It was dark out when Veronica finally convinced her mom to take her over to Sam's house to hang out. Her mom did not want to agree, but somehow ended up in the car driving her over.
"You're not going to spend the night, are you?" She inquired of her daughter.
"No, I just want to ask David something. I already called and Sam said that the Boys were over."
"All of them?"
"No Mom, Marko's not there. So there is no need for you to go in with me."
"Why sure there is! Maybe I want to talk to Lucy or Max." She said with a smile and pulled into the driveway. Her smile turned into a frown as she watched Max pushing a lawnmower.
"What is he doing?" She whispered to Veronica.
Veronica looked at her mom with annoyance. "He's obviously mowing the grass."
"At night?"
"Why not?" Veronica smiled and bounced out of the car. Luckily, her mom did not follow her inside after all. She had told her mom a small lie about Marko not being there and was relieved to not have to deal with that awkward situation.
"Hey Little V! How's it going?" Marko asked as he patted her on the head. He did not wait for her answer and headed out the front door.
"Um, good I guess." She answered to no one. The living room was empty and she found Sam, Dwayne, and Michael playing poker at the kitchen table. Something felt off, but she could not figure out what it was.
"Hello Miss V." Michael said, not taking his eyes off his cards. Dwayne quickly peered at her and nodded, but immediately returned to the intense game. Veronica noticed the stack of cash sitting in the middle of the table and realized they were playing for real. And it appeared to be at least a few hundred up for grabs. Sam continued to ignore her and chewed on his lips as he analyzed his cards.
"Sam?" She eventually asked when she grew bored of staring at the boy, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence.
"Huh?"
"Hi."
"Hi." Sam responded, but did not add anything else to the conversation. Veronica stood there for a little longer before letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Sam?" She whined.
"Yeah?"
"Where's David?"
Sam shrugged and Dwayne answered for him. "He's out in the garage. His bike broke down on the way here."
She smiled at the long haired boy and returned her death stare to Sam. "Thanks Dwayne. Hey Sam?"
"Still here." He retorted.
"Take me to the garage, please."
Sam finally looked up from his cards and scowled at her. "You know where it is."
"Sam!"
"You used to live here!"
"Fine, be an asshole." She stomped off to the garage, leaving Michael and Dwayne speechless at their little tiff.
Once she was out of earshot, Sam punched his brother in the shoulder. "Idiot! You said she would want me more if I ignored her! You didn't tell me she would get angry!"
"How was I supposed to know she was going to get mad? Miss V never gets mad."
"You suck!" He threw his cards at Michael, not caring about losing out on the cash. "Dwayne, we need to talk."
Dwayne looked confused and a little alarmed at how the game was turning out. "About what?"
"Girls. Michael obviously sucks at that topic."
()()()()
Out in the garage, Veronica waited in the corner as Max put the lawnmower away. David was on his back working under his bike which was being held up by a lift. Neither of them saw Veronica standing in the shadows as she patiently waited for her turn to speak with David. Max did not appear to be in a hurry to head into work tonight as he sauntered over to his son.
"Where's Paul?" He questioned David as he stood over him and watched him attempt to unscrew a part.
"Probably making a mattress squeak with Maria."
"Why are all of you so horney?"
"It's Paul, he's always been this way."
"No, even Marko has been a horndog lately. He's off screwing Cameron."
David chuckled. "Already? Man, that happened quick. She must have needed a rebound after Kirby."
"Yeah, they about did it in my driveway." Max growled.
"Ew, that's so gross." David sat up with a smile. "I can't believe he digs old pe-" He stopped mid sentence when he noticed Veronica standing there with her eyes as round as the moon and her mouth hung wide open.
"What is Marko doing with my mom!"
"Veronica!" Max whipped around with a mix of embarrassment and fear on his face. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were there!"
"I told her she was too old for him! She's going to get it when I get home." Veronica bawled up her fists at her side and clenched her jaw.
"I wouldn't go home just yet." David snickered. "You might walk into something you can't unsee."
Max glared at his son. "David stop, go back under your bike."
"Sure thing." He flopped back down and started disconnecting wires. Max left in a rush, not wanting to explain to Veronica what "screwing" exactly meant. She went up to David, taking Max's spot and leaned over to look him in the eyes.
"Seriously, what are Marko and my mom doing? They're not really together are they? I don't want Marko to be my new dad."
"That's something you'll have to talk to your mom about. Now, hand me that wrench, will ya?"
Veronica complied and decided to address a different topic. One she was more curious about knowing the answer to.
"Thanks for getting my necklace back. How did you do it?"
"I took it back."
"And Kirby just let you take it back?"
"Yup."
Veronica was quiet before asking in a whisper. "Did you kill him?"
"Mother!" He cut himself off before finishing his phrase and quickly sat up, furiously rubbing his eyes with a towel that was nearby.
"Are you okay?" Veronica asked.
"Yeah, I just got oil in my eyes. Did you need something from me or are you just here to bother me?"
"I just wanted to say thanks."
David softened his tone a little and looked up at her with bloodshot eyes. "Well, you're welcome then. Now go away."
"Only after you tell me what Marko and my mom are doing together."
"Go away!" He leaned back under his bike even though his eyes were still watering from the oil.
Veronica was on her way back to the kitchen when David sat up yet again. "Wait, you should ask Michael what they're doing."
Veronica nodded and continued her way back to the kitchen. Only Dwayne and Michael were left playing poker, and Veronica felt slightly relieved but also a little guilty at Sam's absence. She hadn't meant to snap at him, but he was being so rude at the same time.
"Hey Michael?"
He looked up to her and she noticed he had added a pair of sunglasses to his face. She decided not to question it. "What's up Miss V?"
Dwayne looked over at her and she noticed he too was wearing glasses, only they were clear with a fake mustache glued to them. Veronica couldn't resist asking what was going on anymore.
"Why are you wearing those?"
"They're for intimidation." Dwayne said in a matter-of-fact way before returning to the cards in his hand. He made a face at Michael, but the other boy sat there with a face made of stone.
"Alright. I was going to ask you if you knew what was happening between Marko and my mom, but I don't want to interrupt your game. It looks like it's getting pretty serious."
"That it is." Michael agreed and she left the two to their high stakes game.
☢ ♥‿♥ 𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝒇𝓸𝓻 𝓻𝒆𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰! 𝓓𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝒇𝓸𝓻𝓰𝒆𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓿𝓸𝓽𝒆 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝒇𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀 𝓲𝒇 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝒆𝓷𝓳𝓸𝔂𝒆𝓭 𝓲𝓽 ♥‿♥ ☢