Prove It - Haley Dunphy

Chapter 38

[Jay]
"I caught Aurelia drinking."

"She came over yesterday, as she does sometimes. Manny was up in his room, Gloria was out getting some groceries, I was watching TV. After awhile, I went out by the pool to check in on her and there she was- drinking a beer."

"I don't know if she saw me, but I didn't say anything to her about it. Instead, I got her Mom's number from Gloria and let her know."

"I know she's struggled with that before, but still- when it happens right in front of you, you're kinda just unsure what to do."

——

"Are you alright, Ray?" Phil asks, "You seem to be a little under the weather."

"Mhm." Aurelia shrugs, sitting by the kitchen island.

"It's not your symptoms flaring up again, is it?" Alex sits down too.

"No." Aurelia shook her head, picking up her coffee-filled mug to take a gulp. "Just didn't sleep too well. It's obvious, huh?"

"Well, it's Saturday." Claire chimed in, "So you may sleep as much as you wish."

"Good morning." Haley walks in, Luke trails behind her.

"Hey, honey." Phil smiled brightly, handing her a plate of pancakes and tater tots.

"Thank you." Haley returned the smile at sat down beside Aurelia.

Luke yawns while getting himself a juice box from the fridge, complaining about how Haley's talking kept him up.

"Excuse me, I went to sleep before you did." Haley glared at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you weren't asleep?" Luke stared back at her.

"Wait a minute, she wasn't here last night." Claire interjected, "Were you talking on the phone all night last night?"

"Do I look like someone who stayed up all night?" Haley glances at her mother, "Please, it was an hour at most."

"I should know. I was trying to read." Alex snorted trying not to laugh.

"I'll be right back." Aurelia excuses herself from the table. She makes her way into the bathroom down the hall and shut the door. The noise from their conversation made her heart race- she was already on edge about the drink she had at Jay and Gloria's yesterday. A part of her wanted to tell someone, but another part of her was trying to shut up. She was painfully avoiding too much of a conversation with anyone out of fear that she'd blurt it out and chaos would ensue like it did back then.

Aurelia hears footsteps walking to the front door, then someone opens it. "Rita? Hi." Claire says.

'Oh, shit.' She mumbles to herself.

"Aurelia's here, right?"

She freezes, not having the guts to exit the bathroom and face her mother. "Uh, yeah. She's just gone to the bathroom." Claire confirms, "Is everything alright?"

"No." Rita was furious. Aurelia flushes the toilet. Opening the door to step out.

"How dare you?" Rita immediately turned around to face her, "Did you think I wouldn't find out?" Already, Ray was on the brink of tears. Phil asks the kids to go up to their rooms, he walks over to them. "What happened?" Claire asked gingerly. "Your father saw her drinking a beer yesterday at his house." Rita revealed.

"I'm sorry." Aurelia inhales.

"We've already been down this road, mija. And what a toll becoming sober has had on your body."