Hateful Saint by Ivy Blake
Chapter Four
Ross
I sat in my biology class, eyeing the clock, wishing that the day would just hurry up and finish. I knew that the teachers wouldn’t do shit if I walked out, anyway. Who were they gonna call? Mom? She’d be halfway through her second bottle by now, so that’d be no use. And there’s no way that Dad would pick up. To be honest, I’d be surprised if he was still on my contacts form.
As the class went on, with Mr Murphy droning on and on about some shit no one cared about, I couldn’t help but think of my interaction with Ava. I’d been surprised when I’d spotted her from her loose curls and short skirt, which revealed a really nice pair of legs. The look on her face when she recognised me had been priceless. Ava had looked really happy to see me, as if all the shit that she’d caused hadn’t happened. What kind of person could just walk around acting like they were innocent after affecting my life in the way she had? Unless she remembered exactly what she’d done and was in a state of denial. Seems like something she’d do.
Ava had changed a lot since I’d last seen her, not that I’d been expecting her to look like a kid still. Even in her school uniform, I could tell that she had one hell of a figure, which is what led me to invite her to my party. She’d be a fool to believe that I’d actually have a beach themed party. I simply wanted to embarrass her, but also make it fun, for me, of course.
I had no desire to rekindle our friendship, but I did want to make her sorry for the shit she’d done. She deserved everything that came to her.
Callum turned around in his seat, which was directly in front of me. He had a massive grin on his face that informed me that he was about to say some stupid or offensive shit.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” I hissed at him.
“Is your mom gonna be at the party tonight?” he asked. I wanted to slap that stupid smirk off his face, but I wasn’t in the mood to be threatened with another Saturday detention.
“No, but your mom’s gonna be on her knees for me,” I growled as the familiar mix of anger and embarrassment circled in my chest. I’d already had to put up with plenty of quips and jokes about Mom’s antics, and I was already sick of it. I couldn’t let the boys know that of course, or else they’d see me as weak and too emotional.
“Well, your mom-” Callum began, but he was cut off by Mr Murphy.
“Callum, stop distracting Ross and pay attention, please,” Mr Murphy said firmly.
I wasn’t! Ross said-”
“I don’t care what Ross said, you’re holding up the class now. I’m sure you don’t want to keep everyone behind after school?” Mr Murphy’s face was unimpressed and I could tell that his whole heart wasn’t in the punishment. He was simply holding onto this facade to maintain the respect of his students. Well played.
“Fuck’s sake,” Callum murmured under his breath as he slumped in his chair.
“You can stay for detention though, for language,” Mr Murphy said calmly as he scribbled something into his notebook. The interaction earned some giggles and chatter from our other classmates. I couldn’t lie, it was pretty amusing that he was getting in trouble when usually it was me who’d be causing the problems. Callum groaned again and tried to protest, but Mr Murphy held up his hand, instantly silencing everyone.
“Now, turn to page 305. I need you to complete them for your homework, due next lesson.” Some people groaned but didn’t dare protest as they scribbled in their planners and homework diaries.
“Remember, these marks count towards your final grade,” Mr Murphy said while looking at me pointedly. My book was shut, and I hadn’t even taken out my planner. I’d do the fucking homework when I could be bothered or not at all. He should know the drill by now. Either way, I was averaging a B in his class, so there was no reason for him to be giving me all this eye contact.
The bell went, and I felt like I couldn’t get out of the room quick enough. I threw my backpack over my shoulder and pushed past Callum and some girls to get out of the door. I needed to get home so that I could get Mom out of the house before tonight. I was not going to have a repeat of the previous night’s events. In fact, this party I was throwing was to compensate for all her shit. I pulled out my phone and called Nate.
“Yo, are your parents still having that thing tonight?” I asked as soon as he picked up.
“Yeah, but I’m not sure they’d be cool with your mom coming,” Nate replied, his voice apologetic. I squeezed the phone in my hand, but forced myself to maintain my cool as I walked past a set of lockers.
