Fire Scarred

Chapter Thirteen

     I yawned, cursing my exhaustion. Wrong move. 

     "Cora, I'd appreciate it if you could at least pretend to be listening to me," Mom balanced her fork on the edge of her plate to glare at me properly. "If you don't understand, just say so."

     "Mom, I understand just fine." I rolled my eyes in that exasperated way we teens are just so good at, and sighed. "I just don't see why you're talking to me about this."

     "Well, your father doesn't seem to have any interest in this," she said defensively. 

     "And it looks like I do?!"

     Mom set her mouth into a fine line that said not to raise my voice when talking to her. Or maybe that was one of the side effects of her new itch cream—severe disappointment in your unsympathetic one and only off-spring. "I'm sorry that I thought you might want to be forewarned about some things that could happen to you later on in life." Like itches in undesired places.

     "I'm sorry, Mom," I gestured vaguely with my hands, hoping to wave away this conversation and the possibility of it ever coming up again, "about your itch."

     My mother then opened her mouth to say something probably along the lines of how showing some remorse for her state would be nice or how my sarcastic tone wasn't acceptable for something of this importance, but the sound of our door being pounded on cut her off. 

     "I'll get it," she said instead. 

     My chair screeched as I pushed back from our kitchen table and cleared my plate, muttering, "Cool beans."

     As I made my way to my room I heard the door open and my mom's smiling voice behind me. 

     "Hey there, Hun. Haven't seen you in a while."

     Oh, this person could be anybody, I thought with slight annoyance. She always answers the door the same way. "Hey there, Hun. Haven't seen you in a while."

     "Where've you been hiding?"

     "Oh, you know," the voice said before trailing off. Although it was muffled, I could hear the remorse in the person's tone. By now, I was hiding between my bedroom door and the wall, peaking through the small crack that let the light filter through, my fingers curling around the hinges. 

     "We miss seeing you around. How's your schooling going?"

     Who's she talking to? 

     "It's fine. Y'all are doing a wonderful job." Flattery. It disgusts me. 

     "Why, thank you, dear. And how's your new cabin? Is it as nice as your old?"

     "Even better."

     "Really?"

     "Yes, ma'am."

     Liar! I know all the new cabins are cramped and atrocious! No one would want to live in there. What do you want from us?

     "I wouldn't have thought so."

     "I guess. So, is Cora around?"

     My heart jumped in my chest. I'm what you're after?

     "Yes, she's here." Mom, don't fall for the mind games! Don't let whoever this is know I'm present and now currently creeping down the hall to spy on you! "Would you like me to go find her for you?"