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“Here,” Rhenn says, sliding me his cup. “I don’t really want it.”
“Thanks.” I watch him curiously, blowing on the steam.
It’s quiet again. Rhenn stares through the window for another minute before turning back to me.
“How was the couch?”
“You don’t sleep good,” he says, avoiding my question. I stare down at the table, not liking how obvious it is. And here I was thinking last night was the first night I did sleep well. “Bad dreams?”
“Sometimes.”
“What of?”
“Your world isn’t the only one with monsters.”
“Tell me about them.”
I stay quiet.
“Fine. Then tell me about your mom.”
My mom? I look up at him, seeing he’s already watching me.
This isn’t a subject I ever discuss with anyone. It’s personal, and it’s painful. If anyone can understand that pain, though, maybe it’s him.
“We looked alike. She had eyes like mine, two different colors.” I smile, taking a sip of the coffee. “I’d made her this colorful beaded bracelet. It didn’t fit her right. It was too small and some of the beads were chipped, but she wore it every day.
“I remember one morning she was making pancakes. She had the batter in the bowl and was mixing it all together, humming and twirling around in circles. She looked so happy.” My eyes fall closed as I relive the memory. “I had never seen her smile as much as she did that day. She told me, ‘Mommy’s in love, baby girl. I found an amazing man who’s going to take care of us. His world is so beautiful. I just know you’re going to love it there.’”
It was always only ever me and Mom, Sumner and Eloise. The idea that I might have a father someday, that our family could be whole, even now it’s something I yearn for.
But not all dreams are meant to see the light.
“Did you ever go?” Rhenn asks.
“No.” I shake my head. “My mom, she had problems. She saw things that weren’t there. Imagined things that weren’t real. It wasn’t even just him. She said he had a family, that we were all going to be together soon.” I swirl the liquid in my cup. “Everyone said she disappeared, but I think she was looking for him, the man she created in her mind. She wanted a better life for us and left me without a mom in the process.” My head falls. “That’s the last memory I have of her.”
It was her birthday…
“She didn’t abandon you, Vix,” Rhenn says slowly. “Your mom loved you. Things just don’t always work out the way they were intended.”
I know my mother loved me. She did abandon me, though. Leaving me to fend for myself in a world of temporary homes and a hole in my chest where she was supposed to be.
“Thanks,” I answer, knowing he’s only trying to help. “What about your parents?”
He sits back in his chair. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does. What were they like?”
“I never knew my mom and my dad’s dead. End of story.”
Right. I open up and he shuts me out. It shouldn’t bother me, but it does. Rhenn is the only one who can relate to me on this level, and it frustrates me that he won’t let me in even for this.
Standing, I swipe a bottle of liquor from his counter and head for the door. It’s a nice day out and I’m not going to spend it in here talking to a wall.
Rhenn is by my side before I even realize he followed me out of the house. “Care to tell me what you’re planning on doing with my alcohol?”
Untwisting the cap, I bring the glass to my lips, pouring a mouthful of the burning liquid down my throat. “I don’t know what you do with alcohol, but I intend to drink it.” I offer him the bottle, watching him throw a swig back for himself.
