Thank you, thank you to all the people that followed and favorited last chapter! Now I know that this chapter's a bit late in the day however I do still think that I should be counted it as my first chapter in my five chapter week.
Chapter Ten: Bad Blood
There was something oddly comforting about Steven Hyde's mother. Being in her presence felt a lot like being in a house that was too old, with too many open windows. Like you were sitting in the middle of an empty room listening to the wind caress the walls. The whole entire world seemed to recede like you were closing your eyes and pressing your cheek to the cool wood of the floor. And for once in your life you felt like you could really take a breath and not worry about all the little things this world had to pester you with.
But when you open your eyes you realized that you're all alone and the wood has frozen your skin to the point of pain.
It was hard for Tina to think about living with this kind of person for seventeen years of your life.
"Fez, this is - this is, um my mom." Hyde coughed as Tina leaned against the door frame, her eyes intent on the woman stirring a massive pot of something that smelled utterly putrid. A pink hair net held back straight brunette strands, her lips painted red and her eyes the same blue as Hyde's.
Briefly, she felt Hyde's eyes flick to run over her. He always was like this when Tina got near his mother. It was a reflex that Tina didn't exactly understand.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Gross Edna," Fez said with a sweet smile and a nod and Tina grimaced, stepping forward to pinch his side. "Ow. What?"
"Nonono, honey," Edna said, flicking her cigarette so that the ash fluttered to sit in the half-empty spaghetti can. "It's Miss Gross Edna. You see, Mister Gross Edna ran off with Miss Perfect Ass."
Tina winced as Hyde gave a fake laugh. "But she can laugh about it now."
"Yes. She can~" Edna smiled, stirring at the pot of slop with a smile before her eyes snapped up and she gave him a scowl. "Shut up."
A sudden lump filled in Tina's throat as she moved to stand beside Hyde, her eyes staying on the floor as her fingers skated over the back of his hands, his thumbs tucked into his belt buckle. Tina had always thought that her eyes were opened to the reality of her friends' lives. Fez lived with an obnoxiously Christian family. Donna's parents were more likely to jump off the side of a cliff than stop their petty squabbles. Kelso's parents over explained things to the point that Tina knew his attention span had shot right to zero. What Tina wouldn't - and couldn't admit to herself is that she had turned a blind eye on Hyde's family. And he had made it unbelievably easy for her mind to stay clear of all the troubles that he had at home.
Slowly, Tina wormed her fingers through Hyde's even though he kept his eyes adamantly forward.
"You don't have to comfort me, doll," he whispered, his voice tipped with irritation as he turned his head to the side so that only the brunette could hear him.
"Don't get full of yourself," she whispered back, feeling an odd flutter beat through her as his thumb made soft circles on the back of her hand. "I'm holding your hand because I wanted to. My hand was cold."
A scoff was the only reply that she got.
"Oh, I am so excited to be in the foodservice industry," Fez chattered away, completely oblivious to the tension that had infused the air. Slowly, he stepped forward, his eyes going sultry as he gave Edna a smirk. "Do you want me to cut the cheese?"
"Is he kidding?"
"We can never tell," Hyde said with a long glance to the foreigner, his hand tightening on Tina's.
Say what you wanted to about Edna Hyde and her choices in life but no one could dispute the fact that she was smart. In fact, she used to be at the top of her class before grades had paled in comparison to a baby on the way. Her one sin had turned into a crippling affliction that hardened her to the realities of the world. Edna Hyde was still young and because her youth had been cut off when it should have only begun, she had grown into a bitter woman who searched for it in the embrace of any man that would take her.
The problem with being young and foolish is that you think that you deserve love at every corner. When she looked into the eyes of Joe Cretchen, the pharmacist or Ken Bitner, the janitor, she saw people who wanted her. She saw a way to get away from the searching eyes of every parent this side of Wisconsin that saw her son's smart mouth and his delinquent records. She saw what she had seen in high school when she had let Hyde's father kiss her underneath the awning of the ice cream shop.
