Page 62 of The First Play

Okay, so she lied for us.

But that’s not a felony.

And she shouldn’t be made to feel bad for doing something nice for me. It was my freaking birthday!

I hope I can talk my father around, but Sienna doesn’t have to be a witness to that fight. I get the impression her family never raises their voices at each other, so it’s best if I drop her home and deal with the shitstorm on my own.

She doesn’t say anything as I pull up to her house. Flashing me a nervous smile, her lips wobble when she whispers, “Good luck.”

“I’ll walk you in.” Jumping out of the car before she can stop me, I grab her backpack, carrying it to the front door.

It swings open before we reach it, and I can tell the second I spot Mr. Erling’s face that he knows what we did.

“Shit,” I mutter under my breath, bracing myself for the lecture.

“You are never to see my daughter again!”

“How dare you do that with her!”

“How dare you?—"

“Hey, Dad.” Sienna rises to her tiptoes, pecking his cheek before brushing past him.

He gives her a closed-mouth smile, then turns to me with a look that’s… well, I don’t know what it’s telling me. Is he about to start yelling?

My shoulders tense, but all he does is let out a sigh and tip his head. “Come on in, kid. We need to talk.”

“Double shit,” I murmur under my breath as I follow him inside and find Sienna in the kitchen with her mother.

The woman has a stern look on her face, but it’s hardly intimidating. Her eyes are too kind and playful—just like Sienna’s. These people probably have no idea how to get truly pissed off about anything.

“So…” Mr. Erling clears his throat, taking a seat at the table and threading his fingers together. “Sounds like you two had an interesting evening.”

Sienna winces. “What did you hear?”

“Well, I got myself a very irate phone call from Mr. Donohue this morning, telling me my daughter was leading her son astray and it’s probably best that I keep you away from him.”

“What?” I bristle, shoving my fists into my jacket pockets and storming toward the table. “That’s bullshit! He can’t make her do anything! And she’s not leading me astray!”

Mrs. Erling raises her hands to calm me. “Sweetie, you don’t need to yell any of that. We know.” She nods, her smile soft as she points to the chair next to Sienna. “Sit down, Zander. It’s okay. Let me make you two some cocoa.”

“I don’t think he has time for that, Mom,” Sienna calls after her, rubbing her forehead and wincing again.

Turning back around, the woman glides back to the table and takes a seat. Looking at her daughter with a sad frown, she gently asks, “Did you really lie to us?”

Biting her lips together, Sienna blinks like she’s fighting tears, then answers in a tiny voice. “Yes.”

“Why?” Her dad sounds so hurt.

I watch his face bunch with disappointment and feel like shit.

Looking to my girlfriend, we share a pained smile before she admits, “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about me spending the night with my boyfriend.” She shrugs. “But I just wanted to do something special for him. He’s under so much pressure, and I thought he deserved a night away. And…” She looks at the table, picking at a dent in the wood. “I didn’t want to share him with anyone else.”

Her mother lets out a soft snicker. “Only-child syndrome. You’ve always been terrible at sharing your special treasures.”

“He’s the most special,” she whispers, glancing at me with a soft blush.

Mr. Erling clears his throat. “How long have you two been sleeping together?”

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