“Nah, I’m trying to avoid that section of the school,” I tell him. “Let me know if you find out anything.”
“Sure thing, Tori,” he says with a smirk, using that old nickname that he knows I hate.
He turns and walks away while I scowl at his back. “You two argue like siblings,” Brooke laughs as she reaches for her drink and takes a long pull from the straw.
“I know,” I groan. “It’s the downside of being his long lost, special little girl.”
With that, I push up from the table and decide that feeding myself is the best thing to do. I mean, while the world around me is going up in flames, I don’t need to as well. Besides, with brawls breaking out, you never know when I might need the energy.
Two hours later, the bell for the end of school is ringing and I still haven’t seen or heard from Nate. I’m starting to get a little worried. Principal Watkins has had it in for Nate since freshman year when Nate drew a very descriptive picture of a woman taking it up the you-know-what on the whiteboard in the assembly hall. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t in permanent marker. That picture was stuck there for two weeks before the school was able to get the whiteboard replaced.
I walk down to my car and take it as slow as possible, hoping I’ll be able to get a look at the school bad boy, but with Jesse’s Range Rover out of here, my chances aren’t great. If he got a suspension or an expulsion, he probably would have left with his mom ages ago.
Realizing this, I pick up my pace and get my ass home. I mean, there’s no point prolonging the inevitable. Mom needs to lose her marbles at me and I may as well get it over and done with. Besides, I deserve it. My actions have caused other kids to get hurt. I never wanted that. Not even close.
I push through the door and walk through the entryway to find mom already there and waiting for me. I shouldn’t have expected anything less. She instantly looks down at her watch and purses her lips. “That could have been a little quicker,” she murmurs to herself.
I resist making a smart comment and lay my bag down on the table. I quietly take a seat at the table and patiently wait, though it doesn’t take long. She straightens herself up and turns to face me.
“What you did today was absolutely atrocious and I have never been so ashamed of you.” Shit, that stung. “The way you spoke to that boy was not acceptable. You sounded cheap, like you were raised with no morals or class.”
“But he-”
“I don’t care what he did,” she yells. “I’m not his mother. It’s not my problem. It is my job to care about you, and the young lady I saw in that video is not my daughter. I raised you better than that and recently, I don’t even recognize you.”
“What?” I gasp, pushing myself to my feet. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that since I’ve been home from Australia, you’ve changed into someone I don’t recognize. You’re harder now. Unforgiving and mean. I don’t know if that’s Nathaniel’s doing or maybe you’re doing it to yourself, trying to fit in with him and his friends.”
Rage swirls deep within me and I find myself snapping at the woman who gave me life. “Leave Nate out of this,” I demand. She scoffs but I continue. “Did you consider this is what happens when someone is abandoned by her parents for two months?”
Both mine and mom’s eyes widen as we realize what just came out of my mouth. Shit. I shouldn’t have said that. Pain flashes across her features and instant regret seeps right through me. After all, she was in Australia caring for her dying mother. “How dare you?” she shrieks.
My eyes cast down. “Sorry,” I mumble. “I didn’t mean that.”
She leans back against the kitchen counter and crosses her arms over her chest. She studies me for an agonizingly long few seconds. “You really are changing,” she says. “And you don’t care who you hurt in the process.”
I study my bag on the table. “I guess I’m grounded until the end of time?” I say, trying to wrap this up.
“You bet your ass you are,” she says. “I have no choice but to contact your father about all this.”
“Why?” I grunt. “You’re just going to worry him.”
“None-the-less, he’s still your father,” she lets out a deep sigh. “You have a one week, in school suspension. You’re to report to the office every morning. You may have your lunch break with your peers and then you’re to return to the office until the end of the day. Following that, you come straight home. I’m still undecided if you may see your friends in that time.” My mouth opens for an argument, but she cuts me off. “Nate included. Now, get up to your room and get your homework done. Dinner is at seven.”