It had taken a little effort
with threats on Terry’s part and bribes on Vicky’s but finally Evan and Joey
agreed to help their step-mom move into her new apartment in NDG. It was a little two-bedroom near a park and a
private daycare that Brittany
Joey was
being completely useless but Evan wasn’t so bad. He and Terry carried Vicky’s couch all the
way up three flights of stairs without killing each other so that was pretty
good. Terry asked Vicky where she wanted
them to put the couch but he asked mostly out of courtesy ‘cause there weren’t
really that many options. The apartment
was seriously small. The kitchen was practically non-existent and Terry
couldn’t believe Vicky was prepared to put up with that. Was she ever going to cook again?
Seemingly
sensing his doubt she shrugged and waved a hand. “Well, here I guess,” she said. “I know it’s small but it was the only place
available near a park and my mom’s house.”
“It’s
nice,” Terry smiled encouragingly.
“It will
be,” Vicky nodded.
She fed
them pizza once they’d brought all her crap in but they left before Vicky’s mom
brought Britt home. Vicky wanted them to
be there for that, to help her adjust or whatever but Evan and Joey were
getting antsy to leave. Plus Terry
needed a good night’s rest for hockey practice the next day and… well, he
didn’t really want to deal with it. He
loved his little sister more than anything else in the world but sometimes he
just didn’t have the energy for her. And
was it his imagination or was Britt getting more annoying lately? Maybe it was her age, or the divorce or
whatever but she was super whiny all the time, always throwing tantrums and
shit. Terry was getting pretty sick of
it. He felt bad but made an excuse and
got out of there.
On the way
home Evan and Joey complained about how they’d wasted their Saturday and how it
was totally unfair that they had to help Vicky move when she could have easily
just hired movers. Terry told them to
shut the fuck up but he kind of agreed.
It’s not like Vicky was poor; why the hell did they have to help? It was probably because Vicky was
lonely. He could see it in her
face. It’s like she wasn’t even trying
to hide the crying anymore. But why did
that have to be his problem? Terry liked
Vicky and everything but he had his own shit to worry about.
“How did it
go?” asked their mom once they got home.
“Pain in
the ass,” complained Evan.
“It was
fine,” said Terry, shoving his brother aside.
“Why didn’t
she just hire movers?” asked Louise.
“She
doesn’t really have that much stuff. Not
really worth hiring people.”
“Worth
ruining our weekend though,” snorted Joey.
“What’s the
apartment like?” his mom went on.
Terry
stared at his mother. Why did she
care? “I dunno. It’s fine.”
“The city
is no place to raise a child.” She shook
her head in despair.
“Gimme a
break, mom. It’s NDG, not Detroit.”
“Well,
still,” Louise sniffed. “I knew it
wouldn’t last with those two.”
“Dad
couldn’t make it last with like a… a really long lasting thing. The point is he can’t stay with anyone. It wasn’t your fault and it wasn’t
Vicky’s. It’s just how he is.”
He must
have looked really sad or something because his mom got this sympathetic look
on her face and tried to hug him but he backed away.
“Oh Terry,”
she sighed.
“Speaking
of like, how dad sucks and everything,” Terry began, avoiding eye contact. “I like, found this stuff in his garage.”
His mother
raised an eyebrow, silently encouraging him to go on. He wasn’t sure he wanted to.
“Like
pictures and stuff,” he stammered.
“Ok,” she
prompted.
“It had
like, all these old pics from like, a wedding.
And dad was the groom. But you
weren’t the bride.”
“I
see.” She seemed more concerned than
surprised.
“So he was
married before you?”
“Well you
should probably ask your father about that.”
“So he
was?” Terry fixed his gaze on his
mother’s eyes and she nodded.
“How come
you guys never said anything?”
His mother
shrugged awkwardly.
Holding her
gaze, he went on. “Mom, did dad cheat on
his first wife with you?”
“Terrence…”
“I mean
that’s what he does right? He cheats on
his wife and marries his mistress.
Right?”
“I suppose
so,” she admitted.
“So you
were dad’s mistress?”
She opened
her mouth but no words came out. He
wanted to ask more, to ask about the baby in the pictures but she looked so
panicked he didn’t dare.
