See In Him

21

  As soon as Jesse and Kennith entered the house again, hell was loose and spilling all over their living room carpet, right in front of that big, intimidating wall of crosses.

  "How dare you allow him inside this house? I—"

  Now, Jesse's mom was awake, and obviously she didn't open her eyes on the right side of her bed. Shanna Evans was a heavyset woman with long, thin curls of blond hair and a face full of obvious signs of aging. Her cheeks were puffy and wrinkled. The heavy makeup she wore didn't do it justice. Of course, Kennith couldn't make out any defining features on her, but something in her voice made him cringe. It was high and screechy, like nails on a chalkboard. The woman spent a lot of time yelling, Kennith decided.

  "You," she spat. The utter disgust in her voice and fire in her eyes made Micheal sad and Kennith confused. He could feel Jesse tense beside him in the doorway.

  "How dare you step foot in this house?!" The woman's voice was growing louder, a vein popping in her forehead and her big, blue eyes bulging. The noise made Kennith flinch, squeezing one hand into a fist.

  Margie was in the process of calming her mother when they arrived, and any progress she made was now worthless. There was almost a sensation of release from Robin and Margie; they both knew that Jesse couldn't avoid his mother for the entire trip. This confrontation was coming whether they wanted it or not.

  Kennith got the feeling that Jesse's thought process had shut down when the man motioned to him and his father and said, "M-Mom, this is Micheal and Kennith... they're friends," like he couldn't accept the words she had just yelled at him.

  "Welcome. Now get out of my house, or I swear—," the woman stalked forward, almost as if to fight Jesse. He stepped back. Micheal could see the terror in his face, the way he almost put his hands out in front of him to stop his mother. This was a woman that Jesse feared, the kind of fear no child should feel towards their mother.

  "Okay, okay, Mom, they're leaving. Right, Jesse? Just go out back," Margie desperately tried to defuse the situation, grabbing at Shanna's shoulder while Robin looked on with a blank expression. Shanna still stared down her son while he nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah." And he turned and jumped back out the sliding glass door with tears threatening to burn his eyes.

  Micheal and Kennith followed him, unsure.

  "I'm so sorry," was the first thing they told him once Micheal closed the door and they had walked to the side of the house. "I'm sorry. She doesn't—she's not mad at you guys, just me." Jesse was still shaking with wild eyes, on the verge of a panic attack. Kennith and Micheal watched him sit back in the tall grass, finally able to take a slower breath once he didn't have to support himself on his feet.

  "It's okay. Don't apologize. You're fine." Micheal had calmed his children dozen of times in the same way. For once, Jesse felt the kind of parenting he never received from his mother and father.

  "She's fine with you guys, I promise. I just thought, maybe Grayson's death would have made her tolerate me, somehow. I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry."

  "I mean, you suck, but not that bad. What's her freaking problem?"

  "Kennith. Not now," Micheal snapped, kneeling and putting a hand on Jesse's back. "Stop apologizing. Are you okay to stay here? We can pack up and find a hotel with you. We don't mind."

  "No. She'll be okay with us staying in the barn. Margie can bring me food after meals. I just... can't go back in the house. I'm not welcome there."

  "Okay. Can I help you up? Let's just get back to the barn and settle in for the night, yeah? I'll talk to Margie and get us dinner. Kennith, do you want to move out to the barn with us?"