The Spawns

The Spawns | Chapter XVII -- My Heart to Break

THE SPAWNS

Chapter XVII—Cole

My Heart to Break

© DarknessAndLight

“The bitch needs to leave!” I announced as I walked into the kitchen.

My Mum seemed a little shock at my choice of word. “I wasn’t aware we had a dog. Your dad always stopped me from getting one. And he sucks.”

I sat at one of the stool by the counter, opposite to Mum. “I’m not talking about a dog.”

“I wasn’t talking about a dog anymore,” she grinned at me.

“Mum,” I groaned.

Sighing, she looked back down at the sheets she had in front of them, scribbling something on them. I had no idea what they were about. Bills probably. A sexual deviancy court ordered papers. “I’m assuming you’re talking about the red head,” she trailed, uninterested.

“She needs to leave,” I stated again. I wasn’t going to waste my fugging summer looking after her.

“Hey Cole, how do you get a red head to argue with you?” my Mum asked, suddenly seeming more enthusiastic.

“Mum, can’t you be serious for a second?” I replied, raising my eyebrows.

“YOU START TALKING!”

I bent and shook my head. “MUM! Seriously!”

We stared at each other for a second and then she told me, “She’s your cousin. And your aunt asked your dad and she never asks him anything. They really needed the break.”

Yeah, I understood the need to take a break from the maniac. What I didn’t understand was why we were the ones that had to deal with her now. “She’s not our responsibility,” I pointed out.

Mum shrugged. “It’s the right thing to do.”

“She’s making Lilibeth uncomfortable!” I burst out.

And then my mother had the nerve to snort at me. “And god forbids anyone doesn’t worship the ground that girl walks on and doesn’t walk on eggshells around her.” I gapped at my mother, utterly out of words. How dare she? “Oh, don’t look at me like that. It’s the truth. I love that girl but we need to stop trying to baby her all the time. She’s a tough girl. She can take care of herself and it’s about damn time someone says it. She doesn’t need YOU or anyone to protect her. Let her fight her own battles.”

I blinked twice. I wasn’t sure how to process what she had just said. On one hand, she might have a point, and on the other she was completely out of line. “But that’s one she doesn’t need to fight. And Dakota’s going after Jay!”

She snorted again. “Good. Maybe he’ll finally get laid if you’re not going to do it with him.”

I gasped. “MUM!”

“What?” she squealed, raising her hands. “Look, I know how much you love those two and how protective you are towards them. You can’t help it. You father me and your dad, so you assume that you need to do the same thing for everyone but Coleridge, you don’t need to take care of everyone. Start by taking care of yourself.”

“If you’re not going to be serious I’m going to deal with the parasite on my own.” I got up from my stool ready to storm out.

As I was walking away, though, my mother called after me. “Hey Cole, how do you know you’ve satisfied a red head?”