Old Enough

I lived with my aunt. It only took a year after my attempted suicide for my mother to realize that she couldn’t handle me anymore. Apparently, she had come to a state of mental instability from my behavior and my father’s lack of presence. My father was in the army and hadn’t been there when I had my ‘accident’ therefore, leaving herself to deal with my hospital fees and a perspective that I needed to be monitored day and night.

My aunt wasn’t as kind as my mother, nor was she as skilled at being a parent. She was divorced and had a big important job as a vice president of an organic food company. She had a great deal more money than my mother and she worked more then she slept for it. But life with her wasn’t so bad, sure I had to change schools, but then again I didn’t have many friends to begin with. And sure I left my mother, but then again she was really the one that left me.

“I feel fucking sick.”

Sebastian had always been a light weight when it came to weed. Every time he would smoke he would complain about feeling ill and even after my many attempts to tell him to just stop, he would still smoke.

“Then don’t smoke, man. This is getting fucking ridiculous,” Dean said, taking the joint out of his hand and sticking it to his own lips, “maybe you just weren’t made to be high.”

“Ha, I know Ellie was. She blazes more then both of us.”

Dean had pasted the joint to me and I immediately took in a puff, letting the smoke intoxicate my insides and letting me calm my mind. I felt far too content to deny Dean’s false claim. I relaxed my body, leaning my head down on the brick wall and looking up at the blue sky.

“If my aunt knew I was doing this she would flip shit,” I muttered trying to think back at all the times she had almost found my stash of weed.

“I feel like I forgot to do something,” Sebastian said, grabbing the joint from my fingers and taking in a smoke, this time only cringing slightly.

“You wanted to go to the comic book store,” I reminded to him. I was still the more responsible one even when we were under the influence of marijuana.

There was a long pause before Sebastian finally must have registered what I had said.

“Oh yeah…”

“Shouldn't you probably go and do that then?” I said to him, absentmindedly taking the joint Dean was about to pass Sebastian out of his hands before he could take a smoke, not wanting Sebastian to go through more pain.

“I suppose…” He replied, waiting a moment before pulling himself off the ground and wiping the dirt off the back of his pants. He looked back at Dean and I and with saluting us with two of his fingers he left.

Dean and I watched him walk away and Dean turned to me, smiling amusingly. I smiled mildly back before crushing the end of the cigarette with my boot.

“And what will you be doing this evening, Miss Eleanor?”

“My aunt has a date, so probably I’ll just be spending the evening reading and having leftover tofu and cucumber salad.”

Dean stared at me, quirking his eyebrows up with an amused smile working on his face.

“You know you’re always welcome at my house.”

I smiled softly; secretly hoping he would ask me that. “Yeah, thanks. If your mom does not mind.”

“’Course not. You’re always welcome. Anyway, your aunt is dating now?”

“I guess,” I shrugged, standing up and dusting myself off.

“Have you met the guy?” He asked as we started our way to Dean’s house.

“No, I think she is trying to take it slow.”

“Maybe she’s nervous for you guys to meet.”

I nodded, “Yes, I suspected that too.”

He shrugged, “If he’s really that great of a guy, she’ll let you guys meet.”

“I know, I’m just curious.”

“You’re always curious. She’ll come around, trust me.”

I smiled at him and he smiled back and suddenly I felt less peeved about my aunt. All I wanted was to get to Dean’s house and have some of his mother’s home cooked food. The organic food my aunt had left for my sounded less appealing with ever step.