Crushing On You

Chapter 7

"But you know that we bathe them every other week. Why do you suddenly believe that we should bathe them tonight Lee-Lee?" Mrs. Pinnock was saying that evening after dinner. She was washing the dishes.

Leigh-Anne just finished wiping down the table. She placed the rag next to the sink and then looked up at her mum. "Well they're a little smelly so . . . we should give them a bath and maybe hose down the house as well."

The mother frowned at her. When Leigh had come home an hour ago she had seemed a little down. But when I asked her what was wrong she didn't answer. She had expected to see her daughter happy since Jesy was apparently her favourite person in the world. And now she's insisting on bathing all of our animals? This was so odd to her. "Hose down the house?"

Leigh-Anne nodded. "When was the last time we ever did that? See? You can't answer me because we never did."

"Leigh no one hoses down the inside of their house alright?" Sairah said while petting her dog on her lap. She was sitting at the table doing nothing because she was lazy. "You guys are doing great with the cleaning up. Beautiful family. I like seeing everyone pitching in." She smiled at her mum who gave her a look.

The mother rolled her eyes. "Sairah has a point though. People don't just do that."

Leigh-Anne made little sad noises. She looked to the floor and saw some dog fur there. "Ah disgusting. Guys haven't you ever thought about sweeping this place?" She tsked before getting a broom from the corner. "I'll just get that for you." She started sweeping hastily.

Sairah laughed. "The broom is twice her size." She took up her phone and took a picture of Leigh-Anne. "Tiny thing." She set her phone down and frowned. "No but why are you suddenly more of a clean freak than usual?"

"Because the house is dirty guys!" Leigh-Anne said while putting her back into her sweeping. She stopped suddenly. "Where's Dad?"

Sairah snorted. "Getting high outside. Why?"

Leigh shook her head as if disappointed. "I cannot believe him. Doesn't he know how bad drugs are for you? Someone needs to go out there and stop him. It looks bad that he does that." She nodded. "Very bad."

Mrs. Pinnock found this behaviour concerning. "You never had a problem with it before Leigh-Anne. What's gotten into you?"

Leigh looked up at her mum. "Well . . . I just realized that . . . we should try to be better." She shrugged.

"What's better?" Her mother challenged.

Leigh-Anne could not really answer her. "Umm . . ."

Her mother still stared at her.

"Well cleaner, safer. You know . . ." Leigh-Anne said before shrugging again.

"But we are clean and safe. What are you talking about?" Mrs. Pinnock did not like this. "Did Jesy say something to you while you were over at her house?" She had asked her husband to scope the place out and to converse with Jesy's parents before he left Leigh at that house and based on what he said it seemed that Jesy lived in a lovely home on a lovely street and had nice decent parents. What if Jesy got Leigh to tell her what her home was like and then Jesy insulted the girl because Leigh's life was different?

Leigh-Anne looked to her feet as she remembered what Jade had been saying and how grossed out she looked when she spoke of her home. If Jesy's sister thinks that way then Jesy will start thinking that way also. Jesy did not seem to find her that bad but Leigh still felt below her. "Jesy didn't say anything." She mumbled.

"Then what's wrong suddenly?" Her mum asked in concern.

Leigh-Anne put the broom down and shook her head. "Nothing."