Family Ties Read Online Free PDF Page B

once. “I don’t know. She’s not my Parker.” He stands, picking up his backpack. “Catch you girls later.”
    “Bye, Jason,” we say in unison.
    Arissa reaches over, studying my cast as soon as he is gone. “Now tell me he doesn’t like you.”
    “Shut up!” I exclaim, half-joking.
    “And you like him too!” she teases.
    “Shut up!”
    “No, you shut up!” We giggle together.
    “Okay, he’s cute,” I admit. “But he has a girlfriend.”
    “Ah ha!”
    “What?”
    “You do like him,” she says, eyes gleaming
    I roll my eyes at her. “You know my parents. If I paid any attention to boys and mentioned it to them, I don’t even want to know what would happen.”
    Boys are unfamiliar territory. I don’t know how to read the cues, because I never had to before. I know what it’s like in the fictional worlds I read about, but this is the real world. In the real world, spending time with him at lunch makes me happy and I look forward to seeing him.
    Jason is a friend. The only one I have besides Arissa.
    I know that if I do like him, I’m not equipped for it.
     
    I practice what to ask Mother over and over in my head while I do my chores. She arrives home with Victoria in tow while I’m working on my homework. I leave my room and follow her to her bedroom.
    “Mother.”
    “What?’ she asks irritably while changing her clothes.
    “I have a question.”
    “Ask and stop wasting my time,” she snaps, unbuttoning her blouse.
    I say it before I lose my nerve. “There’s a boy at school who talks to me and I think I might like him.”             
    She points her finger at me. “You stay away from him.”
    “But, Mo-“
    “Boys are nothing but trouble!” she screams. “Just look at your drunk ass father.”
    “But this boy is nice, Mother.”
    Her eyes flare. “Sure they all seem nice to start off. But all he wants from you is between your legs.”
    She’s not making sense to me. “What?”
    “Enough questions!” she yells, stalking into her bathroom and slamming the door behind her.
    So much for answers. All she gave me was more questions.
    I tap on the door.
    “What now?”
    “Can I go to Arissa’s?”
    “Is your homework done?”
    “I need to work on a project with her.”
    The ease of lying goes both ways. 
    “Fine,” she grumbles.
    “Can I stay for dinner if they ask?”
    “Yes! Now leave me alone!”
    I gather my homework and hurry to Arissa’s. Andrew answers the door.
    “Would it be okay if I finished my homework with Riss?” I ask.
    “Of course.” He lets me in. “Arissa!” His voice booms.
    I jump back and freeze.
    Andrew sets a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Sometimes I forget how loud my voice really is.”
    I inhale deeply and smile. “That’s okay.”
    Arissa comes out of the dining room. “Hey!”
    “Hey. I could use some help with my homework.”
    We go up to her room and settle down on the floor. “So what do you need help with?” she asks.
    “I don’t really need help, I just wanted out of the nut house. Mother was having one of her episodes. It got worse when I tried to talk to her about Jason.”
    “Oh,” she says, hushed.
    “Yeah.”
    “Do you want me to get my mom?”
    Rose is easy to talk to, showing genuine interest in me when I spend time at their house. I don’t need to think about whether or not I want to talk to her about Jason. “Sure.”
    She spends half an hour talking to me and Arissa about sex and relationships. I’m lost in thought by the end of the conversation.
    “Are you okay?” Rose asks.
    “Yeah. It’s just a lot to think about.”
    “I know it is. But you and Arissa now know more than my parents ever told me.”
     
    The house is dark when I return home.
    I head to the kitchen and open the refrigerator, grabbing the bottle of apple juice. When I turn around, Father smacks me in the face and the juice container falls, hitting the ground with a dull thud.
    “What—“