I spent the rest of my day in my room. Mom was downstairs with Mason, playing with him while she passed the time for her date. She knew I was upset about this ‘Caden’s-in-charge’ crap and I was trying to show her I wasn’t going to tolerate it.

I watched the clock ticking by, debating how well my agreement was for not having Caden around. So far, it was pretty good. If she trusted me, she would understand that I was clearly capable of watching my younger brother. With age comes wisdom right? And she had trusted Mason in my hands since he was born.

Why was it now she was reconsidering her actions?

I glanced at the clock again.

An hour left.
I rested my chin on my hand, thinking about how I could use Caden to my advantage. I could easily sneak out of the house and not have to worry about Mason. He would be under watchful eyes. Finally, I could go to parties and meet boys and get drunk. And there was nothing Caden could do about it.

He could, of course, tell mother.

But how would he know? That’s the best part. I could tell him I was going over to a friend’s to study or hang out since he was there to take care of Mason. He wouldn’t know a thing. I doubted Caden would rat me out. He must’ve snuck out a few times during his high school career.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.

With a sigh, I pushed myself up off my bed, walking down stairs to where Mom was. She was sitting on the floor with Mason on her lap, rocking back and forth. I stood by the doorway, smiling. She wasn’t always motherly.

It was nice to see this side of her with Mason. When she was as silly as goofy as Mason was because no one was watching.

“Mom” I said, catching her attention. She looked up at me, shock written across her face. A slight red tint spread on her cheeks as she gently pushed Mason off her lap and onto the floor. He looked up at her, confused, as she stood up, brushing off the non-existent dust from her pants.

I rolled my eyes, standing straight.

“What’s wrong, Joanna?” She asked

“I’ve come to discuss something with you. Let’s go to the kitchen” I said, motioning for her to follow. She sighed, following nonetheless. I could tell she knew what I was going to talk about.

I took a seat, Mom taking one across from me.

“Alright, I’ve thought about it again and again and really, I’m not quite sure what the benefits are of having Caden around” I said, getting straight to the point

“Honey, I’m just worried for Mason. I don’t want anything to happen to him”

“Mother, you’ve trusted me with him since he was born. I’m getting smarter the older I get”

“And Caden is older than you which makes him smarter than you which is why I want him around the house”

Ouch. I ignored the insult “Mom, look. Caden’s a waste of money that we don’t have”

“I’m not paying him much”

“How much are you paying?”

“Three bucks an hour”

“Mom!” I yelled “That’s stupidly low!”

“You want me to give him more money?” She asked, confused “I thought you wanted him out”

I groaned, banging my head on the table “No, no. Please keep paying him that price mother”

“That’s what I thought. He’s really good about that. I offered to pay him more but he insisted he wanted only three bucks an hour” She explained “I’ve never known a boy—a teenager at that—to want less money than offered”

“Is that why you’re keeping him here?”

“No, I just want someone to watch over Mason, as I’ve explained already”

“Mom you know this is ridiculous”

She glanced at her watch “Look, Joanna, I really need to get ready. Caden will be here in a few minutes so please behave”

I rolled my eyes “I behave”

“He told me about the attitude you gave him on his first night”

“Please mother, I’m trying. Forgive me if I’m upset you don’t trust me”

She groaned, obviously sick of my complaining “I do trust you, sweetie. But in this situation, I just want to make sure my little boy is safe. I know you’re safe on your own”

“But mom—”

“Think of it as a chance to socialize. I know Caden’s a senior at your school! Make friends with him and you’ll make more friends”

“I don’t want to be ‘friends with him’” I grumbled

The doorbell rang.

“Oh! That’s him!” Mom stood up quickly, walking away. I wasn’t going to let her get out of this argument

“Mom! Could you just listen to me?” I snapped, growing pissed “This isn’t fair to me! I’m perfectly hold enough not to be dictated around by some cocky senior!”

Her hand was on the door knob when she turned around and hissed at me

“Joanna Marie. You will stop hassling me about this and accept the fact that its not always going to be your way.”

I bit my lip, knowing it was useless to fight anymore once she used my middle name. I crossed my arms as she opened the door.

“Hello Caden!” She smiled, welcoming him inside.

“Hello Ms. Johnson” He grinned back. His eyes fell on me “Hey Joanna”

I glared at him, gritting my teeth.

“What’s up with her?” He asked my mother.

She rolled her eyes at me “She’s just cranky today. You’ll have to excuse her behavior. She’s normally a very nice girl.”

“I’m not cranky!” I snapped

Caden held back a smile. I narrowed my eyes at him before turning around and storming off to my room.

“I’m really sorry, Caden” My mom apologized for me. She knew very well I would never apologize for my actions. I meant every single one of them. And if she didn’t like what I did, that wasn’t my problem.

I slammed my door just for affect, making sure they knew I was pissed. I stayed in my room for the better part of the hour before Mom left. I wasn’t going to speak with her until after Caden left. I disliked this situation with such a passion.

Mom came in to say goodbye. I was laying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I ignored her goodbye, wishing she’d just return so Caden could leave.

I heard the door closed downstairs. With a sigh, a lunged myself off my bed and headed towards the sound. As I hit the stairs, I could hear Mason and Caden playing in the TV room. I avoided that are, going straight for the kitchen.

My stomach rumbled, sending a sign it was time for dinner. I pulled out a frozen pizza and slipped it into the oven, setting the timer.

Footsteps sounded this way as I sat on the counter waiting for my food to finish.

“Look who finally showed up” Caden teased. I held back a stream of profanity knowing Mason was in the room right next to us.

“Oh shut up” I snapped, crossing my arms. He laughed, walking over to where I sat.

“You know, you could be a little nicer” he said leaning his arm by my leg. “It goes a long way”

“I don’t particularly feel any need to be nicer to you”

He shrugged, leaning back and looking up at me.

“Can’t you just go back and play with Mason or whatever?”

“Just wondering what you’re doing”

“I’m making food. Now leave”

“You making enough for your brother too?”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m making a whole pizza” I mumbled

“Alright, fine, I’ll leave” He held his hands up, backing away.

I watched him retreat back to Mason the whole way