coasters.
I speed-dialed Naomi’s number on my cell and counted the seconds until I heard her voice. She’d make some joke about Grandma or tease me about Justin. But she never tried to fix me.
“Hello?” Naomi’s voice was hoarse and muffled.
“Hey, you should come over now.”
“Huh?” There was a loud rustling sound. “God, Drea. It’s nine a.m. Call me later.”
“I thought you wanted to hang out today.”
She cursed and sighed into the phone. “Yeah,
“Hello?” I glanced at my phone. Call ended, it read. I’d messed up again.
“Drea, honey?” Mom’s slippers padded down the stairs.
“What?”
She walked over to my bed and sat down with that squinty look in her brown eyes. Usually it meant we were moving again, or she’d lost her job. “Grandma’s not bending on this one.” She handed me the yellow slip of paper.
This was followed by a page-long description of how to vacuum.
“Fine, I’ll do that other stuff, but I’m not vacuuming.”
Mom put her hand over mine. “Maybe you can wear some headphones—turn the music up real loud. I’ve got some ear plugs you can use.”
“Just tell her I’m not doing it.”
She rubbed her temples, exhaling sharply. “We need to keep the peace until I can afford a deposit on an apartment, okay?”
I nodded, knowing what she’d say next. Same old story. Compromise or live in her car.
Mom reached down and squeezed my hand. “You deserve better, baby.” Her voice was strained and muffled.
“Quit saying that.”
“I just wish I could give you more. The depression hit me bad in San Francisco. I couldn’t pull out of it. And I really am sorry.”
“I know.” I twisted my green quilt around my finger until it went numb.
She wiped her eyes. “I got that job at the law firm. Start Monday. We’ll be out of here soon. And I promise that we’ll stay put for a while. Do you want to finish high school here?”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Mom cupped my face with both hands, forcing me to look into her watery eyes. “I promise I’m going to do everything I can to keep us here. The paralegal there is retiring soon, and she offered to train me. That would be a really good thing for us.”
“Do you even want to be a paralegal?”
She dropped her hands and shook her head. “It’s a lot better than any other options I’ve had in the past. And the pay isn’t bad. Enough to live on our own—just you and me.” Mom sighed and tousled my hair. “I’m going in the shower. Let me know if you need any help.”
I could handle the vacuum noise for about five seconds before I had to shut it off. Even with sound-canceling headphones blaring my favorite songs, the squeal cut through, making me feel like I was being zapped from the inside. My skin itched, and I feared that the bulging bag would explode. I sat on the couch and hugged myself.
“Doesn’t sound like you’re making much progress out there!” Grandma called from the kitchen. She had a mini TV with antennas on the kitchen counter. The buzzing from the crappy signal filtered throughout the house.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and thought about calling Naomi. But she’d already hung up on me once. Justin’s name stared back at me from my address book. The letters alone made my stomach flutter. We’d exchanged numbers a couple days ago, but he’d yet to call me. Would it be weird if I called him?
I pressed dial and squeezed my eyes shut.
“Hello?” he answered.
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“Drea?”
“Um, hi!”
“What’s up?” His voice sounded deeper on the phone.
“I have to vacuum.”
“That’s… nice?”
“Does your family ever drive you insane?”
