Fake It 'Til You Break It

I make it halfway to the can when Demi’s voice breaks through the silence of the evening, and I pause in place.

“Are you joking?” Demi laughs, scornfully.

“I don’t know what you’re so upset about,” her ma fires back.

“It’s the seventh of the month, Mom.”

“I’m aware, thank you.”

“How have you already spent all your alimony?” Demi questions. “This makes six months now you’ve asked me to give you money. Dad’s driving into town next weekend to visit. He’s going to ask me where it all went. We always go over my finances when he’s here. I had a savings started he was helping me build. Now I don’t. How am I supposed to explain this? He already called me when you overdrew my card last time, you know, when you took it without even telling me?”

“You’ll say not a word, Demi. Tell him you’re a typical teenager who loves to shop and go out to fancy lunches and things. Tell him you want to live the life he promised us when you were five.”

“You mean the life you live, the life he promised you that he worked his ass off to give you while you sat back constantly telling him it wasn’t enough?!” Demi shouts, but I’d almost say anger is absent from her tone. “I don’t want to live like you. I don’t need to.”

“You have no idea what life is. You’re going to be hit with a rude awakening one day and see it all through my eyes.” There’s a long pause before her mom continues. “It’s no wonder you lost the boy to that floozy friend of yours.”

Whoa, what?

“Don’t start.”

“Then wake up before it’s too late, and she ends up pregnant or something stupid!”

“I don’t understand what you’re playing at, Mom. You give me your little speech that comes after every outing with Clara, before you go, and then you approach Nico about me, for what? To make sure I have a back-up plan you can’t stick your nose up at?” Sarcasm drips from her words, but more so than that, she sounds tired. Fed up with... life, maybe. Like me.

“I have every right to worry about the wellbeing of my daughter. If I have to intervene in areas, I will. I spoke to Krista’s father before the party, we had a long conversation and he shared he sees a lot of the young man,” her mother says in a plummy voice. “I wasn’t aware he and Trent were such great friends.”

“What?”

“It wasn’t a big deal, I kindly asked him if he could ensure the boy’s room was beside yours, is all.”

Good looking out, lady.

“Of course you did,” Demi says monotone. “What did you say to Nico, Mom? That your daughter is weak and needy because she wishes her mom would be around more?”

“You act as if you don’t enjoy the freedom you have.”

“What did you say to him?”

“All I asked was for him to make sure you were safe since you went alone. I have to say, he was rather eager.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“It was only a little fun I thought I’d try out, some healthy competition to see if we could evoke jealousy.”

“You... what?!”

“Honey, we have to get the ball rolling.”

“It’s never going to happen. Like ever. You’re insane and you don’t listen to anything I say!”

My head tugs back.

What the fuck are they talking about?

“You know what,” Demi adds after a long second, defeat driving her words. “I don’t know why I asked, I should be thanking you.”

“That’s what I keep trying to tell you.” The smug smile in her mother’s tone is easily caught.

She didn’t pick up on her daughter’s hurt at all.

Does she even know her?

“No, I mean I should thank you for talking to Nico.”

Silence stretches a moment, so I move closer to the fence until I can see through.

There’s a tight crease at the edge of her mom’s eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

“Me and Nico, we had fun at Krista’s party and we’ve been having fun since.”

Her mom lifts her head, squares her shoulders. “That... is great then. He’s a fine boy, promising athlete.”

Demi shakes her head and the two stare at each other before her mom speaks again.

“Right, well, I’ll be—”

“Back in a few days even though this is the first I’ve seen you since you got home last night?” Demi finishes for her, an unexpected helplessness woven in her words. “Yeah, Mom, I know the drill.”

She stares at Demi a moment before giving a small nod. “There’re groceries in the fridge you can make something with. I’ll be grabbing your card from your wallet on my way out.”

Her mom disappears into the house, while Demi drops her head back to look at the sky.

With a defeated sigh, she sets her phone on the lounger and walks to the edge of the pool. She steps out, penciling straight into the water with every piece of clothing still on.