Apricity [a-PRIS-i-tee]: The warmth of the sun in winter
Briar Elizabeth Maddox
Became a social outcast over the summer and now her used-to-be friends treat her no better than the dirt under their shoes. But no matter what she's been through, she'...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"We need to talk."
Julius was sitting at the dining room table when I walked through the front door later that day. "Aren't you supposed to be at the shop?"
"They can handle it without me for a day," he said. He watched me as I dropped my backpack on the floor and kicked off my shoes. I knew this conversation needed to happen but I knew I wasn't going to like it one bit.
We were silent for what felt like so much longer than it was. I sat down at the table and waited for him to say something.
"How long?" Two words punched through the silence.
"How long for which part?"
He takes a deep sigh and I recognize the exhaustion in his body language. There were bags under his eyes that weren't there before. I didn't imagine he slept long. "Any of it. All of it. Jesus, Roman. How come you didn't say anything? Why did it have to take her showing up at my door for me to even get a little bit of an idea of what was going on after I left?"
"I was eight when you left, Julius. What was I supposed to do?"
Julius stood up so fast that his chair shot back. He began pacing back and forth in the room. "Then I shouldn't have left in the first place. Is that what should have happened?"
"No," I said simply. "And maybe that's exactly why I never said a thing to you."
"Roman, I could have helped you. I could have helped her too. No one wanted to tell me shit and act like everything was all fucking sunshine and unicorns when I came to visit."
"Sunshine and unicorns?" I almost laughed at the idea. "When has that ever been the way to describe our home life?"
"Our home life didn't mean our mother shot herself up with drugs any chance she could get. It never meant that she didn't give a fuck who she brought into her house, and it sure as hell didn't leave you bruised or thrown out into the fucking street."
"Yeah, I get that much, Julius. I was there," I say flatly.
We went quiet, the only sound between us for a moment was the sound of Julius's pacing in the room. "So?" I finally ask. "What happened when I left?"
He gives a dry laugh. "You were right, she wanted something." I nod in confirmation as he goes on. "The fucking nerve of that woman, Rome. She couldn't say anything to defend herself about what you said, nothing. No, but she had plenty of words to ring me for more money," he rants.
"Did you give her something?"
He meets my gaze for a second before rolling his eyes and staring at the ceiling. "I wrote her a check for three months rent and told her to fuck off." He meets my stare that I carefully work to keep blank. "She won't be bothering us for a while."
I don't give him a response to that. It was his money, I wasn't going to tell him how to spend it. "And this guy that she's with? Is that the same guy who was giving you problems?"
