Oh,good, a break from all of this, nice. My social battery is draining, so a night in with my little cousins does sound much better than this. And no West and people telling us we look in love.
Aunt Lori: Oh, and Jake can come too!
Nope. Not mentioning that to him-
“Nice, night in with the kids, let’s go…”
I pull my phone to my chest as if that’ll do anything, and I’moffended.
“You can’t just read other people’s texts, gosh!” I put my phone in my back pocket and start moving towards my dad’s car, in which we drove in here to.
“Correct, but you’re not other people. You’re not evenpeople.Personally, I’d like to think of you as that witch who lives alone in the woods and tricks kids into liking her.” He catches up to me, and I stop, my hand on the handle of the car’s door.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m coming with you.” He responds as if it’s obvious.
“I don’t remember inviting you, though.”
“Thankfully, your Aunt Lori did.” He crosses his arms on top of the car, waiting and staring.
“I don’t think she did…”
“I believe her exact words wereOh, and Jake, the best thing that has ever happened to you, can come to!”
“You know she didn’t say that…” I fire back at him, admitting that she, in fact, invited him too.
I unlock the car, and we just keep rambling.
“Look at us, babysitting as a couple… I think this is a great opportunity to talk about kids. I’ve always wanted two, but you know I’m open to more if you want to-”
I bang my head against the steering wheel. There’s a fine line between anger and murder, and West likes to toe that fucking line like a professional.
“If I ever have a kid with you, put me in a mental hospital.” I end up saying while starting the car.
“I don’t think you need to have a kid with me to be put in one, but that’s just my opinion.”
“West!”
“I’m joking.” The most genuine laugh comes out of him, and I avoid smiling too.
Truth is, my mental health is one of my insecurities. Anyone else telling me I need to be put into a facility would scare me, but I know him just as well as he knows me. At most, we both need to be admitted, and we know it. The difference between him and them is that he doesn’t mean it and knows my story, and other people genuinely think I’m crazy.
Besides, I know deep,deepdown, he would rather put a smile on my face than ever see me cry, but I’m just not brave enough yet to accept that.
22
Jake and His Sexiness While Taking Care of Kids
I get home, after West left to go get his sister and give her time to get ready, and my dad and aunt go take a bath, while I decide what the hell I’m going to do tonight. I could… Stargaze? No, the kids are going to be left unsupervised, and yes, West is included. Besides, they can’t come with me because stargazing is supposedly alone time.Maybe I should read. That’s an individual activity; you have kids to watch and entertain. Board games? Now that’s a good idea! I wonder if I have any in my non-shared room upstairs.
I go upstairs and walk towards my usual room. It’s medium-sized and white, and a double-sized bed is in the middle of the wall, in between dressers. Windows are almost as big as the wall that faces the garden, and posters of boy bands and other artists are all over the walls. At least the ones that aren’t occupied withshelves with the rest of the books that don’t fit back in my room in the city. It’s also messy,dumpster style.
I dive under the bed and see Monopoly, Twister, and Uno… So many childhood memories. I get them out, bring them downstairs, and put them in a corner of the living room. Now, what else can I do? I could…Bake…?Not sure if that’s a good idea, considering the cookie situation last year. I’m not going to say anything except that it involved me, a fire extinguisher, and an angry family.But you’re a year older, Madelaine. You could try to bake scones. Actually, why not now?
I walk to the kitchen, and as soon as I set foot in there, I pair my phone to the stereo and turn the speakersloud. I don’t know how I’m not deaf at the ripe age of seventeen because I only ever listen to music at a concerning volume. I’m about to play the song when my dad and aunt come downstairs all ready.
“I guess it’s time to go.” My aunt says, looking around. I know for a fact my aunt doesn’t leave my cousins very often to go do something as simple as having dinner, so I also know this is killing her a bit inside.
