It didn’t quite sit right that Janelle was being punished for Veronica’s misdeeds, but after a lot of apologizing and basic ass-kissing with the promise of a nice donation to the new library under construction, Mr. Cresten agreed to rescind her entire suspension. Oh, and I also had to promise that Veronica would not be allowed on school grounds again.
Fine by me.
I don’t want her around my sister again, no matter how damn good she kisses. I need someone responsible and mature who will watch Janelle when I’m gone.
Slipping the key in the lock, I open the door and immediately see Janelle and Veronica in the kitchen. I smell garlic and tomatoes and onion, and my stomach rumbles.
I disable the alarm and rearm it after shutting the door. My rule with Janelle is the alarm is on at all times. By the time I turn back around, both women are looking at me from the kitchen. Janelle’s wearing an expression of extreme worry, and Veronica looks guarded.
They have no clue I know about Janelle’s suspension, and I’m annoyed that Janelle didn’t bother to tell me but left it up to Mr. Cresten to deliver the bad news.
Letting my duffel bag slide to the floor, I wait in the living room as Janelle approaches, Veronica behind her.
“Welcome back,” she says, attempting a bright tone but failing miserably. “You played a great game last night.”
“Thanks,” I reply, and I wait her out.
“So… um… I got in some trouble at school,” she says, and I give her credit. She doesn’t let her gaze drop in fear or embarrassment.
“Let me guess,” I drawl, my voice dripping with displeasure. “You punched a girl and got a week’s suspension.”
Janelle’s mouth sags open. “Mr. Cresten called you.”
“The bigger question is, why didn’t you?” I ask, but I don’t give her an opportunity to reply as my simmering anger overflows like lava. “How could you be so stupid as to hit another person at school?”
Janelle blanches, and Veronica steps forward. “Hey… don’t talk to her like that.”
I whirl on Veronica, pointing a finger. “You don’t have a say. You totally overstepped your bounds at Janelle’s school, and it’s your fault she got a week’s suspension versus only three days. Mr. Cresten was appalled at the way you talked to him, and it was an embarrassment to Janelle.”
Veronica flushes but it’s Janelle who responds. “Don’t you dare blame any of this on Veronica,” she snarls. “And stop being an asshole. It’s beneath you.”
“An asshole?” I snarl right back at her. “After the way Veronica acted yesterday in the principal’s office, you dare judge my behavior?”
“You have no clue how she acted,” Janelle yells, tears glistening in her eyes. “Because you weren’t there, and you only got Mr. Cresten’s side of the story. And clearly you believed him and don’t care a damn about what really happened.”
Those words strike deep in my gut because she’s not wrong. I took him at his word, but why shouldn’t I?
Then again, why wouldn’t I want to give my sister the benefit of the doubt?
I glance at Veronica, and I know she’s the reason why. It’s easier for me to blame her because I can’t stand the fact that I kissed her, that since then, she’s plagued my thoughts. I think, subconsciously, I saw this as a way to get her out of our lives.
“I wish I’d never come to live with you!” Janelle exclaims. “At least back home, I knew exactly what I was dealing with.”
Janelle spins and dashes through the living room and down the hall. I hear her bedroom door slam.
Sighing, I scrub a hand through my hair and my eyes slide to Veronica. I half expect her to go after Janelle, because she clearly has a better connection with my sister than I do.
Instead, she walks right up to me, tips her head back, and says, “She’s right, you know.”
“About what?”
“You really are an asshole.”
And with that, Veronica moves past me, grabs her purse from the foyer table, and walks out. I follow after her silently, merely to lock the front door behind her and reset the alarm.
With heavy feet, I make my way to Janelle’s room and knock on the closed door. When I hear nothing of an invitation, I twist the knob and push it open. I find her on her bed, sitting against the headboard, a pillow hugged to her chest, with her legs outstretched, crossed at the ankle.
“I am an asshole,” I say to break the ice.
“That makes three of us who think it, then.” Clearly, she heard Veronica call me the same before she left.
Cautiously, I moved to the side of her bed and sit on the bottom corner, angling my body toward her. “Want to tell me what happened?”
My sister glares at me. “Do you really want to know? Because you’re very good at jumping to conclusions without having the full story.”