My Bestfriend's Brother Is My Tutor

It was a perfect night for everyone. It was supposed to be but I couldn't hold my attention enough to be immersed in the night. There was a lot going on. A lot for one to be immersed in. Li

n't stay long enough to watch me turn three because his other family needed him. It was either they needed him more or he needed them more because I only saw the man during some holidays. He wasn't even my dad. He was just the man who I occasionally bumped into thrice in a year. I didn't get why mom still let him have access to our house. I would prefer running into him at public places like the library or mall but it only happened at home. It felt like he was intruding on stuff he shouldn't be having access to. Sometimes if I was extra unlucky, I would bump into him in my mom's room. Those were my worst ones. It was embarrassing to even think about it. Embarrassing and disgusting. The last time I asked mom why Jerome-that was my father's name-still came around and slept in her room when he was in town, mom had simply told me that they were not the perfect couple and so they couldn't be understood. It was a stupid answer then but now, I was agreeing with what she had said. Mom was right. They were so far from being the perfect couple. They were the absolute worst and no couple on planet Earth could take that title from them-that is if they should even be considered a couple. Jerome wasn't my dad. Flynn did a better job at being a father to me. The plates on my table were snatched by crystal, accessorized hands. "You okay?" Patricia asked. "You seem distracted." "Yeah." I didn't sound convincing so I sat up and tried to sound convincing "Yeah. I'm good." "Hmm mmm. Whatever you say. How's your mom?" "She's good." "Does she know you're spending Thanksgiving with us?" "She doesn't care." I tried to laugh it off but Patricia was so good at seeing the sadness and a cry to be cared for in my eyes. "You have us. You have me," Patricia said. She had set the pile of plates on the table so she could rub my forearms. "Thank you. I need some water." "Oh yeah, check the kitchen. The ones outside have finished." I jumped from the stool, nodded one last time at Patricia, and walked back into the house, just as I heard Lisa giggling. On some days, it was exceptionally hard to not be jealous of all that Lisa had. I loved her so dearly but love didn't make you look away from what other people had. Sometimes you loved them so much more because you loved what they had. It was a messed up and twisted thing to be thinking so I shut down the thoughts with several gulps of my water. "Who are you?" The water bounced off my lips just as I heard those words. They caused me to tremble with fear and shock, combining to bring my muscles to a halt and into a frenzy. It was a miracle that I was still holding the bottle when I spun at the sound of the voice. A rough mixture of words like the surface of the hairbrush mom let me borrow whenever I was at home. Rough and full, taking up space around me and in me. I didn't recognize the voice and I didn't