Page 9 of Poetry of Flowers

I was glad that I looked nothing like him and got everything from Mom.

“Oh? So, I should get a job on top of studying for school, just so I can say no to my sister using my stuff?” I didn’t really mind Faith doing that, I was just overreacting because I was in the mood to piss my father off, so that for once he at least had a reason to be angry at me.

“Do what you want, boy, but stop getting on my nerves, I work hard for this money, so I get to decide how it’s used,” he replied, his voice deadly calm like he always talked when Mom was around.

As I stabbed my eggs with my fork, I scratched the plate so that his face cringed as he filled a mug with coffee.

“Kayden, stop.”

I continued because if he wanted me to be the rebel in this family, then I needed to rebel.

“Boy, stop, or you’ll see what will happen!”

He yelled at me, and Faith flinched at my side, looking a bit scared.

“Patrick, stop yelling and eat your breakfast,” my mother said as she looked at him furiously.

Their marriage was slowly falling apart, but neither of them did anything about it. I thought that they’d get divorced in less than a year.

“Yeah, Dad, stop yelling,” I muttered and stood up. “I’m going over to the Avril’s. Faith, come around seven thirty, so I can drive you to school,” I told my sister as I grabbed my bag from next to the island and left.

“Be safe, darling!” my mother called after me, but I didn’t acknowledge it as I slipped on my shoes and left the house.

Patrick could go fuck himself.

It was my birthday and the happiest day I would ever know at that age, everyone I loved was there, my family, my friends. Lots of cake and other sweets, but when it was time to blow out the candles, something changed.

My father wasn’t home, and Mom’s eyes were red.

My father always loved filming us while we blew out the candles on our birthday cakes, but he was gone.

Mom had told me he had to quickly get something from work that day, but I knew she was lying, when my mother lied, she nodded a lot and played with her wedding ring.

As my father returned in the evening, I wanted to show him my presents I got from my friends, but he didn’t want to talk to me, and when I asked him to, please listen, he lost his temper and yelled at me to leave him alone.

What bothered me the most is that Nash and Faith were his angels, he loved them like a father should love his children. I wanted that too. God, what I would do for my father to just love me.

The faint ding of the Avril’s broken bell sounded. Next weekend, I wanted to see if I could fix that.

The door opened quickly, and a boy stood there, this eleven-year-old had so much hair you could barely see his forehead beneath. Wavy light-brown hair, and chocolate eyes, just like his sister. They looked so alike; it was adorable.

“Good morning, buddy.” I ruffled through his hair and walked into the kitchen. He wasn’t much of a talker, never had been.

Tillie was making some eggs for the three of them as she ran up to the slices that had just jumped out of the toaster.

“Kayden, if you’re hungry, I’m sorry those were the last eggs,” she apologized with her back turned to me. She didn’t have to turn around to tell it was me, I always picked her up in the morning for school because she didn’t have a license and I didn’t want her to take the bus.

“I already ate, still thanks, though,” I told her as I walked past her to smear butter on the two breads, she made for herself and her brother.

“You don’t need to help me; I can do it,” she says.

But I don’t listen as I walk over to their fridge and get out some strawberries. “You two want strawberries?”

“No, they are-”

Tillie warned me as I lifted the plastic box. They are all green and hairy. I scrunched up my nose and threw them in the bin.

“I saw it yesterday but forgot to throw them away because I had to get Remy to his game and-”

---