Page 120 of Flaunt
“No. That’s the point. I didn’t go to school today.”
I swallow, giving myself a chance to stay calm. “Why?”
Tears flow instantly once again. “I don’t even know, Sara. I don’t know what happened. We got into a fight last night—a bad one—because I told her I wanted to cut my hair.” Her eyes widen. “To cut my hair. That’s it. I didn’t tell her I wanted to do drugs or move to Antarctica. I just wanted to cut my hair.”
I grit my teeth, trying not to let my sister see it.
“Her boyfriend ended up coming over,” she says, sniffling. “I hate him. His name is Gary, and he’s a hateful, vile man. And he came in and started yelling at me that I was a spoiled brat and I should be thankful for everything she does for me. That the only kids that make their mothers cry are entitled little bitches.” She pauses. “He said that.”
I pull her into my shoulder and give her a big hug.I think I need it as badly as she does.
Her words bring back memories of me being her age and her mother playing games with me. She’d tell my dad I was told to do something and didn’t do it. That she thought I was sneaking out of the house—and I wasn’t.Always. That my request to paint my bedroom black wasn’t a goth stage, but a satanic ritual that should get me a ticket to therapy.
Therapy is the one nice thing she could’ve done for me. Of course, she didn’t.I never thought for one moment that she’d play the same games with Bethany.
Bethany pulls away and then digs in her backpack for a tissue.Sweet girl.
The loneliness in her eyes is salt on a wound in my soul that has never healed. There’s always something in the back of my brain, even now, that tells me to prepare for having my world thrown upside down. To be ready to have my safety net cut.
To be alone.
“I understand what you’re going through,” I say, plucking the hair stuck to her cheek away. “And, I’ll be honest with you, I don’t have a great solution.”
“Can I stay here with you?”
I sigh. “I’d be fine with that, but this isn’t my house, and your mom needs to know where you are.”
“She’ll kill me, Sara. I skipped school today. I know they robo-called her to tell her I was absent because they always do when you miss a day. But I just can’t see her. She’ll be madder than she was this morning, and I just needed some space.” She dries her eyes, then drops her hands. “How hard is it to give someone space?”
I grin.She’s not as different from me as she might think.
“Look, I can’t say she won’t be mad,” I say gently. “But I know your mom loves you more than the universe. When she calms down, I’m sure you can have a rational conversation …”
A bright-blue sedan speeds up the road, coming to a stop at the end of Banks’s driveway. Bethany jumps to her feet, a hand clutching my arm.
I stand too. “It’s okay.”
Sabrina and a man I’ve never seen before,Gary, I presume, get out of the car. He stays next to the door while Sabrina marches across the lawn.
“Where have you been, young lady?” Sabrina shouts, stopping at the base of the steps. “Answer me. Have you been here all day?”
Bethany swallows hard. “No. I was at the park. I just got here.”
“I was starting to think you were dead. Your phone was off and your location tracker wasn’t able to work, and I’ve been scared to death.”
I bet Bethany turned her phone on to find Banks’s address.
“Get in the car,” Sabrina says, the words crisp enough to cut you. “Now.”
“Sabrina, wait—”
“I’ll get to you in a minute.” Her eyes flare. “Bethany,now. I’m not telling you again.”
Bethany picks up her backpack and gives me a long hug that only seems to piss her mother off more.
“It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. I’ll do what I can,” I whisper.
“I love you, Sara.”
