Relative Deviant Ch. 04

Crawling into the single cab of my pick-up, I reached over and rolled down the passenger side window before settling behind the wheel. Likewise rolling mine down, I sat a spell and savored the cross breeze. Through the windshield, I spotted Danny up on the porch, likely asking around if anyone had seen me. A whining starter followed by a rumbling motor gave away my position and he trotted his way towards me.

Before he had a chance to lay into me, I feigned being pissed and beat him to the punch. "Where the fuck have you been?" I leveled as he entered the truck.

"Fuck you, where have you been? I looked everywhere." He sniveled back.

"Whatever," I said deflecting. "Come on, let's get back home."

He climbed in and I executed a three-point turn and then pulled back onto the highway. I asked Danny about driving Uncle Rob's car and his face lit up. He was so jazzed about the whole experience that he uncharacteristically paused his ramblings long enough to thank me for the advice. The whole ride home, he couldn't stop talking about it, which was fine with me. Listening to him jabber on was way better than facing the sobering facts that had just unfolded.

* * * * * *

Although there was still plenty of time left to make the movie, I called and canceled with Tiffany. Even after going through the trouble of showering and getting dressed up, I couldn't muster the will to go out. She didn't let it show, but I could tell she was pissed, especially since I waited until the last minute.

Feigning a tummy ache was about the most transparent excuse there was, but I didn't have the mental capacity to cook up a more tenable lie. Regardless, it was best she didn't see me in this state. I wasn't going to be very good company.

Moreover, I didn't really want to see her either. Perhaps being scorned had robbed me of the chivalrous respect I'd had for the fairer sex. It might have been Aunt Teri's ringing endorsement that soured the notion of a night out with her. No matter how good a time we might have had, I'd be constantly haunted by her warning me "don't you dare screw things up."

At almost eight o'clock, I heard the phone ring and Mom answer. Likely it was her calling to let Mom know she had been bullied into abandoning us. She needed to. I sure as hell wasn't going to do it.

The way my mother sounded; my assumption was spot on. I was able to detect the exact moment Teri dropped the bomb. Worry and despair shown on her face, but her voice only expressed sympathy. I could only guess what elaborate hardship she had fabricated to explain why she would be leaving us in such a pinch.

Mom was apologetic, as if she were the offending party. I couldn't bear to stick around and listen to it. For sure, I didn't want to hear Mom's regurgitation of whatever garbage lie Teri had told. Worst of all, would be the period of panic and anxiety that would follow while we tried to figure out what we would do without her help.

It was selfish to not want to deal with it, or at least be supportive. After all, they weren't her problems, they were all of ours. Part of it was mine alone, though. I had already began feeling the initial pangs of heartache which I had already accepted as inevitable. That, I'd suffer alone, but not now.

Already dressed to go out, I reckoned there would be plenty of time to grieve and hash out our options later. I felt the need to put that on a shelf for now and seek out something to keep me distracted for the next few hours. As fate would have it, I knew a familiar place that was guaranteed to be crawling with sexy young women.

Danny was in the living room when I went in to fetch my keys off the end table. He hadn't even bothered to change clothes. He had been sitting there watching TV with his feet propped up since we got back from the party. I hoped he would be so into his show that I could get in and out without being noticed.

"Where are you going?" Danny asked without even looking my way.

"Uh, Stacy and some of the girls were going to meet up at The Rec." I replied in a murmur.

"I wanna go." He complained.

"It's eighteen and up, you know that. Plus, you're not even dressed."

"If I had a cool big brother, he'd let me use his ID." He jabbed back.

"If I had a cool little brother, he wouldn't need a babysitter while I was at work." I retorted.

I vacated the room, marking the end of our exchange. When I opened the front door, I heard Mom hang up the phone. Wanting urgently to make a clean get-away, I swiftly shut and locked it behind me. Once on the road, I was safe from my troubles, at least until morning.

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Thanks for giving Relative Deviant a look. Thanks also to the encouraging feedback. Likes, comments even critique all are welcome and give me motivation to keep the story going. I do have an idea what direction to take with the next installment, but I'm always open to suggestions. I'm having a blast so far and can't wait to submit another chapter.