Page 51 of Run Away Home: Tempered

I sit up. “Why does that make you sad? You don’t do that. Hayley does that!”

“Maybe she can start making good decisions now. It’s not easy to do, but maybe she can.”

“Yeah, well... I guess she made one good decision—you, instead of that guy that smells like ass.”

He looks up at me quickly. “Wait. You met him? When?”

“Of course I met him!”

“Are we talking about the same person? What kind of tattoos did he have?”

“Nintendo!Super Smash! Horrible Nintendo tattoos. Looked like a baby did them.”

“When did you meet him?” Now he looks angry.

“Uhm...all the time when you were at work?”

“He was here while I was at work?”

“A bunch of times, yeah.”

“Nope. No. No.” He stands up.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing. You keep on relaxing. That’s what Sundays are for.” He heads out of my room.

“But you said I should get up!” I yell.

“I changed my mind. Keep sleeping!” He shuts my door behind him.

Hmm... Maybe this will cause a fight. I smile big as I get comfortable in bed again. Good job, self.

Peter

IPULL MY APRON OUTof the bottom drawer and tie it snugly around my waist. After checking the mirror, I adjust my collar and wrap the green bow tie around my neck.

“Why does he make you wear that stupid bow tie?” Hayley asks. She’s lying on my bed, under the covers.

“It’s part of the uniform. It adds to the aesthetic.”

Like she’d know anything about aesthetic.

“What aesthetic? Dive bar for old men?”

“Excuse me, Irish dive bar for old men.” I finish tying the bow and turn around to face her.

“Do Irish people wear ugly bow ties?”

“Maybe. How would I know? I’m not Irish. It’s green though. Green...Ireland...? That’s the thought process behind it. In Ireland—”

“It’s stupid.”

“That may be true, but there are a lot of stupid things that happen around me. This bow tie is the least of them.”

She sighs very loudly and rolls over to face the ceiling. She covers her face with her hands and pulls them down slowly, dragging her cheeks with them.

“Are you trying to say something?” She rubs her neck and closes her eyes.

---