TAINTED

Chapter 3

IVY

Pulling into our driveway, I let out a deep, satisfying sigh. I was home. Our house wasn't an extravagant mansion like the Wyatt's, but it was perfect and ours. Even if the windows needed to be replaced, the eavesdrop needed to be fixed, or the fence needed a brand new paint job, it didn't matter to me. All that mattered were the people I loved who lived inside and the happiness I felt when I stepped through the front door.

"Welcome home." Eddie beamed at me with an easy smile.

I slid out of the passenger's seat just in time to see the screen door fly open and our mother, Anna Bishop, plant her two bare feet on the concrete steps. "Next time you take off without telling anybody, you better bring your cell phone, Edward Bishop. I was worried sick about you," she scolded him with a forced look of disappointment. She was secretly beaming inside with joy; I could see it in her eyes.

"Mom," I shouted and ran toward her while Eddie pulled my luggage out of the box of his truck. I wrapped myself in her arms, and she ran her hardworking hands through my long, blonde curls.

"You look skinnier. Have you been eating?" she scolded, giving me a motherly once-over, "Don't get me wrong, you look as beautiful as ever, but you feel like skin and bones, Miss Ivy. Good thing I made a big lunch. You better eat up."

I laughed, "I'll happily eat as much as you let me. I'm starving because Eddie wouldn't stop anywhere for breakfast."

"What are you whining about? I bought you a coffee," he shouted, hauling my luggage up the steps. He planted a kiss on my mother's cheek and added. "Come on, Ivy, you know the ride from Missoula is over an hour and a half in good traffic. I didn't want Mom calling the police to report a missing person when I was nowhere to be found by noon." He turned his gaze away from me and back to our mom. "Tell me I'm your favourite kid right now for bringing her home early."

His teasing tone made her roll her eyes as he stepped inside. "Oh, Eddie, you know I love you both the same. Don't say things like that."

I asked, "Who's running the store?" The only two employees stood on either side of me.

Tourist season in our town was in full swing, and steady business didn't allow Mom or Eddie much of a break. A little over a year ago, our father passed away, and Eddie was forced to step up, drop out of college, and move back to help keep the store afloat.

"I asked Mr. Richmond to work today. I didn't want either of us bogged down on your first day back. Some things are just more important than work," she assured me.

The house smelled like I remembered: a sweet mixture of mom's floral perfume and homemade apple pie. The carpet was still tattered and torn by the corner of the staircase, and the living room still had framed pictures of Eddie and me as kids. Tacky floral wallpaper covered the hallway walls leading into the kitchen, with oak cupboards and white appliances.

"Well, come on, Ivy. This food isn't going to eat itself." Mom smiled, waving me into the kitchen. I kicked off my sandals and pushed past Eddie to get to the food first. He had a bottomless pit for a stomach and always ate everything in sight. I needed to claim my portions before he got his hands on our lunch.

Just as Eddie crossed from carpet to linoleum, my mother stuck out her hand and pressed her palm against his chest, "Before you come in the kitchen, be a dear and put Ivy's luggage in her room."

"Fine." Eddie sighed and headed up the stairs.

Mom pulled a bunch of food out of the fridge and slid a homemade apple pie (her specialty) out of the oven. She poured me a tall glass of water and set it on the table before me. "What time did Blaine leave this morning?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. It was pretty early."

I wouldn't say I liked discussing Blaine with Mom. After our high school graduation, she told me that she didn't like how serious Blaine was about me. It also didn't help matters when Eddie slipped how Blaine followed me to the University of Montana instead of accepting a full-paid academic scholarship to Dartmouth. My mother pulled her hair out and said: "You know, Ivy, the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly."

"Was he upset he wouldn't be coming home this summer?" she asked with what I detected was a bit of a prying tone.

"Yeah, a little," I said, even though I knew he was more than devastated.

I wanted to believe my mom had my best intentions at heart whenever she fell short of her love for Blaine. There was something about my relationship with Blaine that didn't wholly convince her he was good for me. I really couldn't understand her resistance to him.

"It's probably good you spend some time apart," she said and casually added. "Macaroni salad?"

I nodded, letting her drop a plentiful heap onto my plate just as Eddie jogged back into the kitchen. "Mmmm, it smells so good. I'm starving, " I said.

The following day, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and scrambled eggs seeped into my nostrils and woke me up, reminding me I was home—the best place on earth.

I slid on a pair of shorts and pulled a red tank top over my head, excited that I didn't have to eat disgusting cafeteria food. The Edward Bishop breakfast extraordinary was waiting for me in our kitchen. There were two things Eddie was impressively good at making breakfast and changing tires. His eggs were to die for; if anyone in this town had a flat, they knew who to call.

"Good morning," Eddie greeted me, not even bothering to look up from the frying pan as I strolled into the kitchen. "I thought I'd make you breakfast before I shipped you off to Whitefish Resort for the next four days tomorrow."

"Aww, you're so thoughtful." I poured myself a fresh cup of coffee and took a sip.

"I sure hope Blaine arranged for you to stay at the ranch on the resort grounds." Eddie narrowed his eyes at me.

"I have the key upstairs in my purse."

"Good," Eddie said as he dumped a pile of eggs onto both of our plates. He then buttered a few pieces of toast and walked to the kitchen table. "I hate how you need to work hard to pay for your education. I wish I had all the money in the world to give you," he sighed and slid into the chair beside me.

"Everybody has to pay for their education. I'm not the only one."

"Not everyone." Eddie sighed, poking his eggs with a fork. "You worked so hard to graduate high school with a 4.0. It's not fair you have to worry about paying tuition so you don't graduate with massive school debt. I want you to be able to enjoy college without a financial burden. You need to use your impressive brain to get out of this town for good one day."

I didn't say anything back to my worrisome brother. Instead, I shoved a pile of fluffy scrambled eggs into my mouth. I would never let him, or anyone, know I still owed part of last year's tuition, which was just over fifteen thousand dollars. Not to mention this year's first tuition installment, which was due by mid-September. The last thing I wanted was to burden Eddie or my mom into co-signing a loan or have them worry about my little unresolved debt problem. I was hopeful everything would work out, and I could earn enough money this summer at the resort. I would never let my family down, and I would not fail at coming up with a solution. I could take care of myself. I had to. I had no other choice.