Portal House - Chapter 8
Changing The Subject
The stark silence of my TV turning off woke me up every time.
Mom used to say I was a dangerously light sleeper, especially as a toddler. Then she’d describe a heist-like string of tasks she had to complete in order to leave me asleep in my own bed.
I sat up, a little dazed from two canned margaritas Rita had begged me to drink with her. I needed water.
“Finally,” Pepper said as I emerged from my bedroom in a uniform that matched theirs. “You look like a wreck, are you gonna be able to cook tonight?”
“I think I can flip burgers with a headache. I’ll be fine, as long as I can eat on the way.”
They reached up and picked at my hair, trying to improve it, I assumed. “Will you please let me fix this?”
I removed Pepper’s hand from my hair, gently bringing it down, noticing the black paint on their fingernails that wasn’t there last night. I let go as soon as I registered the embarrassment on their face.
“Not while my head is throbbing,” I replied.
“Your collar is up,” Pepper said, grabbing their keys from the hook by the front door.
I walked to the closest mirror, which was in the guest bathroom, and fiddled with my collar and ran a comb through my messy brown hair. I looked exhausted still, but I couldn’t fix that in the time I had before my shift. When I rejoined Pepper, they were closing the front door and locking all the locks.
“It feels like a side door kinda day, don’t you think?”
I frowned. “You saw something, didn’t you? You saw the chair move or something.”
Pepper shook their head in silence as I followed them to their car.
“Just tell me,” I said, buckling my seatbelt with my eyes locked on their face. They couldn’t even meet my gaze.
“Drop it. If you want me to stop for food, that is.”
I sighed. I needed a car in the worst way. “Yeah, fine.”
I watched Ruby sniff at the ground as we rolled out of the driveway.
“Changing the subject,” I said, “can I ask what the deal is with you and Rita?”
Pepper frowned, glancing quickly at me, then back to the road. “Hmm?”
“I know she can be a little abrasive at times, but…”
Pepper snorted at my statement. “That’s putting it gently. I know she mocks me and calls me names behind my back.”
I sighed. “To be fair, it’s nothing she doesn’t say to your face.” Pepper flashed me a look of disgust. “I guess that’s not much better. But why do you have to feed into it all the time?”
“I feed into it? That’s rich. She’s constantly provoking me and throwing around her giant…”
“Careful,” I warned.
“…attitude. She uses the fact that I won’t fight her to get her way. She does it to you, too, you know.”
“How so?”
“I don’t know, like…” they sighed. “Why does she have to be such a bigot?”
I stared. “Bigot?”
“It’s subtle, I know, but it’s in her tone of voice.”
I reached into my pocket as Pepper pulled up to the drive-thru speaker, hesitating to roll their window down.
“Gary, I know she’s your sister and all…”
“Order me a number nine and a water.” I handed them two crumpled fives, then folded my arms and turned to look out the passenger window.
“Seriously?” Pepper’s voice cracked. “That’s the line?”
I shut my eyes as they ordered my food, signaling that I was done talking. Pepper got the message. It was going to be an awkward drive to our job.
To Be Continued…