“You should really talk to your
father,” she said so quietly he barely heard.
“Well
whatever,” he shrugged and walked off.
He went up
to his room but he really didn’t want to be there. He needed company. Obviously the first person he thought of was
Cerise but he couldn’t go to her anymore.
So Karine then? Maybe he should
just call Andrew or maybe Nick and they could get drunk. Maybe he needed to get laid. But didn’t that just make him as much of a
sleaze as his dad?
He texted
to make sure Karine was alone and then went over to her place. Even though he’d just eaten pizza he was
still hungry and helped her make dinner.
It was just Chef Boyardee but whatever, food’s food.
“So your
mom like totally wigged out?”
“Yeah like,
she was all awkward and shit. Obviously
I hit the nail on the head.”
“So she was
your dad’s mistress? That’s kinda
gross.”
“It’s
totally gross!”
Karine
nodded, scooping the ravioli into bowls.
“But also kind of like, you know, interesting, like a soap opera.”
“But I
don’t wanna know that about my mom.”
Terry grabbed a bowl and shoved some food into his mouth as they walked
to the den. “I mean it’s like it makes
her a whore. Oh god, so gross. She’s my mom.”
“But maybe
not. I mean, right?” Karine cocked her
head. “Maybe she’s not even your real
mom. You didn’t ask her about the baby
in the pics?”
“How could
I? So awkward. I don’t wanna know that my mom is like a
husband stealer and maybe even a baby stealer.”
“Maybe your
real mom died.”
That hadn’t
even occurred to Terry. If it was true
it vindicated his mom he supposed but made him feel worse.
“You have
to find out,” Karine insisted. “You have
to talk to your dad.”
“Like he’d
even tell me anything,” Terry scoffed.
“The only thing we ever talk about is hockey and even then he’s only
half paying attention.”
“God,
parents suck so bad,” Karine sighed.
“Your mom
still away?”
“I can’t
even remember the last time I saw her.
She’s in town, eh? She’s like in
Laval or some shit. Staying with her
latest boyfriend. Sometimes when I get home
from school I find these little notes from her.
Just shit like hey, I put some juice in the fridge, you can have
it. Or don’t forget to pay the Hydro
bill. Like hello, all the bills are set
for automatic withdrawal. How does she
not know that?”
Terry never
knew what to say when Karine started talking about her mom. Usually he forgot the woman even
existed. She might as well have died
along with Karine’s dad. It was so sad
for Karine that she had no family. But
other than be like a brother to her, what could he do? Ok, that was kind of gross. He wasn’t into Karine anymore but he didn’t
want to be her brother. That was just
messed.
“You know
maybe you have lots of brothers and sisters you don’t even know about,” Karine
suddenly said. “Maybe your dad goes
around like sleeping with all the strippers in the land and he’s like,
single-handedly repopulating the Earth.”
“Sounds
likely,” Terry admitted. “God, old
people having sex is so gross.”
“Anyone
having sex is gross when you really think about it.”
“I guess.”
“Like
everything is gross. Like brushing teeth
is gross. Eating is gross.”
“I don’t
know what you’re talking about,” said Terry as he took a giant bite of ravioli
and chewed with his mouth open, letting the pasta dribble down his chin and
drop back into his bowl in splattering chunks.
“Eww!”
Karine shrieked and covered her eyes, laughing uproariously.
I’ve been thinking
What?
Maybe we shouldn’t care what other ppl
think
But maybe we
should
But if we like each other…
We’re hurting people
They’re hurting us!
If people saw us together it would be a
disaster. We can’t do it, Jay.
Jay sighed and tried to think of
what to tex to Sarah to convince her to give him another chance. What Cerise had said really made sense. Where did the guys get off trying to keep him
and Sarah apart? Maybe they were meant
to be together and if they didn’t take the chance, they’d never know what could
have been.
Leave it to
Peter to ruin everything. Karine and
Terry had been having so much fun, goofing around and talking about nothing in
particular when Peter called. She
thought about not answering but then he’d just text a million times and get
suspicious when she didn’t text back.
“Hey,” she
cooed into the phone.
“What’s
up?” he cooed back.
