Pitch Episode 26: Saturday Night
#30 of Pitch
So my parents were separated for at least five years. During that time, their relationship went through phases, and I was always there to see them. After I was busted for using magic to travel to STR with Wes, my dad wasn't happy with my mother. Sure, I was grounded for a few weeks, but in the grand scheme of things, traveling to New Mexico wasn't the worst thing I'd ever done. At least not in my opinion. It might have been top 5. But my mother, on the other hand, had a history of lying, manipulating, stealing, and breaking the rules. Using a spell she gave me was nothing compared to her giving me a spell to use.
During my weeks of house arrest, my parents saw more of one another than usual. At first, I'm sure their conversations were about me, but after my probationary period was over and I was able to go out again, I noticed they were still talking.
And it wasn't constant arguments.
Even after everything that happened between Nerf and me, they stayed closer together than anything I could remember.
My parents were back together.
They didn't tell me, but I knew. The walls at Dad's place were too thin for me to avoid hearing their "reconnecting." Don't get me wrong; the kid in me was happy to see my parents potentially getting back together. I was glad to see them happy. On the other hand, I didn't need to be around to witness their sparks rekindling. While I was sick, I had no other choice but to stand it. Being a literal rabbit, I think it held significant weight when I said my parents were like a couple of rabbits whenever they were alone.
My cold eventually passed. I had it in me to leave the house again, so I decided whenever Mom came over, I would go to a friend's house.
"So you knew about The Ring, and you didn't tell me?" I asked.
"I didn't think it was safe. It's a club for the creature community, and you weren't always a rabbit," Wes admitted.
I could have gone next door and spent time at Velmer's place, but Wes hadn't seen me all week.
"Besides, they wouldn't take you, so I didn't want anything to do with them," he added.
"They want me now," I said.
It was Saturday night. I was spending the night over my boyfriend's house. His parents were out of town. My parents were at home doing things I didn't want to think about. We were raiding the kitchen for something to eat, but as the night grew old, there was an implication forming in the air.
"And you're thinking about it," Wes asked as he tossed me a bag of chips.
"I might, Nerf made it sound good," I said.
"If you ask me, it's more trouble than it's worth."
"How so?"
"Until you're an actual member, they can ask you to do anything to prove your serious," Wes said before popping open a can of soda and chugging half of it.
"Like a cult?" I asked jokingly.
"I think it's more like a fraternity," he said as I took his soda and finished it.
"So a cult?" I continued to joke until a sudden burp cut my laugh.
The silence that followed ended the conversation abruptly. Wes shut the fridge, and instead of tossing me whatever it was he grabbed for us to eat, he walked it over to me. He cornered me in the crook of the kitchen counter behind me, and before I could set anything down, he kissed me. It wasn't one of our usual awkward kisses. We were alone. It went on for a while. I forgot about the food. I forgot about The Ring. I forgot about my parents.
We were alone all night.