Page 52 of The Need to Know

After buttoning up and hastily fastening the belt around my waist, I unlocked my door, undid the chain lock, and gripped the knob. In a single moment, I closed my eyes, crossed my fingers, and wished for the best.

I opened the door to find my mother’s soft, gentle face hopeful to see me. And my father’s stern, stone-cold face staring at me. By my father’s expression, I knew this wouldn’t be a pleasant visit.

I still put my best foot forward. “You should’ve called so I could be dressed properly.”

Embarrassed, my mother was quick to issue an apology. “Oh, Stassie. I’m sorry, we were just in the neighborhood.”

Doubt that.

My father sized me up. “Are you alone? Is that…Cordell here?”

My parents, namely my father, had never approved of Corey after those few times they crossed paths. In their slight defense, any man who makes your daughter cry on numerous occasions deserves to stay on your shit list.

“No,” I breathed out. “Just me and Scorsese.”

“The cat,” my father repeated, searching the room for my boy. Scorsese was hiding under his moon chair to the right of my coffee table. His curious eyes were locked on my parents.

I didn’t know what I would do if my father sought him out and Scor bit or scratched at him. Points for potentially defending his mom?

“You had to get a cat, didn’t you?” My father snarled at the sight of Scorsese.

“Hush, David,” my mother insisted, shooting me a frown.

“Well, I suppose it could be worse,” my father said in the end.

There was only so many jabs I would take.

“So, is this random visit for you to come here to insult me and my cat, or was there a more pressing matter at hand?” I prompted as I threaded my fingers together.

“Like I said, we were in the neighborhood.” My mother swooped in, pacifying the building tension between me and my father. She placed her hand on my back and steered me toward the couch. “We haven’t heard from you and were worried. At least with Alannah she’s got school keeping her be.”

“It’s summer,” I let out. I didn’t want to throw Alannah under the bus, but it wasn’t like she was taking summer classes. If she got a pass for ghosting our parents, where was mine?

“She’s probably still keeping up with her courses. That’s always been Ali’s thing, she has to know everything.” My father stood by the door, not budging.

Last I remembered, Alannah was head over heels for her boyfriend, Oisin. I wouldn’t out her to our parents, but I was willing to bet he was the reason she was hardly keeping up with them.

My father was right, though; ever since we were kids, Alannah was the smart one. The curious one. The one destined to save the world with her accumulated knowledge.

I forced my eyes to dart to the ceiling, telling myself to stop comparing. Telling myself to not feel inadequate. We were different, and that was okay. We all had our own paces and places in life. Alannah’s was medicine. And mine was clothing. Ali would save the world, and I would style it.

“We did manage to get ahold of her,” my father went on. “She should be coming down sometime next month. I was thinking she could stay here.”

While I was their renter, this was my home. “Here? Why not a hotel?” I turned and looked at him.

My mother’s hands patted my thigh, gaining my attention. “A hotel when you’ve got all this room? We would say home with us, but we figured maybe she’d need her privacy, and it’d be good for you girls to catch up.”

If Alannah was coming to visit, I had a feeling she would keep to her word and bring Oisin. And if she did, they’d probably shack up in a hotel. A quick browse through her Instagram page and there wasn’t a hint of a relationship taking place. Smart.

The worst part of me looked forward to the day Alannah did come and drop the bomb on our parents that she had a heart that bled and beat for love as well.

But I would let her tell them that. “Well, it’s no problem if Ali wants to bunk with me when she comes down. This is a lot of house for just me and Scorsese.”

“Excellent.” My mother clapped her hands together and peered over at my father. “I can’t wait till Alannah gets here. We gotta go out for a girls’ day, her, me, you, and Paisley.”

A pained smile crossed my lips. “Sounds great.”

“Well.” My mother looked around, spotting Scorsese keeping his distance under his chair, my TV on the Amazon Prime explore page, and my stature in a trench coat. “We’ll be getting out of your hair since you’re not appropriately dressed.”