Misery Blues

Chapter 8 - Her little Angel

All six of us sit in a booth, its tight and uncomfortable, but none of us want to be separated. Lexi and Cassadee don't want to sit away from Denton, who doesn't want to sit away from me. Alek is attached to Cassadee and I think Martin is keeping his eye on me.

I'm stuck in the middle of Cassadee and Martin, while Lexi is in the middle of Alek and my brother. Martin and Alek's butts are both probably only half on the chairs, but neither of them really seemed bothered by it. In fact both of them take our orders and run up to the counter.

Cassadee get's a double scooped strawberry cone, Lexi gets a vanilla and chocolate swirl with rainbow sprinkles, Martin gets Chocolate with chocolate sprinkles on a waffle cone, Alek gets orange cream in a cup, Denton gets rocky road and I get plain old vanilla on a cone. I get made fun of for having a plain, old, normal choice. But, I like being normal, normal is cool.

Once we finish, as if it was planned - Lexi and Cassadee go to the bathroom together and Alek and Martin decide to go on a walk to digest the ice cream. All at the same time. Which means that I am left alone with my brother, for God knows how long. I try to make the excuse that I need to use the bathroom too, trying to follow the other two girls. But, the look on Denton's face stops me in my tracks. With a sigh, I sit back in the booth and face him.

"What?" I cross my arms, ready to hear what he has to say.

"Listen, Roni." Denton sighs and rubs his face, giving me a half-assed version of his normal smile. "I'm sorry for being so controlling and trying to force you into becoming friends with my friends. I was just worried about you, you aren't as social as you were when we were kids. I don't even remember you having friends before we came here."

"I had friends, you must have met them - Oh, wait no you didn't." I snort. "You were never home, never in town, never even in school."

"I'm sorry I haven't been there, okay?" He shakes his head. "But, it's not like you need your big brother. You have always been independant, and you have David. He is there for you when I can't be. He's the one who goes to your parent/teacher conferences and signs your permission slips. Not me. I am eighteen, I have no reason to be living with him. I was old enough when he married mom to know that he is no body to me. But, you are still a kid and he is your dad."

"That man is not my father." I tell him, holding up my hand before he can interrupt me. "My father died when I was a kid, his name was Louis Blues, he died in an electric fire at work. I was six. He was the only man I could call father, the only man I will ever call dad. David is nothing like a father to me, he doesn't sign permission slips or go to teacher meetings. I don't talk or socialize with him, and I can't stand being in the same room with him. He is a stranger, no, a monster."

"Don't call him that." Denton slams his hand on the table. "David is a great man, and he is taking care of you. He deserves respect."

"Not from me." I say, standing up. I shake my head and let out a small laugh. "And if you're old enough to realize that David is a nobody to you, maybe you're old enough to realize - that I am too."

Cassadee is just coming out from the bathroom and I give her a look and she knows what I want. I pull a few crinkled dollars from my pocket and throw it on the table and storm out of the Ice cream shop. Alek is sitting on the curb and stands up as we walk out. We pile in Cassadee's car in silence, no body wanting to ask what happened and me not wanting to explain.

I look out the window and watch as tree pass by. After about a ten minute drive we pull in front of a small, pink house. Cassadee jumps out of the car, suddenly hyper, it makes me smile. We all walk up to her little house and push each other through the door.