In the ways of the world, Edna Hyde was still very, very young and beautiful and loose enough to gain the attention of all the men that were too smart to go for women not saddled with resentment and children and too dumb to get the bleach blondes that roamed the malls and nail salons. And she paid for it over and over again with tears and hatred and more trips to the hair salons and more money on booze.
Because in the end all Edna Hyde wanted was to be loved.
So when she saw Tina Forman slide her fingers through her son's and look up at him with those beautiful, blue eyes, she knew exactly what was happening. And she knew that young love was a bitter pill that were ineffective and caused sickness.
"Tina Forman." The words tasted like warm milk in Edna's mouth as she worked around them, her fingers curling stiffly around the spatula that she was using to stir the pot of mush. She had no clue what she had dumped in here but she was pretty sure that it would be just as disgusting if she stirred it or didn't.
Tina tried to swallow around the lump in her throat, feeling Hyde go tense beside her, his shoulders going back and his hand tightening on hers as he turned a hostile stare on his mother. Edna rolled her eyes. All men had become an endless sea of testosterone and posturing to her. Unfortunately that included her own son.
Tensely, Tina gave her a thin smile.
"How's your mother doing?" It was an awkward question and one that Tina resented. The brunette knew all too well that Edna Hyde didn't give a damn about her mother. In fact, Hyde's mother had made it plain that she resented the fact that her son ran away every chance her got to the Forman household.
But Tina Forman had learned at a young age to bite her tongue when she was facing uncertainty. A trait that only came from being treated as the youngest and having a brother and older sister to view from a safe distance.
"Completely fine," Tina forced out, her hand clamping down on Hyde's as she saw his mouth open. "She's been wondering if you would like to come over for dinner sometime, actually."
"I highly doubt that," Edna scoffed and Hyde's anger rose.
"Yeah. She's way too busy with going out to see all my uncles to bother with someone as superficial and fake as a three dollar bill as Mrs. Forman," he gave a thin smile as Edna's color rose. "Right, ma?"
From the way that Hyde said the last bit, Tina knew that it was a quote. A direct quote from Edna Hyde about her mother. Tina's eyes could have frozen hell at that moment as she stared at the woman in front of her. There was nothing that she could say to that. If she said anything, she would be insulting Hyde's mother. A metallic tinge filled her mouth as her teeth sunk into the top layer of her tongue, her nails biting into the back of Hyde's hands.
But if there was one thing that Edna had learned through the years it was that being abashed without being actually sorry was more of an insult than the actual slander. And Edna Hyde was not in the least bit sorry about saying those things about Kitty Forman. She believed every last one of them to be true because she knew the way that all of the people in Point Place looked down their nose at her. And since Kitty was a God-fearing woman, she could only assume that she was right there with the masses. And in her book, the best offense was a not a good defense but to be the first to attack. Full frontal charges were the only thing that she knew how to do correctly.
"Don't give away too many of the family secrets, Steven," Edna said with a fake smile as she went over to the unorganized shelves and got down some hair nets and plastic gloves. "The little foreign kid can cut the cheese but if he slices off a finger, he's out of here. Steven, you can start by slicing the pizza and Miss Tina Forman can organize the shelves."
Steven grunted softly as Edna wiggled in between Tina and him, shoving a pair of gloves into the girl's face before shoving him back a step. Across the room, Tina saw Fez mumbling happily to himself as he put on a hair net and some gloves.
"Oh, nononono," Hyde muttered in irritation, glancing around the dirty kitchen in disgust. "I'm here as an observer. Fly on the wall. One of many."
Tina glanced up from the box of baking powder in her hands. She knew that voice. That was the voice that Hyde used when he wanted to piss adults off. And the way that he was staring down at his mother meant that he wanted to crawl so far under her skin that people would think that she had a disease.
"Gee. What a surprise," Edna said sweetly and Tina's mouth thinned as Hyde's eyes narrowed. "Lazy. Just like your fathe-"
"Stop it." It hissed out from Tina's lips before she could stop the words, her fingers crushing the box in her hand so hard that powder rained down on her platforms and skirt. Red crept up her neck as a bitter taste filled her mouth. She wanted to slap Edna for the hurt that she saw flash threw Hyde's eyes. She wanted to slap Edna even more for the way that she saw his shoulders tense and his mouth thin into a restrained smile just before the words left her mouth. Like he was expecting it.
