Lessons From the Professor

“Is he gone?”

Sutton looked up from the couch and nodded as her sister entered the room clad in a shorts and tank set.

“Good. You want to tell me what’s up with the older man, and that piece around your neck?”

“Jackson was almost eleven years older than me.”

“Yeah, eleven not twenty.”

“Sidney is only eighteen years older, and I don’t appreciate your comments.”

“Look, Sutton, I know it’s been a long time since you had a man in your bed, but that’s no reason to settle.”

“Are you sure you want to have this conversation?” Sutton asked. She was tired of biting her tongue when it came to Carissa. Her days of playing nursemaid were long gone.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You heard me. Do you really want to talk about settling in life? You’re twenty-one, still live at home with Mom, go to school part time, and flit from job to job. Your relationships read like a Tyler Perry movie, and yet you want to judge me?”

Carissa’s jaw dropped as her hazel eyes rounded.

“I can’t believe you said that! You’ve always resented me! You had to take care of me your entire life after Dad died, and it kills you that I’m so different from you and Mom.”

“No, what kills me is that you’re so irresponsible and ungrateful.”

“No one asked you to do a damn thing, Sutton!”

“You’re right, I did what needed to be done, and all I ever wanted in return was to see each of you go on to be successful.”

“Bullshit!”

“I don’t know where you get these warped views, Carissa!”

“It’s in everything you do, the way you talk to me, the disappointment in your eyes when I screw up yet again. Just because you don’t say something out loud, doesn’t mean it’s not coming across loud and clear.”

“I won’t apologize for wishing you’d grow up and make better decisions. “

“See!”

“You’re acting like a damn child, Carissa!”

“I don’t have to take this—”

“Actually, I think this is a long time coming. It’s time you got your head on straight and realize you’re not a child anymore. Mom and I aren’t always going to be there to bail you out.”

“Whatever, Sutton. I wonder what Mom would think of you and your kinky new lifestyle with your latest beau. I bet you wouldn’t be the golden child then.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That collar you have wrapped around your neck isn’t just some Goth accessory.”

Her heart pounded in her chest as her mouth went dry. She was not ready to have this conversation.

“Funny how quiet you’ve become all of a sudden. Afraid I’ll tell Mom?”

“Tell her what, Carissa? That you think the man I date ties me up in a dungeon and beats me with a whip?”

“Don’t make it sound so far-fetched.”