Chapter 5

C minus my butt! I wrote a darn good essay! Leigh thought hotly as she leaned into the movement of the motorcycle. She swerved in a sharp turn. Normally, taking her 'bike out for a ride was the perfect cure for any bad mood. No one would have known it to look at her, but Leigh was a romantic. The wind in her hair and all that stuff. But instead, here she was getting a sore butt and mosquitoes were splatting against the front of her helmet. It wasn't a pretty sight. She found her mood getting sourer with each moment.

Just breath, she told herself. It had been her ritual to take long rides after anything went wrong. She had to go home with an impassive face and mind. Show nothing at all. If she was in a foul mood then she must be doing bad in school—in which case she apparently needed a lecture about going somewhere in life. And if she went home smiling, then she must be on something. Then she had to be lectured about setting a good example for her brothers. It was so infuriating because she couldn't win.

Besides, she didn't do any hardcore drugs. Sure, sometimes she joked about it to get a rise out of Amber…but how stupid did they think she was? Yeah, there was that time a couple of years ago when she'd experimented with a couple of things—because it provided a release from her mother's incessant nagging. She'd soon learned that it wasn't something she wanted to do.

With a reluctant sigh, Leigh guided her 'cycle in a u-turn and headed back to town. She thought she could pull on an impassive face now and block her emotions from public view. At least then they would leave her alone. Not talking to them was better than talking. Sure, she still saw their condescending glances, but it was better than another shouting match.

She was nearly home now. Too quickly for her liking. She almost wished she could turn around and drive back outside of town. But she'd have to face them inevitably—like every single day after school. Or when she couldn't muster the courage, she camped out in the Carlyle's garage. They had a nice little sitting area just in front of the cars with some comfy old couches. A sleeping bag was always set out for her—probably because she came over too often for them to ever put it away. But they never seemed to tire of her. It was one thing to be grateful for. Sometimes she didn't even let them know she was there—embarrassed to let them see she needed a place to crash again. The Carlyle's never locked the garage door, so it was a convenient spot.

Leigh turned into the driveway, spitting up red gravel behind her. She parked, turning off the thrumming engine. She wasn't one of those Harley Davidson fans who rocked up the road with their loud noise. She liked her mufflers. All she needed was a nice soft purr to lull her into a calming state. The silence that came with the twisting key also pushed a weight on to her shoulders.

Leigh did her best to boost herself up. She smiled to herself, pretending she was happy—that everything was okay. She gripped the front door, swatting at a couple of mosquitoes. She could do this. She let the smile drop from her face and walked casually into the house.

Her dad didn't even look up when she walked in the door. He was watching news again. His eyes were glued to the screen.

"Hi," she muttered.

He grunted a reply.

Leigh just shrugged and hurried up the stairs. A smell was wafting toward her nose. It was absolutely rancid. It was like that faint smell she got every time she walked into her room except ten times worse. She was pretty sure there were some rotten leftovers in there somewhere, but she'd never gotten around to cleaning. Raw meat got to smelling a lot worse than human leftovers. It's not like she spent enough time in her room to care. She supposed she'd have to clean her room for once in like three years.

She'd gotten to the end of the hall when she paused. She could feel blood creeping up into her face—and it wasn't embarrassment. There was noise coming from behind her bedroom door. Soft shuffling sounds. And she could faintly smell her mother's scent from behind the closed door.

Leigh was absolutely livid.

She opened the door and demanded. "What do you think you're doing?"

Her mother had already started to turn at the sound of the door squealing open on its hinges. The look of disgust was evident on her face as she held up the slab of rotten meat—her nose wrinkled. She dropped the meat into a large black garbage bag.

"What are you doing?" Leigh repeated, taking in her room. Her stuff had been moved into four piles. Leigh could actually see the worn grey carpet beneath. Normally it was covered with papers and clothes and knick knacks of all sorts.

"This place is disgusting!" Her mother exclaimed. She looked like she wanted to wring her hands through her short, dark hair but decided against it because what she had just been carrying in her hands. "How long has this meat been in your room? A month?"

"Are you searching my room again?" Leigh asked. She was working her hardest to speak in a level tone. All she really wanted to do was yell her lungs out, but Leigh didn't do that. She rarely yelled. Even when things got really bad.

