Inevitable Mistakes

| Chapter 11 |

| CHAPTER 11 |

"LIVVY PLEASE come home. I can't do this." Raynell said, holding up a bowl of overcooked mac and cheese. Soggy and burnt noodles filled up my phone screen, blocking her from view. "They're getting worse. It's now both undercooked and overcooked. How does she do it?"

Mom's head came into frame when Ray pulled back, eyes narrowed at her. "The next time I make my mac n cheese, you're not gettin' any."

"Do you promise?" Ray asked. Mom snatched the phone from her hands, and she dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"Why couldn't you teach her to lie and say my cooking's good like you used to?" Mom asked me.

Mom was lounging on the couch, her feet propped up and I could see a good portion of the house from the angle she held the phone at. A small part of me wished I was back there with them.

Raynell came back into frame, the bowl of mac n cheese no longer in her hands. "She tried but if one of us isn't honest then how'll you ever get better?" She plopped down next to Mom, her coily curls bouncing. "Maybe you should give up on mac n cheese now. The sandwiches you made yesterday weren't bad."

"Oh please, you know I'd never do that. Soggy mac till I get it right."

"Liv, I'm going to die."

"You'll be fine." I chuckled. "How's Coco's?" I diverted the subject.

We had been talking for nearly an hour, and I had forced myself not to bring up Coco's too early in our conversation. Ray seemed intent on not talking about it with me. Whenever I brought it up through texts, she'd not so subtly change the topic. But now we were on a video call; she had no chance of avoiding my questions.

I felt the mood of the call shift instantaneously.

Ray fidgeted on the couch. "It's going great," she said.

The thing I loved most about Raynell was how her face always gave away everything she tried not to say. When we were younger, I always knew when something was bothering her, even if she said that she was alright. That's why I knew now that she was lying.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's not that bad."

"Coco's is not that bad?" I asked, narrowing my eyes skeptically.

"There are a few rude customers but it's whatever."

"And you're able to balance school, your writing and Coco's well?"

Mom was the one to speak up. "She's been really well, Liv. I mean, you know firsthand that waiting at Coco's ain't easy, but I think she's doing really well."

I looked over at Ray. "Do you like it there?"

"No one likes working at Coco's," she said. "Anyway—"

"So why did you apply there?"

She narrowed her eyes. "How else would we get enough money to pay the rent?"

I rolled my eyes. "I could've sent money to you guys if either of you had said something to me."

"Are you kidding? I was calling you and you didn't pick up your phone. And either way, we don't need you to do that, I'm doing a great job at Coco's."

"Sure you are," I said.

Ray opened her mouth to respond, took in a breath, and shook her head. There was a long pause. Mom looked at me pointedly.

I sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just—it's going to be hard for you to focus on school while working at Coco's."

"I know that," Ray said, looking exasperated. "But we don't really have much of an option, Liv. And it would help a lot if you didn't always make it seem as if I'm useless and I can't ever help out with anything."