The Art of Life (87 page)

               
“Hey,
did you guys eat dinner yet?” Jeremy asks.

               
“No,”
I say
, looking
at Josh.
 
I mouth Jeremy and he grimaces.

               
Jeremy
says, “Ask Josh if I can come.”

               
“Hold….on,”
I slowly reply.
 
I cover the end of my
phone.
 
“He wants to come to dinner!” I
hiss.

               
Josh
frowns.
 
“Tell him my mom got the flu and
we are coming back over by him.”

               
“I
don’t lie to him,” I moan.
 
“We
promised.”

               
“Well,
then, I don’t know.
 
Tell him, I decided
not to go over there, which I did.”

               
Talking
back into the phone, I try and not let my voice shake.
 
“Josh decided he didn’t want to go over
there.”

               
There
is a pause, and then Jeremy asks, “What have you two been doing this whole
time.”

               
“I
don’t know,” I say.

Growling, Jeremy snidely
remarks, “Has he put his hands on you in any sort of affectionate matter?”

“No, he hasn’t.”

That seems to lighten
Jeremy’s mood.
 
“Then what have you been
doing?”

“Just
stuff, nothing in particular.
 
Josh needs to stop at the store.
 
We need to pick up some things.”

               
“Do
I need to come?
 
I don’t remember giving
you any money….did I give you money?”

               
With
a giggle, I say, “No.”

               
“I
need to do that.
 
I will get you a debit
card,” Jeremy states.

               
“A debit card to what?”
I ask, slightly confused.

               
There
is a slight pause and then a sarcastic, “To my bank account, duh!”

               
“What!?”
I snap.
 
“I
am not doing that.”

               
“You
need money to live on,” Jeremy states matter-of-factly.

               
Growling
I say, “No, I am not budging on that one.
 
You can give me an allowance.”

               
“What
are you, 12?” He replies.
 
“None of that
matters.
 
When are you coming home?”

               
“Soon,
I promise.
 
I am going to go now.”

               
With
a heavy sigh, Jeremy says, “Alright, see you soon.”

               
“Bye,”
I reply, pressing end.
 
“He is going to
know something is up.”

               
Josh
grimaces as he pulls his shirt back down.
 
“I am not going to come up to the apartment.
 
If I wince, he will know something is up.”

               
“And
what am I supposed to do?” I ask.

               
“Put
on something that is baggy and with an elastic band,” Renee says.
 
“I would say go without pants, but obviously
that won’t fly.
 
I would go without
underwear.”

               
A
devious smile passes over Josh’s face.
 
“Maybe I will come up.”

               
I
roll my eyes.
 
“Shut up Josh.”
 
He just laughs in reply.
 
When she gives us the total for the tattoos
my heart stops.
 
“Josh!
 
I can’t have you pay that.”

               
“Umm,
it’s your graduation present, just REALLY early.
 
It’s awesome, just leave it at that,” Josh
reassures me.

               
“Okay,”
I sigh.
 
He pays and we leave.
 
It doesn’t take us long at the store.
 
Josh tells me to put the stuff in my
backpack, so Jeremy doesn’t see.
 
When we
pull up to the apartment, I turn to him.
 
“Thank you, Josh.
 
This meant a
lot.”

               
“No
problem kiddo,” he retorts.
 
“Have a good
night and keep that clean.”

               
Leaning
over, I kiss him on the cheek.
 
“I
will.
 
See you later.”

               
“Bye,”
Josh says, waving.

               
The
walk to the door feels really long.
 
What
am I going to do?
 
How am I going to hide
this?
 
When I get upstairs, and open the
door, Jeremy is nowhere to be seen.
 
Taking the opportunity, I dart into my room.
 
I shut the door and sigh.
 
Quickly I take my pants off, which is a huge
comfort.
 
Next comes my underwear, and
then I pull on pajama bottoms.
 
I
actually sigh.
 

               
There
is suddenly a knock on my door, “Isabelle?”

               
“Yeah,”
I answer.

               
“Are
you okay?
 
You didn’t even come and say
hi,” Jeremy says.

               
Whipping
off my hoodie, I go open the door.
 
“I am
fine,” I state, putting my hand on the non-tattooed hip.
 
“How are you?”

               
Looking
a little skeptical, Jeremy replies, “Hungry.
 
Where is Josh?”

               
“He
had to go do something.
 
I have no idea
where he is going,” I sigh.
 
Okay, that
is the truth.
 
“What do you want for
dinner?”
       

               
“I
was thinking grilled cheese and tomato soup,” Jeremy chirps, happily.
 
