Home is a Four Letter Word

chapter forty

Early June

Jake was drunk on slap-happy exhaustion by the time nine o'clock rolled around. He was laying on the living room floor, staring up at the ceiling and laughing until his heart was content about anything and everything under the sun. Even though it shouldn't have been humanly possible, somehow the words that came out of Aaron's mouth became funnier and funnier with every minute that passed.

Something about the lack of parental supervision and the four of them being together again made Jake's heart sing the song of childhood memories that were filled with the light and innocence of a twelve-year-old boy trying to make his friends laugh. He hadn't even remembered how the conversation started, but they had stumbled into a debate on how Katherine was scared of catfish, and Jake could have painted a fiery sunset with the dark shades of red that Aaron's face turned when McKenna reminded he didn't know how to fish so it 'wouldn't be a problem'.

"Are you even a country boy?" Katherine teased him, punching his shoulder so he leaned back onto the couch.

"I never claimed to be nothin'." He answered, his response faint behind the embarrassment he wore on his cheeks.

"You kidding me? Aaron's no country boy." Jake rolled his head on the floor. "He can't even mount a horse."

"You can't either!" Aaron pointed over to him.

"Bullshit." Jake smiled as he closed his eyes.

"You act like you fuckin' scared of 'em."

"I am not." He scoffed back.

Lies.

McKenna tossed an old pizza crust onto his chest. "Liar!"

"You're scared of horses?!" Katherine yelled with a tone that bordered laughter.

"McKenna fuckin' Riley I swear..."

Jake shook the crust off of the sleeve of Connor's flannel that he was still wearing, despite the fact that the last couple of hours had brought the summer heat back.

"No, okay, but you have to tell–" She was cut off immediately by the sound of the kitchen door slamming shut—the commotion of keys hitting the counter and boots shuffling on the floor following.

"They're home." Jake interrupted, although his announcement was practically useless.

"Where'd you get pizza from?" His mother's voice sounded from the kitchen as it made its way to the living room.

"We actually made our own." Aaron responded proudly.

Katherine tapped him with the back of her hand. "You didn't make nothin'."

"Me and Kenna made pizza, but it kinda sucks so don't try it." She laughed up to where Jake's mother was now standing in the doorway.

Jake rolled his head on the floor to look at his mother with a gentle smile, his tired eyes squinting to make out the different way her hair was curled compared to her typical ponytail.

"You look nice." He muttered half-asleep in the dream-state of laughter they had been indulged in.

"Thanks sweetie." She flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Did you know Hunter's sister works in that uppity salon? She did this for me when I got there, it was awfully kind of her."

"Didn't know that."

"Me neither. I'mma have to go get my haircut there one of these days... said she'll give me a discount."

"Ooh, take me." McKenna piped in. "I want a haircut so bad."

"We'll see."

She looked at her daughter disapprovingly like they had already had a conversation on what type of haircut McKenna wants, and it was most likely too short.