Truth or Dare? [REWRITTEN]

¤Chapter 26¤

¤Chapter Twenty-six¤

"Madi!" Mom rushed towards me frantically as soon as I walked through the front door. "Where have you been?"

"Um," I squirmed under her unnervingly tight grip. "I went to visit a... friend"

She stared at my face for a moment, searching for something in my appearance. "H-How are you feeling?"

I groaned. I'm too emotionally drained for this. "Mom, I feel like I should be asking you that question —since when are you home so early and why were you panicking?"

She sighed, releasing her hold on my arms. "Mothers worry, Madi" Her expression looked strained. "That's what we do."

"Where's dad?" I asked curiously as she adjusted a book on the shelf close by. "Why isn't he here freaking out as well?"

She didn't turn to face me as she spoke, instead I watched as her body turned stiff. "Your father should be at work right about now"

"I guess fathers don't worry then" I mumbled sarcastically under my breath and headed for the stairs in a daze. Usually, it's only natural for parents to worry but it annoys me that she chose this moment —the moment where I'm least like myself— to do it. Instead, I wanted to walk into an empty house and use the isolation to self reflect like I'm used to. 

"Madi Fields, I heard that young lady!" She looked at me this time, her hands placed sternly on her hips. "It was more convenient for me to rush home instead of—"

"That's what I don't get," I paused halfway up the stairs to stare at her quizzically. "I go out all the time and you guys never worry, what's changed?"

Her pager buzzed in her pocket and her lips formed a grim line. "Well for starters, the school called this morning. Mr. Pot said he would handle it as best as he could but I might need to come in for a one on one meeting about your destructive behavior"

I glanced at the floor, not wanting to see a look of disappointment or concern on her features. "Sorry, I..." I fumbled for words. How can I explain the situation with Brendon without making things worse? It's not a pleasant story. "He deserved it. It wasn't just a crazy rampage I—"

She climbed up the stairs and clasped my clammy hands in hers. I looked into her warm eyes and she smiled softly. "I'm not mad at you sweetie, being a teen is hard and I know you're going through some dark stuff right now." She pulled me into a tight hug that made my body temporarily relax. This isn't something I like doing because it makes me vulnerable  but I believe a certain someone has made me more opened to accepting them from some people. "I'm sorry your father and I aren't always around when you need us. Sometimes we forget how young you are because you're so strong Madi."

 "You guys are the reason I made it this far." I whispered, shocked by how fragile I sounded to my own ears.

 She pulled away and brushed back loose hair strands with her hand as she responded somberly. "But we couldn't prevent the problem."

There's no way my parents could've predicted or prevented what happened between me and Todd but instead of saying that, I told her I'm going to bed as she left for work again after an apologetic glance in my direction.

 I didn't know my parents were worried to this extent. They were like this last year but ever since I reinvented myself it's like they released a held breath. Now it seems they're on edge again. Well, at least mom is —dad is usually the 'calm' one, the one that sees reason.

I dragged my tired limbs up the remaining steps and plopped on the bed without changing. After I left Jace's place, I decided to ride around aimlessly for a few hours to think about his clues that may or may not be fake. I didn't realize so many hours had passed and that mom would be alarmed by my late night entrance considering the fact that she's typically lenient with curfew.