Is that even possible anymore?
“What are you doing?” My mom waves to me from the front door of her home.
I’ve been sitting in the driveway, trying to build up the courage to go inside and face the wrath of her and my stepdad. Before I left to come here, I practiced hiding my piercing by having conversations with myself in the mirror. I tried talking with my teeth closed, without moving my lips, and concluded that there’s no hiding this thing. The in-your-face approach is the best way to handle this.
“Sorry!” I roll up my window and shut the car off. “I can do this.”
She meets me at my car when I hop out and wraps me in a hug. “I swear you seem older every time I see you!”
“Mom, it’s been a week.”
“I know, but still.” She pulls back, but hooks her arm around my waist. “Come on. Jack’s inside and the last time I left him alone for too long, he wound up drowning his army guys in the toilet.”
I snag my purse and hit the key fob to lock my doors. “Where’s Blake?”
“He’s on his way. Don’t worry.” She squeezes me. “He’d never miss dinner with you.”
We break apart to climb the few steps up to the front door. Mom and Blake moved from their condo into a very comfortable home in one of the nicer Vegas suburbs. It’s a ranch-style home on a huge chunk of land with the biggest backyard I’ve ever seen complete with a pool, basketball court, and a guesthouse, which Blake turned into a man cave. It’s the perfect house for the perfect family. I frown and push through the front door. I really am happy for them.
“Jackie Bear, where is your diaper?” My mom’s giggle filters through the high-ceilinged entryway. “God, you’re just like your father.”
“Ass-ole!” Jack still can’t say my name. I sigh as a streak of blond and naked comes racing toward me. “Ass-ole!” He crashes into my shins, nearly taking me off my feet.
“Whoa, buddy!” I scoop him up and he immediately melts into me. “You’re a little tank.”
He rests his head on my shoulder, and the simple act of tenderness cramps my chest. I never knew it was possible to love someone as much as I love my brother—the kind of love I’d gladly lie in front of a bus for, commit murder if anyone hurt him, the craziest kind.
My mom comes up holding a fresh diaper, her eyes soft as she watches me cuddle Jack. “Here.”
I take it from her and move to the couch just as the door that leads from the garage swings open.
“Damn, it smells good in here.” Blake’s voice booms through the space before he appears from the kitchen and wraps my mom into a hug, his eyes on me. “Hey, kiddo.”
“Hey.”
“Car running okay? When was the last time you had the oil changed?”
“Yeah, it’s great. Maybe a month ago?”
“I’ll check your tire pressure after dinner.”
“Okay.” I put Jack down, his bare bottom flashing the room.
Blake’s mouth stretches in a grin that is all manly pride. “He can’t help but show off his assets.”
My mom shakes her head. “Sounds like someone else I know.”
“Dada! Ass-ole!”
“It’s Ax-el, son. Ax. El. Stop callin’ your sister an asshole.”
I secure his diaper and snag his tiny T-shirt that has Future Heavyweight written on the front. I pull it over his head and help him pop his little arms through. “Can you say Ax?”
“Ass!”
I tickle him and he squeals. “Ax!”
“Ass!”
“You have a dirty mouth!” I’m laughing and totally lost in my baby brother. “Say Ax!”
“Ass!”
“No, silly! Ax!
“What the fuck is that?”
“Blake!” My mom’s voice reprimands him, but her narrowed eyes are zeroed in on my mouth.
I put Jack down, and he scurries off to his train set. Clearing my throat, I throw my shoulders back, which only makes Blake scowl harder.
“Oh this?” I point to my mouth. “I got my tongue pierced—”
“What?”
“Why?”
The what was from Blake, the why from my mom. And judging by the disgusted look on Blake’s face, I’d say he didn’t ask why because he already knows. “Dunno, just wanted to.”
“Oh.” My mom has always been good about allowing me to express my individuality with my clothes, my makeup, and hair, but something tells me this particular form of expression hit just outside her comfort zone.
Blake steps forward until he’s about a foot from me, and he tilts his head. I love my stepdad. I do. He’s the closest thing to a real dad I’ve ever had, and he’d do anything for my mom and my brother, but he’s also intimidating. Especially when he’s mad. I try to shrink away as he towers over me.
“Let me see it.”
I lick my lips and then open my mouth.
He crosses his arms over his chest. “It hurt?”
“A little.”
My mom’s hand is braced on her neck as if she’s physically holding back her freak-out. “When, um…” She nods to my mouth. “Why?”
Blake pinches the bridge of his nose at my mom’s question.
“Oh, well… I was just bored I guess, and I wanted to try something new, ya know. Killian and I went—”