Puppy Love (bxb)

Chapter Twenty-One

Henry's sister, Rachael, was too busy kissing her lizard to worry about me. Thank God.

Ever since the horrible meeting with James, I had been worried that there was no way that Henry's family would be worse. However, shockingly, I was wrong.

"Good little nugget," Rachael whispered. Or maybe that was how she regularly talked. Henry did say that she had a breathy voice. "I have crickets for you later...yes, be a good girl. Do you miss Vladimir? Me too, me too."

Henry leaned in and whispered, "That's her pet snake."

"Um." I cleared my throat. "Rachael! What's her name again?"

Rachael's eyes lit up at the question. "Her name is Annika," she sighed. "And she is the love of my life. Well, until I get a real girlfriend. But until that day, Annika is my girlfriend."

Tom, Henry's father, groaned and leaned back farther into his armchair. "How did both of my children end up this way?"

After an uncomfortable pause, which Henry was not helping by looking at his shoes, I filled in my best guess. "Um, gay?"

Tom scoffed. "No. Weirdos."

He put another cigarette in his mouth, lit it, and went back to watching a Toby Keith performance on his small TV.

Henry shifted. "I know you don't like the bakery because Mom owns it, but—"

"That's not why I don't like it," Tom said. He glared at Henry. Then looking Henry in the eyes, he turned up the volume of the TV.

Henry took a hint and went back to sipping at his tea.

Tom lived in a small home in a complex for senior citizens. He was only 53, but apparently was allowed to live in the home after a lot of screaming and violence. Or, at least, it sounded that way when he'd told me the story.

Now, after Tom had told his story, he'd apparently run out of conversational stamina. "Thank you for the tea," I offered.

Tom glanced at me and grunted.

Barb was nothing like him. Tom was a grumpy, crotchety man with a beer belly and a handlebar mustache. His tanned complexion matched Henry's, but that was about it. His daughter was a platinum blonde, fair-skinned woman, which probably didn't help Barb forget about the cheating.

Rachael leaned closer to Annika. "Do you want to come with me tonight as my date? I'll put you on my shoulder and we can scare people together."

Annika did nothing.

"Great," Rachael whispered.

Henry cleared his throat. "Okay, then! I think we should be going—"

"You've been here for twenty minutes," Tom grunted. Then he went back to smoking his cigarette. He muttered under his breath, "Mama's boy."

Henry shifted a little, made eye contact with me, saw my absolute misery, and set his shoulders. "Sorry, Dad. I'll visit again soon, but we just wanted to pop in before our movie."

"Great to meet you!" I gushed.

Tom grunted. Rachael looked up and smiled. "Bye, Andrew." She blinked. "Um, I mean, Dillon."

Henry and I made it outside without me blowing a gasket.

"Dude, that was so not even cool!" I gasped. "Did she do that on purpose? Because it made me fell bad, so if she did, mission accomplished."

Henry rubbed my back and kissed my temple. "Trust me, she didn't. Rachael is...spacey? She hated Andrew anyway. When I brought Andrew over, she'd shit-talk him, loudly, to Annika."