“Sam!”
I cringed at the sound of my mother’s voice.
“Yes?”
“Come down to the living room please.”
I pushed myself off the guest bed and walked down the hallway.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Can you come down here and talk to your father and I for a second?” she asked.
“Are you still going to hammer me about the package I got?” I asked.
“Stop talking at me down the stairs. Come down here and have a civil conversation. We didn’t raise you to scream through the house like that.”
I sighed and walked down the stairs before I followed my mother into the kitchen.
“Samantha, we need to talk,” my father said.
“What is it?” I asked.
“What’s going on?” my father asked. “You haven’t been home in a long time and then all of a sudden showed up on our doorstep. Something must be going on. I’d like to know what it is.”
“Nothing. I needed some time away from my normal routine to think about a few things,” I said.
My mother scoffed. “You mean you needed time away from galavanting across the globe taking pictures and writing articles about half-naked people prancing down a runway?”
I bit my tongue. “Yeah, something like that,” I said.
“I can tell by the look in your eye that something isn’t right,” my father said. “Are you in some sort of trouble. Do you need money?”
I put my elbows on the table and rested my head in my hands.
“I’m tired. That’s all,” I said.
“Don’t come into this house and lie to us,” my mother said.
“Yes, Samantha, there is clearly something wrong and not telling us isn’t going to get it solved any quicker,” my father said.
“Dad, you don’t have to shrink me,” I said.
“I’m not ‘shrinking’ you, as you so wonderfully put it,” he said. “But we both know there’s something wrong, and we’re worried about you.”
“No. You’re waiting for me to tell you that you were right. That my plan for my life didn’t pan out and now I’ve come crawling back to tell you that I should have listened to you all along and I need you to bail me out of the mess I’ve gotten myself into. Well I’m sorry to disappoint you, but that’s not the case at all,” I said.
“Now Samantha, we never wanted you to fail,” my father started.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked. “Look, I needed a place to stay for a few days until things blow over with Lauren. She’s getting married soon, and her bridezilla is coming out a bit.”
I had no issues lying to my parents if it got them off my back.
“We know that’s not true,” my mother said.
“Mother, will you please just let it go?” I practically begged.
“I will not. I want to know if you’ve gotten yourself into a situation that could reflect negatively on your father and me. You are under our roof and our rules have not changed since you left. We still demand respect,” she said.