Family Business

You know that feeling at a wedding or a birthday or something, when you're forced to chat with your forty-eighth uncle, twice removed, and you have nothing to add but you're obliged to listen to them ramble? This... This is nothing like that.

I observe Jenny for a moment, she doesn't look like Mum, or Rouge for that matter, and I don't just mean the identical twin thing. She looks... Rougher, her eyes look older, like they've seen too much. At first glance she looks almost business-like, but it's clear there's more than meets the eye here.

"So, I'm guessing from the blank expression Rouge's guess was right, Scar didn't tell you about me." My aunt surmises, sounding unsurprised. "Look, I know you probably feel a bit left in the dark, but I just want to say... It's not her fault, not really." She continues.

I was not ready for this conversation today. "I get you want to look out for my Mum, but she lied to us, until I get a chance to talk to her I can't just let it go." I argue.

"It's... A bit more complicated than that..." Jenny sighs, taking a seat on the bench next to me. "Your Mum and I... We had a lot of bad blood, the worst kind really. That's my fault, I was beyond evil to her. We moved past it, became friends, became family even... And I fucked it up again." She explains, wincing at whatever memory flashed through her head.

"What actually happened?" I ask, desperate for some clarity.

Jenny takes a second to compose herself before continuing. "I... I was seeing this guy at the time, Rob, I was head over heels, obsessed with the guy, worshipped the ground he walked on. Only... People change, and eventually he became unrecognisable. Not that I could see it. So, when Scarlet reached out to me and told me he'd cheated on me... I didn't believe her. Hell, I hated her for even suggesting it. Of course, it was true, and eventually I woke up, but the damage was done. I'd said every horrible thing I could imagine, and I hadn't trusted my own sister... We didn't speak again. I tried to contact her a couple of times, no response, not that I can blame her."

Wow, that's a lot of information, I'm feeling a tad overwhelmed but I'll have to process later. "Then, what you're saying is, you're the asshole?" I conclude.

My aunt snorts at my bluntness. "You definitely take after Elise." She smiles. "Yeah, I'm the asshole, I'm the self-saboteur, the black sheep, everything bad really. That being said, it was a long time ago, I like to think I've come a long way since then."

Convenient really, the perfect excuse for Mum to cross her name out of the family tree. Too bad I don't buy it. "Still doesn't make sense, it's not like Mum bad-mouthed you, she didn't even mention your existence, you can't tell me that's just because of an argument about a guy." I point out.

Jenny's smile widens at my intuition. "Well, there's one more detail. Your Mum's an anxious sort and... She got me and Rob together, just did it on a whim to keep us busy. When things went bad... I think she felt responsible. Guilty even. Sometimes there's just too many memories to fix things, you know?" She answers sadly. It's obvious she's thought a lot about this, it must weigh on her.

"That's about all the time I've got." She states, groaning as she stands back up. "Just... Give Scarlet a chance, yeah? She needs support right now."

"Thanks, I appreciate you trying to clear things up." I reply, still not certain on how I feel about everything. "You're the one in charge of the animal shelter now, right?" I add.

Jenny nods to confirm. "That's right. You should stop by sometime. I know a certain white-haired football player that won't stop talking about you." She smirks. Andi? She did mention she volunteered there, but I didn't realise they were so close.

"Wait... If you know Andi, maybe you can tell me what went on with her and Echo?" I respond leadingly, but Jenny simply runs her finger and thumb across her mouth, signifying her lips are sealed.

"Sorry, that's private girl talk, no boys allowed! You'll just have to ask her yourself." She tells me coyly, before heading towards the exit. "Toodle-oo!" She exclaims as she leaves. Who on Earth still uses that phrase?

Still...

Andi won't stop talking about me, huh?

*

My peaceful walk home at the end of the day is interrupted by a sudden pain in my arm. I turn to see Poppy's pouting face, recoiling from punching me.

"Can't believe you left me on my own in Music." She complains, crossing her arms. Yeah, like she's actually angry about that.

"Sorry, it's not like I could argue with Echo." I counter, not mentioning that I'd requested our little chat. "Besides, you and Ty seemed to get along, I'm sure you survived."

Poppy responds by punching my arm again. "I looked like an idiot, you meanie!" She growls. "Urgh... I bet he thinks I'm a complete weirdo. I could barely get my words out."

Well, it's clear who inherited Mum's legendary self-confidence issues. Still, this is why we have the plan... Speaking of which, we're joined by our bandmate.

"What's up, dickheads?" Echo greets us, but continues before we can even comprehend the question. "Got a spot for the party, wanna go check it out?"

Poppy seems surprised by her statement. "Wait, party? What party?" She stammers, trying to process the idea.

"We're throwing a party, and you need to come, it's gonna be our first proper gig." Echo informs her. "Speaking of which, are you coming?" She demands impatiently.

I sigh as I pull my bag strap off and pass it to Poppy. "Can you take this inside for me? I'll be back later." I request, knowing full well my sister is too nice to say no. She takes the bag from me and heads back home, leaving me with a devious-looking Echo.

"Wait until you see what I've found."