"I'llhaveagrandecaramel macchiato and a unicorn cake pop."
"A what?!" Asked Bronx, completely horrified by my order. It was his first time at Starbucks and Gabby and I were giving him an education on proper ordering etiquette.
"Okay," said the blue-haired barista as she tapped my order into the screen. "And what can I get for you?"
"What do you like, Bronx? Coffee? Something fruity? Chocolatey?" Asked Gabby, crinkling her nose at the menu board. She had a hard time seeing without her glasses which she’d forgotten in her locker.
"Um, no coffee. I hate coffee. I don't know, surprise me."
"I'll figure something out for him. You guys can wait for our drinks down there," instructed Gabby. She turned to the barista and apologized before rattling off the rest of our order. She insisted paying. I told her I would pay her back once I had some money, but I knew she would refuse. Her parents kept her supplied with a limitless credit card and scolded her for not using it enough.
"Why did you ask us to meet at a coffee shop when you don't even like coffee?" I asked Bronx, noticing he seemed distant. He wasn't the quiet type, so seeing his blue eyes anxiously dart around the room put me on edge.
"Order forlittle mouse," announced another barista. I shot Gabby a scathing look and she busted out laughing.
We took our drinks and desserts to a small round table in the corner near the window. It started raining–a rare occurrence in Gilchrist Point–so we didn't have to worry about the sun blaring in the windows and baking us to death. Ah, life in the south.
"Tell us, B, what's bothering you?" Gabby asked before taking a bite of her banana bread.
"I will but first, what in the actual hell is this?" He inspected the pink concoction in front of him, shaking it around in the plastic cup.
"It's called a dragon drink," Gabby explained. She wiped her hands on her skirt and took a sip from her matching drink. "It's good, try it! There's no coffee in it."
"Okaaaay." Bronx picked up the drink and sniffed it before gingerly taking a sip. "Hmm, not bad.”
Gabby and I stared at him in anticipation, giving him the green light to spill whatever was going on.
"Well–I've been wanting to talk to you. Away from school and the lunch table." Bronx raked his hands through his light brown hair. Stress and conflict etched his features. "And I didn't want to do it at your house, Ash. I wasn't sure, I mean with your mom around, I just didn't know how she would…I don't know.”
"You can say it, B. It's common knowledge that my mom is a crazy drunk. I would never subject you to her wrath," I laughed. "What's going on?"
"It's just that…I don't have any females to talk to about personal things. And I need a woman's perspective. Can't talk to my brother," he mumbled.
"We're here for you," Gabby said.
"You know how my mom left a while ago? She took off without ever calling or coming back." I nodded in response to his question. Gabby looked horrified as it was the first time she heard the story. Bronx exhaled deeply before continuing. "I found out Sunday that she contacted my dad. She told him she's coming here to see us soon. I don't know how to feel about it. I mean at first, I was happy because she's my mom, but I’m also…pissed."
His eyes watered as he took deep breaths, and I placed my hand atop his on the table, gently squeezing it and waiting for him to continue. A thought popped into my head and out of my mouth before I could stop it. "Wait, did West find out before you? On Saturday?"
"Yeah, Dad got home late and I was already passed out. He broke the news to him. How did you know?"
Shit. That was why he was so distraught when he went outside. "We talked Saturday. I was on my deck and he stormed out of the house. I offered him a smoke. He seemed a little off," I said, not looking directly at either of them and sure as shit not mentioning that I almost came on West’s lap.
"He was pissed."
"He seemed to calm down fast enough. Could've been the weed, I guess."
Bronx chuckled and looked out the window at the pouring rain. "I have a feeling it was from something else." We sat in silence for a moment as Bronx's features shifted from a grin to a grimace. "He doesn't want to see her."
"He doesn't want to see his mom?" Gabby asked.
"He's just...he's so hurt by her. She really fucked him up. Fucked both of us up with what she did. And our dad is never around either. We've felt like orphans for most of our lives.”
"What doyouwant to do, B? What West does or doesn't do is on him. You have to live with your decision," I said with conviction. Bronx couldn't decide this based on what West wanted. He needed to do what was best for him.
"That's the problem. I'm so torn about it. I want to see her, but I don’t want to make her think I’m fine with what she did. I'm just as mad as West is about it. Well, maybe not that mad. He destroyed our garage on Sunday."
I sat silently and sipped from my caramel macchiato, but the sickly sweet coffee tasted bitter on my tongue.