My explanation is interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind me.
“I told you not to come,” snaps Landon. “I told you specifically not to come.”
Mel’s eyes shoot up over my shoulder and narrow at the man behind me. And if I thought the look she gave me was bad, this one’s worse. Way worse. “Landon, I’m in the middle of something,” she says coolly. “It’s rude to interrupt.”
Landon’s face goes blank. Stone freaking cold. His eyes shift away from Mel, seeming to register me then, especially the uniform. It’s almost as if I blended into the background before he looked closely, which I guess is supposed to happen when you’rethe help. But still. Something unreadable flashes behind his eyes, something that makes me feel a little bit small, and his mouth thins. “This is a private matter.”
No excuse me. No sorry to interrupt. Nonothing.
And all I can think isdick, dick, dick, dick, dick.
“Sorry,” I say instead, even though he’s the one in the wrong here, because I can’tnotbe nice. It’s a problem I have, I know it is, so I force myself to step back. Step away. “I’ll just head back—"
“She’s mysister, Landon,” Mel interrupts. “Don’t you dare talk to her like that.”
“Right,” he says. “Heaven forbid I say something offensive to the sister that didn’t evenexistuntil two weeks ago.” The blow is straight to my chest. I can accept that I’m a casualty in whatever sparring match they have going on, but it doesn’t feel great. Itreallydoesn’t feel great. Landon continues, “The sister that appeared out of thin air and is now living in our house when you refused to let my brother stay with us for aweek.”
“You’re being extremely inappropriate right now,” Mel sneers. “I came as a nice gesture to your family, but I guess I wasted my time. What else is new?” Mel turns all her attention on me then, a clear dismissal of her boyfriend, and a flicker of something unreadable passes over Landon’s face. Something that’s gone too quickly. Then he turns swiftly on his heel and re-enters the dining hall without so much as a backward glance. Mel continues on like she doesn’t care. Like that disagreement didn’t even happen.
It’s almost…eerie to witness.
“You are not working here, Violet. This place is filled with inconsiderate assholes who will take advantage of you. These people will treat you like the dirt under your shoe. They’ll walk all over you.”
Her statement seems a bit hypocritical to me, given that she’s living with one of these assholes, but of course, I don’t say that.
“Mel, it’s fine. I like working here.” I make my voice as amiable as possible, trying to diffuse any further argument. “I can handle a few assholes.”
Mel purses her lips, clearly unhappy with my answer. I have no idea what she was expecting. For me to quit on the spot?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m used to Mel telling me what to do. She was in charge of me whenever Dad was gone and Mom was having an episode, and I’d always admired her for the way she took control.
Don’t make noise or you’ll wake up Mom.
Grab your coat…it’s freezing out.
Do your homework before you watch TV.
If you bother Mom, she’ll get upset. You don’t want to upset her, do you?
No, she wasn’t perfect, but she cared. Despite how busy she was with school and her friends and our parents, she tried her best to fill in when Mom was incapable. She helped me avoid Mom when I could do more damage than good, and for that, I was always grateful.
Now, her voice draws me out of the past and commands my full attention.
“In all honesty,” Mel says slowly, “it’s not a good look for you to work here.”
“Not a good look?” I ask, confused. I glance down at my uniform, wondering if I unknowingly spilled something on my shirt.
Mel’s stare is unwavering. “For me. It’s not a good look for me.”
For her. It’s not a good look for her.
Wait a minute. Is sheembarrassedthat I’m working here?
“What are you talking about? You bagged groceries in high school,” I remind her.
She takes a step toward me, lowering her voice further. I inhale her perfume, something expensive, I’m sure, and my nose starts to itch. “And that’s exactly why I can’t have you here. You can blurt that out to someone, and then the next day, it’ll be all over the club.”
“I wouldn’t do that, though,” I say. “I would never tell anyone anything you didn’t want me to.”
