Tongue Tied

Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

I'm on chore duty. I had to take on my brother's chores which was laundry and vacuuming the entire house. I'm out of motion, no energy as I get upstairs and lay down. No more, I whimper and fake sob. I hope my mom hears my suffering. Or dad. He's probably still sleeping. Craig's no help either. And he stays out all the time.

My phone is ringing. No. Why can't I have an assistant? Quinn's facetiming me. I slide the icon to answer.

"What the hell?" Quinn asks, wrinkling her brows. Her makeup is done, hair is in a side ponytail.

"I know," I say, I roll over on my stomach, resting my cheek on my palm. She's sipping something green. "Where are you?"

"Class 520," she says of the ice cream place. "Matcha boba." She shakes the clear cup.

"Are you and Tyler having a little date?" I tease.

"Yes," she answers with a blush.

"Aww."

"I know! He's so cute!" She swoons, pressing her hands on her cheeks. She looks and smiles, flips the camera. Tyler's in a baseball cap and white shirt. He smirks, sipping from his own cup. His is white with caramel. She flips it back to herself showing the widest grin. This is the first time I've seen her happy since her last relationship. Her ex, Daniel, basically manipulated her, hung out with his friends more than her. Gaslighted. She paid for everything when they went out for dinner. She found out he was cheating on her. Actually, she found out she was the side chick. He had a girlfriend that was in another school in Ohio. He thought he could have two in one. In old fashion, she punched him. He tried to press charges, which went nowhere.

She deserves Tyler. He was kind. Handsome. That I know of. She knew what would happen if he hurt her.

"Anyway. How much trouble are you in?" Quinn asks.

"A lot. Mom hasn't talked to me since last night. I'm grounded for the weekend and doing all the chores," I sigh, shaking my head.

"Bummer." She sticks out her bottom lip. The principal said I'm basically a model student. I get in trouble once and suddenly I'm a criminal. I make no mistakes, and I choose not to. The one time I lose my temper and I get branded. I stay out late for a party, I'm a bad girl. Make it make sense.

"It's ok. It's only for the weekend." I raise one of my shoulders in a shrug.

"I'll call you back. Byeeee!"

"Byeeee!" We end the video call, I drop my phone on the bed. This stupid phone was the cause of all this. I shut my eyes for some rest. I need two minutes. Ten at the most.

"Maya, come take out the trash!" Mom yells out. I slowly open my eyes and grumble. One second. I take my time going downstairs. I pull up the trash drawstrings and open the door. I dump it in the can, wiping the dirt off my hands. Why can't I wash the cars like Craig? Or load the dishwasher? Oh wait, I'm doing that already, for the sake of my punishment. The weather is breezy, the crunchy leaves on the grass against my sneakers. If school wasn't going on, this is my favorite season. Halloween, thanksgiving. Apple cider, cocoa. One of my neighbor's spraying her grass in blue sweatpants and a sunhat.

I spot Alex coming around with his dog walking along the sidewalk. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye when I left. I don't even have his number. I wave meekly when he sees me. He waves back, Chewy tugs forward to the next house. He doesn't look back. I blink, shaking my head. I whirl around, Sam is out in a white tank top grabbing the newspaper off the doorstep. I breathe out. The sight of seeing him made me grind the back of my teeth. Does he feel anything? His words of him flirting with me is screwing with my mind. He stops before he goes in, sees me. He was standing still like a statue. I should go over there and say something. My feet have a mind of its own as I stride over. Holding my stomach, we meet eye to eye. "Coming back for more?" He asked, placing the newspaper under his armpit.