The Truce

Chapter 6

"You're going out again?" Mom asked as I headed to the door with my stuffed back pack Wednesday evening. It wasn't the norm for me to go out on school nights.

"The guidance counselor asked me to tutor someone." I intentionally didn't mention who that someone was or that "asked" was putting it mildly.

Mom seemed pleased. "That's great. It'll look good on your college applications."

"Right," I said, annoyed by the reminder of my blackmail.

Mom glanced between me and the door. "Is someone picking you up?"

"Scott said he would," I answered. Not actually a lie.

She wasn't thrilled though. "Make sure he knows when to pick you up after."

Nodding, I shoved down the irritation at her assumption that he'd screw up. Especially since she'd already been proven right.

"He knows." Not wasting any more time, I moved to the door. "Bye, Mom." I hurried out of sight, hoping my mom wouldn't look out the window and see no car waiting for me.

The reality of where I was going didn't hit me until I stood on the front porch, staring at the wrought iron door. I hadn't been in this house for years. The last time I was, Sebastian and I were still the best of friends and I believed we'd stay that way forever. I found myself hoping that his parents wouldn't be home. They probably hated me too.

Since I had no choice, I took a deep breath and rang the bell. A minute later the inside door was pulled open by Sebastian. He was in a snug t-shirt and sweats, and his hair was wet. Clearly he'd just gotten out of the shower. Cursing the fact that I wouldn't be able to deny that he was hot to save my life right now, I felt my face redden a little.

"Hey," he said, opening the outside door for me to come inside.

"Hey, I answered, avoiding his eye as I stepped over the threshold.

He closed the door behind me and we stood there awkwardly for a moment.

"We can work in the dining room," he suggested. "My mom will probably be taking up the kitchen table."

Great. His mom was home. I should have guessed. She worked too, but not super long hours, and she was the kind of mom that always had to have a home-cooked meal on the table for family dinners.

"That's fine," I said and we headed for the dining room.

Before we got there, his mom spotted me. "Michaela," she said, looking much happier than I ever would have expected. "Look at you! All grown up!" She came over to give me a hug. "And so pretty!"

I blushed, weakly hugging her back. "Hi, Mrs. McBride."

"We've missed seeing you," she said, baffling me further. "But I'm so glad you're helping Sebastian out. He's had too much on his mind."

"Mom..." Sebastian warned.

"Sorry. Sorry." She fluttered. "I know you kids have a lot to do. I'll get out of your way." She moved back toward the kitchen, stopping at the door. "Michaela, Honey, let me know if you want anything. We've got plenty of snacks and drinks."

"I will. Thank you."

We went over to the table, and set our stuff down. Sebastian took the spot at the end, and I sat directly to his left. Much as I'd like to have the table between us, it was way too big. Besides it would be a lot easier to work together at a ninety degree angle like this.

It was quiet as we got our stuff out and I couldn't keep my mind off his mom. She should hate me. Why didn't she hate me? And what was that about Sebastian having a lot on his mind? What was there besides school and football? I hated that I cared.