Loving You Differently

Eleven

Aria Adkins

Austin: Lucas just dropped an entire case of beer. Again.

An unattractive snort escapes me as I read over Austin's text.

Aria: Isn't that the third time this week? Things seem to be falling apart without me... starting to think I'm the backbone of Vice.

His text comes through within seconds and I laugh when it flashes across my cracked phone screen.

Austin: You're right. Need you back ASAP. I'm losing my mind.

Aria: Be back tomorrow night. I'll be expecting a pay raise and a manager position ;)

Austin: It's yours. Can't wait.

"Are you even listening to me?" Savannah asks.

I turn my phone over and place it on the kitchen table. "Nope," I admit.

She huffs. "I was trying to tell you that I joined drama club yesterday. We meet in the afternoons so I'll be getting home really late."

"Drama club? Sav, you hate musical theatre," I laugh.

"Musical theatre is for pussies! Join the dance team," Mom chimes from her sprawled out position on the couch.

Beside her, Dina laughs so hard she chokes and ends up coughing violently, puffs of cigarette smoke escaping her lips and wafting into the air.

I roll my eyes and look over at Savannah. "What made you want to join drama club anyway?"

She shifts uneasily in her seat and avoids my stare. "I just wanted to try something new. You're always working and I'm always home alone, and I don't want my friends to see where we live."

Guilt slams into me. "I'm sorry. I wish I wasn't working all the time, but we need the money. Maybe I should leave RJ's and start working at Vice full time? I can-"

"No! No, it's fine. You're right, we need the money. I'll get over it," she exclaims.

"Are you sure? Because I can-"

"No," she says firmly, "and plus, you really like RJ's. You've been there forever. I won't let you quit."

I sigh and lean back in my chair. "Okay," I say begrudgingly.

I peer over at my mom and Dina, the both of them sprawled across the furniture with glazed eyes as they stare blankly at a Wheel of Fortune re-run.

"Ya know, it'd be really helpful if you could get off your ass and stop spending all of our money on booze," I say pointedly.

Mom snorts and points her lit cigarette at me, the smoke clouding her sunken face. "I gave birth to you heathens. I can walk in and out of this house and do as I damn well please."

This time, Savannah snorts. "That doesn't mean shit! Just because you give birth to someone doesn't mean you're a parent. Much less a decent one."

"Maeve are you gonna let her talk to you like that? If she was my kid, I'd have her face under the kitchen faucet with dishwashing liquid down her throat," Dina grunts.