But more than all of that, as Tina glared into the eyes of Edna Hyde, she felt so helpless and ignorant that she wanted to stomp her feet and throw things. Because there was a boundary that she couldn't pass. She couldn't say the things that were swimming around in her skull because Red and Kitty had taught her not to. Even though Hyde was being hurt. Even though she wanted to protect him more than she wanted to breath in that moment.
Tina blinked, turning to stare at the cluttered, messy shelf in front of her. She could feel Hyde staring at her and she didn't want to turn around and meet his eyes because she was afraid. She was afraid that one glance from him would push her over the edge and then she would do something that she would be ashamed of. So instead she put her head down and went to work.
"Put these on," Edna whispered, squeezing her sons shoulder tentatively as she went back to her pot. It was brief moments of clarity like these that made it hard for her to live with herself.
"Miss Gross Edna, may I keep these?" Fez chirped, grinning obliviously across the table at her as he held out his hands with the plastic gloves.
Edna gave him a soft smile. "Of course you can, baby."
Hyde rolled his eyes, shoving his fingers into the too-small gloves and going over to grab the pizza slicer. And just like that all of them shut their mouths and went to work.
Tina did what her mother would do. She took all of the boxes and cans and cleaning supplies off the shelves and scrubbed them down until they were spotless. She organized it by type - cleaning supplies at the top to the very left, canned food a safe distance away and then all other odds and ends following. That only took her an hour at the most. Tina's hands itched, her mind restless. She needed to do more. She needed to do more so that she couldn't think.
By the time that she was done, the whole entire back area looked like it had when the school had first opened. The equipment was sparkling and the empty cans and boxes had all finally found their place in the garbage. It was a load of work. Tina threw off the gloves, wiping a hand over her sweaty neck and looking around in agitation. It was a load of work but she needed more.
"Hey." Big hands circled her bicep as she hurried past Hyde, stopping her. Hyde had been watching her all evening. He had been watching her because he was worried. Worried that he had messed up. He shouldn't have brought her here with him. She was shutting down. Slowly, Hyde brought a hand up to push the hair away from her forehead, meeting her eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Me?" Tina was finding it hard to comprehend. He shouldn't be asking her that. She should be asking him that. "I'm fine."
And then she laughed, loud and long like her mother did when she got went into a state bordering on complete hysteria. It was a bad sign. Tina slammed her hand over her mouth, cutting the sound off midway through. A deep sort of panic pumped through her. She hadn't known that Hyde's mom was like this. She squeezed her eyes shut. She felt so guilty.
"Okay. Yeah. Sit down." Slowly, he led her over to where Fez was sitting like an attentive puppy as he asked Edna questions, his hands circling her waist as he helped her jump up onto the counters. He kept a calming hand on the small of her back as he stood just behind her, on the other side of the counter.
"I was the top girl on the pyramid," Edna was saying with a smile. "Then they fired me for getting knocked up."
Tina stiffened, a new layer of perspiration popping up along her skin as Hyde tensed beside her. It was like feeling the earth rumble beneath your feet before a volcano erupts.
"Oh," Hyde laughed tensely. "Let me finish this one for ya, Edna. Fez, this is the story where I ruin my mother's fabulous water skiing career."
Tina's hand whipped out as Fez started to scribble down what they were saying, shaking her head at his curious glance.
"Yeah. Well, you did." The brunette blinked. It was hard to comprehend such ridiculous accusations spoken so adamantly. "They said that a pregnant girl on water skis would make the audience nervous."
Laughter bubbled it's way up Tina's throat without her knowledge or control, filling the small space until she stopped it with a hand to her mouth.
"Not to mention you were probably hideously fat," Fez threw in before Tina could get a good grip on his arm to shut him up.
Desperately, her other hand reached out to curl through Hyde's as she heard a harsh breath leave him.
"No. No. No. I looked great," Edna insisted. "I kept my weight down by smoking."
