Children of the Boss

Chapter 39: Eve

March 17th

I was more mad about being sick on a school day than being sick for my seventeenth birthday. I had projects, papers, exams, applications, everything. My stress didn't help me get better, and although Gloria was on break and was being helpful, I knew she wanted to go out and have fun which made her antsy which made me antsy.

"So like...about earlier..." she said, putting on her acrylic nails at my vanity.

"What about earlier?" I asked, knowing very well she was talking about when she asked if Kenneth would've been the father of Carmen's imaginary child. 

"If Carmen and Kenneth are like...doing it, I don't care," she said, looking up at me, and then back to her nails. 

"How long are those nails?" I asked.

She smirked. "They're not long dear, no need to worry. I can take them off any time too. But anyway..."

"Gloria," I said. "Carmen has never said a thing to me about her sexual relationships."

"It just seemed like you knew something."

"Like I said, Carmen has never said a thing to me." She understood what I was saying. Carmen never told me her and Kenneth were having sex, but I knew and I knew when they were fighting and I knew they made up. I knew they were in love and that it wouldn't be easy.

"I think it's more than sex," Gloria said. "I mean, they're so close. It must be hard." She stood up an crawled onto my bed. She was shorter than me. I was five foot nine. She was five foot six. That being said, she was all legs. She was good at looking taller in photos because her legs were so long. Her skin was always smooth, her Latinx tan glowing. Her hair always had so much volume and sheen to it. She was curvier than me, womanly.

"I love you," she said to me, running her fingers over my blanket covering my legs.

"I love you too," I said. I knew she was bored while everyone else was out having fun. "Thank you for being my nurse."

"You're welcome honey," she said, pulling out her phone.

"Do you have any plans for break?" I asked. I was finishing up a paper, putting my sources into my works cited page. 

"No, not really," she said, scrolling through Twitter.

"Well, why don't you and Emily do something? And Cassidy. You don't have to stay cooped up in the house with me. I'll probably not go to school tomorrow but go back Wednesday. If I'm feeling better by the weekend we can do something."

She looked up at me, smiling. "Well, there is a small get together at a friend's place tonight," she said. "Just people who have stayed in town for break."

"Go to it. I'm just going to be working on all of this," I said.

"Really? You'll be okay?"

"Yeah. I'm feeling better and if I need something then Carmen and Kenneth can probably help me out."

She sat up and kissed my flushed cheek. "I'll go ask Cassidy what she's up to tonight. I'll probably leave later tonight, but if you need anything just call me."

"Okay Gloria. I just don't want you to feel like you have to spend every second with me. I love you and love spending time with you, but I know you well enough to know you want to go out," I said.

She kissed my other cheek. "You do know me very well." She hopped off the bed and went downstairs. 

I was feeling tired but after finishing the paper I decided to start on more homework. Gloria took a shower in my bathroom, did her makeup, put on a nice outfit, and then went to get dinner with Emily and Cassidy before going out. It was getting late, but I almost done with my Spanish homework for the whole semester. It was online homework, and I really wanted to get it all out of the way so I could spend more time on other work.