Karmin by Chance McGuire

Author:Chance McGuire [McGuire, Chance]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chance McGuire
Published: 2016-04-14T04:00:00+00:00

19

We sat at the kitchen table, Connor across from me, and his father across from my mother. Father Moore did everything in his power to avoid looking at me, or anywhere close to where I was sitting. It was all the crosses and religious paintings on the walls that made me really nervous, though. Multiple times, Connor bumped his father under the table and motioned to me, but Mr. Moore ignored him, taking another bite of his food each time.

My mother smiled and pretended not to notice Father Moore’s disinterest in me. I did, too, but it wasn’t working so much in my favor. “So, is there a Mrs. Moore?”

All smiles fell into a dark abyss. Even I knew not to ask that. I looked my mom up and down; she wasn’t drunk. Not a drop in her, only because of my trip to the hospital. Because she knew I needed her to stay sober.

I reached under the table and held her hand in mine. We shared a smile before Father Moore spoke again.

“There was a Mrs. Moore, but she passed away when Connor was eleven.” He folded his cloth napkin after dabbing his lips. “I’m sorry, please excuse me for a moment.” Father Moore left the room, and then his son did, too, running to check up on him.

“Why did you have to ask that?”

“I didn’t know,” my mother answered, squeezing my hand this time. We released our holds on one another. “I’m really sorry. I know you and Connor have—are a thing, and I just—”

“Woah,” I said, meeting her gaze. “Connor and I are just friends.”

“Really,” she asked, “does he know that?”

After Connor came back in, I looked at his appearance. Fancy clothes, really fancy. He’d shaved recently, plucked his eyebrows, even. All for this dinner. All for me. Shit, my mother was right. How was I going to break it to him, though? It wouldn’t be right, not after what my mom had asked. Not after what she’d put his father through. Maybe tomorrow.

“He’ll be fine,” Connor assured us, taking his seat again. He looked up to me. “So, how was your trip to the emergency room?”

“Delightful,” I answered, avoiding his eye contact now. How had I not seen it before? My mother had noticed it, Connor’s father had noticed it. Even Layla had seen it. For a moment, I had too, then threw it away. I didn’t see it because I didn’t want to see it. I didn’t want to be a relationship ruiner or a whore. Or at the end of Connor’s ex-girlfriend list.

Relationships never lasted. I looked over to my mom, even she had ended one. And she hadn’t even had the guts to own up to it and tell me, her only daughter. Her only heir. Why didn’t she trust me with the truth? Why didn’t dad answer his phone when I called?

“Karmin,” Connor said, reaching across the table. I looked to my mother, but she was gone. Vanished into thin air. “Karmin, are you alright?”

What happened? “I’m fine.

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