You're No Good At Lying

Spencer woke up the next morning alone, light seeping in through the closed curtains of Zack’s bunk. She adjusted her position slightly, wondering how long she had been alone. Spencer considered if there was something slutty about her current state, but she rationalized that she hadn’t slept with Zack, merely using him as a source of comfort in a hard time, instead. Rubbing the excess sleep from her eyes, Spencer sat up in the small bunk.

Her mind continually flipped back to what Zack had told her the night before: she’s a good person. Everything she did, she did because she wanted what was best for other people – especially Morgan. Morgan, her older brother who ran away for four days when their father was taken off life support, who obviously needed her rationalization more than ever at that moment. She knew that while Morgan always did better at school than she did, Spencer was the one with common sense. Anyone could memorize facts from a textbook; not everyone could do what she did best: see through all the bullshit.

“Oh, good, you’re awake,” Zack said happily, interrupting her from her thoughts.

“Yeah, I just woke up,” responded Spencer, moving back a little bit. Zack handed her a white ceramic mug, and she glanced down at its contents.

“Don’t worry, I know how you like your coffee,” he interjected, taking a sip of his own hot beverage. “No sugar or milk or cream. Black, bitter and disgusting.”

“Natural, you mean,” responded Spencer simply. The liquid was hot as it ran down her throat, and nothing cleared the mind better than a cup of coffee. “Thank you,” she added, causing Zack to look up with an amused look on his face. “For the coffee, and for letting me sleep here last night.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he responded after taking a long sip. There was a brief pause, to which Zack asked, “Do you want to give me more detail about why you and Morgan fought last night?”

Spencer shrugged, but replied, “He called me selfish for wanting to leave our mom. And he’s right. I am being selfish. She hasn’t been… right, ever since dad died, and one of us has to stick around to take care of her.” Zack was surprised at how calm her voice was, especially after hearing her voice often times laced with malice and venom.

“Why doesn’t Morgan stay home?” Questioned Zack, leaning down so he could set his mug on the floor.

“Because Morgan has a job. That’s how it works: Morgan has a job and just finished school, and I take classes and look after mom. That’s what we agreed to.”

“You agreed to that?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow. It seemed fair in a very simple sense – a very black and white way of looking at life – but he didn’t understand why Morgan could only hold down a job, and force Spencer to attend school and care for their mother.

“Well, it’s kind of unofficial,” she mused. “Like, we never signed an agreement or anything. It’s just kind of… how our family works.”

“Morgan can be kind of selfish sometimes, can’t he?” Wondered Zack with a gentle tone to his voice. Spencer nodded in response.

“He likes to think he has a good head on his shoulders, but he doesn’t.” She paused, glancing down at her drink to see that she had none left. She thanked Zack as he took it out of her hands, before continuing, “I have to look out for him a lot.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Zack responded, and Spencer cast her eyes downward. “He’s your older brother – he should be looking out for you.”

“Yeah,” Spencer mumbled, “I guess he should.”