what I know about Peyton’s home life, it’s not a stretch to see the links here.
She seems calmer as she watches the flame from her lighter eat through each leaf, though I wish I could get her to stop. I’m worried that sometime she’ll be careless and get in trouble, or maybe the fire will get out of control and she—or someone else—will get hurt. At least now I’m there to keep an eye on her and make sure that she’s safe.
Around four we head back home. Dad’s car is in the driveway and he’s inside, planted in his usual spot on the couch, watching TV.
“Hey, Dad,” I say, making for the stairs with Peyton.
“Whoa, slow it down. I wanna talk to you.”
I motion for Peyton to go up without me, and then I sit down in the chair across from Dad. A small puff of dust rises from the cushions, and the particles shimmer in the sunlight. Sadly, my mom was probably the last one who dusted around here.
“What’s up? Did you get your job back?” I ask, hoping that’s what this heart-to-heart is about.
“Yeah, I did.”
“That’s great! I told you if you talked to them they’d listen to reason.”
“Don’t pat yourself on the back too hard. They put me on probation. I have to go to AA meetings twice a week, and if they catch me drinking again, I’m out. It’s a bunch of bullshit, but it’s a paycheck, so there’s that.” He locks eyes with me and crosses his arms. “But that’s not what I wanna talk about. I got a strange call from the school today. You know anything about that?”
So many ways to play this… I swallow and shake my head. “No,” I say. “Strange how?”
“I mean, they called to see how you were feeling.”
I try to play it cool so I don’t go off at the mouth like I usually do. “How I’m feeling? That’s weird. What’s up with that?”
“Apparently they were concerned, because they seemed to think you might have encephalitis.”
“Encephalitis? That’s like…a brain inflammation, right?” I let out an exaggerated laugh. “That’s crazy. You know how big the high school is. They must have me mixed up with some other kid with a similar name.”
“That’s what I said, but here’s the kicker. I asked the lady how she’d heard that, and she told me I called you in sick this morning.”
As if on cue, my diarrhea of the mouth kicks in. “That’s ridiculous. You’d think they’d keep better records of whose parents called in. Clearly somebody at the attendance office was hitting the sauce this morning. Man, you could totally freak out a parent by saying shit like that. They’d think their kid is really sick.”
“That’s what I said. I told her you were at school today, so it had to be a mistake. But she tells me it’s no friggin’ mistake. That you were most definitely not in school today.”
He’s not amused anymore. In fact, his face is piss serious and I know I’m screwed.
“Dad, I—”
“I won’t tolerate lies, Hank. I won’t be disrespected like that. I won’t be made a fool of when the school calls and you aren’t where you’re supposed to be.”
“I’m sorry, Dad.” The words come out just above a whisper.
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you coming and going at crazy hours. I found a matchbook for a hookah lounge in the laundry. I certainly haven’t been to a hookah lounge. What are you getting mixed up in, Hank?”
Jesus, the matches. I’d forgotten I’d shoved them in my pocket each time Peyton dropped them on the ground. “Nothing, Dad. I swear. I can explain everything.”
“What, you’re going to tell me more lies?” He points upstairs in the direction of my room. “Does this have to do with that girl upstairs, Hank? Because I told you, I don’t want any trouble. And I can assure you that’s all that girl is going to bring you.”
I shake my head. “You don’t even know her, Dad. You don’t know the situation.”
“Something’s not right. Those bruises, that hair… That ain’t normal. She may have gotten cleaned up, but whatever she’s going through is beyond anything you and I can fix.”
Like he’s ever tried to fix anything or anyone in his entire life. His comment pisses me off, but I hold it together. “Well, it doesn’t mean I’m not going to try to.” He raises an eyebrow, but before he can launch into another lecture, I say, “I took Peyton to see