Yelling Through

“Oh fuck,” I groaned, when I woke up. I really needed to get rid of the recliner n my living room, and buy one that didn’t fucking suck. Sitting beside me on the little side table was a half eaten melted container of ice cream. I thought about it for a second, before deciding to ruin my furniture another day. After all I had a very hung over Letty to take care of.

I stood up and cracked my back. Letty was laying on the couch. She was still breathing, so that was a good sign.

Her mother was a psycho bitch stuck in very old and outdated ways. She didn’t approve of Letty being a strong independent woman. She wanted her to marry rich and be a housewife like her mother and her mother’s mother and every other fucking woman in her family and her husband’s. Letty’s father was very accepting and proud of her for not falling into the same patter as the rest of the women in his family and instead striving to be something more.

I looked at the clock it was almost one. I dumped the melted ice cream down the drain and tossed the carton in the garbage. I went upstairs and checked my phone. There were a few missed messages from my brothers reminding me that we had a house to show at three. I really didn’t feel like showing a house. I didn’t even do shit. I went, stood there and smiled.

I made myself presentable and looked at the time. I had an hour to be there. The showing wouldn’t take long, and considering we hadn’t gone to sleep (or in Letty’s case passed out drunk) until rougly seven in the morning, I knew she was still down for a while. I walked out to my car only to see another one sitting in my driveway . It wasn’t anyone I could think of off the top of my head. Though a perfectly stupid decision, walked up my wrap around deck to the back. There sitting at my table was none other than the wicked witch of the west. The clicking of my heels alerted her to my presence.

“Koraline, dear, it’s good to se you,” she greeted.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, walking to my car and grabbing my white board. “What do you want?” I asked.

“I came to find my daughter.”

“Not here. Can’t help you.”

“Do you really think I believe you?”

“Wishful thinking. She doesn’t want to see you, so you can quit wasting your time and leave.”

“She never wants to see me. I’m used to that, but she needs to. She needs to get it through her head that it’s time to grow up. She can’t keep behaving like a rebellious teenager. She’ll be worse than you, if it continues. I mean gallivanting around with rock stars. It’s just trashy. You should really keep better company. It’s bad enough that you enjoy that mess, but to pull my precious daughter into it… It’s just not right.”

“The company I keep is fine, thank you very much. I’d much rather be surrounded by people, who are caring and accepting, even if we don’t always get along and aren’t pristine and perfect, than a cold, narrow minded bitch like you. Letty feels the same. Now, I’m going to give you until five to get the fuck off of my property, before I hit the alarm, because you are trespassing on private property.”

“You may win this battle, but the war is not over.”

‘What fucking war?’ I thought. God that bitch was crazy. I pointed towards the driveway. She just kept getting crazier and crazier. Five minutes after her car had disappeared, I got in mine and was off on what would hopefully be my last visit to the property. I pulled into the drive way and knocked on the door. It was pulled open by Erik, the oldest. I was the middle child and my other brother, Travis was the baby.

“LITTLE SISTER!” Erik yelled, picking me up and spinning me around.

“Big brother!” I replied just as excitedly though far more quietly.

“Why is it that I only ever see you, when we’re trying to show a house and even then I have to threaten you with bodily harm to get you to show up?” he asked.

“Move out of the way, she’s my sister too,” Travis said, pushing Erik and hugging me.

“I missed you two,” I said.

“Well if you would stop and visit…”

“I mean really. You can go and fucking gallivant with Oli Sykes, but you can’t come and say “Hi?””

I flinched.

“I’m just kidding, Kore,” Erik quickly reassured me.

“I know. It’s just… Letty’s mother is a real fucking bitch.”

“Uh-Oh. Linda graced you with her presence?”

“She came to visit Letty, who came to my house, who, when I leave, I have to pick up the most fattening greasy thing I can find for, pissed to hell. Then she sat on my fucking deck and started running her mouth.”

“About you?” they asked in sync.

“Oh but of course. I’ve completely and totally corrupted her daughter. Haven’t you heard? She’s gallivanting around with rock stars.”

My phone rang in my pocket. I pulled it out and checked it. Oli’s face lit up the screen, causing me to smile.

“Hey,” I greeted.

“Hello, Koraline.”

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I’m bored,” he groaned.

I chuckled.

“It’s not funny,” he whined.

“I don’t know what you expect me to do about it,” I informed him.

“I dunno. Be entertaining.”

“How?”

“That’s for you to figure out.”

“Long stretch?” I asked.

“Extremely, and I can’t fucking sleep.”

“Why not?” I asked worried.

“Just some shit, don’t worry about it,” he replied dully.

“Don’t hold your breath on that. Being the queen of there’s something wrong, I can tell that there’s obviously something wrong. At first thought maybe the road was taking its toll, but clearly not.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“And I can’t make you, but seriously, you know I’m willing to listen whenever right?”

“Yes, now can we move on? I get this shit from the guys. I don’t need it from you as well.”

“If you’re going to be an ass, I’m going to hang up and leave you to be bored.”

He sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m-“

“Kore, buyer’s here,” Erik announced.

“Shit,” I swore. I didn’t want to hang up. Mostly, because something was up, and if Oli was anything like me, being allowed to stew with his own thoughts was the last thing he needed to do.

“Alright. Here’s what you’re gonna do. You’re going to spend the next hour writing, then I’m going to introduce you to my brothers.”

“Your brothers?” he asked.

“Yep. An hour.”

I hung up and looked at Erik, who was a real estate agent. “You got forty-five minutes. Sell the mother fucker.”