Terry made
a signal, silently asking if he should leave but she shook her head. She’d be done with Peter in a second. She listened to him ramble about his boring
life for a second and made an excuse about having dinner with her mom and then
assured him that they’d spend the day together tomorrow. She could always get out of that later.
“So I was
thinking about Cerise,” said Terry once Karine had put down her phone.
“Ok,” she
smirked, not even trying to hide her annoyance.
“Come on,
seriously. I was thinking I should make
my move. I mean now that she’s dumped
that Tom guy and she’s been single for a while.
Right?”
“Maybe she
won’t be single for long,” Karine shrugged.
“Why, what
do you know? Is she into someone?”
“Just the
usual,” Karine said innocently, hoping Terry would get there by himself.
“What are
you talking about?”
“Well I
mean, now that Jay’s not with Sarah anymore.”
Terry
scrunched up his face like he’d just smelled the nastiest fart in
existence. “Jason fucking Harris? Why would she get together with him now? No, fuck Jay and his fucking hair. No, I need to get back with her.”
“Sure you
can?”
“Well fuck,
it’s been ages! She’s gotta be over her
damage by now. And I don’t even hang out
with Andrew anymore.”
“What?”
asked Karine, hoping she didn’t look as shocked as she felt.
“Andrew. That’s why we broke up. ‘Cause of how she didn’t want me hanging out
with him and we got in this huge fight ‘cause I didn’t want her trying to control
my life. But the thing is she was kinda
right. I mean, I shouldn’t smoke and
Andrew kind of is an asshole. I mean maybe I’ll still hang out with him
sometimes. I mean if I see him at
Clyde’s it’s not like I’ll avoid him.
But we’re kind of drifting apart anyway.
He’s not even a good wingman, he’s so competitive. Nick is way better. My hockey friend? Nick Morgan?
He’s a good wingman. What’s
wrong?”
“Nothing!”
Terry kept
rambling about how Cerise was much too controlling but also the smartest person
he knew so if she said something she was probably right and Karine wasn’t sure
if it was that sentiment or the Asshole’s name that was making her queasy.
“So Cerise
said she didn’t want you to hang out with… Andrew?”
“Yeah, so
weird right? But you don’t hang out with
him anymore either. I mean I guess we’re
over all that high school shit.”
“Did she
say why?”
“’Cause
he’s an asshole and a player or whatever.
She thinks he doesn’t respect women, which I mean maybe that’s
true. Maybe I couldn’t see it because of
my dad. Like my only male role model was
this total sleaze ball so I thought that’s how men are. And my coach isn’t much better. He’s such a prick. He has this thing where he says we shouldn’t
have sex ‘cause it’ll sap our energy or whatever but I think he’s actually just
a crazy Christian weirdo and he believes in abstinence or whatever. He has a tattoo of a cross on his arm! Like seriously. It’s like living in fucking Idaho or what’s
that place with all the Mormons? Anyway,
sometimes I think all men are assholes.
So does that mean I’m doomed to also be one?”
Karine
shook her head.
“I guess I
am one. Like how I treated Chrissy. But I’m trying to be better. And with Cerise I was better! I really was,
Karine! I was really good to her. Or at least I think so. I did what she wanted, you know? I went at her pace. And the thing is I was happy to. With other chicks I get impatient and bored
and shit. But not with her. I was always so into it. So I have to get back with her. And even though she makes crazy demands maybe
it’s kinda worth it.”
“Yeah,”
Karine nodded, still stunned.
“So you
agree?”
Karine
couldn’t speak. She nodded, and shrugged
and shook her head all at once, unsure what she was conveying. Uncertain what the question had been. Could it be that Cerise had given Terry an
ultimatum about the Asshole because of what she knew? Because of what he’d done to Karine? It sounded like Terry didn’t know the
details. He didn’t know about the
rape. So Cerise had kept Karine’s secret
and yet still tried to make Terry stop being friends with him. Was that an act of solidarity on Cerise’s
part or was it actually selfish? Was she
being a good friend to Karine or was she simply disgusted by the Asshole and
didn’t want to hang out with him herself?
Was she trying to protect Terry or was she protecting herself? Did it matter?
What was
Karine supposed to do now?
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