The Jesus of Suburbia

Know Your Enemy

As predicted, it was extremely tense as we sat around the dinner table.

Adrienne had made some sort of noodles with red sauce. It wasn't really spaghetti though because the noodles were small and curly.

We began to eat in uncomfortable silence. Every so often I would glance up, dreading the moment when I would meet the eyes of Adrienne where I would immediately look down again. Joey sat beside me silently, pulling apart his garlic bread and pushing off the little herbs on the top. Billie broke the silence finally with, "I feel like we're throwing knives across the dinner table. What happened?"

He looked between us and I shrugged. It wasn't my fault. If anything, It was totally Adrienne's fault.

She spoke, of course blaming it on me. "Well, Red here snuck out of the house earlier."

I roll my eyes and set down my fork. My plate was sort of untouched, I didn't like this healthy stuff. Well, I wasn't used to it. "Well you wouldn't have let me leave if I hadn't snuck out!" My tone was cold and accusing which earned a light glare from Billie.

"How do you know? You didn't ask!" She pointed out, nearly yelling. "Of course I wouldn't have let you out if you were just going to go smoke!"

Billie's head snapped up and he set aside his fork as well. Yeah, I was really becoming a 'case,' the stereotypical adopted kid who has problems. I sigh and lean back in my chair, lifting the front two legs off the floor. "You've been smoking?" asked Billie, not sounding very surprised.

I just shrug which he takes as an answer. He gave me a look that clearly said this wasn't over, but he didn't verbally express it to me. Instead, he looked at his wife and said, "Stop worrying."

She looked indignant and sat up straighter in her chair. "You're just going to let him do this? Honestly, Billie I thought you-"

He interrupted with a forced look of calm. "Did I say that I was going to 'just let him do this' Adri? No. I'll take care of it."

With an internal groan I stand up and brush off my jeans. "Well, I'll be upstairs." I have succeeded in tearing a family apart for about an hour or two. Well, maybe not Joey. He just looks a bit concerned, but not angry.

"I'll be up in a few minutes." Billie says after giving me a look of severe fatherly discipline. Okay, so apparently Billie isn't a 'cool band dad' like I expected he'd be. With a verbal groan and extreme effort in my fingers to not flip him off, I go upstairs.