“What a fucknut!”
“Truth. I had to force Rose to leave without me.”
“I can’t believe she actually went,” my dad said. “Want a soda?”
“Sure.” I waited until he’d set the can down in front of me, then kept talking. “I had to threaten to have her killed.”
“Naturally,” my mom said.
“It was so freaking embarrassing. Her date was just standing there for like an hour, waiting for Brent to show up.”
“Eh, he probably didn’t give two fucks,” my dad said calmly. “Boy’s waitin’ on a girl that’s all dressed up for him? He doesn’t give a shit about anythin’ else.”
“Yeah, well, a few minutes after they left, Tommy and Leo showed up and Leo offered to give me a ride home.”
“See? You should have gotten ready here,” my mom said for the thousandth time. “I could have helped do something with your hair.”
“I wanted my hair like this.”
“Probably not exactly how it is now, it’s sticking up all over the place. I assume you wore a helmet?”
“Of course.”
“Of course,” my dad scoffed, walking out of the room. “Fuckin’ better have worn a helmet.”
“Alright,” my mom said quietly. “Now that he’s gone, tell me the rest of it.”
“Nothing much to tell,” I replied, resting my chin on my hand. “We got all ready and Brent never showed. Jayden showed up on time, though. He brought Rose a corsage.”
“I’m sure she loved that.”
“Oh, yeah. He was practically tongue tied when he saw her. It was cute.”
“Tongue tied? He won’t last long if he can’t keep up with Rosie.”
“That’s the exact same thing that Hawk said.”
“Poor kid,” my mom said with a chuckle. “So what’s up with Leo?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me, kid. I know every single one of your expressions, and you’re currently wearing the Leo-did-something-sweet-for-me one.”
She sat down beside me and shoved her toes under my thigh. I swear, my mom’s feet were always cold, and she was always trying to warm them. I could remember her making me lay on them when I was six.
“He said he’d take me home, but no one was here when we got here, so we went for a ride to the river.”
“The river, hmm?”
“Oh, whatever,” I mumbled. “He pretty much told me that I’m awesome, but no way in hell are we ever going to hang out because he’s too old and Dad would kill him.”
“Hang out or hang out?”
“Friends, Mom. Jesus.”
“Well! You have to put that shit in context.”
“He was cool, just like he’s always cool. That’s all it was.”
“It goes without saying, but you probably shouldn’t say anything to your sister about it,” my mom said with a sigh. “I wish things were different with her, but I’m not even sure what to do about it.”
“Did you know that they haven’t been together in a long time?” I asked. “Like, years, Mom.”
“What? That can’t be right.”
“I don’t think Leo would lie about it. He said they hang out in a group with all the kids, but they haven’t been dating in a long ass time.”
“That’s weird. I wonder if your Dad knows.”
Just as she spoke the last words, a loud crash came from the front of the house, and before I knew what was happening, I was on the floor and being shoved beneath our kitchen table.
“Don’t fucking move, Lily,” Mom hissed, before she left me.
My entire body shook as I pulled my knees against my chest and shut my eyes tightly. When they were closed, I could pretend that it was my choice that I had no idea what was happening around me.
I was curled into a ball for less than a minute when I heard my dad yelling from the entryway, his voice angrier than it had been in a very long time. “Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me, Cecilia?”
I couldn’t hear my sister’s reply, but I climbed out from under the table anyway. Clearly, there wasn’t an emergency, or my dad’s tone would be completely different.
I’d heard his voice when shit hit the fan—tonight wasn’t that.
“Your baby sister is sleeping, shut the fuck up,” my mom ground out as I made my way into the entryway.
“Oh, whatever,” Cecilia slurred, her volume not changing at all. By the sound of it, my sister was completely blitzed. She must have crashed into something as she came in the house, but I had no idea how much damage she’d done.
“How the fuck did you get home? Where you been?” my dad asked flatly.
“Out with Leo.”
“Bullshit,” my dad replied. “Leo was takin’ care of your sister tonight.”
“Charlie?” Ceecee asked in confusion. “When did Leo start babysitting?”
“No, Lily,” my dad snapped.
“Of course,” Ceecee said derisively. “Of course he was.”
“My prom date stood me up,” I said, joining the conversation. “Leo just gave me a ride home from Tommy’s.”
“Tommy couldn’t drive you?”
“He didn’t offer,” I replied with a shrug. I wasn’t sure what she wanted from me.