the girl in the green house » david dobrik au

four

"You can come in, if you want to. My daddy's at work, and my mother's gone," I told him as I climbed out of the car. "And we're meeting at Zane's at five to eat, if you want to come to that too."

"I feel bad intruding on all of your events," he told me, following me out of the car and unloading the bike from the trunk while I grabbed the heavy garment bag. I led him into the house and hung the bag over the back of the first couch I saw so my mother would also see it when she came in.

"You aren't intruding. You're our friend, duh!" I reminded him. "You want some water or some sweet tea? We don't keep Cokes in the house."

"I'm good," he said, and I noticed his eyes darting back and forth, soaking everything in. "This is the biggest house I've ever been in."

I sighed, "...Yeah. Kinda creepy when I'm alone. Especially since all my ancestors died here."

"Shut the fuck up. Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I don't know. The house itself doesn't feel haunted, except the basement. That's where my grandma died giving birth to my mother. In the basement. It's kinda touchy for her, so none of us really go down there."

"I can understand that. Why didn't she go to a hospital?"

"We're fifteen miles away from the nearest hospital. The nearest anything, really. There's a family that always has a doctor that makes house calls around here, so we usually just use them."

"What do you mean, a family that always has a doctor?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"For as long as we can go back, someone in the Wittek family has been a doctor. Their son, Jeff, is going to school to be a doctor when we go off to college," I explained. "It's kind of like a tradition, I guess. I don't know. We've got a lot of traditions around here."

"You don't like him?" he asked, and it was officially my turn to be confused.

"Who?"

"Jeff," he replied. "You kind of turned your nose up when you said his name."

"You're very observant," I commented. "He's just real full of himself. Thinks the whole world should bow down at his feet. I can't really blame him; his family is like that too, but it's still irritating. Plus, my mother has this notion in her head that I'm going to marry him. She makes us sit together at events, and he's real protective over me and stuff. Not protective. Possessive. We aren't even dating, but he still kind of thinks he owns me."

"I'm sorry that you have to deal with that," he sighed. "God, this town seems fucking horrible. I don't know how anyone makes it out alive."

I bit my tongue, a stinging feeling rising in my chest. Go, my heart told me. He has a car. Leave with him and never come back.

Instead, I said, "I know. It's all a bunch of bullshit wrapped up in the cutest little small town packaging. Everyone wants to be from here, but no one wants to say. Except my mother, of course, and all the other people who benefit from it. I know how I sound, but it's hard."

"How do you sound?" he tilted his head a bit. I had a feeling he was therapist-ing me, but God, I couldn't shut myself up. He was the only one I felt like I could really talk about it with. My rich friends didn't feel the pressure I felt, and my poor friends were living worse lives than I was. He was an outsider, and that's why I kept talking.

"Like I'm playing victim or something. I get that I'm lucky to be a Calhoun or an Emmerson and not a Hijazi or a Mariduena. I get that I'm rich and privileged, and I get everything I want, and I have nothing to complain about, but it's hard because I feel like I do have things to complain about," I tried to explain. "I feel so stuck. I've been doing the same thing every day for what feels like forever. Since I was a kid, I felt stuck. It's like mud, the ground here. It sucks you in. I'm always being watched to make sure I'm perfect and never doing anything wrong or anything that would look bad on the family. I feel so trapped here. I want to feel free, you know? I've been in Calhoun too long. I want to feel free."

"We could leave right now," he offered. "I'm sure Maude would understand if I left. She's got a soft spot for you."

"David... I just can't," I sighed, feeling the tears welling up in my eyes. "I... I had an older brother. Well, I have an older brother. He left when he was sixteen. They got him a car, and he left and never came back. I haven't seen him in six years. I don't know where he is or what he's doing, but he's gone. I don't think he's ever coming back. And that killed my mother. She didn't know what she did to make him want to leave us. I don't think she really understands how we feel in this house. I couldn't do that to her. She gets on my nerves, but that would ruin her, if I just up and left."

"I didn't know you have a brother. What's his name?"

"Calhoun," I shook my head with a laugh. "We called him Cal. He was four years older than me. Everyone in this town loved him. Not even in the way they love my mother because they're scared of her. They loved him 'cause he was real nice. Nice to everybody. He always played with me and stuff, even when he probably had better things to do. He was the best."

"So he was like you?" David asked, and I nodded.

"I guess. I think sometimes I'm only nice because I want to be like him. He was everything I wanted to be. I guess that's how everyone feels about their older siblings. Probably how your sisters feel about you."

"My sisters would hate to be me," he chuckled to himself. "They're fifteen. They do no work around the house or anything. I'm basically a third parent."

"That must be hard."

"It's not too bad. I'm used to it," he shrugged. His head whipped around quickly after that, and a nervous look covered his once calm face. "Am I tripping, or did I just hear a door open?"

"Must be the ghost," I joked, standing up and twisting my body so I could see to the back door, where Gloria and her little daughter Rosalina were coming in. Gloria looked up, shocked to see me.

"Oh, Luella, I had no clue you were here. Please don't tell your parents I brought Rosalina with me. My parents couldn't watch her today, and yours would be pissed if they knew I had a four year old running around their house," she seemed genuinely scared, which put an ache in my chest. She probably hadn't seen the car out front because the help always came in the back entrance.

"I hope you know I'd never tell my mother anything you do that isn't considered right, Gloria. You're my favorite!" I smiled. "And I have a guest, too, so as long as you can keep my secret, I can keep yours."

She raised her eyebrows, eyes drifting down to where David was sitting on the couch, then back up to me. She had the same slightly smug expression that Betsy Brinkman had when she first saw us together. "Who's this?"

"This is David. He's Maude Dobrik, the tailor,'s grandson," I explained, feeling a blush rise to my cheeks for reasons unknown to me. "He's staying in Calhoun for the summer and helping her out. What are you doing here on a Wednesday? I've told you you don't need to come."

"I know, sweetheart, but I didn't get to the upstairs guest bathroom yesterday," she explained. "If Margaret sees one spot on that floor, I think I'd be out of a job. I just came to do that."

"We can go out and play with Rosalina if you want," I told her. "I know my pretty girl likes that swing set."

"That'd be amazing," she smiled in relief at me. "It'll take thirty minutes, tops. You're the sweetest. Rosalina, go with Luella and her friend. She's gonna play with you. Thank you, Lu."

"Just come get her when you're done," I replied. "And don't worry too much about my mother. If anything ever happens to your employment, I will personally raise some hell."

Her grin only got wider, "That's my girl."

I led David and the little one out to the backyard, where she immediately jumped on our childhood playground. It didn't fit the house's aesthetic, but my mother thought it was safer than the Calhoun city park, so she had it put in when we were children. I think it reminded her of Cal; she didn't have the heart to get rid of it.

"So..." David's smile slowly grew. "Luella, huh?"

"Shut up."

I feel her pain. Me and luella are both from small shitty racist towns <3 twinsies

Xoxo abby