broken souls

8

I left after my odd encounter with Destiny. Walking back to Roman's house. I started thinking to myself.

Do I knock on the door? I am technically living there... what if Oliva gets mad I don't knock. Maybe I should just go back to Peter's and wait to hear from Roman .

Be fore I knew it I was at the front door standing. Fuck it. I thought as I was about to knock. The door opened.

"Andrea, darling. You no need to knock, your living here now." She turns and waves me in. "come come. You look chilled to your core." I walk in and leave my wet shoes at the door, it had started to rain more on my walk home. .

"So where have you been? Seeing as my son is in jail?" she asks me sitting in the living room. I take the chair next to the fire place hoping to get warm.

"Truthfully, I was at Peter's, after walking home from the mill. I rested and then came here." I hoped I wasn't going to get us in trouble but she obviously knew where we were lying wasn't a good idea.

"Mm. Well. At least your honest. That dreadful son of mine tried to lie, even after being arrested. So he can sit over night." She raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow at me and smirked. "I think you'll do wonders for my son." She Pat's my knee and walks out of the room.

"What the hell was that." I ask my self sitting closer to the fireplace. I wake the next morning still on the couch with blanket over me. I sit up and look around. It's quite. Either I'm alone or everyone's still sleeping.

I get up and go to the kitchen to make some coffee. The clock says seven thirty. I'm standing in the kitchen look out of the window. The leaves from the trees have almost all fallen. I sip my coffee and think of my mother and my father.

I think about how my father would reminisce about there love. How she was the best thing that ever happened to him.

"Dad how did you know mom was your true love?" 9 year old me asks.
He smiles and gets a far away look in his eyes. "she was always there. Through the pain and sorrow, the happiness and joy. And she was always willing to do what was best for me... even if it meant telling me something hard or giving me some tough love."

I Close my eyes hard to keep from crying. I open my eyes and take a deep, shaky breath.
"I wish you were here." I whisper to myself. And continue to drink my coffee.

I hear someone clear there throat, turning to see shelly. He face is lit up blue. As she types in her phone.
"You are sad." It says. I half grin. Trying not to cry.

"Yeah I'm alittle sad. Just thinking about my parents." I look in to my cup.

"I'm sorry. Do you remember your mom?" she sits at the island in the kitchen and I sit with her.

"No I don't. I mean I remember pictures.. and old videos I've seen.. but she died when she was having me.." I think of the pictures of my mom I brought with me think I need to unpack them.

"You look like her." Shelly says face lighting up more than before with a smile. Leaving before I can ask how she would possibly know.
I finish my coffee and go back to my room and look at my moms pictures. She seemed so happy. Hell even dad did. I hear a voice in my head. "God doesn't want you to he happy. He wants you to be strong." And for some reason. I am calmed.

The day goes by in a blur. We go to school. Do our work sneak a couple of smokes and head home. Were all around the dinner table. Roman, Olivia, Shelly and I. When Olivia starts in.

"Should we at least go through the motions, how was everyone's day?"

"Every breath a gift." Roman says like a smart ass and winks at shelly and me.

She looks to shelly. "and where did you disappear to, Darling."

She types away. " I took the bus!" she smiles. I smile and look at Roman who looks excited for her too.

Olivia cocks her head to one side for just a moment and looks baffled.

"Seriously," Roman says.

" I'm sorry. What was that?"

She repeats her self. "I took the bus."

"Stop being so God damn literal. Why on earth would you take the bus anywhere. And without my permission." She says angrily. I sink in to my seat not know what to do.

Roman cuts in "Give her a break! Jesus I don't even know how to do that!" he says with a laugh still smiling.

" is this a Joke to you!" shell puts her hair behind her ear and we all see her earrings. "Oh Shelly earrings, what have you done to yourself, did you have any hand in this!" she demands to know from Roman.
He simply states no.

"Do you know what true deformity is, the most intolerable and repellent of them all, stupidity. Now remove them." She demands.

"stop". Roman says authorivily.

"Was that a command?" Olivia says looking at her son challengingly.

"leave her alone." He says flatly.
I look between them and feel the tension.

"Or what! Shelly remove them!" she yells.

Roman stands up and slams his hands in the table "Leave her alone!"

" so help me, you will end up in the fucking gutter!" she yells.

"No, I wont." he says amused.
"Do you think I'm kidding?" She sneers.

"No, I know your lying I've seen it." He sits back down. With a smug grin in his face.

"Seen what?" she scoffs.

"The will. This summer, when Annette didn't like the way you talked to her, not everyone likes being called that, she took me in to her office and showed me the will, just to spite you." He paused. "its mine, it's all mine." "I'm sole beneficiary, and when I turn 18 I gain control of the entire trust." "every cent."
"its my house, my money, and it always was. All you had to do was leave her alone." He says mater of factly.

With out another argument on her part she said goodnight and left. Roman kissed Shelly's head and she headed to bed as well. I pushed the remainder of food around on my plate and Roman sat back down with me.

I put my hand on his and gave it a squeeze.

"Sorry I wasn't much help there... I wasn't sure what to do."

"your fine. Its probably better you didn't get involved. So she doesn't try to come after you." He smiles and kisses my hand.

We go to school the next day, I'm sneaking off to meet up with Peter and Roman to have a smoke when I run in to Andy.
I keep walking. Until he grabs my arm.

"HEY. I just wanted to say. Sorry." He looks me dead in the eyes seeming sincere.

"Ok." I shrug out of his grip. "your not forgiven." I turn and walk away.
I go down in to the stair well and find the boys. I sit down next to Roman and Peter, from the step below us hands me a joint. I light it taking a long drag.

"Andy tried to apologize to me just now." I say watching the smoke in the air.

"WHAT." Roman yells. I grab him and pull him down. Peter looks at me defensively.

"I told him he wasn't forgiven and that was that." I shrug passing the joint. Roman takes it and takes a long inhale. Then grabs my cheeks and puts his lips to mine, exhaling the smoke for me to breath. Peter takes it next.

"I think it's time we have a long talk with him." Peter says after hitting the joint.

" I agree." Roman says, eyes locked with mine watching me play with the smoke.