She's a Pisces

Chapter 3 - Family matters

      My dad finally pulled up to the curb, and I hastily waved good bye to my friends. I liked hanging out with them, but I was eager to get home. Bailey grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, giving me a hug, and I hugged a couple more people before leaving.

Then I stepped up to the big silver SUV at the curb and threw my backpack in. I plopped in the front seat, and cringed as I accidentally slammed the door.

     "So, did you have a good day?" My dad asked, trying to look over at me. He scratched his head.

     I shrugged and pulled out my phone. "Yeah, I guess."

He gave me a side glance. "You know, someday, you're gonna be doing all this driving. And I can finally relax," he chuckled.

"I can in a few months, Dad." I nudged him. "We're just waiting till I've had my license long enough to take Harley." I glanced back at Harley in the mirror. He was playing a game on his phone. Dad always got him before me on the other side of school, with his group of miscreant friends.

"Whatever, sweetie. So," he looked at me, "did anything interesting happen today?"

    I thought back. "Hmm... we had a sub in Chemistry today. The guy was really cool, pretty young. I feel like he used to be in drama or something because he was so animated."

     "Ah... drama's pretty cool. I remember my drama days."

     "Don't start, Dad."

     He smirked at me and started humming an annoyingly upbeat tune, which I knew would eventually lead to full-on singing. I yelled and covered my ears as the familiar tune grew louder.

     "Dad! Oh my gosh!" Harley covered his ears too.

     My dad didn't stop so much as fade into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

     I rolled my eyes. "Geez, it wasn't that funny."

     His laughing turned to wheezing, and eventually he calmed down. "Sorry, guess I still get a kick out of that though," he said.

When we got home, I headed up to my room and laid all my stuff down, and then spent a little too long on my phone. I felt guilty just watching videos, but I had no choice in managing my social media. I had about 3 group chats going off and it would be a lot of work to catch up on them later. But finally, I mindlessly began cracking down on homework.

A few hours passed until I was called down for dinner. I waited a few minutes until I knew Harley and my Dad has already gotten theirs so I would have more room in the kitchen, and then headed down.

I wolfed down dinner in the living room with my Dad, who was watching some RV show. It wasn't very interesting to me, but I pretended to be excited about which one Norah and Russel from Minnesota would choose. It was between a black and brown Sandstorm, a small Jayflight, or a sleek Airstream.

We were just about to find out when the garage door opened, and I heard bags hitting the sides of the door frame.

"Uh! Someone's home." My dad grinned. The rumbling of the garage closing sounded in the background.

"Mmm, what's that, spaghetti?" My mom's voice called. She entered the kitchen and her bags thudded on the table. "Ah, that looks good. But first can I get some help with the groceries?"

My dad grunted as he rose from his chair. I sighed too and walked over.

"Harley!" My mom called. She opened the first bag and handed me a can of pineapple chunks.

"Ew, who eats this?" I asked.

She put her hands on the table. "I do, young lady."

"Alright, you have bad taste."

She smiled sarcastically and handed me more cans. "Oh! Basil, I picked up your prescription."

     I set down the cans and took the little white bottle in her hand. "Thanks." She watched as I popped one of the red pills into my mouth. I turned around and put the bottle in the cabinet.

Harley walked in, scratching his unkempt curls.

"Did you get any homework done, bud?" My dad mused.

He shook his head. "I had to start a new game 'cause my friends wanted to play it."

My dad mouthed the word "oh" sarcastically. "Well, it's only 6:30!"

     I edged over to the kitchen sink, sneaking my hand into the trash underneath. The pill fell in silently.

I heard a hiss from my mom, and whipped around, but she was shaking her hand. She dropped a package of meat and began sucking on her finger.

My eyes lowered to the tile floor. "Is that the pricking from church yesterday?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, the priest was a little less gentle than last year."

"Well get yourself some dinner as a reward, honey. We'll do the rest of the groceries." My dad smiled. "Since it's Gemini's month, we better be nice to you!" He nudged Harley.

My mom laughed and carefully picked up the package again. As she turned, I could see that the little red spot on her finger was almost healing, and soon it would look like the other scars. I frowned. Lifting my own left hand, I studied the scars my own fingers bore. And I realized someday mine would look like hers.