Who was this ‘her’ Scott kept referring to and what did it have to do with his sculpture?

“Scott, what’s going on? Why didn’t you ever tell me about Jackie being your Aunt? Who is this person you keep taking about?”

“You want to know who she is?” he asked in a deadly whisper and all I could do was nod. He walked up to me, his face only a few inches from mine as he stared intently into my eyes. “The ‘her’ I’m referring to is – was… my mother.”

I gasped, unable to fully process his words. ‘Was’ the one three letter word that hung in the tense, charged air. I felt my heart break for the young man who I could now see raged because of the mother he’d lost.