CHAPTER 16
Matt felt the heat rise to his cheeks as he recalled the argument and repositioned his face so the cool window glass pressed and chilled his cheek. It took everything in his body and mind to not punch his dad. He wasn’t sure what would’ve happened if he had. It scared him that his dad might’ve hit back and harder, but it scared him most that if he would’ve hit his dad, he might not be able to keep himself from striking him again and again and again.
If it wasn’t for his family being there, the Wisconsin countryside was actually quite peaceful. By the time they neared the camping grounds, Erica and Jordan had shouted themselves in circles until they retreated to their corners of the car in a silent pout. They had the windows down while they snaked down the road between thick wooded forests.
Aside from the occasional whiff of exhaust from his father’s Audi up ahead, the smell was of clean and fresh air, like it was freshly minted by the trees just for Matt.
Erica would point out the beautiful wildflowers at the base of the trees and she became extra excited when Matt pointed out a family of deer in the tree line. Delightfully, they passed the fields of sprawled tents and then the parking lot for the RVs to get to their arrangements. The ‘cabin’ was better than Matt could hope for. It took an extra few minutes to get to the cabin section of the park. The area was secluded and gorgeous.
There were about a dozen modest cabins that surrounded a community cabin where there was electricity and running water and community breakfasts were prepared.
They passed all of those buildings, took a curve around a bend in the forest where they found their cabin. It was enormous. Considered a cabin suite, it was easily larger than the cabin community’s house and had both electricity and running water. The one thing it didn’t have was the internet. They would have to go to the community building for that, but Matt didn’t mind. With no cell phone signal, he was happy to put the past behind him and live in the moment. He was definitely ready to start fresh and have a normal week with his family for once.
The relaxing evening with his family was not off to the greatest of start as they had barely unpacked their things into the 3 separate bedrooms when Matt’s father had said something to set off Erica and the next shouting match was already under way. Matt was following his father’s orders and staying in his room out of sight when he heard it outside. Apparently, his
dad had called Sharon stupid and now both Sharon and his dad were yelling at Erica for calling her stepfather a, “shit popsicle.”
Matt laughed about that in his room for a while. He had gotten to know Erica a little on the drive there. Between her and Jordan’s fights they chatted about different things. Matt was typically a bit shy when talking to attractive women, but either because technically this woman was his stepsister or because of his sexual accomplishments with two other attractive ladies recently, his conversation skills were on point.
Erica worked as a hair stylist- well, she ran the hair salon, apparently, but was just being modest, according to Jordan. Erica was funny and had an infectious laugh. The evening turned dark, and Matt told Sharon he’d take his dinner in his room. His father didn’t look up from the TV as he passed. Matt hated he was doing what his father wanted, but in truth it was what he wanted, too.
To see as little of him as possible. Erica apparently peaked in frustration as she was involved in yet another argument with her husband. I’m starting to think her personality might just be too big for this family…
Matt was lying on his bed in athletic shorts and some old t-shirt while watching TV. It was nearly 11pm. He normally would stay awake until 2- 3:00am playing video games or screwing around on the internet, but since that wasn’t an option, Matt was about to turn in out of boredom when his door swung open. It opened with such ferocity that Matt nearly fell off of his bed.
“I don’t know if I can do 5 nights here,” an exasperated Erica said. In her hand was a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey that had already had a few drinks missing from it. “Is it cool if I hangout here for a bit, I can’t stand my husband- or anyone, really. In fact, you’re the only cool person here, I think. Besides myself, of course,” Erica closed the door behind her with a small laugh, not waiting for Matt to respond.
“I… think you’re cool too… even cooler now that you have jack Daniels,” Matt smiled. He stood up, feeling uncomfortable and not knowing what to
say. It felt shameful for some reason, but Matt relished in the fact that Erica liked him and thought he was ‘cool.’ It seemed child like to take pride in something so cavalier. Like he was desperate for others’ approval.
Erica laughed and looked as though she just remembered the bottle was in her hand.
She unscrewed the top and took a large mouthful.
Wincing, she laughed as she bit through the taste and swallowed. When she held it out, Matt didn’t hesitate to take the bottle from her. She sat on the ground cross- legged and Matt did the same after taking 2 long pulls off the bottle. He must’ve handled the drinks better than it felt because Erica made a face and covered her mouth as she giggled.
