Frankie August Was Here (updated!)
ZanarkandFayth:
One
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Vinnie helping me with homework had become part of the daily regiment of the August household. My older brother, either through his dad's genes or some dormant genius genes that our mother carried, was a certifiable Einstein...at least to all of us. Mostly me.
"You get it now?" he asked, a tinge of annoyance lingering in his voice, though I knew it wasn't for me. He crossed and uncrossed his arms, his eyes darting to the front door for any sign of her.
"You have to ask?" I snapped back, equally annoyed. "You know, I could get a good waitressing job down--"
"You aren't quitting high school, so stop whining," he said firmly. Of course, daddy dearest. My brother was more of a parent than any of the rest of us had ever had, and I would have liked to know where he'd gotten the paternal instinct.
"Mom's home," Charlie called wearily from the living room, and Vinnie tensed. This was it, finally. I stood, trying to gather my homework and slip it into my bag. I wouldn't need it anyway. Vinnie shot me a look that said, "Get in your room. Now."
But I stopped, and whether it was from some internal instinct to want to see my own mother, or just from sheer shock that Vincent August would ever talk to anyone so coldly was beyond me. He turned his shoulder to me, and I glanced into the living room where Charlie sat, his head in his hands, in a recliner, and Antony and Patrick slept soundly on the couch.
Our mother walked in, a glow about her and she snatched me up in a hug. I'd barely seen her awake that morning, her hair a mess and her makeup still on from the night before. It wouldn't be the first time that she'd slept over at her boyfriend's house. But she was happy, standing there in a soft black and white dress, way nicer than anything me or any of the guys had to wear.
"My precious baby girl!" she squealed, grabbing me up in a tight hug. She smelled like her own perfume and the thick cologne that her boyfriend always wore. Pulling me away, she looked at Vinnie with a smile. "Where are my other babies?"
"Antony and Patrick are sick," he lied, his eyes narrowing. "Charlie's asleep in the living room. I don't know what Jared's doing." I widened my eyes at him; Vinnie August, whose poker face was the worst I'd ever seen in my life, lied directly to our mother perfectly, no stumbling, no fault, and no guilt giving way.
I ran off before I had to watch anymore; he'd make sure I and the rest of our brothers could hear it, though. The last glimpse of them I'd gotten was a hostile one, more so than anyone had ever looked in our family. Vinnie was our peacemaker when Patrick and I got into a fight, or when Charlie said something mean to Antony. Vinnie was our hero, and then he had to be the bad guy.
"I'm done with this," he said, loudly, his voice echoing through the kitchen. I heard Mom yelp and jump back from the force behind his voice. She'd never heard him like that either. "I am not their father, and I am not supposed to have to take care of them, Mom!"
"Vinnie, I--"
"No! Let me talk," he said, his voice lowering, though it still boomed in the quiet house. Nothing moved and their was nothing to interrupt his talking.
"You have one daughter! One! And look what you do. You go out, night after night, showing her that it's okay to just abandon your family!"
Mom squeaked, whimpering as if she were going to cry. "But honey, I'm trying to find someone good to support this family," she pleaded, trying to explain her behavior. I sighed. We'd heard it all before. Her voice softened and warmer. "I think I found him, too."
"That's what you said about my dad. Then Charlie's, then the twin's, then Frankie's... When's it going to end? When you have ten kids and still no one to take care of you?" That one made me hurt. Unlike most of us, I was actually on fairly good terms with my dad. One or two visits a year, presents and money all the time. A pretty good deal, I've got to say.
Vinnie stopped and breathed, taking in all he'd said and making sure he had nothing else to say, no other wounds to open. "We're leaving. Tonight," he said, his voice soft and low, but I could still here it, and the reaization of it settled.
"We? You're...you're taking..?" she stuttered, and it settled on her too.
"Jared, Antony, Patrick, Charlie, and Frankie. We're all going," he said, and there it was. It was all final, and there was nothing else to say about it. When Vinnie set his foot down, even to our mother, it was over, and there were no other arguments to make him turn.
And Vinnie kept to his word. We left that night, the last time I saw my mom was when I was thirteen. Vinnie was twenty one, and though he said he wasn't supposed to have to take care of us, he chose to, as if staying there with our mother was really the worst thing for me. He'd said, in the car, that it was because he didn't want to just sit by and watch her go from one man to another, having one baby after another, and having to take care of sibling after sibling while our mother ran off to try to find "someone stable to take care of the family."
bigkitty75:
This sounds pretty good
emoscenesk8r:
that's good
arielle22:
good so far :D
Devomuffins:
Oh... so sad.
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