Loving Jared - Nikita Slater Page 0,5

in later and later each night.

"Don't you mean, where was I?" he asked sarcastically.

Teagan was spoiling for a fight. Amy wasn't in the mood, but she couldn't allow him to speak to her disrespectfully. He was setting a bad example for his younger siblings.

Amy wiped her hands on a dishtowel and turned to look at her brother. "Fine, where were you?"

"None of your business." He turned to leave the kitchen.

"Teagan, I think we need to talk." It was the last thing Amy wanted to do. She wanted to finish the dishes, take a bath and go to bed. She had to start work at 5:00 am and at the rate she was going, she was only going to get a few hours of sleep before she had to get up and catch the bus to the factory.

Teagan rounded on her, glaring as he threw himself into a chair. "Fine, say what you want to say. You're going to anyway."

"What does that mean?" Amy demanded.

"It means, you act like some kind of dictator around here. Telling us what to do, where to go, how to behave. I'm sick of it."

"Teagan, except for the dictator part, you’re describing what parents do," Amy said gently, sinking into a chair across from him. "I'm not trying to boss you around. I'm trying my best to replace our parents."

"But you're not our parents!" Teagan shouted. Amy froze, hoping the girls didn't wake up. "You suck at being them. You never do anything right. You barely make enough money at your stupid job for us to live. I'm tired of things sucking so bad all the time. I never get anything extra and I have to listen to someone who’s only a few years older than me. Why? Because some stupid social services workers said I have to?"

Amy tried to blink the tears away. Teagan had a point. Life wasn't easy for them. She'd hoped that their love for each other would be enough to get them through the tough times, but she knew that there were many things she was failing at. She couldn't make birthdays or Christmases spectacular, the way they'd been when their parents were together in the house. She couldn't buy extras. No fancy foods, no meals out, no friends over.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." She tried to sound mature, tried to give him what she hoped he needed, but inside she was a boiling pit of guilt, anger and sadness. Her parents had done this to them. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't dig the family out of poverty. All they had was each other and the house. "I'm willing to talk to you about changing things. You don't need to abide by the same rules as our sisters. You're almost a legal adult. We can talk about loosening some of the restrictions."

In reality, Teagan had very few restrictions already, a result of his rebellious nature and Amy's inability to lay down the law with him. Still, her words didn't diffuse his anger.

"It's too late, I'm done. I'm done with this house, done with you and the girls." His voice cracked a little on the last word. Teagan really did love his sisters, even if he was angry at the world.

"What does that mean?" Amy asked. "What do you mean by you’re done?"

He shoved his chair back and stood. "I mean I'm done living here. I hate it. I hate living in the same house where Dad…" He didn't finish the sentence, instead changing the subject. "I'm gonna go live with a friend for a while. Then I'll figure something out."

Amy stood too, alarm crossing her features. "Absolutely not! You can't go live somewhere else. You're still seventeen. You still have to reside under my care."

He glared at her. "Fuck off. I'm leaving."

The tears escaped Amy's eyes as her brother swore at her. It wasn't the first time, but it didn't get any easier to take each time it happened. He snatched his backpack off the floor and stormed down to his bedroom. Minutes later he came back upstairs with his backpack and another bag, probably filled with clothes. Without a backward glance or a goodbye, he slammed out of the house.

Amy sank back into her seat and let the tears fall.

Four

"Enrico called, said the Ghosts got our message. They sent a message back. They say the death of Buffalo makes us even."

It took Jared a moment to re-adjust his thinking, away from his curvy black-haired neighbour to