“Bro, I swear, she’ll get her shit together. Can you just convince them this one time? I need her out of the house.”
“What am I supposed to say that you need them to babysit her so that you can have a party? Not a chance, dude. Not after the last time she was here.”
I shuddered as I thought back to the time that Nate was talking about. Austin, Nate and I had all gone to Nate’s house with our mom for some dinner thing last month. Things had been fine at the start, nice actually, but it soon became clear that Mom had been sneaking extra drinks from her hip flask because she got way drunker than Nate and Austin’s moms and ended up smashing the chandelier. Let’s just say that night ended quickly with a lot of tears and diamonds. I groaned as I tried to think of a plan.
“What the fuck am I meant to do?” I asked, as if Nate could come up with a simple situation.
“Take her to rehab!”
“Bro, do you think I haven’t tried?” I heard Nate sigh loudly into his phone.
“I know this must really suck for you man and I’m sorry there’s not much more I can do. I don’t even know what you can do. She is the adult, after all.” And there it was. One of those phrases that I’d heard so many times that sent icy daggers straight into my heart.
“This isn’t her fault, you know. It’s not like she wants to be this way,” I hissed, finding myself getting defensive.
“I know, I’m not saying she’s a bad person, just-”
“Just what?” I said, cutting Nate off.
“Nothing, Ross. Look, why don’t you put her up in a hotel, if you really have to?” I went quiet for a moment as I thought through a plan. It seemed doable. I just had to act quickly.
“I can try,” I sighed. “I’ll catch you later, man.”
“Call if you need anything,” said Nate before I hung up. Now to deal with drunk Mom. Which iteration would I be getting this afternoon?
* * *“Mom, I’m home,” I called out as I shut the front door behind me. The house was eerily quiet, which was often not a good sign. I checked each of the downstairs rooms, preparing myself for the worst, and was relieved when she wasn’t in either of them. I kept calling her name as I walked up the stairs. As far as I knew, she didn’t have anything on today- not like that would stop her from getting up to shenanigans, but still. My pulse quickened as I pushed open her bedroom door to find her standing in a fancy dress I’d never seen before, looking at her reflection in the mirror.
“Hey baby,” Mom said sweetly as walked over to give me a big hug. I was annoyed that she hadn’t just answered me when I’d called for her. I hugged her back, conscious that I could feel her body growing smaller by the day. Even though she’d been drinking a lot, she’d been eating less and Mom wasn’t the type of person to listen to her teenage son about anything, let alone this.
“You okay?” I asked warily. I sat on her bed.
“Yeah, I’m feeling fantastic!” she said as she took another turn. “What do you think of this dress?” Mom struck a pose and giggled like a schoolgirl. She looked happy, but I could tell that this excitement was only temporary. She was a happy drunk for now, but it never lasted long.
“You look great,” I lied. I forced myself to see past her gauntness. “What’s the occasion?”
“Can’t your mom just dress up and look cute for once?” she snapped all of a sudden before changing her tone to the sweet one she’d greeted me with. “I don’t need a reason, I just thought it looked nice.”
I was used to these rapid mood swings, but anyone else would have been caught off guard by the quickness with which Mom switched. Suddenly I got an idea.
“Hey, how about we go out in your new dress? We haven’t been out, just the two of us for a while.” I made sure not to smile too much so as not to give her anything to get suspicious about.
“Where do you wanna go?” Mom asked as she struggled to put on her heels.
“Let me surprise you,” I said. “Let’s leave in 10 minus, I just need to get ready.” I gave her a kiss on the cheek before leaving her room.
* * *As expected, Mom had knocked back something before we left, meaning by the time we got to the hotel, she was already slurring her words. I helped her out the car and into the reception, embarrassed when the clerk asked if we needed more assistance.
“We’ll be good thanks, she’s just feeling a bit ill-”
“I’m perfectly fine!” Mom said indignantly, even though she was swaying beside me. My arm was wrapped firmly around her waist to make sure that she didn’t fall or run away.
