Jill walked into the garage a moment later. She looked at me as she sighed. “Are you hurt?” she asked.
I shook my head. I didn’t mind physical pain. It was a lot easier than the other kind.
“How’s Cody?” I asked.
Hank and Jill both looked at me with shock in their eyes. I imagine they didn’t expect me to care, but I really fucking cared. A lot.
“I don’t think anything is broken. Other than most of my furniture,” Jill responded.
Good one, Jill.
“Let’s go to the living room and discuss how we handle this,” she added.
“Are we sure that’s a good idea?” Hank asked.
“I won’t do anything,” I assured them. “I promise. And whatever you want to do to me, I’ll accept it.”
They both looked at each other. Hank shook his head, and Jill pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead. “We’ll figure it out after we talk.”
“I’m sorry this happened right before your party,” I told Jill.
She smiled and patted my shoulder. “I texted the Pastor and told him I had to cancel due to a family emergency. He’ll let the others know.”
We entered the kitchen, and I could see Cody sitting on the sofa with an icepack over his eye. It looked like a bomb had gone off in the living room. The only positive thing to come out of that fight was the destruction of Jill’s creepy collection of sad children. I knew I’d get rid of those somehow.
Cody looked up at me with his one good eye as we entered the room. There wasn’t anger or hate in his stare. He just looked at me. I couldn’t help but stare back at him. The impulse to sit next to him confused me. How could we still feel things this strongly when we were so bad for each other? We were so unbelievably fucked.
Sue sat on the arm of the sofa next to Cody. Since there was nowhere else to sit except beside him, I dragged a chair from the kitchen into the living room and sat down.
Silence fell upon the room. I’m not sure how anyone expected to begin a rational conversation after the brawl that had just taken place.
Finally, Hank said, “Boys, this can’t happen. We get that things are tense, but this is the last straw. You can’t live in a house together like this.”
“I should just go back to Connecticut now,” I blurted out.
Cody made a sound. I looked over at him, and it was the first time since I sat down that he looked at me with anger in his eyes.
“Rita is away,” Jill added.
“I’m not twelve. I can take care of myself until she gets back,” I said.
Sue scoffed and blurted out, “Are you forgetting the reason you’re here is because you wrecked a car drunk driving, kiddo? Do you really think your Mom will be cool if Hank drops you off completely unattended?”
“I could stay with him,” Hank said. “Until Rita gets back.”
Jill wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with that.”
“Why?” I asked.
Cody released a crazed laugh and said, “Maybe she’s not wild about her husband hanging out at his ex-wife’s house you fucking idiot.”
Jill gasped and yelled at Cody, but I knew he was right. Mom wouldn’t be back from her holiday until the end of July. Why would Jill want her husband gone for three weeks?
Sue rose from her seat on the sofa arm and stood next to Jill. “Look, whatever the hell is happening between the two of you needs to get fixed. You’ll be stepbrothers forever, whether you like it or not. You’re both eighteen years old for Christ’s sake, so start acting like adults.” She paced around the room, biting her nail. She looked over at Cody, who stared back at her with his one poor eye, glassy with tears. “You’re both coming to my cabin. Go upstairs and pack your shit,” she said.
Um…excuse me? We nearly killed each other, and the resolution would somehow come from a trip to the woods? Was this chick insane?
Jill’s gaze shot between Cody and me. “Sue, that’s…”
