Jean covered her hers when he looked up and passed the letter to her, Martin read through and she shrugged.
"I didn't get the scholarship"
"That shouldn't be a problem...you just need to focus on your final exams, there'll be better schools" He winked "Hopefully the ones that won't burn a hole through my pocket"
She sighed, saving dad a whole lot of money was one of the reasons why and all that studying went to waste. No one knows so she might just take his advice and hope she went to college next year provided she studied and cut off coffee.
"Don't beat yourself up, we'll get em next year" Etta took her shoulders "Now help me beat your dad on this thingamajig"
"I have laundry to do," She said and Etta let go watching her take her stuff to the bathroom, Scott winced when she threw his red socks at him leaving. Etta touched Scott's head when his eyes followed her.
She heaved a deep sigh hanging her clothes back on the rails, to think she would get in was a fallacy, she dumped the cards in the trash and set in her textbooks on the table burning a hole through her brain trying to get the answer to the simultaneous equations, she perked up when the door opened swivelling to face Scott trying to reach for her bowl and grimaced at the sour candy. Tossing the wrapper in the bin.
"What are you reading bird brain?" He said with a gentle voice and his eyebrows rose, he wore a grey shirt with the school's initials on it grabbing a chair to settle down.
She swivelled back to her books "Haha...very funny"
"Here" He gave her a paper and she gazed at it hoping it wasn't a letter bomb and she laughed at the red marks on it with a poor grade, this coming from Scott was astounding.
"From first year" He passed her a paper with a letter from Columbia University and she read it and sat up with round eyes.
"What!? You had a scholarship all along!?..."
"Shh shut up!" He patted her lips and she mumbled at him frowning and he sighed snatching them from her.
"I wanted to tell dad about it but it turns out he doesn't want me to be far away from him, you understand?"
"He doesn't know and by the way, you shouldn't_"
"Shut up, I like it here" He hissed and she softened and lowered her head.
"What are you trying to teach me?"
"That I'm smarter than you in every way and you don't completely suck"
"Thank you for your terrible, shallow advice you toxic human being"
"Come on, we're going outside"
"I have math first thing tomorrow" She protested and he gripped her arm dragging her outside.
"Nooooooo!"
Gigi huffed watching when Jean kicked out while he was getting close to the car shaking her head.
***
George listened to the audio file flipping his pencil, he stopped taking classes a while after prom and he turned when light cracked the dark room and he frowned at Gracie biting her hand at the opening with bare feet, he walked over to her and her head rose.
"What is it you want now?" He asked crouching to meet her gaze and he looked up when he heard mom and dad complaining from downstairs.
How did she even manage to get up here without assistance? He pulled her aside and went downstairs to watch them fighting.
Rose's hand was on the speaker crying while Dale yelled crushing a cigarette on his hand, his hair and shirt were out of sorts and their wedding photo was shattered on the floor.
"Please Dale, this is getting out of hand, you need to stop"
"I'll stop when I wanna stop, you don't tell me how to run my life because I paid your bills and what do you ever do around here? Huh? What!?
Haven't I loved you enough, Rose, I tried every single day of my life to forgive you, to make this marriage work and try to look at him but I'm fucking exhausted. I shoulda left you a long time ago. Pack your things, you're leaving my house this instant!"
"Dale please_"
She fell off when he flung his hand across her face, George's heart raced to rush down the remaining steps to hold her in his arms. Dale growled.
"Not even you can stop what I'm going to do to her"
He concluded and Rose gripped George crying, her eyes moved over to Gracie with her head through the rails and her hands on top watching them. She took the air in gasps
"No, you're not taking my daughter too!"
George stumbled when she rushed to Gracie watching them struggle with Gracie crying and gripping Rose.
He'd witnessed times like these and how they fought over things trivial or serious. He tried hard to get over it but it seemed like they were never going to stop fighting.
"You can't do this! She's my child_"
"No, she's my flesh and bones, you tell me how in the world you brought that bastard into my life_ no, you tell him, tell him who his real father is!"
Rose shook her head with red eyes and swallowed "No, Dale no!"
George rose and paled trying to register what Dale just said, he scoffed stepping back when she pleaded with him taking his hand off hers.
"George, h_he's just angry, you know that" She cried out, her hair wiggled when she shook her head.
His eyes watered shaking his head and tears flowed at the movement facing Dale with clenched fists "No, no, I wanna hear everything"
"You see? Your son wants to know the truth!" Dale barked pointing at George.
"What is it? Tell me what it is... who's my father? I want to know, answer me"
She trembled covering her eyes and gasped when he forced her hands off her eyes to face him, angry.
He picked up and pushed himself out the door running as fast as his legs could carry him in the cold night, stumbling into a brush and picking cobwebs off his face running into a door, he banged on it shivering from the cold.
He huffed and breathed heavily when the door opened and Jean paused when he walked in hugging her, she gasped while they swayed.
"George_"
"I need you"