December Boys (BxB) | ✓

Chapter 42 - Operation Nao

Wednesday night did not pan out the way I had planned for it to.

My mother was clearly thinking the same thing when she stepped out of the living room to find three boys in her entry hall instead of just the one. She was holding a folded newspaper and a cup of herbal tea in each hand, giving us owl-eyed stares as we undressed by the door.

"Hi Mrs. Summers!" Seth chirped when his shoes were safely stowed under the radiator. His coat had been haphazardly slung over my brother's biker jacket, and was in the process of slowly sliding to the floor.

"Nice to see you again, Seth," my mom said, eyes still round, and darting between Seth, myself and...

Axel placed his boots by the entry and shuffled out of his navy blue coat. His hair was sticking up in odd places, but there was nothing untidy about him when he faced my mother. It was the second time they met, but to my infinite relief, none of them did much but politely greet each other. Seth still had no idea Axel had spent the night here. If it were up to me, that was something he never needed to know.

"You guys head on up." I scratched the back of my neck while trading looks with my mom. I figured it was better to get the discussion over with while the others were out of earshot. It was doubtful that my mom would let this go a second time.

My intuition proved correct. As soon as Seth and Axel had slithered up the stairs and disappeared in the direction of my room, my mom pounced on me like a cat chasing a pathetic mouse.

"Nao!" she hissed, sending a wild look up the stairs. "You brought that boy again."

"Yes."

"And Seth! Together! The last time you had a sleepover with more than one— "

"It's not a sleepover, mom, we're not kids anymore."

A warm smile tugged at her narrow lips. "You'll always be my little kid."

"Mo-om..."

"So is this new friend — Axel, was it? — a friend of Seth's, too? Are you all hanging out together now?"

"Mom, please—"

"I'm so glad you're making new friends, honey. Seth's a good kid, but all that magic can't possibly be good for his head. Is Axel interested in that stuff, too?"

I released an exasperated sigh before swinging into the kitchen. My mom had caught the scent of something interesting now, so there was no way she'd back down without a fight. As I collected chips from the cabinets and soda from the refrigerator, she shot off one question after another.

"What class is Axel in? You were working on the same project, right?"

"He's in specials—"

"Oooh, he must be a smart one, then. I'm so relieved to hear he's clever! Maybe he can help you with your geometry..."

And she went on, and on, and then on some more. Her voice was a constant chatter that I fought to tune out but still couldn't help but absorb. I wanted to deflect her questions and act spoiled, the way I always had when my mom got too close, but I didn't have enough energy to do that.

"Honey, is something wrong?" Her hand found its way to my shoulder, and her eyes found mine. A mother's intuition was not a laughing matter.

"I'm fine mom," I muttered, hugging the soda bottle closer to my chest. I knew she knew.

The silence between us was the same type of silence we had endured before. While mom and Erik fought, fighting with me was more like clamming up. We considered each other through a haze of misunderstandings and miscommunication. Lily wasn't the only one I'd avoided being honest with.