“Fuckn a. You must hate it here worse than I do,” she said. Matt let out a tense breath and felt his stomach shutter as he focused on not burping the whiskey back up.
“You don’t know half of it.”
Erica wore a black tank top that formed well to her luscious curves, and it was impossible to not notice she didn’t wear a bra. Her large breasts fell to the side as she leaned to one side and the other. Matt passed the bottle back to her, and he had to lean back on the bed frame to stare at the ceiling to pretend he didn’t see her vagina in the gaping leg hole of her loose short shorts she wore.
“Are you kidding me?” Erica said and took another drink from the bottle. Her eyes lit up with excitement. “I love talking shit about people and places! Let’s do it!”
“I can see your arms shaking- you’re about to fall, you know it. Just give up!” Erica taunted. She did her best to keep from laughing or crying, but Matt was the one who saw her arms shaking and heard the pain in her voice.
“Believe what you want lady, look at your hand! You’re like a leaf,” Matt laughed.
“Lady! How dare you,” Erica gasped and tried to hide the wince of pain in her eyes. “I’m your sister!”
Matt laughed at the absurdity of the statement just as she did, considering they pretty much just met. “Okay, sister. How much longer can you go? Cause this is only minute 2.”
Erica giggled in exhaustion at the sad news. Their conversation had devolved over the last 90 minutes into a sort of challenge drinking game. They were both next to another on the floor, holding the pushup position. Somehow, during Erica’s random discussion of her morning workout routine, it had come up that Matt could hold the modified plank position for 14 minutes.
This quickly became the newest drinking game that Erica was being demolished at.
With a last whimper of defeat, Erica collapsed and began rubbing her shoulders and blowing on her hands. Matt, feeling an ample dose of Jack Daniel’s energy coursing through his blood, knocked out a few pushups to highlight his victory.
“Ugh, I hate you!” Erica whined and pushed him over. “Hate all you want, sister, but you gotta drink! You lost.”
Erica gave him an evil eye as she poured a shot past her thick lips. “Hm. That’s right, I’m your big sister, aren’t I? How old are you, anyway? 13? 14?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa…” Matt laid on his side. His head bobbled from the haziness as he spoke. “I’m gunna need you to add like 10 years to these numbers then subtract… however much to make 18 years old.”
Erica had to cover her mouth as some of the whiskey sprayed out as she laughed, which only made Matt laugh harder. “You almost made me spit everywhere,” Erica warned.
Without a thought, Matt blurted out, “sorry, not a fan of spitters.”
Erica’s mouth went wide in shock, then she slapped Matt’s shoulder and squeaked a laugh. “You honestly are the only awesome one here right now. My mom’s so annoying and don’t even get me started with your dad,” Erica rolled her eyes.
“And what about your husband?”
“Fuck that guy!” Erica ignited. “He can go choke on a bag full of fucking gummy dildo bears.”
Matt couldn’t help but smile at that. “sooo many questions but I won’t ask.”
“Shut up…” Erica said and went silent. She laid back on the floor beside Matt. “You don’t seem best pals with your dad, either. Do you like your daddy’s planned vacation?” Erica asked, tucking her legs to her side as she leaned in to ask.
“Fuck no,” Matt groaned. “Fuck this place and fuck that asshole.” Matt growled louder than he intended. “You need to tell your mom to leave that douchebag. She’s waay too nice for him.”
“God, I’ve given up trying,” Erica rolled her eyes as she collapsed beside him so she was lying a healthy distance away from him. “She has the worst taste in men… no offense…”
Matt threw his hands in the air, “I just called him a douchebag, you think I’ll be offended?”
Erica giggled, “good point.” She turned her head and their eyes caught each other for a long moment. This was by far the longest and most open conversation Matt had had with Erica, and he was enjoying how easy it was. The alcohol helped, but it was more than that. Both she and he were plagued with problems in their personal life and we’re enjoying this escape. This unfiltered experience solidified a trust at the moment between the two of them.
The laughter and smiles that were shared between them slowly disappeared, and the air changed. Almost in a trance, Erica stared at Matt as her lips whispered, “I hate my husband.” She said it as if she was confessing to murder. Like she couldn’t say it any louder for fear of her making it real. All of a sudden, Erica wasn’t just a new friend Matt was enjoying a drink with. This was an admission of trust. She was saying something to him she could barely say to herself, he knew.