Page 63 of Three Not-So-Little Words
No answer.
“Come on. Let’s get inside.”
She’s still attached to me as I lead her to the couch. I finally get her to let go when I have her sit.
“Can…I…stay…here…tonight?” She says between sobs.
“Is that necessary?” I ask, prompting her to cry harder. “Okay, okay, calm down. Does your mom know where you are?”
She shakes her head back and forth.
“Alright, I’m going to call her real quick.”
“Don’t! She’s going to kill me. She didn’t know I went to the party!”
Oh, lord. What did this girl get into?
“Hey, Ineedto call her so that doesn’t have the cops out looking for you. I won’t say anything else to her except that you’re staying here tonight.”
She reluctantly nods, and I walk to the bedroom to make the call. I’m startled seeing Drew lying on the bed. I kind of forgot he was in here.
“Everything okay?” He asks.
“Just a teenage emergency.” I roll my eyes while punching Michelle’s number into my phone.
“Hello?” She answers.
“Hey, Michelle. I’m going to say something, and I need you not to freak out.”
“You saying that kind of freaks me out, but okay.”
“Eve is over here.”
There’s a long pause. “Why is Eve over there? She’s supposed to be at her friend, Amanda’s…” her voice trails off. “What the hell is going on?”
“I’m not exactly sure. She showed up here crying. I haven’t gotten any details yet because I wanted to call you first.”
“Okay, I’m on my way.”
I can’t believe the words that are about to come out of my mouth. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Look, let her stay here for the night, and I will see what’s going on with her.”
She stays silent, and I know she’s considering it. I add, “You dragging her out of here isn’t going to help anything. She’s just going to get pissed at you, and she’ll shut down.”
With a hefty dose of attitude, she spits, “Fine. But Iwillbe there first thing in the morning.”
And she hangs up.
Closing my eyes and trying to find my center, I say, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but—”
He stops me. “You have to deal with family stuff.”
“Unfortunately.”
“I get it.” He stands up and starts to get dressed.
I walk over to him. “I’m really sorry. You have no idea how sorry.”
He smiles. “No need to be sorry. Family comes first.”
