Becoming a DeMarlo

14: "Family is everything."

Chapter 14: "Family is everything."

Sunday was spent catching up on homework and assignments.

To my immense surprise, Jasper showed up to all three meals, seeming sober enough. He still didn't bother interacting with me.

There were a few hickeys and marks formed on my body from Tyler and I's adventurous night, and I made sure to cover it up with make-up.  

In the evening, I treated myself to a swim in the indoor pool alone. 

The days went by smoother now.

My two eldest brothers became busy with their work, so Elijah didn't have much time on his hands to irritate me.

Jasper seemed to be completely off all drugs and alcohol. Despite this, he still acted like a semi-zombie, only coming out for meals or for going out with Elijah.

Meanwhile, Tyler and I were inseparable. We spent many of our spare blocks going off campus and grabbing food or making out in the empty downstairs hall.

Admittedly, my focus on school was decreasing.

One day, I received the lowest mark I'd ever gotten: 47%.

I had spent the night before talking to Tyler, and my Math test had completely slipped my mind.

I felt shitty about it, but promised myself that I'd do better.

Unfortunately, someone else had found out about my shortcoming before I had a chance to do anything about it. 

Charlie came into my room a few minutes after I came home from school, looking displeased.

"Hey, kid. Can we talk?"

I hoped and prayed that it wasn't anything relating to Tyler.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?" I nervously asked.

Charlie took a seat on the edge of my bed.

"I got an email from your Mathematics teacher. She said you failed a unit test today, and that your grades have been dropping in all of your classes."

"Oh."

Better than anything about Tyler, but still not great.

"Is everything okay, kid? You seem happy but your grades have dropped considerably," Charlie said, looking concerned.

I tried thinking fast.

"I'm fine, Charlie. I've just been...I've just had a few sleepless nights."

Oh fuck.

Wrong answer.

Charlie looked even more worried.

"Why haven't you been sleeping well?"

"I, uh..I've been having nightmares," I blurted out.

Charlie knit his brows in confusion.

"Nightmares?" he repeated. "About what?"

I really needed to work on this whole lying thing. 

"My old life. I mean, my da-Ross, and my siblings. Just stuff like that," I lied.

Charlie looked disappointed.

"I see. Well, what do you think about seeing a therapist?"

"No," I quickly said, earning a slightly suspicious look from Charlie. "I mean, I think I'll be fine. I don't need a therapist."

My brother simply sighed in response. 

"Fine. Your teacher recommended a tutor for Maths and Chemistry. She emailed me a few numbers of tutors in the area. You okay with that?"