Free In the Mix by Jacquelyn Ayres

ice cream.” She smiles.
    “Excuse me?” Mitch says through his teeth angrily.
    “You heard me.” She glares right back at him before bringing her focus over to Kyle, “And you, Kyle, are a fucking pussy! You didn’t even attempt to tell Mitch to shut up while he was being a rude fucking prick to my sister. It seems to me that you’re not the one who’s “worth it” around here.”
    “Dayum! You know Charley’s pissed when the f-bomb is flying out her mouth like it’s her job to drop them.” Jay adds his two cents before continuing with his meal.
    “CiCi, you are not staying here. That’s final.” Mitch states before taking another bite of his meal.
    “This is my house and I will say who stays and leaves.” Charley yells and I swear to God her face has just turned as red as the damn sauce. I think it’s clear that Charley and I are on the same cycle.
    “Your house, huh?” He laughs but not the haha laugh, more like the “are you fucking kidding me?” laugh. “You haven’t paid one single mortgage payment on your house since I met you! I’m pretty sure you’ve never made a single payment on this house in general. Spreading your legs so your bills get paid won’t hold up in court, Char, so I think it’s safe to say I own this house just like I own you!” He pushes his plate away.
    What are we all doing?
    Same as you—staring at him in shock and wanting to choke him.
    “Excuse me, everyone,” Charley says, barely audible before getting up. “Sorry about dinner tonight. I don’t know what happened, but I apologize.” She gains some strength back in her voice. “Goodnight,” she adds before heading out of the dining room.
    “Baby, wait.” Mitch tries to grab her arm but she takes off.
    “Dude . . .” Kyle says, seemingly in disbelief.
    “I can’t believe I just talked to her like that. Where do I even begin to try to fix what I just did?” He puts his head into his hands after propping his elbows onto the table.
    “Tell her you’re sorry. She knows you’re still working on what happened to you. She knows that shit flies out of your mouth before you can even think about it because you’re still trying to protect yourself. She loves you, Mitch, and she knows you love her. Just tell her, but don’t say that you won’t do it again. Be honest. Tell her that you’re sorry for now and for in the future if and when you do it again, no matter the degree.” I offer, knowing exactly why he does it. I do the same damn thing.
    “Let me start by apologizing to you, Ceese. I’ve been a real jerk to you because I see you doing to Kyle what I do to Charlotte.” He reaches forward for my hand. “You know I love you. You are always welcome here. I didn’t mean that.” He squeezes my hand once I place it in his.
    “Thanks for saying that. I’m sorry I ruined your evening. The pipes at my place burst or something and it’ll be a few days before it’s fixed, so I don’t have any running water at the moment. I’ll go to my parents.” A little white lie never hurt anyone.
    “Why didn’t you just tell us that?” Mitch shakes his head.
    “Because that would be so un-CiCi like of me.” I shiver at the thought.
    “Alright, I’m going to go upstairs and begin my groveling. Wish me luck. If you hear a girl, screaming in fear, it’ll probably be me, getting the crap kicked out of me,” he says wearily before getting up.
    “You deserve it.”
    “I know I do.” He shakes his head. “Goodnight.” He gives us a half smile and heads out of the room.
    “Well, this was a new spin on fast food.” Jay scrapes up the last bite on his plate.
    “Dude, I can’t believe you just sat here and shoveled that fucking food in your mouth the entire time.” I throw a roll at his head.
    “First of all, not only was I starving but this is Charley’s eggplant parm we’re talking about. A fucking bomb could go off or David Beckham could pull up a chair next to me and I would eat that shit before