"What?" Tina whispered, horror written across the tense lines of her face.
Edna rolled her eyes. "And look at him. He's fine."
"See, that's that maternal instinct kicking in again," Hyde said, his voice harsh and bitter.
"Yeah. You're damn right I'm maternal," Edna hissed, her eyes sharpening. "I raised you alone."
It was like watching a car crash. Tina's mouth thinned, sewing shut on it's own, her hands going clammy as they tightened around Hyde's. Her eyes watered as she forced the words bubbling up inside her back down. You're a bad mother. Why are you saying these things? Can't you see they hurt? Hurtful words that would be useless. Tina knew the difference. She could feel it in the metallic taste that she got every time one of them would form on her tongue.
And somewhere deep inside, she knew what Edna's response would be. Because Edna Hyde wasn't like her parents. She still used the tools that all teenagers learned in high school. She used the vengeful words and the hateful looks. She knew how to tear children like Hyde and Tina and Jackie apart. And because her parents had taught Tina how to lock her tongue against any reproach even for the filthiest human beings, she lowered her eyes and kept her mouth shut. The difference between her parents and Edna could be summed up in the one moment that she had met Hyde when they were little. If she had demanded that Edna hit the little boy with the curly hair, she would have. Without a second thought and without regret.
"Alone? Hardly," Hyde scoffed, his fingers flexing around Tina's hand. "There was 'uncle' Chet and 'uncle' Larry and - Oh, yeah. 'Uncle' Hot Tub Johnny."
"I suppose I should have just become a nun when your father walked out on us," Edna said, her eyes narrowing as she stepped forward, standing right beside Tina as she stared Hyde down.
"Hell, he must have been crazy to leave all this."
"Always a smartass, Steven. Just like your father." It hurt. It hurt to hear it and it hurt to feel the verbal slap hit home and send a flinch to travel through Hyde.
It was a cruel kind of satisfaction that slid through Edna at that moment. It always felt that way when she hurt her son like he hurt her. And it was horrific. It wasn't sightly and it didn't feel so good later on but the immediate satisfaction was what Edna had learned to seek out.
Beside her, Tina felt Hyde take in a shuddering breath. "You know what? One thing he did do right? He left."
And with that, he lifted Tina from the counter and walked out of the kitchen like he was leaving hell with his hand in hers.
The thing about immediate satisfaction was that it only lasted for that moment in time. You couldn't suspend it. You couldn't drag it out. It stayed with you for as long as the mission was accomplished and then it all flutters away to leave regret and guilt. Edna had felt it too many times with her son to ever count. And every single time she was left with more hatred. She hated herself. She hated that she was a bad mother and that every single day she had to wake up with the resentment. She hated that when she looked into her sons face she saw herself. He had her eyes and her quick wit. And she hated that every time he smiled, she saw his father.
She loved her son and she hated her son.
They walked for a long time. Tina didn't even know where they were going. She blinked. She couldn't even see where they were going. Horror spiked through her as she felt the familiar dribble of tears trickling down her face and along her jaw, running down her throat. She was crying. Desperately, she tried to mop it up before Hyde saw her. He should be crying. It was selfish of her and she had no right-
"Tina? Shit. Why -" Hyde's concerned face swam in her vision as he stopped, turning to stare down at her as he cupped her face. Deep seated panic bubbled up inside him as she sniffled, her face contorting as she let out a deep sob. "I'm-"
"I'm so sorry," she wailed, hiccuping as he tried to swipe away the tears with the heel of his hands. It wasn't good enough. She was crying so hard that there just seemed to be an endless rain. "I should have known - but I didn't - and then - I'm so sorry."
There were no more words that Tina could think of. And there was nothing that Hyde could say. Because he had never had anyone cry for him. Silently, he pulled her into his chest, pressing his face into her hair as she cried. And neither of them knew if it made anything better.
In the end, it didn't really matter.
"You good now?" Hyde whispered as Tina's sobs receded into sniffles and then silence. Mutely, she nodded.
"I got your shirt wet," she whispered hoarsely, staring at the giant wet spot making his button up see through.