“It’s cold out.
 
Then when you are done with your homework, we
get to curl up on the couch and watch the news.”

               
I
roll my eyes.
 
“
Whoopie
.”

               
“Shush,
you love it.
 
Now, come on.”
 
I follow Jeremy into the kitchen.
 
This hurts!
 
The rubbing on it isn’t helping.
 
Jeremy turns to me.
 
“Want to grab
out the soup?
 
I will start the
sandwiches.”

               
My
gaze turns to the
cabinet,
the soup is on the stop
shelf.
 
Oh boy.
 
“Sure,” I whisper.
 
Carefully, I put my knee on the counter.

               
Jeremy
looks at me and says, “Get a chair Isabelle.
 
You know I hate it when you climb on the counters.”

               
“Sorry
daddy,” I laugh.

               
Shaking
Jeremy replies, “Don’t ever call me daddy again.
 
We kiss on the lips.
 
Nasty.”
 
That makes me giggle.
 
I open the
cabinet, reach for the soup and then grimace from the pull on my skin.
 
Suddenly, Jeremy yells, “Isabelle!”

               
“What?”
I exclaim back, looking at him.
 
He is
staring straight at my waist.
 
When I
look where he is looking, my heart drops.
 
Crap, my bandage is showing.

               
“What
in the world is that!?”

               
Getting
off the counter rather quickly, I mumble, “Nothing.”

               
“Did
you get hurt?” He asks, stepping closer, looking really concerned.

               
“Not
exactly,” I reply.

               
Now,
he is right in front of me bending down to look.
 
“At school?”

               
“Nope,”
I squeak.

               
“This
happened with Josh!?” Jeremy snaps.

               
“I
am not hurt, exactly.
 
Just leave it
be.
 
I am fine.”

               
Jeremy
gives me a very stern stare.
 
“Isabelle,
don’t lie to me.
 
WE promised not to
lie.”

               
“Omitting
is not technically lying in this case,” I say, pulling my shirt down more.

               
“Isabelle
Nimon
,” Jeremy growls.
 
“What is that bandage on for?”

               
Frowning,
I whisper, “I got a……” and then stop.

               
“A what?
 
A rather large injury, because that is what it looks like.”

               
I
take a deep breath.
 
“Okay, I will tell
you, ONLY if you promise not to yell or harm Josh in any way.”

               
“He
did this!?
 
He hurt you!?” Jeremy
screams.

               
“No,”
I insist, shaking my hands.
 
“He didn’t
touch me, other than hold my hand.
 
You
have to PROMISE me that you won’t yell at him or harm him.
 
If you are going to yell at someone then it
is going to be me.
 
Promise?”
 
Jeremy just stares at me and then nods his
head.
 
“I got a….tattoo.”

               
There
is dead silence, and then Jeremy quietly says, “Say that again.”

               
“I
got a tattoo,
wanna
see?”

               
Jeremy
puts his finger up, “JOSH took you to get a tattoo?”

               
“Yeah,
he got the rest of his side done.”

               
“How
long had you been planning this?” Jeremy inquires hotly.

               
Frowning,
I say, “Since lunch time.”

               
“So,
in three hours, you made the decision to go get a tattoo,” Jeremy growls.

               
I
cross my arms, “Yes, I did.
 
Jeremy,
please, you can’t ruin this for me.
 
It
didn’t involve you.
 
It’s my body and I am
an adult.
 
This meant a lot for me.
 
I can make the choices about my life now.”

               
“How
did you pay for it?”

               
“Josh
paid for it.
 
It was my graduation gift,”
I say as cheerily as possible.

               
Turning
away from me Jeremy rubs his temples.
 
“I
am not upset that you made this choice on your own, but I wish you had put more
thought into it.”

               
“Do
you not like tattoos?
 
Do you find me
repulsive now?”

               
“Oh
no Isabelle,” he replies, turning back to me.
 
“I love tattoos.
 
I plan on
getting one.
 
I always wanted a memorial
tattoo for Kaitlin, and no, tattoos are dead sexy on a girl.
 
As long as it isn’t on your lower back, we
know what everyone calls those.”

               
Pulling
my pants down a little bit, I say, “No, on my hip.
 
You want to see.”
 
With a heavy sigh, Jeremy nods his head.
 
I slowly peel the bandage away and
grimace.
 
“It still hurts.”

               
“It
is beautiful,” Jeremy whispers.
 
“Did you
draw it?”

               
“Yeah,
and Renee, the tattoo artist, said that my work was so good, that she may want
to use my skills.
 
Isn’t that awesome?
 
My first gig as an artist.”