Chapter 13
Jake
“Absolutely not,” I say, still shaking grass and dirt off of my flannel before finally just taking it off and tossing it into the laundry room.
“Why not? She said I could come over any time I wanted more moves.” Cami asks, sounding more like a toddler than a teenager.
“Because she’s a fucking psycho. And we don’t know her. You think your mom would like the idea of me letting you go over to the new neighbor’s house when I don’t even fucking know her name?”
“I know her name,” Cami says. There’s the teenager again. The know-it-all attitude that gets her in trouble more often than not. “It’s Scarlett.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and let out a slow exhale.
“Knowing her name is not the point. I don’t know who she is, where she came from or that she’s a safe adult for you to be around.
For all I know she’s an escaped fugitive and she used the move she just did on me on the guard when she escaped. ”
Cami levels a look at me that I swear I’ve seen her mom give a thousand times. “She does not look like an escaped fugitive.”
I roll my eyes. “Again, not the fucking point. We don’t know her. You’re not going over there alone. Ever.” As soon as I close my mouth I recognize the mistake I made and it takes a half of a second for Cami to call me on it.
“Great, then you can go with me and I won’t be alone.” Her face has perked up, looking the happiest I’ve seen her all day. It tugs on my stupid uncle's heart and almost, almost makes me give in but I stand my ground.
“No.” The word comes out simple, slow, and sternly. I may not say it often to sweet little Cami but this feels like a time to stick with it.
I expect her to argue with me some more but she mutters the word fine under her breath and goes to her room. I refrain from commenting on the way she slammed the door because she dropped the argument.
Back outside I do my walk through the greenhouse, my mind spinning. Today began like any other day but it’s not even dinner time and I am mentally exhausted. It’s days like this that I wish my dad was still here.
When I left for college, I never thought I’d be back.
I ran to the farthest spot on the coast I could get to and figured that was where I would stay.
Typical small town boy needs to see the world bullshit.
I laugh at that thought. I didn’t even see the world.
I applied to every school I could think of that was on either coast and when I was accepted I loaded everything I could fit into my old car and ran.
I tried to convince myself that I liked the west coast. That I liked the briney smell in the air, the fact that sand somehow got everywhere, no matter how hard I tried not to.
I tried not to miss the mountains. Sure, there are mountains in California but not where I landed.
When I was in school, I focused on my studies.
Once I got what I thought was my dream job once I graduated college, I gave that company all of my time.
I only took two vacations in ten years and one of them was because I had to have surgery for ulcers.
Looking back, I can’t believe I didn’t see how miserable I was.
All because I was so stubborn that I thought anything would be better than what I had.
I shake my head, in reality, I had no idea what I really had.
I could kick myself for wasting those years being away from Dad.
When I came back I saw my dad in a different light.
He wasn’t the man he was when I left. He was fragile, something I’d never thought my dad could be.
It didn’t happen right away but the more time I spent here, the more I leaned in and relied on my dad.
The less time he had left the more I wanted him to pour any and all wisdom he had.
I tried to take it all in but no matter what, it just wasn’t enough.
I wonder sometimes if Amelia has these thoughts too.
Sure, she didn’t disappear for a decade but she also didn’t get to see dad be a grandpa for very long.
I pluck a leaf off of a cucumber plant. It’s brown and curled up and I make a mental note to give this raised bed more attention as I give it some extra water and then leave the greenhouse.
For some reason I thought that maybe if I gave her some space, Cami might come join me outside after she cooled down.
Or at least go hang out with the chickens or Henrietta.
But when I come back inside I see her bedroom door still closed.
My stomach rumbles and I gather up the ingredients to make Cami’s favorite dish.
I get some water boiling on the stove and chop up some chicken and work towards making chicken alfredo.
In case this doesn’t work I whip up a batch of brownies.
If I know anything about my niece it’s that she can’t resist chocolate and I’m not above bribery to get her out of that room and talking to me again.
Thirty minutes later with the smell of brownies wafting through the air, Cami slowly opens her door.
I win.