Doctor's Orders

Shameless

The scene plays out perfectly in my head.

In my head, I stand up, grab Justin's plate, and whip it across the dinner table like a deadly Frisbee. Food flies off in all directions and it whizzes past Jeremy's head, missing by mere centimeters but coming close enough to ruffle his brown hair like a soft gust of wind. I'm upset that I missed, but it's for the best – the last thing I need on my record is a murder charge, especially against my boyfriend's father, and anyway, it scares Jeremy so bad that he drops to the floor like he was shot at, begging for mercy at my feet. He stabs himself with a chicken bone on the way down, but alas, it's not a fatal wound. It's a bleeder, though, and in all the excitement Justin and Pattie have fainted, and I'm the only around who can stench the blood, because it's on Jeremy's back and out of his reach.

"Aspen!" he says desperately, his voice agonized as he finally understands the error of his ways. "Please help me! I'll bleed to death if you don't save me with your superior nursing knowledge!"

I scoff and throw my cell phone at him, then peer down at him evilly with my hands on my hips. "You'd better call Justin's wenchy fiancé, Jeremy, because no nurse will ever save you now!"

My mad cackles echo around the kitchen; Jeremy balls his fist and shakes it at the heavens as he releases a drawn out, despondent, "Nnnooooooooooo!"

In my head, everything works out perfectly.

In reality, Pattie's chair scrapes against the tiled floor as she abruptly stands. In reality, I sit there shocked, frozen to my seat, unable to fully grasp the blatant insult and shocking news I just received from my boyfriend's father.

In reality, everything happens quickly, and for once I feel like I have no control over the situation. Like I'm a spectator who couldn't intervene even if I wanted to.

"That's enough, Jeremy," Pattie says angrily. "You're embarrassing all of us and I'm not going to stand for it. Aspen is a guest in this house and deserves more courtesy."

"And that was out of line, Dad," Justin quickly adds, his voice just as venomous. "You promised Mom you weren't going to be like this again." Justin finds my hand and laces his fingers tightly through mine, probably keeping a firm grip in case I decide to bolt.

Not surprisingly, Jeremy isn't the least bit perturbed at being attacked from two sides.

"Well Justin," he starts calmly, "you know how I feel about this..."

"It doesn't matter!" Justin interrupts. "It doesn't matter how you feel! You can't just speak to people however you want to. Aspen's important to me. And furthermore, it's not your life!"

"You are my life!"

"Jeremy! A word now, please!" Pattie demands, her voice rising above the others as she seizes control of the situation. Jeremy sighs and throws his napkin on the table before standing. Pattie then turns to me, her expression softening. "Aspen, please don't leave just yet, okay? I'd like to talk to you for a moment."

My mouth is open, but no sound comes out. Pattie rushes Jeremy out of the kitchen with a hand on his arm, and I immediately hear them begin arguing in the hallway; however, their muffled words are lost among the thoughts that rage like wildfire through my mind.

Justin immediately shifts his entire body towards me, both of his hands clasping mine as he leans forward. "God, Aspen, I'm so so so so fucking sorry. He's always been like this, but I never thought he would actually insult you to your face. I feel like such an asshole. I can't believe this shit actually just happened." He pulls one hand away and uses it to rub his eyes wearily.