Shades of Limelight

17: Bored

Without the pressure of school and the Badger Times weighing on me, it was easy to fall right back into the safety of the movie, and even though it wasn't a long movie in the first place, the time flew by until Brooke got home from school. She was easily the most disappointed and embarrassed person about what had happened between Corey and me, and I hoped she would leave that topic alone, especially since I had brought a guest. She was old and mature enough not to make another scene, right?

Well, all I could do was hope.

Out of all the arguments we had through the years (Mom blamed the age difference), most of them were silly and forgotten within a few days. But this one wasn't the same. I had made a life-changing decision, and it was scary, and she was mad at me for not taking her feelings and Mom's well-being into account in the moment. We hadn't exactly spoken of it since, but I knew well enough that she hadn't forgotten it either.

Maybe underneath all the early teenage selfishness she had a tiny point. But how much more was I supposed to sacrifice for the family?

The door opened, and in came Brooke, and I caught her eye when she set her backpack down on the couch next to me.

"Is school over for you already?" she asked.

I nodded.

She let out a long sigh. "That's not fair. How come I still have a-whole-nother week to go before break?"

"Because college is harder than eighth grade," I said.

"Well, you're also older than me, so that should be enough to even it out."

I was well aware of that fact, but I smiled anyway. "It's nice to be home, Brooke. I missed you."

"Missed you too. Who's this guy?"

I turned to Ryan. I hadn't heard him say a word in about an hour, and that must have been a record time for him.

"This is Ryan. He's a photographer, and we end up working together on a lot of projects since he likes the same stuff as I do," I said.

Ryan pulled his eyes away from the TV for just a moment. "Nice to meet you, Brooke. Layla has a lot of good things to say about you."

Brooke laughed. "You don't have to lie for her. I know better."

Ryan looked at me for a second, then went back to the movie. I sure had put too much faith in Brooke's manners, hadn't I?

"It's true, though. It takes a lot of courage to help your mom at your age," Ryan said.

Rookie mistake from me to think he was done talking.

Brooke hesitated for a moment. "Well, thank you." And with that, she picked her backpack back up and took it upstairs to her room.

"And don't make that face, Layla. There's a huge difference between what a middle schooler and a college student can do to help," he continued. Again.

"I wasn't making a face."

"Really?"

"She just threw a cat out into the rain, Ryan. How can I not make a face at that?"

Ryan rolled his eyes back to the screen. "And you're a good person too, Layla. Don't worry."

I really wasn't worried about that. I had given up on that idea very quickly within the past few days. But I didn't say that. It was just getting to the good part of the film.

***

Breakfast at Tiffany's was just the beginning of my relaxing Christmas break, and after I took Ryan to the airport to finally be with his family again for the holidays, I had all the time in the world to focus on taking care of my mother and myself.