Just Bent

Chapter Seven

Summer couldn't have arrived fast enough. School had me in a choke hold, and I was desperate for it to be over. The irony of sitting  in a room, being monitored by a teacher, while I wrote an English exam about the Scarlet Letter, was not lost on me.

    June brought with it longer days, a hotter sun, and rolling thunder storms. A fan became a necessity when humidity began to invade the space in-between each storm, and Chrestler Vermont had turned a lush green.

    The morning I was supposed to go to Mr. Hamilton's store, I sat in bed blurry eyed. I had never gone to sleep, sat up all night listening to the crickets chirp for the first time in weeks because of the rain.

    My sleep pattern had been shattered by perpetual nightmares and unending thoughts that cut into me as if they were physical instead of mental. I could feel lethargy clinging to my limbs, weighing me down.

    Earlier I'd listened to Mom and Mollie get up, heard their chatter and laughs. Apart of me wanted to leave my room and join them, and another part of me recoiled at the thought of interacting when I heard them near my bedroom door to head down the stairs. I was caught in an acute limbo, that left me feeling drugged with angst. I hated it but couldn't shake it for the life of me; hadn't been able to for the past several days. Maybe that was because of the rain as well.

    Finally I pulled myself together and stood to get ready. I pulled a t-shirt and shorts from my drawers; new socks and boxers. It was an out of body experience, showering, dressing, and making my way down stairs.

    Reaching the landing I could see Molls was sat on the couch, sprawled out, with one leg thrown over the back, watching an early talkshow hosted by a gaggle of women in bright, coordinated colours. Mom stood in the kitchen mixing something together in a mixing bowl, the cordless home phone pressed to her left ear, awkwardly positioned between her head and her shoulder. She was smiling and laughing at something being said on the other end. When I walked towards the fridge she looked up at me and shot me a look, mouthing "Susan" with a quirk of her eyebrows. Ah, her best friend. She'd left Chrestler when I was nine and moved to Florida for her husband's job.  Anytime she called I swore that the age difference between Mom and Molly disappeared. I smiled when she laughed again, and shook my head before leaning over to look into the fridge.  By the time I had decided to have a glass of juice Mom was off the phone and filling me in on the happenings of Susan's life, her kids, her husband, their new house, and their new puppy.

    "Puppy?! Did I hear something about a new puppy?!"

    Molly bounced into the kitchen and pranced over to Mom, wrapping her arms around her middle as Mom poured what I had realized was pancake batter into an oiled pan.

    "Susan's new puppy. Not ours. Don't even think about it!"

    "But mooommmm, you grew up with dogs! How could you deprive us of the same joy!" I smirked when Mom snorted at Molly's antics.

    "Molls, don't start." Mom giggled her words out, seeming to spur Molly into a hearty rant about how much a puppy would make us all happy.

    I sat in my chair at the dinning table and watched them, one hand around the cold glass of orange juice, and felt like I was watching someone else's life.

''

    "Cole. It's good to see you." Mr. Hamilton greeted me as I entered the shop, the little bell above the door announcing my arrival. I wish I could have said the same, but standing in this room was painful. He moved from behind the front counter towards me with his hand outstretched, but my eyes stayed glued to the middle cash register, until he was right in front of me.