“Can we get our key please? Just so she can have a bit of a lie down,” I said with a smile, trying to act like I had everything under control. Which I basically did. I just had to get Mom up there, make sure there was nothing she could break or hurt herself with, and then I’d be back in time for my party.
The clerk gave me a concerned look, but slid the hotel key card over the desk without question.
“Thank you,” I said, pulling Mom away before she could protest or claim that I was kidnapping her.
“You’re so grown up,” she slurred as we went up in the elevator. I was watching the numbers light up until we got to our floor.
“Oh yeah?” I said gently, even though she probably didn’t know what she was saying.
“Yeah, you always look after me,” said Mom. I paused outside our door and looked down at her, searching her eyes for any further meaning. Mom’s glazed blue eyes looked back at me. I tore my eyes away from hers. I had a task to do.
“In here, Mom,” I said, ushering her inside. The room was massive. I guess it paid to have generational wealth and not have to worry about shit like this. I didn’t have the time to enjoy it though because I had to get back home.
“This feels like sleeping on a cloud,” said Mom as she threw herself on the California King bed. There was another double bed by the window, which I would have taken were I to stay.
“I’m glad you like it,” I said gently. I was about to ask her if she wanted some food, but decided to order room service through the app so that she couldn’t stop me.
“Come here, Ross.” Mom gestured for me to sit on the bed and I followed her instruction.
“You okay?” I asked, looking at her. Her eyes were closed and she looked oddly peaceful.
“I just want to say I really appreciate you.” Mom was properly slurring her words now. “I’m sorry I’m so shit to you-”
“No, Mom-”
“Ever since your dad-”
“No Mom, it’s okay,” I said louder, cutting her off. “I love you too. We don’t need to talk about that stuff. I just want you to have a nice time, in your nice dress, in a nice place. Okay?”
Mum opened her eyes and allowed them to focus on me. “I’m good. Is there a mini bar?”
I swallowed hard, our eyes both landing on the fridge in the corner at the same time. I should have checked that out. “I can get you some food first-”
“Get me a drink before I get pissed off.” Mom was sitting up now, an annoyed expression on her face. And the cycle continues.
“Okay,” I said. There was no point in fighting her. As soon as I left, she’d find a way to get more booze, anyway. I went to the fridge and grabbed the first bottle I saw, tossing it onto the bed. Mom reached for it and unfastened the bottle lid quickly, taking a long swig once she brought the bottle to her mouth.
“It’s really warm in here and I was getting dehydrated,” she said with a forced giggle.
“The remote for the aircon is on the nightstand.” I pointed to it. “Anyway, I need to go and help Austin with something. Will you be okay here on your own?”
Mom tossed her head back and laughed as if I’d told the most hilarious joke. “I’m a grown woman, Ross. I can take care of myself. You go and have fun with your friends.” She flapped her free hand, gesturing for me to leave.
“Promise you’ll stay here?”
“Yeah, yeah, promise,” Mom said flippantly, but it was the best I was gonna get.
“Call me if you need anything, okay?” After she gave me a salute, I closed the door behind me. For a moment I felt guilty leaving her alone, but there was no way I was going to have a repeat of last night. When I went down to reception, I pulled one of the clerk’s aside.
“Do you mind keeping an eye out for my mom?” I asked him.
“Sure, I’ll get someone to check up on her,” the clerk replied with an understanding look on his face. I was glad that he didn’t ask for more details and thanked him quickly before ducking out. I checked my phone and had some missed calls and messages from people concerning the party.
I jumped in my car and turned on the engine straight away, anxious to get back. While I was looking forward to seeing everyone again and redeeming myself, I was most looking forward to seeing Ava. I wondered what she’d wear and how stupid she’d look in her beachy shit while everyone else was in normal clothes. The thought of her humiliation brought a smirk to my lips, the anticipation almost allowing me to forget about Mom in the hotel room. This was only the beginning.
#
