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Zach
Being alone in the house wasn’t a bad thing. Mom and Dad were in Washington for a little travelling before they came home for the parties, fundraisers and holiday festivities. Louisa wasn’t around either, not that I expected her to be. When Mom and Dad were gone, she checked in on the house every other day, but so far, we’d missed each other. Just the way I wanted it to be. The last thing I wanted was a conversation.
I got home from classes. A week had passed since I’d left my own fucking apartment. Emma called once, that Saturday, and texted me a few times after that, but I didn’t reply or return her call. It’s not like she’d left a message. And her texts? One-liners asking me how I was. Fuck that shit.
I was getting angry, and it was a place I didn’t want to be. I dropped my books on the kitchen table and headed for the fridge. I’d stocked it with beer and a bit of food. I grabbed the takeout pizza from the night before and heated it up in the microwave. Then I grabbed a beer and pulled back the tab. Liquid joy. I stood next to the microwave, carefully avoiding my reflection in the glass. Did I look like shit? Probably.
The microwave chimed and I slid out the plate. I flipped on the TV and looked for any sporting event I could find. A hockey game out east was about to start. I ate my day-old pizza and drank beer. Who needed fine dining and home-cooked meals?
I heard the backdoor open. I stopped eating. Too late to hide from Louisa. She’d probably heard the TV I had blaring so that I wouldn’t have to listen to myself think. Within a minute she was in the entranceway to the family room.
“What’s this?” she asked, unbuttoning her coat.
“I’m staying here tonight,” I said, hoping she would leave me alone. “I have to get some studying done.”
She pursed her lips and nodded. “How many nights have you been here? I thought there was a burglar sleeping in your room and leaving beer cans in the fridge. I hate the idea of having to evict squatters.”
I tried not to grumble. She was on to me. Louisa knew me better than I knew myself.
“It’s a big year, Louisa. I have a lot of studying to do. I can’t be distracted.”
She looked at the beer and pizza. “Doesn’t look like you’re eating much brain food. I could whip something up. There isn’t much, but it would be better than that. And if you plan on staying a little longer, I can leave some meals in the fridge.”
She was dropping the hints bigtime now. I kept my expression neutral. The last thing I needed was for her to run to my parents.
“I’m fine.”
She seemed to drop the subject. “Okay. Well, since you’re here, I suppose I don’t need to check up on things. Will you be staying a while?”
“I’m not sure.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Aren’t you almost done classes?”
“Yup. And exams are coming. Need to stay focused and study.”
She stared at me some more and just when I thought I was home free, she took off her coat and set it on Dad’s black leather recliner. She came over and sat next to me.
“You’re not yourself. Can I help?” she asked.
“I’m all right,” I said, resting my gaze on the television.
“I used to change your diapers, kiss your boo-boos and cheer you on at hockey games. I know when something is wrong.”
Boo-boos? The last time Louisa mentioned that, I was five years old. “It’s no big deal. Emma and I have hit a speedbump.” A big fucking speedbump. The mother of all speedbumps. The only thing I could do that would have been worse was to screw around on her. And I would never do that.
Louisa nodded. “What did you do?”
“Something stupid.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“No. It’s something that happened before I met Emma and she’s not happy about it. I decided to leave the apartment to get some space between us.”
“That’s probably not a bad idea.”
“You won’t make a big deal about this to Mom and Dad, will you?”
“No, I won’t tell them. But at least let me make you some decent food.”
“It’s your holidays. You don’t have to.”
“I’ll drop some food by tomorrow. What are you going to tell your parents when they get back?”
“It won’t be a big deal. I’ll figure something out.”
Louisa rubbed my back and I wanted to give her a big hug, the way I used to do when my life went to the shithouse.
“She’s a nice girl and she seems reasonable. She’ll come around.”
“I hope so.”
She rose to leave. “Go easy on the beers, okay?”
I rolled my eyes but she couldn’t see me.
She kissed me on the forehead and left me to my devices.
#
GENIE SUMMONED ME TO the apartment. I had to go by the apartment to grab a few things anyway. Before I went over there, I checked in with Genie first to make sure Emma wasn’t around. The good news was that Mom and Dad were on a Mediterranean cruise, leaving me alone at the house a while longer.
When I walked through the door, Genie was waiting there for me, an almost horrified look on her face. Sure, I had the beginnings of a beard, the kind that made me look homeless. Dark circles were under my eyes and even my clothes looked haggard. I was close to hitting bottom.
“You look like shit,” she said.
“Wow. Thanks,” I deadpanned.
“What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing is going on.”
“Yes, a lot is going on. You look like hell, which makes me think you’re doing things you shouldn’t be doing. Are you sleeping? Eating? Drinking? And when I say drinking, I don’t mean eight glasses of water a day.”
I rolled my eyes. “Genie, what do you want? Why am I here?”
“Because I know how your brain works. You’re going to do something stupid and lose Emma for good.”
“Haven’t I already done that?”
“No, but keep it up. I want to know what you’ve been up to. I’m worried that you’re alone in that house. You are alone, right?”
My jaw tensed. “Yes, I’m alone. You think the first thing I’m going to do is fuck around?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. If you start drinking and partying, then anything can happen.”
“Give it a rest.”
“I won’t because Louisa is worried too.”
Louisa betrayed me! “I talked to Louisa and she understands what’s going on. You better not call Mom or Dad. If you do, I’ll never speak to you again.”
“I won’t tell Mom or Dad . . . for now.”
I rolled my eyes once again. “Is my lecture over now?”
“Not yet. Have you talked to Emma?”
“Nope.”
“Have you tried?”
“Nope.”
“You’re not going to spend the holidays with her?”
“Correct.”
“Emma’s family invited us for Christmas.”
“Then I suppose you can go,” I said sarcastically.
Genie pursed her lips until they were nearly white. “I’m really worried about you.”
“I’m fabulous.”
“You aren’t,” she said quietly.
I could feel myself turn cold. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not going to do anything stupid. Does that make you feel better?”
“She’s going to come around.”
“Am I done here?”
“She goes home in a couple of days. At least reach out to her before she goes. You won’t see her again until mid-January.”
“Thanks for the advice,” I said, turning to leave.
“I’m keeping my eyes on you. Got that?”
I gave her a thumbs up and walked out the door.