Page 28 of Grounded
"I'm not eighteen anymore, Dad," I roll my eyes like a teenager and the irony washes over me. "My internal clock has me waking up at 6:00 a.m. anyway."
"How was your night, Theo?" Molly asks as she and my dad set bags of groceries on the counter.
"It was fine, thanks."
"Here, I'll help you unload those," I offer, just so I don't have to sit next to Theo. Being so close to him will remind me of the peep show he got last night.
When I remove items from the bags, I see they got all my favorite snacks I ate when I was younger—basically junk food and crap I can't eat at my age without getting a major stomachache or a fat ass.
"Wow, Gushers are still around?" I don't even want to see the grams of sugar in those.
"Oh yeah, I got all your favorites. Cherry Dr Pepper, Nutella, Bagel Bites…" My dad lists off each item as I pull it from the bag.
"Theo, I also got some of your favorites. Cool Ranch Doritos, Pop-Tarts, Fudgsicles." Molly beams.
"I don't eat that stuff anymore, Mom."
"Oh, I figured you might want some snacks handy." She unloads more bags.
"Well, I'm definitely eating those Pop-Tarts," I confess, opening the box and deciding this breakfast of champions will be worth the bloating. "All my fat tends to go to my chest anyway…"
My brainless, stupid comment goes ignored by the parents, bless their hearts, but Theo's bulging eyes are fixated on my breasts and I want to curl up and die.
He cocks an eyebrow at me and I mouth, "Don't you dare."
"What's going on?" Molly asks, realizing it's been a solid minute and we're not at each other's throats.
"Oh, nothing, Amelia and I hung out in the Jacuzzi last night."
A frenzied look slips over my father’s face, and I can see the concern in his eyes that two nearly naked adults hanging out after hours might not be a great idea.
To squash their worries, I say, "We're going to try to be nice to each other for at least an hour a day."
I gush this out like it was an agreed-upon term with no objections from Theo.
"Wonderful." Molly chirps.
"Oh, Amelia I forgot to tell you, something came for you in the mail a couple of weeks back." My dad looks in the junk drawer and grabs an envelope.
An influx of nausea falls over me like a tidal wave when I see the return address.
I knew this day was coming. I've been dreading it and hoping it'd pass by me like it never happened.
"Theo, you got one, too." Molly hands him something similar.
Our ten-year high school reunion.
Theo and I attended rival high schools; if that wasn't a harbinger, I don't know what is. We graduated the same year, so it makes perfect sense we got invites around the same time.
We open our envelopes and read the details.
"I'm not going," I pronounce, balling mine into a wad of garbage and refusing to look at the date. "Besides, none of my friends from high school have reached out and told me. I'll pretend I never got this."
I let it slide that I don't even talk to any of my high school friends anymore.
"Will you go?" Molly asks Theo.
Whywouldn'the go? He'd be voted most changed, most gorgeous, and most likely to make all the married women cheat on their husbands.
