“Ava!” I called out, drawing her attention. “Remember your last birthday, when I gave you that little purse you so desperately wanted? You were so happy, you and your friends jumped around squealing like little girls, apologized for forgetting my birthday, and allowed me to stay for your party. How long did that last before you went back to treating me like crap again?”
“I...” Ava started to respond, but apparently wasn’t sure how to explain that.
“Truth is, I gave you expensive shit for your birthday, so you allowed me to stick around for a day. Now look at this situation. I gave you expensive shit for your birthday after solving your problem, so you want me to stick around for ... How long’s it going to last this time?”
“Is it so hard to believe that we actually care about you?” Grandma asked in a disappointed voice.
“How was your breakfast, Granny?” I asked calmly, surprising her with that sudden change of topic.
“It ... it was good. You’re an excellent cook.” she answered hesitantly.
“Thank you! Where’s mine?” I asked, just as calmly as before, while waving my hand towards the cleaned table. Then I pointed at Grandpa. “Two minutes ago, this guy claimed that, with all my wounds, I was unfit to go home. And yet, you had no problem watching me and all of my wounds make your breakfast for half an hour, then clean up the kitchen while you ate, and not once did any of you stop to think ‘I wonder what he’s gonna have for breakfast’. It might seem like a petty thing to you, but for me it’s just more of the same. You’re telling me how much you care about me, while completely missing the fact that I’m the only one not getting anything to eat.”
“I can make you something!” Claire said, as she jumped out of her seat.
“Not the damn point! I shouldn’t have to remind my own fucking mother that her son needs food to survive! This is exactly the kind of thing I was waiting for. You cared for me for as long as you needed me, and now that this problem is solved, the first chance you get, you immediately demonstrate how little any of you thinks about me. So, yes, it actually is hard to believe you, Granny. I don’t know what you’re putting up this act for, but I’m not planning on sticking around long enough to find out!”
“But it’s not an act!” Claire protested.
“You keep saying that since the shit in the parking lot happened. But your actions say something different. What changed?”
“It’s gonna be different from now on!” Logan participated in this show for the first time.
“I’m not asking what you’re planning on doing, ‘cause I wouldn’t believe it anyway. I’m asking what changed! You want me to believe that, after you all spent years neglecting, humiliating, ridiculing, and hurting me, you suddenly decided that you love and care about me? That’s a little drastic to just happen for no damn reason. A change like that doesn’t just fall out of the fucking sky! What the fuck happened for you, of all people, to tell me something like that!?”
“A lot happened, Tim.” Danielle noted.
“Like what? Because, as far as I know, the only mentionable thing that happened to them during the last two weeks was learning how much money I took. But please, go on, give me a reason why I should believe their claims of caring about me, while I wait to finally get to an IHOP for breakfast.”
This caused them to exchange looks between each other. I think this was the moment they finally realized that this wasn’t going to be fixed as easily as they thought.
“What if they were just shocked about seeing you hurt and covered in blood?” Danielle said, getting audibly desperate.
“What if they saw me like that multiple times before already?” I debunked her claim. “Remember, I came home from school, bleeding and bruised, quite a few times. Twice it was so bad I landed in the ER! Not my first broken bone, either! The only one who cared was Claire, and - again - how long did that last before she also simply ignored it like the others? We talked about this last night, Danielle. As far as I can see, nothing’s changed. There is no reason for me to believe what they’re claiming now. Trust me. Just wait a few weeks and we’re back to normal. I’ll finish packing now.”
“Timothy! Despite what you think, we ARE worried, we ARE your parents, and we are TELLING you to stay!” Aaron raised his voice, trying to put his foot down.
“Aaron! I told you, you can’t...” Danielle tried to put him back on track. Apparently she knew that making demands would do more damage than good.
“Or what?” I challenged Aaron, interrupting Danielle’s protest with a calm but mocking tone. “What you gonna do if I leave? You seem to forget, you put yourself in a position where I don’t give a damn about your paternity status anymore, and material threats are really all you had left. But even those are useless since you made me get a job. You can’t cut my allowance that you’re not paying me, or take the keys for the car that’s not in your name. Go ahead, ground me! I’ll better make my way home then.”
“We could just call the police and have them bring you home.” Grandpa announced. I could see Danielle’s shoulders slump as she looked down at the table in defeat. I softly called out to her, causing her to raise her head.
“Danielle. See what I mean? Yes, granted, I didn’t make this easy for them in any way, but can you blame me for it? All they had to do was respect my boundaries, and give me the time needed to make me believe they actually want this. Just like you told them to. But after all the shit they put me through, they decide to mend fences by forcing me to accept their terms, and if I don’t comply, I get threats. You still want to tell me they’re doing this for me?” Then I shifted my attention to Grandpa. “Go ahead and call the police. I may be a minor, but only by months. As long as I don’t miss school, keep working a job and pay my rent, and don’t get involved in anything illegal, they won’t force me to come back here.”
I went upstairs, grabbed my stuff from the bathroom, and dropped it in my sports bag, not caring about the shampoo possibly leaking onto my clothes. I thought about how this escalated so quickly. Somehow, we went from them showing concern and trying to do the right thing, to throwing accusations and threats around in record time. All this time I was secretly wishing for these people to be my family again, to show some concern and consideration for me. But the moment I got the first indication of them actually doing just that, I immediately got defensive and actively looked for ways to prove their insincerity.
Was it my fault? Was I unreasonable in wanting an actual reason why I should even risk trusting them again? I didn’t know, but I could admit to myself that I was simply too scared of being shat on again to just dive into it.
When my bag was packed, I made my way back down the stairs. Putting on my shoes, I noticed them standing in the hallway watching me.
“Alright. See you in about a week, maybe.” I said before lifting my eyes to look at them. “And just on the off chance you actually care, though I really don’t see a reason why you would, I’m not planning to take a toaster-bath anytime soon, since I still have to graduate. After that ... no idea, yet. But I’ll figure it out.”
And with that, I left the house, hopped into my Jeep, and drove home.
Chapter 12
The second December week started with me making plans. I had already finished all the online assignments the school had made available to me, and I doubted there would be many more before Christmas break, so I was free until I had to go back to school in January. Thinking about my online assignments gave me my first idea.
While I was pretty certain that my job with Bill was secure, my responsibilities had changed so much during the last year, I couldn’t just assume they wouldn’t change or expand again. What if Bill needed something done that I didn’t happen to already be experienced in? My job wouldn’t be as secure anymore if he had to hire someone more experienced and more knowledgeable. And while I still had considerable savings (for a seventeen year old), paying six months’ rent in advance, and another three months’ rent as security deposit, cost me a sizable chunk of it! Not to mention the ten grand Claire had taken.