Halloween 2002

[dead_hooker_2]

The "Out of Candy" sign is on the front door. The half-drunk bottle of wine is on the coffee table. The shirt she wore today is on the floor by the door to the kitchen. Trina is on the couch. And Bryan's hand is on the zipper on her skirt.

Which is when the phone rings four times before Trina's cheerful voice fills the room. "This is Trina, leave a message."

"Trina, it's Mom. Could you call me the moment you get this please?"

"You need to call her?" Bryan asks.

"Not at this instant," Trina says. Whatever Lynn is upset about can wait. Especially given what Bryan is, at present, doing with his tongue.

"Good," he says, his mouth drifting down to her -- and he then stops and looks up, as across the room, her cell phone rings for 20 seconds before falling silent, then rings again.

"It's nothing," she says, again, "just igno--"

The phone rings again. "This is Trina, leave a message."

"Trina, are you screening your calls? Because I need to talk to you right now. Pick up the phone, please."

"Oh, go to hell," Trina mutters, and then adds hastily, "Not you, Bryan. Her."

"We'll just ignore her," Bryan says, repeating her advice. And it's easy to, really, because he is doing his damnest to be distracting, and Trina isn't really listening to what Lynn is saying.

Until ". . . your help with Logan."

Shit.

Trina disentangles herself from Bryan and picks up the phone. "I'm here. What is it?"

The apartment is quiet for a several minutes, while Lynn lectures Trina on not answering her phone more promptly, and on her responsibilities to her family and so on and Trina drums her fingers on the kitchen counter and waits for her stepmother to get to the point. Bryan sits sulking on the couch, finishing off the wine.

"All right," Trina says finally. "I'll take care of it." She hangs up.

Bryan wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her back onto the couch. "Now where we before we so rudely interrupted?" he asks.

Trina shoves him away and gets up. "Bryan, I'm sorry, I have to go," she says, pulling her shirt on over her head.

"What? Now? You can't leave now. I'm . . ."

"Take a cold shower," Trina says unsympathetically, looking for her purse.

"Trina, I can't--"

"I'll be back," she says, digging her keys out of her purse, not answering his question. "You wait if you want, or you can go."

"Trina--"

"In or out, Bryan."


Fifteen minutes later, Trina is standing in front of Neptune High School, waiting for Principal Morehead to escort her drunken little brother out of the school Halloween party. And Bryan is just one more in her string of failed relationships.

Comments

[obligatoryass]

Logan would blame it all on Lilly.

After all, she's the one who supplied the alcohol. She always does, anyway. As if Duncan or Logan would have the slightest idea where to find it.

Well, Logan knows where to find it. He also knows he'd regret taking it if he did, because Mommy Dearest loves her booze and she'd notice it being gone. All it would take is for her to ask Aaron if he'd taken it, and then it would be all over.

So. Lilly's fault, as usual. What's not usual is the public nature of the drunkeness. It's Logan's first high school dance, and no doubt Lilly thought it would be amusing to turn him and her little brother loose on Neptunites.

Duncan handles his alcohol better, though. Logan's a pretty sloppy drunk. Sappy, too, especially when he's been drinking champagne.

"S'OK," Logan tells Principal Morehead as he is frogmarched toward the front of the school. "Lilly didn't mind me stealing the mic and telling ev'ryb'dy how great she is. S'cool."

Except he'd said how great a kisser she was, not how great a human being. Luckily, he doesn't yet know how great a lay she is. Telling everyone about that thing she does with her tongue would probably get him expelled.

[dead_hooker_2]

Trina's smile is very bright, very false, and very much not for her brother.

"I am so sorry about all this," she says, taking Logan firmly by the arm. "You know how it is, boys will be boys and all. And I cannot tell you, sir, how much my parents appreciate your tact and discretion in dealing with this."

Logan gets a glare, but the smile doesn't waver. "Get in the car, Logan."

