THEN CAME YOU

Chapter Eight: Can you keep a secret?

Suze

My head was pounding, my mouth tasted rather foul and I had the uncanny certainty that I had made a fool of myself the night before in front of Jesse.

I had been drunk.

God, I had cried.

I hadn't cried in front of anyone since my dad died all those years ago.

"Take care of Hailey and your mom, okay?" He had told me right before he went out for his morning jog and had a heart attack.

"Yeah, dad." I said, not taking my eyes of the morning cartoons.

"Be a good girl, Suze." He said and this time I did turn to see him.

"Am I ever anything but?" I said as sassy as a six year old could manage.

And that was the last time I saw him. But I had tried to do just like he told me: be good and take care of mom and Hailey. Only that lately I hadn't done such a good job…

I felt like crying all over again. So –against the piercing pain in my skull – I got up and took a shower because there, even if I cried, I could pretend I hadn't. After my shower I swallowed a couple of aspirins and dressed in my oldest jeans – the ones mom had tried to throw out time and again – and a simple pink t-shirt. I even pulled my hair back in a ponytail –something that I never did – to keep the hair out of my face.

I slumped down the stairs. Hailey was sitting there and for once she wasn't completely pissed as she usually was a morning after a party after Andy and Mom had tongue lashed her about her curfew. Maybe that was because Mom and Andy weren't there.

"Where…?" I asked as I made my way to the refrigerator for some juice.

"Mom and Dad took David to that science club honor breakfast thing."

"Oh." I said. "Did they…?"

"Notice you were wasted last night? No. I don't think so, they didn't say anything."

"You…?"

"Alan dropped me on time." She said. She was very distracted; answering me… usually she would have said a very snotty 'fuck off' or 'none of your businesses' or, my favorite, 'get a fucking life'.

"Oh, that's good."

"Yeah, I'm not grounded." She said an attempted a smile. "Jake went to the store but I'll advise you to disappear, he was rather pissed you got here drunk last night." Hailey continued. "Wanted to give you a piece of his mind."

"Like he has a say on it."

"He's our big brother."

I was about to grunt 'stepbrother' but for once I couldn't. I thought that we had been living here for four… almost five years now, and Hailey had known Andy exactly as long –if not longer- as she had known dad. Andy and the three dwarves were home to her; more than what New York and Dad had ever been and suddenly I felt so sad.

"Are you okay?" Hailey asked.

"Uh? Yes, yeah, I think I'll go now… I wanted to go to Jesse's and thank him for bringing me home last night." I said and turned from her.

"You do that." She said and managed a smile of sorts.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Jesse

I was mowing the lawn of our front yard, as I did every Sunday, when Susannah's car parked in front of my house. She was wearing big sun-glasses even when the sun wasn't even that high at ten in the morning. It was a rather misty morning.

"Hey," She said coming close to me.

"Hey," I said and turned off the mower.

"Um… listen. I just wanted to thank you… for last night. I was a jerk and… well, thanks."

"You said that yesterday, you know. I didn't think you were wasted enough not to remember." I said, slightly amused. She was blushing now, looking all embarrassed.

"I don't remember much. It happens when I get mad."

I nodded. "Why did you get mad?" I asked as I began to put grass I had cut into a plastic bag so I could throw it in the trash.

Susannah sighed and, seeing me struggling with the bag, took it from me and held it open. "It's the Paul thing… again. Last night he said…"

"What?" I wanted to know, why she always lost control when it came to Slater.

She shrugged. "Something about Hailey. I can deal with whatever he says or does to me… but I just lose control when it's about her." That I could understand. "See… I promised I would take care of her… and last night, Paul kind of threw in my face that I haven't done a very good job at it."

"You shouldn't care what he says." I told her as if she were a few sandwiches short of a picnic. "He does it on purpose, Susannah, because he knows that upsets you and then you pay attention to him."

She sighed miserably. "I know."

"Jesse!" I heard Mapi's voice as she ran down the steps. Susannah winced; her head was probably hurting with hangover. "Mom says breakfast is ready."

"Okay, I'll be right in."

"Are you staying Suze?"

"Er… I don't know, I wouldn't like to impose."

"Is okay, Mom made a ton of food. The more to feed the happier she is." Mapi said and ran up the steps into the house again, yelling over her shoulder an "I'll tell her you're staying."

Susannah winced again.

"Bit of a headache?" I asked.

"Hurts like a bitch." She answered ruefully.

"See, that's why one shouldn't drink. Come on, now," I said. Susannah pulled her sunglasses up as we walked into the house. Her eyes were a little red like she had cried recently but I decided not to comment about it.

"Suze!" My mom said, coming out of the kitchen with a big jar of orange juice. "How are you, dear? We just don't see enough of you around here."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hailey

"Kids! we are back!" Mom yelled. "Weren't you right then when we left, honey?" Mom asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"Have you moved at all?" David asked.

"Uh, not really."

"Is there a reason for it?" Dad asked.

I shook my head.

"Hey, I'm home!" Suze said cheerfully.

"Oh, hi honey." Dad said. "Where were you?"

"Went to see Jesse, to thank him for driving me home last night and his mom let me stay for breakfast."

"Oh, that's nice of her," Mom said and Suze nodded happy.

"Next time make sure to take something, they are always feeding you." Andy said. "Let me know and I'll make a cake or something."

"Okay, I'll. I'm going up to do my homework." Suze said after grabbing a diet coke and an apple. "Would you help me with my history essay, Dave?"

David sighed resignedly, the burdens of being the smart one of the family. "All right, but only for a couple of hours, Alan is coming over and we are going to try to hack the school's web page."

"Alan's coming?" I asked, after last night I didn't think he would.

David looked at me. "Yeah, as he always does on Sundays? Are you okay Hailey?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah." I said as calm as I could. "I think I'll do my homework too."

"Since when?" Suze had to ask and I gave her the evil eye.

See, if at least I tried to do my homework, they I could go to David and Alan with a cry for help… and maybe, just maybe, I could apologize to Alan again. I didn't know why but suddenly, him liking me again was something I wanted very bad.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

End of Chapter Eight