✅ The Last New Start [NaNoWriMo2021]

29. Family Drama

Here's a bonus chapter, posted because DShadow369 (or someone with a very similar name) started supporting me on Patreon. Thank you DShadow! I wasn't expecting much for my birthday this year, but a new record number of people on Patreon really made me smile.

"Who's your friend, Tess?" Gabby called out, winding down the window of her truck as she pulled up. "Want to introduce us?"

"I... uhh..." Tess stammered, not sure what to say. She took a half step away from Spike, then realised the automatic movement could be seen as an insult, and reversed it. Then she belatedly realised that her hand was still clasping his, and let go. She certainly didn't want her cousin to get the wrong idea; even if it turned out to be the right idea after all if she ever found the courage to ask.

"Breathe," he whispered, with just a trace of the same comedy accent he had put on earlier. The comment found its mark, reminding Tess in the best way possible not to imitate one of Carly's semi-coherent verbal meltdowns out of nerves.

"This is my friend Spike. He was supposed to be meeting a friend, but they didn't show. He offered to walk with me back from the bus stop, while he had nothing to do and didn't know if his friend was going to call with a new plan."

"A thoughtful boy, then. I can appreciate that. But it's too cold for standing around on the driveway. You should at least come inside before anything freezes and drops off."

When they got inside the house, Tess put her bag down by the door, and didn't go up to her room. It wouldn't have been right, going where Spike wouldn't be able to follow, and after Gabby's earlier chilly reception, Tess didn't want to leave the two of them alone. Gabby showed a lot less than her usual hospitality. She was directly abrasive, asking Spike questions like some kind of interrogation, and not listening when Tess tried to get her to calm down a little. Before long, Tess was really starting to think that she had done something to offend her cousin; and she was starting to think that she would never be able to invite a friend around here again. Normally if she had problems at home, or something she didn't know how to react to, her response would be to try not to think about it until she could ask Spike for advice; he always knew the right thing to say. But now he was the target of an almost unbelievable level of anger from Gabby, and Tess didn't know who else to turn to.

While Gabby was looking away, she had been worried enough to text her parents asking for advice. She wasn't sure what time of day it would be for them, but reaching out to them would surely be better than feeling helpless while she watched someone whose opinion she really valued tearing into one of her best friends. Spike himself didn't actually seem too bothered; he was probably used to feeling unwelcome at the dinner table. But to Tess, it felt almost like she was the one on trial here. She was almost relieved when Ffrances came home and almost immediately stepped into a mediator role. The phone rang, and Ffrances was the one to pick that up as well, when Gabby seemed to be too busy staring at Tess and Spike. She walked through to the next room, and Tess again felt like she was being accused of something, and she wasn't even sure what. Thankfully it wasn't long before Ffrances returned, but Spike was already aware that he somehow wasn't welcome here, and was rushing to leave .

Ffrances tapped Gabby on the head, maybe trying to get her to realise she was being unreasonable, before dashing out of the front door after him. Gabby did try to make some kind of apology, but it was clear she had missed the point. She didn't think Tess was old enough to be spending time with boys, at all, and she would only say she was sorry for being too blunt with her opinions. She still refused to believe that there was nothing serious between the two of them, and Tess found it hard to argue the point when she couldn't stop wishing that she was wrong.