Dirty shirts, pants, and socks litter the floor. I have a tendency to throw my things and not pick them up. I should get up and throw them in the hamper, but I can’t find the energy today. All I want to do is lie in my bed and read.
“Soon, ants are going to be crawling in here,” Mom says, her mouth turning down in a frown.
She leans down and picks up a shirt. Placing it at her nose, she sniffs it.
Ew.
Her eyebrow rises as she glances up at me.
I tense when I see my mother holding the shirt I wore when Leonidas took us out of town. I remember the entire drive back home. I was secretly sniffing it because it brought me comfort. At one point, I thought Leonidas caught me. I saw the small smile on his face. His hand just tightened around mine, and I got a kiss on the cheek.
My mind goes back to those several make-out sessions, the way he felt inside of me. God, that was out of this world. I hope Mom can’t see the tint of pink on my cheeks.
She sighs and throws the shirt back onto the floor. “Do I even want to know?”
I shake my head as she raises an eyebrow.
“Afraid someone’s in here?” I ask her, my voice full of tension.
“I trust you,” is all she says.
Bullshit. She screamed at me the other day that I’m a disgrace, and now, she trusts me?
I lean my head to the side. “I know you feel the urge to look under my bed and in my closet … so look.” I sit against the headboard and gesture around my room. “I’m afraid you’re going to waste your time since there’s no one here.”
Her nose twitches, and she scoffs, “Please lose the attitude. I’m your mother. Have some respect.”
One thing Dad taught me is that you don’t let anyone walk all over you. Blood sometimes means nothing. I won’t hold back my feelings. I’ve learned how it feels when you keep all the aggression and anger in you. You’ll eventually explode.
“My dad said you can’t show respect to someone when they don’t give you the same in return.” I glare at her when she laughs.
“How do I not show you respect?”
Always playing the victim. She knows what seeing her fool around with Rodrigo makes me feel like. Seeing the way she giggles around him, how she twirls her hair around her finger—it makes me want to vomit.
I truly never thought she would move on, and maybe some selfish part of me hoped she wouldn’t … but seeing her fall for another man is suffocating.
“Mom, I can’t do this today.” I sigh, picking up my book and groaning when she interrupts.
“Tell me how I don’t show you any respect.”
Glancing up at her fiercely, I rant, “I’ve told you this multiple times before. I hate seeing you come home, looking like you didn’t sleep a wink. How do you honestly think that’s affecting me, Mom? I shouldn’t have to see my parent moving on from the other. Dad should still be here. It’s already hard that I see you falling in love with someone else. I would appreciate it if you didn’t show up, looking so messy from you know...” I trail off.
She just stares at me. Her eyes are wide in shock. I won’t be the first to look away. I want to win this staring contest.
She purses her lips and looks down. “Fine, I’ll be more considerate. I just came in here to tell you I’ll be away for the weekend.”
“Rodrigo?” I interrupt.
Hesitantly, she nods her head. I gesture with my hands for her to explain further. I want to get this conversation over with as fast as I can.
“I’ll be back Monday morning. I want you to stay in this house. You are grounded—don’t forget that. I’ll be calling Athena to monitor you.”
I hold back my smirk. Mom doesn’t realize that Athena, Leonidas’s mother, has a liking toward me. That lady is full of sweetness. She won’t feel the need to watch over me. I’m glad Mom is leaving me alone. Maybe that will give me more alone time with Leonidas.
It definitely will.
* * *
