Nobody's Listening

T W E N T Y - F O U R

"Soooo," James dragged out as soon as he finished his Cheerios, "what are we going to do today?"

I scoffed. "We? There is no we. You're going to leave, and I'm going to call Luke so he can come back over."

He laughed and slapped his knee. "So what? So you guys can continue having sex?"

I turned bright red and jumped off my stool. "Get the fuck out of here, James," I growled.

That made him stop laughing. "Oh, c'mon, Dezza. You know I'm just joking." I continued to glare, and he got off his stool to stand in front of me. "C'mon, babe, you know I'm joking," he said, wrapping a strand of my red hair on a long finger.

I yanked away from him. "First, you barged in on me and Luke. Then, you cornered me like you would an animal! And now you're making fun of my relationship with Luke!" I poked him in the chest until he backed up into the stool I had been sitting in. "I love him, and you need to back the fuck up, okay?" I gave him a final push with my hands and he fell backwards, sliding around the counter to the floor.

"You love him?" he whispered. His voice was soft and full of despair.

I sighed and closed my eyes. Please let this be over. Just... leave. Leave, James. My eyes popped open so I could see if he had left. "GODDAMMIT, JUST LEAVE!" I screamed out loud, spittle flying from my mouth.

James' eyebrows disappeared in his hair. He opened his mouth, about to speak, when my mom came in the front door. "Desirae, I'm home!" she cried, like she always did before dropping her bag on the floor with a clunk. I helped James up in time for her to come in.

My mom was not gorgeous, nor was she glamorous. Her scrubs were spotted with blood and food today. Her frizzy red hair was escaping its hasty bun, and she wiped the tendrils away with the back of a slender hand. Her face was shiny from work, and her blue eyes were dull and tired. But she was still my beautiful mother. I gave her a smile before adverting my eyes from her bloody shirt.

My mom glanced down at her shirt before chuckling. "Sorry, honey, didn't have time to change out of this today before coming home. I'll be right back." She knew of my disgust for blood and usually tried her best to keep it away from me. She left James and I looking everywhere but at each other.

James shuffled his feet and let out a long sigh, his eyes closed. "Maybe I should go," he said, turning to leave.

"Nonsense, James!" My mom said as she entered the kitchen, dressed in a clean long-sleeved shirt and jeans. She padded across the room, her bare feet barely making a sound. "Want to stay for dinner, dear?"

He stood stock-still, staring at me with a gaping mouth and a question in his eyes. Do you want me to stay?

"Actually, Mom, I think James has to go home," I answered quickly for him.

The phone rang and she picked it up off the counter before giving me a disappointed look. "Hello?" she answered, continuing the search for food in the refrigerator. "Oh, hey, Cyd. You wanna talk to Desirae? Okay, I'll let her know, then. Bye, honey, have fun." She hung up with a chuckle and turned to me. "Cyd and a couple of other kids are coming to pick you two up, and you kids are going to do something." I opened my mouth with a retort, but she just shook her head. "No exceptions, she wants everyone to hang out together since James is home now. She'll be over in a few minutes, so you two might want to get cleaned up."

I sighed and started up to my room, James scrambling to follow me. As soon as we got in my room, he closed the door gently behind us. "Do you want me to go with you guys?"

I went over to my mirror and began to brush out my hair. "Yes," I replied slowly. "Cyd would throw a bitch fit if you didn't, and we've all missed you."

James chortled. "Everyone except you and Luke, it seems."

"I missed you," I snapped, setting my brush back down. "I missed you a lot. But it's been four long months, and some things have changed, okay?" I bent over to pick up my green striped earflap hat by one of the braids.

"That's… disappointing," he said. Downstairs, the doorbell rang and I heard my mom and Cyd exchange pleasantries.

I gave an angry sigh and pulled my hat on over my hair. "C'mon, let's go," I muttered, leading the way down the stairs.