“What is it, Skye?” she asked, stepping out of her room, taking off her watch.
“Is there anything you want to ask me?” I asked icily. “Anything you’re wondering about?”
Mom sighed. “Skye, what is it?”
So she wanted to pretend nothing was going on. Fine. “I want my cell phone back,” I said, holding my hand out.
She sighed again, turning back towards her room. “I just got home,” she reminded me, like I had forgotten somehow, “I didn’t take your phone.”
“How do you know it went missing when you were at work?” I inquired suspiciously. “I didn’t say that. Maybe it’s been missing all day!”
“I’m pretty sure if it had been, I’d have heard about it before now.” She used her Look on me, and her annoyance actually made me wonder if it really had been dad on his own. “I don’t appreciate being accused of things under my own roof.”
“Well, somebody took it,” I glowered, crossing my arms. “The battery died on me, so I left it here to charge, and now…” But as I spoke, glancing back towards my desk, I saw something sitting there, connected to the little black cord snaking down to the outlet below.
“And now what?”
I looked back over at her, not quite meeting her eyes. “I, uh… It must have fallen off of my desk or something… Sorry,” I managed to mumble before backing away and closing the door. Sure enough, my cell was sitting there, right where I’d left it, as if it had been there all along.
“I must be going crazy,” I said to myself, unplugging it and flipping it open. I had a voicemail waiting for me from Keith – nothing too long, just saying he wanted to see me later that night. My eyes darted over to my MP3 player as I listened to it, making sure it was still on my bed. It was.
Even so, I set my phone down on top of my dresser, where I could keep an eye on it while I changed.
3 – The Clouds Come And Go
“Look, I know you’re upset, hon,” Lela said, patting my hand, “but could you be a little quieter? Olive is trying to take a nap, you know.”
For a split second, I almost did the exact opposite, just to spite her, but somehow I managed to remind myself that none of this was actually her fault, nor was I even angry at her. I even managed an only partially hissed, “I’m not upset.”
“Whatever you say,” Lela shrugged, picking up the knife to resume cutting apples. “So, what happened after that?”
I took one of the apple slices, snapped it in half. “Nothing,” I replied, popping one of the halves into my mouth, nearly throwing the other half at Lela when she pointed a reproachful finger at me, as I’d seen her do when telling kids not to talk with their mouths full. “Except he asked me if I could drive him to some party this weekend.”
She gave an involuntary chuckle, immediately giving me an apologetic look after. “Seriously?”
“He said it, but I don’t know if he was joking or not. We were both still sitting on his stupid porch swing in silence, and you know how he hates the quiet. He did mention yesterday his parents weren’t letting him drive their car anymore, though, so who knows?” I ate my other bit of apple, rolling my eyes at Lela’s expression. “No, I didn’t say I’d do it.”
“But did you say you wouldn’t?” She raised her eyebrow briefly, before turning to set the plate, Olive snack for after she got up, in the fridge.
“Does leaving count? ‘Cause I did that.”
“That might be close enough.” She smiled. “Now, are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine,” I told her.
“Then we’ll talk tomorrow, okay? Olive gets really needy after a nap, and I don’t need her telling her parents I spent all day hanging out with my friends.”
I sighed. “What do they care?”
“Well, I’m supposed to be hanging out with -her-, you know. Plus, her parents are actually paying me for it.”
“Whatever,” I shrugged, grabbing my purse and heading for the door. “Like I care.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she promised.
“Whatever,” I repeated, barely loud enough for her to hear it as I closed the door behind me. Like I needed her anyway. Let her play with that annoying little Olive girl – I could certainly live, and quite happily so, without having to put up with her any more.