Page 68 of My Rules for Revenge
“Actually, instead of being a basketball player,” Eddy clarified.
“Oh. How come?”
“I talked to my parents about trying to get a basketball scholarship. They got angry again and shut me out. They only want me to focus on my studies. I’m still going through with it, though. I told them that even if they’re not happy, I’d be happy. Surprisingly, they stayed quiet after I said that,” Eddy explained.
“You said the right thing, Eddy.”
“Yeah, I think so too. Your advice was great. I’ve thought about it a lot. This whole time, I’ve been trying to please my parents when I should’ve been trying to please myself. I guess I have to be nice to myself. I don’t know if that makes any sense,” Eddy said, doubt in his voice.
“Of course it makes sense, Eddy.”
“Yeah, you were right.”
He stared off into space and looked concerned about something. I checked the time on my phone and saw that his game would be starting in an hour.
“Eddy, your game is starting soon. It’s okay if you want to get going,” I reminded him.
“Oh, yeah. It is. I’ll go later, though—it’s cool,” Eddy said, unconcerned.
“Okay. Whatever you say.”
“It’s just… I don’t know. I feel strange.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“It’s my parents. I can’t help but think that something weird is going on with them. They’ve been on edge, and they’ve been fighting more than usual.”
“Do you think it’s about you?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. They’ve been arguing about dumb stuff. They fight about how my mom spends too much money on groceries and how my dad goes drinking on the weekends. Trust me, I know how that sounds, but my mom never cared about my dad doing that. He’s been doing it for seventeen years. He doesn’t drink that much; he just goes to watch fights with his friends at the bar,” Eddy explained.
“What do you think it could be?”
“I don’t know, and it’s frustrating,” Eddy remarked.
“Parents can be complicated.” I shrugged.
“Yeah. I’m so sorry I just dropped all of this on you. It’s just… I don’t have anyone I can talk to about this stuff. It doesn’t matter, though—I’m sorry,” Eddy said apologetically.
“No, no. It’s fine, Eddy.” I softly massaged his back as he grinned.
“You’re a great listener,” Eddy replied with a smile.
“Thanks. That’s good to know.”
“So, do you get along with your parents?”
“Well, not really. I have an alright relationship with my mother, but my father is another story. They fight a lot as well. My father gets angry at my mother for stupid stuff. He can be very controlling,” I admitted.
“You already know I can relate to that,” Eddy replied.
“Indeed.”
“We should hang out more. I like talking to you. You know, outside of school. I like talking to you in class, but you know how it is—we’re in school, and we’re studying. Our teacher shushes us. There are other people around who eavesdrop. I’m sorry, I’m rambling,” Eddy said, embarrassed.
“It’s okay. You don’t ever have to apologize to me for wanting to talk.”
“Good to know. Listen, I should get going. I’d invite you to come to the game, but we’re not playing at home, and it’s pretty far. My mom’s gonna kill me because I missed the team bus. My coach will kill me for missing the bus, too. Oh, well. It was worth it,” Eddy replied with a smile.