[obligatoryass]

Logan is smiling brightly at Trina as Principal Morehead makes some understanding noises as Logan tries to step forward.

He is not terribly successful at it. It's a teeny, wobbly step that sends him off the curb and into a twisty heap of arms and legs on the sidewalk.

His smile doesn't dim, though.

[dead_hooker_2]

Trina rather wishes the ground would just swallow him up.

"Do you think, sir, that you could help me get Logan into the car. I think it's best that I get him home, before he . . . well, as soon as possible."

She looks down at Logan. "I assure you this will be dealt with. I'm sure our father has rather a lot to say to him."

The twist she puts on the word say is a little cruel.

Possibly more than a little cruel.

[obligatoryass]

It's cruel enough to penetrate even Logan's alcohol-fogged brain, and he winces. With the principal's help, Logan manages to get to his feet and is somehow folded into the front seat of the car.

He doesn't manage the seatbelt, but it is doubtful that Trina much cares about his safety at this point.

[dead_hooker_2]

Her cares on his safety -- whatever they are -- are neither here nor there. She'll be damned if she's getting a ticket because her little brother hasn't buckled up. So the seatbelt is managed on his behalf.

She thanks Principal Morehead for all his kind help, again (this does not need to wind up in the tabloids), and keeps her concerned big sister act going all the way to the edge of the parking lot.

At which point, she turns the radio up loud enough to discourage conversation and heads for her father's house.

[obligatoryass]

Logan is no longer grinning like an idiot, which is something. Not much, but something.

He groans when Avril Lavigne comes on. "Seriously, dude, we cannot listen to this."

That's what he means to say. It comes out as "Srsly, doooode. We cannit lishen to thish."

[dead_hooker_2]

Her utter reluctance to agree with anything Logan says or does right now battles with the fact that "Sk8er Boi" is not anything she needs to be listening to, well, ever.

But she's an Echolls. It's not hard to figure out which of those is going to win.

Trina turns the radio up louder.

If she has to, she'll start singing along.

[obligatoryass]

Anything but that. Please. Logan might even be quiet, for that.

But he doesn't know it's an option, so he tries to change the station. Radio battles are nothing new in Trina's car.

[dead_hooker_2]

Trina slaps his hand away without taking her eyes off the road.

For a moment, the only sound in the car is Avril asking if she can make it any more obvious.

And then Trina snaps.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

[obligatoryass]

Logan rubs his hand. "Ow," he says mildly. Very mildly. This is a warm up for what will no doubt come later. "And. Um. Nothing?"

[dead_hooker_2]

It's barely even a warm up, really. More like a weak ceremonial first pitch thrown out by a politian before the major league pitcher takes over.

"Yeah," says Trina. "That would have been my guess. Nothing."

[obligatoryass]

Logan stares at his lap. "Because that's me," he says. "Empty-headed, thoughtless Logan. Just living up to my - thing. Whatever."

[dead_hooker_2]

"Yeah, well, let me know how that works out for you, little brother."

[obligatoryass]

Logan just shrugs. "Bout as well as anything else," he mutters. "Bout as well as your acting career."

[dead_hooker_2]

What is there to say to that? Any of the things she could say, like, "Why are you making it easy for him?" are things she wouldn't say. Because that's not the way it works for them. There are codes and you don't violate them. And acknowledging problems for what they are?

That's violating the prime directive in the Echolls house.

Trina turns the radio up again.

[obligatoryass]

If you violate the codes, you create an obligation to fix the problem. And Logan can't do that. Neither can Trina. An abuser creates an impossible situation for the victims. Even the ones he doesn't hit.

Logan slumps down into his seat. Thankfully, Avril has gone. Now it's Kelly Clarkson, and while she's not exactly his thing, she's a little less irksome.

[dead_hooker_2]

It falls to Kelly to keep the rest of the ride from being one of utter silence.

Chances are, though, it is not a moment like this that Ms. Clarkson has been waiting a lifetime for.