Chapter 25: Trent

There was no denying I was tired. No, fucking exhausted from making sure Jenny was satisfied, not only at the Valentine Dance, but all weekend.

It was Monday morning, and I was about to head out to school when I saw Mom sitting down in the kitchen. She had that look on her face as she stared into space while holding her cup of coffee. It was the type which told me she was worried about something. I had a free period so I sat down to join her at the breakfast table, knowing I would get to school late. What was on her mind, I was about to find out.

“Mom,” I said softly, my hand brushing her shoulder.

“Shit!” she screamed out as she dropped her cup, and the contents of it spilled on the table.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not your fault. Just I was miles away.”

We both ran around, clearing up the mess. Luckily, she had shorts on, so it didn’t stain her clothes, only her legs. She must have been sitting there for a while because the coffee didn’t seem to hurt. Mom never lounged around in her PJs, even first thing in the morning. She would always be dressed for work or going out. She did it on automatic dial.

“Shouldn’t you be at work?”

She laughed. “Now you sound as if you’re my dad and not the other way around. I’m the parent, remember?”

I nodded, but she didn’t look at me. If anything, she moved to the other side of the kitchen, most likely to get herself another cup of coffee.

“It was cold anyway, otherwise it would have been a nasty accident. You want one?”

I shook my head, thinking she’d avoided the question, and I wasn’t in the mood to play games.

“Mom?” I asked once she finished making herself another coffee and was heading to sit down.

“I know, I know. Why am I at home? Why am I staring into space…?”

“And?”

“Sit,” she commanded, pulling a chair next to her.

“Wednesday’s the trial, and it should have been in a few months, and I was hoping that it wouldn’t be while Jenny was in school.”

“Why?” She was talking in riddles and not making much sense.

“They’ll call her. If they haven’t already done so, but they will soon, and she’ll have to testify, and I have a nasty suspicion that they will use her to get her dad off.”

“No!”

She took in a deep breath.

“They’re a nasty family. The type that will use anyone and everyone to get what they want, and somewhere in all this, my name may even pop up.”

She took a sip of her coffee, and my head started to spin at not only Jenny being involved in all this, but Mom too. “You? How?”

“It’s been leaked about the money and the account. I bet they did it just to make it look as if they were not the only one’s involved with the scam.”

“Including Kurt’s dad. He gave Jenny a threatening look at the dance, but then disappeared again.”

She choked as she took another sip of her coffee. “Yeah, he would… his dad’s reputation, money, and everything is on the line. I’m sure he’s going through a lot of stress right now.”

“Who fucking cares?”

“Yeah, we shouldn’t care, but that’s the way it goes. Just this whole thing makes me feel so unsettled. At first when you brought Jenny to the house it was all good and I wanted to help, but now it just brings back bad memories, and I don’t want to be involved.”

She didn’t even correct me on using foul language in front of her. Fuck! This was really too much for her. I knew where the conversation was heading, and why she was sitting thinking about what to do next. She was thinking about her own mental health and how she’d managed to pick herself up after dad died, and maybe just maybe, she was falling back into depression because this was too close to home.

“You want me to tell her to leave?”

I asked, getting straight to the point.

“No. Yes. Maybe. I just don’t know right now. This whole thing starts on Wednesday. You have two more months until your finals and then what will Jenny do? I could say she should leave, but let’s be frank, where will she go? At this rate she could be facing a charge herself.”

She didn’t give me a chance to answer as she said, “I’ll call Dr. Henry in the morning, the old therapist I used to see. I’ll get myself back on track and book in some sessions and make me sort out my shit. In the meantime, don’t say anything to Jenny. Let’s just try and help her out as best we can.”

I nodded in agreement, feeling uncomfortable about putting Mom in such a position because I was the one that said Jenny should stay. I suppose I was being selfish at the time, thinking about myself and not really worrying about how this would impact Mom.

“I need to get dressed and maybe go out for a walk.”

“Work?” I asked as I struggled to form a sentence. I felt as if something else was going on. Maybe Mom had lost her job.

She stood up. “I called in sick. I couldn’t concentrate on anything even if I did go in. Tomorrow’s another day. Today, I’ll just take it easy.”

“Netflix is a good healer.”

She shrugged. “Not sure about that. All it does is make your mind numb for a while as you get lost in a series or movie. Then after watching it, your mind goes back to the thing you were escaping from in the first place. It doesn’t go away. I just need one day to myself, and I’ll be fine.”

She kissed me on the head and smiled. “You’re a good boy, Trent.”

Then she left the kitchen. I didn’t feel like a good boy. The complete opposite as I realized not only had I caused a mess with Mom, but my whole family.