“You don’t have to tell me,” I began, “but if you want to, I’d like to know what ‘never been good’ means when it comes to Tab and your Mom.”
He shook his head, looked at the view but shared, “Just always on her ass. My room’s a mess, Mom never says a word. She’s always up in Tabby’s face to clean hers. When we lived there, Mom washed my clothes. Told Tabby years ago it was her responsibility to do hers. I play music loud, Mom don’t say shit. Tabby does or she’s on the phone or somethin’, Mom shouts at her. Never leadin’ into it, she just loses it right off the bat. And, when she hit high school, it got worse.” Rush looked at me. “Tab’s popular. Gets a lot of attention. Drives Mom crazy. Mom’s convinced she’s a slut.”
His eyes grew contemplative and his gaze slid to the view.
“She’s not a slut, honey,” I said gently.
“Seein’ an older guy,” Rush muttered.
“Sometimes, you get told enough you are what you aren’t, it gets in your head and you make it a self-fulfilling prophesy even if you really aren’t that.” Rush looked back at me. “She isn’t that,” I whispered. “She’s just in trouble enough for not being it, she probably thinks she might as well do it since she’s in trouble for it anyway.”
Rush took a moment to consider this and I let him.
Then he murmured, “Makes sense.”
“Stick by her,” I urged and his back slightly straightened.
“I will, Tyra.”
And he would.
“Good, honey.”
He grinned at me, his eyes moved to the view and he took a sip of coffee before he announced, “I need more coffee. You think we gave them enough time?”
He was giving them time, like me.
Really a good kid.
But I needed more coffee too. I’d only had one cup and already a full morning. I was hitting emergency status on the caffeine level.
“You’ve been a member of this family all your life, only you can make that call,” I told him.
I got another grin and he decided, “We’ve given them enough time.”
Oh hell.
That meant it was time.
I nodded, we both stood and Rush did the gentleman thing again, letting me precede him to the door and I wished he didn’t. I was happy to drag my feet.
But we’d given them enough time. I knew this because Tack had his back to the door and it looked like he was preparing food. Tabby was close to her Dad, hip to the counter, talking to him.
I sucked in breath for courage, opened the door and walked through it.
Tack’s torso twisted and his eyes came to me. Tabby’s neck twisted and she did the same.
I opened my mouth to speak. I didn’t know what I was going to say but I did it anyway.
I didn’t get a word out.
Tabby came flying at me and this so surprised me, at first, I just stood there. Then I braced because she threw herself at me full body. I went back on a foot, my arms closing around her but her arms were already around me. Tight.
“Honey –”
“I almost got you hurt!” she wailed then shoved her face in my neck and burst out crying.
I looked at Tack. Tack tipped his head to the side.