"It'll dry." Gently, he wiped his thumbs along the bottom of her eyes, his eyes soft as he stared down at her.
Inside her head, Tina muddled around for words. She wanted to say something. But what could she say? What could make this better? Because anything else but better for Steven Hyde would be a failure. But she couldn't find anything.
So instead she leaned up on the tips of her toes, taking his sunglasses off and tucking them into his shirt. Slowly, Tina wound her arms around his neck, pressing her lips softly to his cheeks and then his his eyes as he closed them and the tip of his nose and then finally to his lips. Against her waist, she felt his fingers splay, his breath mingling with hers as she pressed her forehead to his and closed her own eyes.
"I'll always be here," she whispered, forcing all of her emotions and being into those four words and then let out a breath as his nose nuzzled against hers, a slow breath leaving him.
For a moment, they didn't say anything, staying against each other just like that until eventually Hyde pulled away with a soft kiss to Tina's lips.
"Come on," he finally rasped, unwinding her arms gently from his neck and taking a hold of her hand.
Silently, Tina followed along, finally realizing that they had almost reached her driveway. Tina's eyes felt raw and her nose stung as the cool wind whipped through the high trees that lined her property. She looked like they had been crying, the brunette knew that.
"I'll go and get your present," Tina whispered as she saw her dad's eyes flick up from the tools that he was scrubbing down. Just behind him, Tina could see a mass of brunette curls bobbing around just beneath the car.
Silently, Hyde nodded, slipping his hand from hers and going over to greet her father as Tina slipped into the house. Christmas had long since past but the brunette still had Hyde's present. The way that she saw it was that it was better late than never.
When Tina came back out of the house, Hyde was waiting for her on the porch, his eyes distant.
"Here," she coughed, tossing the neatly wrapped gift into his lap and taking a seat beside him.
"It's not my birthday," he stated even as he tore at the paper and unwrapped it. His eyes went wide as he stared down at the boots, his lips thinning. "I can't take these."
"It's your Christmas present," Tina said softly, giving his leg a playful push with the tips of her shoes. "And I found them at Goodwill."
His eyes snapped to hers, unbelieving.
"Really," Tina insisted and then leaned forward with a smile. "And I fully expect a Christmas present in return."
After a moment, Hyde sighed. He could tell from the look on her face that she was neither going to admit that she had actually bought them full-price or take them back.
"I'm not sure if I like this sweet side of you, doll," he murmured, leaning closer to her until they were only inches apart. "It seems like a trap."
Tina batted her eyes, giving him a sweet smile. "It's only for today."
"Good," he said with a smirk, leaning forward to nip at her nose before standing. "As for your present, you're looking at it."
Tina blinked and then gulped as he leaned forward, his hands curling around her arm rests to cage her in as he gave her a wolfish smile. "I'm taking your advice and giving the girl the jacket. Anything you want, you can have it."
Tina smirked. She always had liked Hyde's clothes and they had always looked more than comfortable.
"So you're saying that if I told you to strip down right now, you would?" she asked slowly and his eyes sparkled mischievously.
"If I'm lucky enough, I suppose I might even get the same," he whispered, parroting her own words back at her before pulling back with a wink.
"Where are you going?" Tina's fingers snapped out to curl through his as if by reflex, her brows furrowing.
Briefly, Hyde's eyes flicked towards the garage and then he rubbed a hand over his neck, sighing. "Going back to my ma."
Tina's stomach flipped but she nodded, standing up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. She didn't want to smothering him. She wouldn't be one of those girls. And Steven's mom wasn't a bad person. She had raised Hyde. And she had dealt with more hurt and self-hatred than Tina could ever comprehend. A lump formed in Tina's throat.
Giving her a strained smile, Hyde left, his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his shoulders up. Steven Hyde had lived his whole life without the protection of Tina Forman. And just because they had something going on didn't give Tina the right to interfere. Her lips thinned and she shook her head, going over to the garage.
"Thank you, daddy," she whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek which he batted away with a scowl.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Grab that flashlight for me."
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