Daughter of the Demon (II)

All You're Good For

~Jacob~

So my semester-long partner was quite possibly an escapee from the mental wing, Tony had come down with a bad string of the flu, and Angelina was being exceptionally more of a pain in the ass than usual. Looked like my Saturday was officially trashed.

“Jacob.”

Oh, and not to mention my mother had apparently called, with the fucking nerve to want to talk with me.

Fucking hilarious.

“Not now, Belinda,” I replied, grabbing the bowl of chicken noodle soup from the microwave. I sucked in a sharp breath as it scalded my fingers, opting for an oven mitt as I carried it to the living room.

“I just think you should give her a chance,” she said, following me.

“And I think she should rot in hell,” I returned, setting the soup on the table in front of Tony. He was camped out on the couch, nursing a fever a little over one hundred degrees, and a cough that rattled his lungs. He was pale as a sheet and miserable, and as his big brother it was my duty to take care of him. To protect him. He came before cowardly mothers.

“Jacob.”

Closing my eyes for a second, I fought for patience. “If it’s so important to you, Belinda, why don’t you phone her and have a chat? I have nothing to say to that woman.”

The nanny was quiet behind me for a few moments, maybe considering my words. “She’s also your mother,” she stated abruptly. “Your mother, Jacob.”

“She stopped being my mother when she stopped caring. I have nothing to say to her.”

And with that I settled in beside Tony, turning Spongebob on low, and placing his head and shoulders in my lap. Belinda watched from the kitchen, where she leaned against the door frame.  “You’ll regret it,” she spoke. “Maybe not now, and maybe not in three years, but eventually, you will.”

I swallowed hard, hating any thoughts that entered my head about my mother. “You know, Belinda, I’m not exactly proud to say this. But I don’t think I will. I do not think I will ever regret severing contact with that woman, and that is the truth.”

Belinda opened her mouth, and I swore she was going to give me another long spiel on how I was supposed to be a better person and give a crap about people, but that wasn’t even really who I was. The world had made me jaded and cynical, and keeping up the jovial facade at school was the extent of my acting skills. At home I just wanted to be Jacob.

Probably realization the truth in my silence, Belinda spun on her heel and returned to the kitchen. At about that time Tony’s eyes cracked open, staring up at me through a glassy, half-delirious expression. “Jacob?”

“Hey, buddy,” I murmured, helping him sit up. “How are you feeling?”

His face twisted up as he pulled the blankets all around him. “Icky.”

I released a soft chuckle, pressing the back of my hand to his forehead. He was still burning up. “You hungry, little man?”

“Yeah.”

“Want some soup?”

“Sure.”

I placed the tray in his lap, making sure the broth was cool before handing him a spoon to eat with. His gaze focused on the TV, and being beside him I could still hear how his lungs rattled when he breathed. That scared me. I would have to watch it.

“J?”

“Mm.”

“Will I be able to go to school on Monday?”