Her mother didn't need to say anything. The answer was evident on her severe and strained face. Her disappointment etched dark lines in Leigh's mind.

"What about privacy?" Leigh floundered. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"What about my children?" Her mother rejoined. "Don't they mean anything to you?"

"I am your child!"

Her mother snatched a Ziploc bag off her dresser and hung it for between her fingers for Leigh to see. Leigh felt her cheeks turn red again. This time it really was because of embarrassment. She knew what was pinched between her mother's fingers.

It was the weed she'd bought off one of her old, shady buds in ninth grade. She'd since lost it in her messy room. She'd never smoked one bit of it. It had been in here for years, and she'd forgotten all about it. Now the memories came flooding back, bringing the blood rushing to her cheeks in a torrent.

"No child of mine uses this!" Mrs. Bennett snapped sharply through thin lips. The anger was rippling from her in palpable waves. "Leigh, how could you? I thought you were finally getting over that stage—and now this! Don't you care what you're teaching your brothers? Don't you care what they're learning from you?"

Of course she cared. That was one of the reasons why she'd stopped.

"I didn't know it was here," Leigh managed. She hoped her mother would be able to feel the truthfulness in her mind. It wasn't often that she left herself open to probing. She had learned to keep walls around herself over the years. Even her 'wolf friends—her pack—rarely knew what she was feeling.

Leigh's mother threw the Ziploc bag into the garbage bag with a sharp movement. She didn't even try to read Leigh's emotions. She placed her bony hands on her thin waist and stared Leigh in the eye. She looked like she was ready to burst.

"Oh, that's rich!" she snapped. "Just like you didn't know the meat was in here? Leigh, I really though we could change you. I really thought we could help you get through this stage. But you're never going to change, are you? We're just not important enough for you! You always were a selfish child."

Leigh swallowed hard. Didn't care? Who was it that watched over the boys when they went to all their fancy dinner parties? Who was it who fed them because her dad couldn't bring himself to get away from the TV? How could her mother say this? What did they think she was doing that whole time?

But there was no point in saying this to her mother. Mrs. Bennett wouldn't listen to her no matter what she said—because apparently, she never told the truth. She was the black sheep of the family. The one they never wanted to admit was their daughter.

"I'm leaving," Leigh muttered.

She could crash at Amber's tonight.

"Don't walk away on me, young lady!" Her mother spoke sharply. "We still need to talk."

Leigh folded her arms across her chest and leaned into the door frame. "So talk," she suggested. She couldn't help the icy tone that spilled from her mouth. She was losing control of her emotions.

"We need to talk about where you'll be living after you graduate, because it certainly won't be here! A week after graduation. That's all you have. Hear me? I won't have you polluting your brothers."

"Fine," Leigh replied briefly. She was too angry to care at the moment. Besides, she'd figure something out. She always did.

"And I don't want you to visit," her mother finished, her gaze never wavering. "not until you've got your life put back together. For their sakes."

Leigh's eyes widened at this. She could feel her pupils dilate to take in her mother's livid form. She could feel the 'wolf in her wanting to snap out at being treated this way. It wanted to move her into an attacking position. She suppressed the 'wolf.

"Fine," she repeated, just as succinctly. "Are we done?"

Her mother only glowered. Leigh took this as a yes.

She stalked away, pulling her key from her pocket as she went. Her father didn't even look up as she left.

That's right, she thought. Always stay uninvolved. The only reason you rarely yell at me is because you rarely realize I exist.

She hurried out the door and hopped onto her motorcycle. Just as she was about to rev up the motorcycle, her phone jangled in her pocket. It was playing the Looney Tunes song. She couldn't help but smile. She'd always liked that song. It was the kid in her that she couldn't quench.

As much as she hated to admit it, she was scared to be kicked out of the house. She didn't know where she'd go or what she'd do. She wasn't even prepared. She hadn't saved up any money. She hadn't even sent in her College Apps. She didn't particularly want to grow up just yet—well, not quite.

She rummaged through her pocket until she found the phone. She pushed the talk button and the tune cut short. "Hello?" she asked.

"Leigh?" Amber's voice replied. "You need to come over here now. Something bad is happening."