I want to ask her what she did to get kicked out of school, but I don’t know Indigo that well. Her mother is my father’s sister, and the two of them rarely speak to one another other than when we’re at family reunions, and even then, the conversation is strictly formal. And my mom refuses to speak to most of my dad’s relatives, saying they act like a bunch of hippies.
All I really know about Indigo is that she’s into art and self-expressionism through painting and her body. I once heard her call her body a canvas. She has tons of tattoos and several piercings, and she does all sorts of crazy stuff with her hair, even shaving her head one time.
“So, are you looking after Grandma Stephy’s house while we’re gone?” I ask, stealing a butterscotch from the candy dish.
She shakes her head, flopping down on the floral sofa. “Nah, I’m going with you guys.” She kicks her boots up on the coffee table and crosses her legs. “I figure a little trip overseas might lead me down a path to self-discovery.”
“Don’t let her fool ya with her artsy-fartsy talk,” Grandma Stephy says as she enters the living room. She’s cut her hair since the last time I saw her but is still rocking the grey. She’s never really dressed very grandmother-ish and is decked out in a pair of rhinestone jeans and a pink T-shirt. “The reason she’s going is to see Peter.”
“Who’s Peter?” I peel the wrapper off the candy and pop the treat into my mouth.
“Some guy she met in New York who, I guess, lives in London,” Grandma Stephy explains as she opens her arms to give me a hug. “Enough about Indigo. I’ve heard enough about British guys to last me a lifetime. What I really want to hear about is you.” She wraps her arms around me and gives me the first hug I’ve had in months. “How you holdin’ up, honey?”
“I’m okay.” I hug her back, getting a whiff of hairspray and floral perfume. It makes me smile because it’s so her and it reminds me that I’m here, with her, for the next three months, where maybe I won’t feel like such an outcast.
“It’s going to be okay,” she tells me, patting my back.
“Um, thanks.” I pull back, sensing something’s off. “Is something wrong? You seem a little … I don’t know, sad.”
She eyes me over. “I was just going to ask you the same question.”
Okay … what the hell is going on?
“Isabella’s fine,” my dad insists as he walks in and drops my suitcases on the floor. He locks eyes with Grandma Stephy and gives her a pressing look. “You and I need to talk privately about what to say and what not to say. I know how much you like to run your mouth.”
My grandma shakes her head at my dad. “Good grief. Sometimes, it’s hard to believe I raised you.”
My dad looks taken aback. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
She narrows her eyes at him. “It means you’ve turned into an asshole over the years you’ve spent with—”
“Don’t you dare bring my wife into this,” he warns, his face reddening.
“I wouldn’t have to if she didn’t …” She trails off, glancing at me with worry.
The two of them arguing is nothing new, yet the way they keep looking at me, like I’ve suddenly started glowing neon green and sprouted an eye in the middle of my forehead, is definitely out of the norm.
“Fine. You want to talk privately, then come on.” Her voice is cold, her expression hard as she turns and storms down the hallway.
My dad marches after her, fuming mad.
Moments later, a door slams shut, though I can still hear their muffled voices.
“What do you think that was about?” I ask, turning to Indigo.
She shrugs with her brows furrowed. “I have no idea.” Her eyes light up as she plants her feet on the floor. “But I know how we can find out. Come on.”
I reluctantly follow her as she hurries down the hallway toward where my dad and grandma went. As we near the bedroom door, their voices grow louder and clearer.
“Are they yelling at each other?” I whisper to Indigo as we stop in front of the door.
She nods as she presses her ear to the door. “They’ve been doing it a lot lately on the phone, too,” she whispers. “I’m not sure what it’s about, though.”
“Can you hear anything?” I whisper, inching closer.
She puts her finger to her lips, shushing me. “I think …” She doesn’t finish her thought, driving me mad. Mad, I tell you!
I press my ear to the door and listen for myself.
“You have no right to do this,” my dad growls, sounding more furious than I’ve ever heard him, including the time he yelled at me for sneaking a sip of his scotch. “She’s not your child.”
“Well, she’s barely yours with how shitty you treat her,” Grandma Stephy barks back. “You hardly know that girl at all.”
“That’s bullshit. I know her better than you. She’s my daughter, not yours.”
“Okay, Mr. Know-it-all. If you know your daughter so well, tell me what her favorite manga book is. Or, hell, just tell me her favorite book.” Silence stretches between them, and she adds, “You don’t know shit about your daughter. But I do. I know she draws her own comics. And while I don’t always understand them, I know a talented artist when I see one. Did you know she writes her own blog? She’s pretty clever, too. Plus, on top of that, she’s a straight-A student … but I’m sure you know all this already, right?” Sarcasm drips from her voice like thick globs of honey. “I mean … she is your daughter.”
The silence that follows makes my stomach churn as reality crashes down on me. I always knew my father wasn’t that interested in me, but the fact that he has no damn clue what makes me tick hurts like a blow to the jugular.
“You know it’s hard for me when it comes to her,” my father says, speaking more calmly. “And there are circumstances that—”
“I don’t give a shit about the circumstances,” Grandma snaps. “When you chose to keep her with you, you chose to be her father. If you couldn’t handle what that entailed, then you should’ve let her come live with me like I offered. But no, you decided to take her in and treat her like shit.”
I jerk back from the door. “What the hell?” I say louder than I mean to.
Indigo captures my arm and tows me back down the hallway, making a beeline for the front door. I don’t know if my grandma or dad heard me, but the bedroom door is still shut by the time Indigo drags me outside. She only releases me when we’ve crossed the parking lot and reached the tree area across from the apartment.
“Holy shit.” I run my fingers through my hair as I pace back and forth across the grass. “I don’t get what just happened. I don’t … None of this makes sense.” I place my hands on my hips and hunch forward as my stomach burns. “Keep me? He chose to keep me …? I don’t understand.” I peer up at Indigo, who has a cigarette between her lips and a lighter in her hand. “Do you know what any of that was about?”
She cups her hands around the cigarette then lights it. “I’m not positive, but I have a few theories,” she says, a cloud of smoke circling her face. “But they’re just theories based on shit I’ve heard my mother and father talk about.”