Aunt Rose prepared dinner for herself and Iris, which had already been eaten when Thomas got home. He washed the dishes, ate an orange from the table, and and passed by the living room, seeing his aunt's glazed eyes watching television, a stupid sitcom about the nineties.
“What the hell are you doing coming home so late?”
“I went out.”
“Did you wash the dishes?”
“I do everything asked of me, you know that.”
“You're getting smart with me now, Thomas, you little shit.”
Thomas, for once, looked her straight in the eyes.
“When I leave at eighteen, you won't have any money left, because you rely on me. You have no job.”
“How- How dare you.”
His voice remained even. “How dare you. Blaming me for my mother's breakdown. She hasn't touched me since I came out of her. It's not my fault she got knocked up by a cute Asian boy in college. It's not my fault she had no money and decided to sell her body for a science test. And you know what else? I support you. I support her. The money that keeps this apartment, the money that pays for your food, most of it comes from me, thanks to what she gets every month.”
She rushed forward and raised her hand to hit him, but he grabbed it firmly before it reached his face.
“I pay to keep you alive, and you know this.”
Rose, of small stature, was entirely engulfed in Thomas's shadow in the dim light. She used her free hand to punch Thomas in the stomach, but he remained unmoved. For a moment, there was only silence, and then tears from his aunt, which did nothing to soften his face.
He let go of her arm, and left for his room.
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