Social Suicide

T H I R T Y - N I N E : Soul For Sale

SOCIAL SOLITUDE: ARISTELLE
Tuesday, December 25 2018
"Hey, while you have a minute. Jazz?" Mer motioned for me to stay in my room. They closed the door behind us and I took a seat on my bed.
"What is it?"
"We got a call from Mom's lawyer a few weeks ago, around the five year mark," Jasper said.
"Both of you?" I asked. "Why didn't I get a call?"
Mer shrugged. "Something to do with the way she set up her will."
Jasper sat with me. "Anyway, he brought something up and told us we needed to make decisions together, the three of us, since you're over eighteen now."
"Decisions about what?"
Esmeralda started to pace. "Basically everything that's still in Mom's name. We've always known you would want her car. We're keeping the White Castle house we grew up in as is... What are your thoughts on the property in Tennessee?"
I didn't need to be thinking about all this today. "I don't care."
"You don't care?"
"I've only been there, like, twice. You two can decide on that. What else?"
"The biggest thing is her bank account," Mer addressed.
My mind went blank. "What about it? We have the life insurance settlement."
"That money is separate. All the money she's made in her career is still sitting in the bank."
For some reason, I never thought about that.
Mer plopped down on the other side of me. "We want you to have it. All of it."
My voice rose. "What?" Mom was an anesthesiologist. There are millions of dollars to her name. Why on Earth would I need all of that to myself? "Why?"
"Because we don't need it," Jasper put simply. "When Dad died, Mer and I split his when we turned eighteen. That, on top of Mom's insurance, and our jobs at home..." He shrugged.
"But she's not only my mother. It shouldn't all go to me, that's not right."
His tone shifted. "Elle. We weren't around when it happened. You had to go through unimaginable pain—emotionally and physically—when she died." He lifted my chin with his fingers to pull my face closer to him, staring into my left eye. The iris was broken and the color was a darker shade of blue than my other one—a direct result from my tussle with Daniel on that cliff in Arch Cape. "You deserve some compensation for that." He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
"I..."
Mer slung an arm around my shoulder. "We appreciate you thinking of us, but we've already talked about it. This is what we want, Elle."
A light knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," I called flatly.
Molly poked her head in. "Are you guys okay?"
Jasper answered for me when I didn't say anything. "We will be."
Mol leaned down in front of me and put a hand on my knee. "Elle?"
"I'm good," I breathed. "Are they all getting along out there?"
"Some more than others, but they'll manage." She smiled. "Do you need a minute?"
I shook my head clear after a moment. "I need something to do."
"If it's a distraction you want, I have something you'll get a kick out of."
"Yeah?"
She paused, a suggestive grin growing on her face. "Miles... and Elijah."
My jaw dropped. "No."
"I'm afraid so." She led me out of the room.
"What makes you think that?"
She shrugged. "Just something about the way they look at each other."
"Weird."
"So weird," she agreed.
I took my place next to Spencer and leaned into him as everyone settled back down.
He hugged my body close. "Everything all right, love?"
"Yeah," I decided. "I think it is."
He smoothed back my hair with a small smile on his face and I tried to ignore the looks we were receiving from my siblings.
"Are you guys staying in town for a while?" Molly asked them.
Jasper nodded. "Mm-hm, until New Years. We're gonna get a hotel room a few miles from here."
"You don't have to do that," I said. "You can stay here."
"You sure?"
"Of course I'm sure. I'll take the couch."
"Or you could stay with me," Spence offered.
I patted his knee. "Thanks, but no thanks. A night here and there is one thing, but being around all that fraternity testosterone for six whole days is a big nope for me."
"You're in a fraternity?" Mer asked him. I sensed judgement in her voice.
Spencer nodded. "PIKE."
"What are you studying?"
"Don't give him the third degree," I warned her. I didn't want her knowing he was planning to be a surgeon. I didn't want to know if she would treat him differently for it or not. I honestly didn't know what kind of person she was anymore—we'd spent so many years apart. And I wasn't hesitant to admit that I liked her a tad less than I did our brother.
"I don't mind," Spence told me.
"I do."
"I'm just trying to get to know your boyfriend."
I audibly gulped my last sip of bourbon. Spencer and I did decide to put labels on our relationship before we came here, that he was my boyfriend and I was his girlfriend—that wasn't what I was reacting to. It was my sister's condescending tone.
Did I want to get into another altercation with her? I mean, at least with Zander gone now I was less embarrassed, but I was still annoyed.
The last boyfriend my family "got to know" was Andrew Castillo. We were together for two years when I was around fifteen, and then he cheated on me with my friend of seven years. They have a three-year-old daughter now.
Because of this, my siblings—mostly Esmeralda—was skeptical of anyone else I dated even in the most remote sense. Until Justin Michaels came into the picture. He was good for me. But I felt like I was damaged goods after my mother was killed, so we amicably decided to end things about a month before I left for college.
"Okay, well, can you cool it?" I suggested, leaning back to check the clock in the kitchen. "It's past one. Maybe we should call it a night."
"What's your problem?"
"Guys..." Molly started.
"I don't have a problem," I insisted. "This is your first night here. This is your first time visiting me here, ever. We don't need to cram everything in all at once." I turned to Spencer. "Maybe I will take you up on your offer."
His calmness never wavered. "Okay."
I made a point to remind myself to thank him for this later—not questioning my decision. Not forcing me to make nice with my sister just because she was my sister. He and I had a lot to talk about and work through, but I appreciated how he could just tell that I needed to get out of here.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow," I announced. I kissed Molly on the top of her head before walking to my room so I could pack a small bag. Spencer and I headed out into the night within five short minutes.