“Why don’t you see it as you’ve got four boyfriends?” I wasn’t going to try to get her to see it any other way, and to be honest, I was bored of the same old argument. We could be going around in circles for days. It was time to move on.
“Four boyfriends?”
“Yeah. Rather than one guy getting the hots for you, you’ve got four.”
She laughed. “I’ve never had a boyfriend, let alone four.”
“Never had a boyfriend?”
She shook her head. “No, not one.”
My curiosity was raised. “Not even at your old school?”
“At River High? No. I was more interested in studying.”
“You study a lot. How come you’re not on Heather’s level?”
She smiled. “Have you just in a roundabout fashion asked me why I’m thick?”
I thought about it and shook my head. “It sounds that way but no. You study a lot.”
“Heather gets this stuff. I study a lot because it doesn’t always make a lot of sense to me. I figure the more I read and try to understand it, the better I’ll be.”
“Makes sense.”
“Yeah, Drew, my nanny, she was always so encouraging, you know.”
I nodded but I didn’t understand. All my life, I’d never had much in the way of encouragement. My folks were the kind that expected of me, and if I didn’t perform to their standard, it was a failing on me. No one else was there to take full responsibility. Looking back now, life fucking sucked big time.
“She was the one who told me that I could be and do whatever I wanted. All I had to do was put my mind to it and accept I was going to have to work hard.” She shrugged. “So I work hard.”
Drew the nanny. We still didn’t have the full background on Sian’s life.
“Is Drew not in the picture?”
“She died a couple of years ago.”
“It still hurts?”
She nodded. “Yeah, she was like my parent and my best friend.”
“It’s hard hurting someone you care about.”
“You know how it feels?”
I shook my head. We were connecting, but I wasn’t going to lie to her. “No. Thankfully.”
She put her hands on the table, and this time when I put mine on hers, she didn’t pull away.
Heather chose that moment to come in. I didn’t mind. This was progress.
Mateo, Gideon, and Dante all came in.
Mr. Connors entered and after the register, he went back over the relationship angles. We were on parental ones and to be honest, I tuned out.
My relationship with my parents wasn’t something I wanted to dwell on. I wasn’t close to them, and to be honest, I hated their guts.
The most attention my dad had shown me was over the summer when it was time for our initiation process. Even then, he continued to compare me to Gideon. I thought my dad had a hard-on for him, either that or it was the power he held.
My life had been controlled by a bunch of changing nannies. Their faces all mingled together until I reached thirteen. From there, I was able to fend for myself. I didn’t need a babysitter anymore.
Glancing over my shoulder, I looked at Sian. Did she realize she’d pulled her hair back and exposed a couple of telltale bruises? They were only the merest hint of damage, but I saw them.
The red tips of a set of fingers.
There was power here. She’d been powerless to whoever marked her. I wanted to ask her about them, knowing they came from a parent. Her mother or father? I wasn’t sure which one it was.
As I ran a hand down my face, my name being called by the teacher drew my attention.
“What?” I asked.
“Would you care to share some details of parental relationships?” Mr. Connors asked.
“No.”
“It wasn’t a choice.”
“And I’ve got nothing to share.” I lifted my head, sending him a glare. The teachers knew the score, to not mess with me. I played nice as I was asked to, but at any time, I had a short fuse and none of them would be able to fucking control it.
“What do you mean about details?” Sian asked.
“The intricate balance between a parent and a child.”
“Again, that is way too vague.”
“How can it be vague, Miss. Roberts?”
“You haven’t given us the entire story.” Sian pointed at the board.
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“We’re talking about relationships as if they can be put into any one box, when let’s face it, they really can’t. There’s no possible way. Are we assuming every single parent is good? We know that’s a lie. News articles showcase the abuse of parents to their children. There is no one way or right answer. Parents are not magically superior to their kids. Some of them are downright cruel and enforce their viewpoint on their kids. Others are neglectful, and some are perfect.”
Silence rang through the classroom at Sian’s speech.