Page 48 of Every Thought Taken

CHAPTER27

HELENA

“What happened?” Dad asks as he waves my most recent report card between us. “Is your workload too heavy? Are classes more difficult?”

Shrugging, I push a piece of broccoli around my plate with my fork. “Yeah, I guess.”

“You guess what, Bug?”

A loud clatter fills the room as I drop my fork. I cross my arms over my chest with a huff. “Things are harder,” I say, harsher than I intend. Dropping my chin to my chest, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. A bit calmer, I meet his waiting and worried eyes across the table. “Sorry.” I unband my arms and lay my hands in my lap. “There’s more work and some classes are harder this year.”

The corners of Dad’s eyes soften as he looks from me to Mom. “We’ve been there, Bug. School is tough.” Dad sets down the slip of paper with twoDs, threeCs, and oneB—my worst report card. “If you need help, it’s okay to ask. Mom and I might not be able to help you with some stuff, but maybe we can get you a tutor.”

“No.” The two-letter word shoots out of my mouth immediately.

Dad looks to Mom again and she nods, a silent conversation between them I’m not privy to.

He drags in a deep breath, exhales, then says, “If you don’t want a tutor, that’s fine.” My body sags with relief. Too soon. “Your mom and I have already discussed alternatives.”

My eyes dart between them. “Alternatives?”

Dad sets his fork down, wipes his mouth with his napkin, and sighs. “Bug, you need to pull up your grades. Until you do, no more hanging out with your friends.”

Every muscle in my face tightens as my skin heats. “I’m grounded?” I ask in disbelief. “The first two bad grades in my life and I’m grounded. Really?”

“Bug…”

“I’m not a bad student.”

“No, you aren’t. And we want it to stay that way.” He reaches across the table and lays his hand near my plate. “Harder classes mean more studying, and that’s difficult to do if you’re not home, Bug.”

“Can I study with my friends?”

He winces for a split second. “Only if it’s at home and one of us is home.”

I push back on my chair, the legs scraping the floor with an angry groan of wood on wood. “This is bullshit.”

“Helena Ann,” Mom admonishes my use of expletives, more so toward them.

I spin around, plant my hands on my hips, and widen my eyes. “Sorry, but it’s true.” Tipping my head back, I stare at the ceiling and blink back the sting behind my eyes before leveling my gaze. “Sorry I’m not the star student anymore. Sorry I don’t understand trigonometry or remember all things related to the human body.” I lift my hands up, then drop them in a slap against my thighs. “But take away my freedom because of twoDs? I promise I’ll bring them up. I’ll study more. Ask the teacher if I can do extra credit. Whatever it takes.”

Mom tilts her head as she silently asks Dad his thoughts. “Maybe we can come to a compromise.”

Relief creeps its way back into my chest. “What kind of compromise?”

Dad and Mom have another silent conversation as I look between them. Finally, Dad pipes up. “You can study with your friends, but it still has to be at home. Aside from daily homework, I want to see extra study time. Three weeknights and one weekend day for at least a couple hours. That’s the best you’ll get until your grades improve.”

Option two still sucks, but it’s better than feeling like a lonely prisoner and living in my textbooks. “Deal.”

“Mom and I expect to see your work every night. We’ll also be in touch with your teachers.”

Deep breaths, Helena. It could be a hell of a lot worse.

“Fine.”

“And we need to know who’s here studying with you.”

Damnit.A ball of nervous energy expands in my belly. “I only study with Lessa, Mags, and Ander.” I say his name last in the hopes they don’t think too much of it.

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