Page 32 of The Problem with Fire
He gasped.
Like, seriously, gasped.
“You’re an asshole,” Gideon said, sticking up for Nathan. “And to think, we were going to save April for you.”
I hung up on them.
A full minute later I started laughing. And I laughed harder when I looked down at my incoming group text messages.
Nate:(string of laughing emojis)
Gid:We’re just fucking with u (string of laughing emojis)
Nate:Happy 4 u, Say
Gid:Yeah, happy 4 u.
Me:U guys r the worst!
Nate:The absolute worst
Gid:No argument from me
Me:Thanks, guys.
Nate:LUG
Gid:LUG
Me:Yeah, yeah, yeah, LUG, 2
I had no problem telling my brothers I loved them, but LUG (short for Love U Guys) was easier and felt less vagina-like. Then I thought about what they said, and instead of calling my mother, I decided to go visit her.
This conversation needed to take place face-to-face.
Chapter 17
Monroe~
Pretty sure I was in loke. You know, that place where your emotions hovered between love and like. That’s where I was. Though, Karma was sitting across from me telling me I was lying to myself. But we were deep into two bottles of wine, so how astute were her observations anyhow?
Instead of forcing Leta to come out of her room and talk about her emotions like a good parent, I had let her stew until she had come out on her own, only to inform me she wanted to go the movies with Jennifer, then go hang out with their mutual friend, Sabrina. Guilt and confusion had led me to say yes, and desperation and confusion had led me to hold Karma here hostage until I found all the answers to the Universe at the bottom of these damn wine bottles.
Karma had texted her husband to let him know this was an S.O.S. sort of emergency, so he took control of the Merrill household, and we were buzzed as shit at my house.
Ah, good times.
“Even if I do talk to him, Karma, who’s to say he’ll take me seriously?” I asked her. “If he hasn’t had a conversation with Leta about all this by now, who’s to say he ever will?”
“Sounds like she wants an apology more than she wants to talk the subject to death,” Karma replied. “I mean, what’s there to talk about? It’s over between you and Thom-ass, and Leta knows it. Her emotions aren’t from wanting you guys back together. I think she really thinks Thom-ass doesn’t care about how much his actions hurt her. Maybe she really just needs to hear him apologize.”
“She wants him to hurt,” I told her. “She said as much.”
“She said that?”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “She said she hopes I’m dating Sayer and that it breaks Thomas’ heart to see us together.”
“You’re going to have to encourage them or her to get counseling, Mon,” she said. “Whether it repairs her relationship with her father or not, she needs to talk to someone. She needs somewhere safe to purge all the hate she has in her heart for Thom-ass and this situation.”
