The Bet (Just The Way You Are)

The Bet *Homesick

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Chapter 6 *Homesick*

~Sophia

 

“Can you please pass the salad?” Andre requests.

“Sure,” says my mom, lifting the bowl of salad and handing it to him.

This is the most awkward dinner ever. I was so surprised when I saw Drake earlier. He was the last person I expected to see in this house. When my mom told me I was going to stay in her friend’s house, and learned its Andre’s, I didn't know what to feel. He is my classmate. More importantly, he’s the best friend of Drake Swift.

I begged my mom to let me stay in our house but her decision was firm.

When I saw Drake outside Andre’s house, my dream last night came crashing down on me. After Andre welcomed me to their home, his mom, Veronica, walked inside the house coming from work. She looks like Andre, with their emerald eyes. Of course, he’s her son. She was so eager to finally see me, her friend’s daughter. It’s quite unbelievable that I just met one my mom’s close friends now. But if I really think about it, it’s not unusual considering my mom and I aren’t close.

And then something unexpected happened. Aunt Veronica told me that Drake is here because he needs help with his studies. Andre is what, his savior?

Someone kicks me under the table making me yelp in surprise. Looking across the table, I see Drake with an amused expression on his face. When he catches me staring at him, he smirks.

“What?” I ask.

My mom looks at me patiently and says, “You didn't tell me that you are assigned to tutor Drake in Literature.”

“Oh. That,” I mutter. Everyone looks at me expectantly. As if waiting for my answer that can change the world. “Yeah, but I haven’t tutored him yet.”

“You can teach him tomorrow,” Andre suggests, joining in the conversation. I have no doubt he saw the look Drake and I shared a while ago.

“Tomorrow will be good,” Drake says.

Something in his expression makes me raise my eye brows. He looks like he’s on to something. Like he has a secret no one knows.

“Okay,” I agree. It won’t do any good prolonging the inevitable. The sooner the better so I’m free off him.

Trying to look busy eating my food, while my mom and Aunt Veronica chat, my eyes lands on a photo beside the china ware. A young Andre, her mom, and a man are on the picture. He's probably Aunt Veronica's husband; he has the same blonde hair as Andre.

I’m going to call Aunt Veronica Aunt V from now on, in my head; Veronica is a mouth full. I tear my gaze away from the photo and ask aunt V, “Where is your husband?"

Everyone in the table stops eating at once. A fork suddenly falls to the ground making a clattering sound. Andre gets up abruptly from his chair to get another fork. The tension in the air is thickening. What have I done? Did I say something wrong?

“He’s dead,” Aunt V says softly.

“I’m sorry,” I mumble, I can feel my face heats up in embarrassment.  "I didn’t know. Sorry.”

Aunt V smiles sadly. “It's alright.”

I feel so horrible right now. I want to be small, and to be precise, I want to vanish. Looking all around me except Aunt V, I see my mom with an incredulous expression on her face. A rage is building inside me. She forced me to live with them without telling me anything about their family. Good job, mom.