Sugarcane and Indigo

101 Spiders pt 1

"Grammie, Indigo's-coming-over-for-dinner," I quickly spat out as she set the table.

    She froze, her hand gripping the second plate hovering over the table before slowly, carefully she placed it down with a resounding Clink!.

    "I'm sorry?" she asked slowly, still looking down at her hands on the plate instead of me.

    "Indigo's coming over for dinner," I repeated slowly, never taking my eyes off her.

    "See that's what I thought you said but I thought maybe I didn't clean my ears well enough this morning." She turned to stare me down, her big dark eyes beaming into my own.

    I didn't say anything, just shuffled where I stood.

    "Why is that boy coming over?" she demanded, resting a hand on her hip.

    I swallowed thickly, closing my eyes. I didn't want to say it, didn't want to lie to her.

    "We're dating."

    That was the half-truth Indigo and I had agreed on last night, but it still turned my stomach to think about it. I wanted to date Indigo, sure, but I didn't want to date him as a cover for the investigation.

    "You're dating the outsider?" Grammie demanded, glaring at me.

    I nodded.

    "Why?"

    "I don't know?"

    "Mmm-hmmm. Do better."

    I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "I don't know! He's pretty?"

    "Tons of boys - and girls - in Nowhere are pretty, Child! Why are you dating him?"

    I shook my head. "He's kind?"

    "So are half the people here! Why. Are. You. Dating. Him?"
    "I don't know! He's kind, and beautiful, and sweet, and tall, and - and he tries to protect me!"

    Grammie turned away in disgust, raising her hands like she was praying to the gods. "You're a Fletch, woman. You don't need protection!"

    "I know, Grammie," I soothed, trying a different approach, "But it's still nice having someone try."

    Grammie just considered me with her lips all twisted up. "Is there anything I can say to convince you otherwise?"

    I shook my head.

    She let out a deep sigh, like it was coming out of her belly. "Fine, then." She turned to consider the table for a moment before continuing in a non-committal voice. "You could do a lot worse than a Bryd anyhow."

    I slowly started to smile. "You're okay with me dating him?"

    Grammie raised an eyebrow. "Okay with it? Never. But I don't see no good in standing in your way. At least you're not sneaking around your mama."

    At the mention of my mother a gloom came over me. How dare she spoke of my mother when she was the reason she was dead? I turned away from her and went upstairs to my room. She could set the table alone today.

    I hung out in my room for the next two hours going over Grammie's old yearbooks. How many of her old friends were part of The Whip? How many people did I know were dedicated to the death of my best friend? Did the principal look at Indigo and Violet on the first day of school with disgust in her eyes? Did hate run that deep? Could someone truly hate someone enough to kill a child?