"But it's not fair." Addy drops her fork, and it falls against her plate with a clatter. "You said that if I finished the tour this year, I could spend senior year at a normal high school, with regular kids."
I cut my steak and stare at my plate, uncertain whether to remain silent or if Addison would get mad at me for defending her. Or whether I should just go get stoned with my friends. The last option sounds a hell of a lot better than my current situation.
"You cannot be that na?ve, Addison," her mother says, looking at her with contempt. Addy's mother Wendy – forever known to me as the Wicked Bitch -- doesn't bother to look at me at all. It's apparently beneath her. It's beyond me how someone so damn white trash can see anyone as being beneath her, but she somehow manages to convey her contempt for pretty much everyone on a regular basis. Some people at least make a pretense of being tolerant and kind, and you only find out later that they're assholes. But not the Wicked Bitch. She was terrible from the very beginning, so I guess it's right that she ended up with my father. "I find it hard to believe you're that stupid."
"Yeah, I guess it was na?ve to think that I could be happy," Addy says.
"Addison," the Colonel interrupts. It's about time, I think. My father isn't the best parent, to put it mildly, but at least he has moments of non-assholery. "One thing that you'll learn in life is personal happiness is overrated."
"That's it?" I ask, not bothering to stifle my bitter laugh. "Happiness is overrated? That's your best advice? For Christ's sake, she's asking to go to public school, not talking about running off to live in a commune. It's not really that big of a deal."
"Stay out of this, Hendrix," the Colonel warns.
"Or what?" I ask. "You'll ship me off to military school again? Been there, done that, sir. News flash – the military academy doesn't want me back. So you're shit out of luck. You're stuck here with me."
"And clearly, you learned nothing from the experience," he says. He gives me a hard look. "As much as I prefer the Army, at least the Marines will instill some discipline in you."
I suck in a deep breath and glance at Addy. Please don't let her realize what he just said, I pray silently. I haven't told her. I keep meaning to tell her, but then I don't. It never seems like the right time to give someone that kind of news. She'll hate me.
Or maybe she won't give a shit, I think. Because she doesn't care and it's all in my head. That's my real fear.
Addy turns her head slowly to look at me. "The Marines," she says flatly. "What is he talking about?"
"Oh, your stepbrother is joining the Marines," Addy's mother says, dismissing me with a wave of her hand. "I thought you already knew. And anyway, I thought you might have another fit about public school. That's why I found you a private option. It's not a tutor, before you get all upset. It's an actual private option for children who have a lifestyle like ours."
I hear Addy's mother speaking, but her words don't sink into my brain. My head is swimming, and I'm just looking at Addy, who shakes her head slowly at me. "Addy," I start, as she stands up and throws her napkin down on her barely-touched steak. "I meant to tell – "
"Fuck you, Hendrix," she says, her voice steady and calm but I can see her eyes brimming with tears. "Fuck all of you."
"Addison Stone," her mother says. "That is inappropriate and –"
"Let her go," the Colonel says, his hand on his wife's arm. "Teenagers and their emotions."
"She's not emotional," I hiss. "Both of you are just assholes."
"Hendrix Cole," my father bellows. But his voice gets softer because I'm already walking away, walking after Addy, through the dining room and the hallway. I look for her in her bedroom and then the music room, even though I know she won't be there. I find her outside, walking across the yard, her back turned to me.
"Addy," I yell. She picks up speed when I call to her.
"Leave me alone, Hendrix."
I stomp through the grass, increasingly irritated with my father for dropping that little bombshell about me joining the Marines. I'm also irritated with myself for not telling her before. I should have just manned up and told her. "Addy, come on," I yell. "Stop and let me catch up."
"I'm not kidding, Hendrix." But she pauses, because she's at the edge of the property, and there's nowhere else to go beyond the set of trees, except down the ravine.
"Addy."
"Just go." She's facing away from me, her arms crossed in front of her, and I can't just fucking turn around and walk away.
I come up behind her, pull on her wrist, even though she tries to shrug me off, and I spin her around to face me. She looks down at the ground beside us, at anything but me. "I was going to tell you, Addy," I say. "I just...shit, I didn't know how."
"Why?" she asks, her voice cracking.
"I...just...couldn't come up with the right words, okay?" I say. "I kept looking for the right time, but it wasn't ever the right time."
"Family dinner was a perfect fucking time," she says. "Hearing it from your dad was just awesome."