“Don’t look at me like that.” Drew didn’t mean to snap at Vin, but he was getting so tired of the way the adults in the house looked at him. “I don’t need any pity. Not from you, and not from Miranda either.”
He gestured at where Miranda stood in front of the TV, facing all the kids from Gene’s band. Her smile was positively giddy, though she probably intended an enchanting smile. Vin stood in the doorway to the den with the tentative stance of someone who can’t decide if he’s going to settle in or running away.
“I don’t pity you.”
“Don’t lie. If I had knocked over these books a couple of years ago, you’d have jeered at me, maybe made it into a joke.”
“You want me to jeer at you?”
“I want you to treat me like you always did. Like there’s nothing wrong with me.” Drew pulled around the chair facing the little desk where he liked to put his laptop when he was working.
“I can’t do that. You aren’t the same. What am I supposed to do when you stand completely still and stare at the wall for hours? Or what about when you have complete conversations with people who aren’t there?”
“I haven’t done that in…. weeks… Well, days. I haven’t done anything like that in days.”
Vin gave him that tilt-headed look of pity that made Drew want to punch him.
“When you act the way you used to before you went to New Mexico then I’ll treat you the way I did then.” Vin clapped Drew on the shoulder.
Drew mentally kicked himself for having said anything to begin with. He already knew that Vin, of all people, was doing his best. The responsibility for getting back on track was entirely Drew’s. He knew that already. But sometimes the frustration crept up on him.
He stared at the backs of the kids. All eight were facing Miranda with varying expressions of interest and concern.
Lately Drew had found it easier to deal with the kids than the adults in the household. The kids took him at face value. They might grin at each other when he did something odd, but they didn’t pity him. They didn’t constantly remind him of the distance between what he used to be and what he had become due to the drug problem.
“Is Miranda trying to sell the kids something?” Vin looked concerned
“Yep. That woman is pretty fanatical about her job.”
“That she is.” Vin’s answering smile struck Drew as enigmatic. “What harebrained scheme did she come up with this time?”
“She wants to sign the kids up to play music for her TV ads.”
“Pft! Seriously?” Vin grinned. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned into the door frame. “She’d be better off sticking with canned music.”
“Yeah. Probably. But it’s clear she’s got a vision and at this rate she’ll give it to the kids.”
“She’ll probably hurt herself doing it, but it’s always fun to watch her go at it.” Vin grinned. “They’ll be fine.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I’ll be there to pick up the pieces.”
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