Page 67 of Say Something
After everything we went through…
No wonder he was so okay with us getting back together. He already had the family I couldn’t give him.
I pulled into my driveway and turned off the car. I couldn’t even remember making all the turns to get to my house and that scared the hell out of me. I needed to clear my head, and I knew just who to call for help.
***
“Are you going to share with the rest of the class?” Melissa asked, looking amused.
At least I thought it was Melissa. There were two of them, and I didn’t remember my mother having twins. I closed one eye. Ok, itwasMelissa. Just one Melissa. She was twirling a little, but she was there. I didn’t remember her being a dancer either. Oh well.
“Men are stupid,” I slurred, setting down my empty glass on the table. The glass shattered on the floor, sending small shards of glass all over my kitchen floor.I guess I missed the table.
“I guess you did,” Mikey said, sighing heavily as he stood from the small kitchen table and disappeared down the hallway.
Had I said that out loud?
My eyes returned to Melissa. “Do you think he’s mad at me?” I asked, watching my brother disappear down the short hall of my cottage.
She shook her head. “Definitely not. He’s just worried about you, Jess. You call us up and say you want to have a few drinks. No problem. But we show up and you’ve already had like seven drinks, so obviously something is wrong, but you won’t tell us what it is. Plus,” she eyed my bag in the corner where I’d dropped it, “your bag has been buzzing the entire night.”
“I’m not a very good sister, am I?”
Melissa scrunched her eyebrows together. “Why would you say that?”
“I left and got so preoccupied with school, then work, then trying to have a baby, then my emo self…why do you guys even want to hang out with me? I suck.”
“Okay, you’re cut off.” Michael swooped in from behind me like a vulture and picked up the bottle of rum that had somehow found its way into my hand.
“Buzz off, vulture. Give me back my rum.”
“No, Jack Sparrow. We’ve catered to your little pity party long enough. You’re going to start talking or we’ll use other tactics to get it out of you.”
I rolled my eyes.This guy.“I don’t even have a bulletin board, so I’m not afraid of your tacks.”
Melissa and Mikey shared a look, I think they rolled their eyes at me, but I wasn’t sure. Things were a bit blurry.
“I could always tickle it out of you,” Melissa suggested.
“How old are we? Twelve? Grow up,” I told her. She had the pokiest little fingers. I secretly hoped she’d act her age.
Melissa poked my side.
“Knock it off!” I said, nearly falling off my chair to get away from her.
Mikey poked me from the other side.
“What the heck?” I glared at him. He’d never participated in the tickle torture before.
Then Melissa pounced.
“I’m going topee! Stop!” I squealed and squirmed, trying to buck Melissa off me.
“Tell me what I want to know and I’ll stop.” Melissa ordered.
“Not happening.” I’d stand my ground.
Melissa dug her pointy little fingers into my side, under my arms, and behind my knee. I was squirming and squealing. And that was before Mikey went for the soles of my feet. The jerk.
Melissa and Mikey laughed at me and with me. I had to admit, the sounds I was making were pretty impressive and could have easily landed me a job doing sound effects for a barnyard cartoon. Snorts and all.
I was laughing and crying and laughing…until I was just crying and crying and crying.
“I think we broke her,” Melissa whispered.
“Nah, I think she was already broken when we got here.” Mikey was so perceptive. So perceptive, that Mikey.
My little brother and sister held me as I cried myself to sleep, mourning the loss of my new-old relationship.
