Daddy Issues

71 - Perfect solution

'Okay, remind me again why you think the perfect solution to dealing with this video of you breaking into a book shop, is you breaking into your mother's house to delete it?' Mel asks me skeptically.

'What else am I supposed to do?' I ask her indignantly.

'I just feel like this is only going to get you more problems.'

'Look, breaking in was never the issue, was it? It was much more the having sex part. And there's a very low chance of that happening now.'

'Who knows, your mom might have a hot new boyfriend hiding in there.'

'Mel!'

I gasp, but then laugh at her out of pocket comment. We've been hiding in the small alley behind my mother's house for 15 minutes now.

Mom left for her pilates class about 10 minutes ago, as I knew she would. We're just taking a little time to make sure she doesn't come back. I don't want to get caught because she happened to forget her yoga mat or whatever.

'Seriously though, you really think this is a good idea?' Mel asks me, crossing her arms in discomfort when she peeks over the fence into the garden again.

'I gotta try. I can't have that video hanging over me, can I? But seriously, you don't have to be here. I can do it alone.'

After I told her everything I had learned from Yuki, and later from Dan, Mel made me promise to talk to her about it before I did anything rash. So that's what I did when I came up with the idea to try and delete the video.

She tried to talk me out of it, but she couldn't. Then she insisted she'd come with me. I tried to talk her out of that. But I'm not the only stubborn one in the friendship.

'Either we're both leaving, or I'm staying,' Mel says determinedly. I can't help but smile. The truth is that I am happy not to do this alone. Just the thought of going into my old house again makes my heart race. Let alone the thought of going through my mom's laptop to try and find the video.

I know it's a long shot. Even if I can find it, she might very well have more copies. But would she really be so twisted? To make copies of my shameful disaster just to be sure to have something to manipulate me?

'Okay then. Well, I think we can go inside now.'

That night when she kicked me out, it all happened so fast, I left without my keys. And she made Dan hand in his keys as well. So I don't have a key to the house anymore. But I know exactly how to get in.

I know that when I stand on the boulder beside the fence, I can reach over and just reach the latch to open it. I know this because I'd regularly forget my keys on a night out and I knew it pissed mom off of I had to ring the bell in the middle of the night.

This is also the reason why I hid an emergency key underneath a large flower pot. Mom would have freaked out if she knew I left a key out, but it saved me from a lot of yelling matches whenever I discovered my empty pockets at the front door.

I smile triumphantly at Mel when I hold up the key, still in its place. She smiles warily back.

Then we move to the back door, looking around like my mother or the police might jump out any moment. Fortunately, nobody does. We still let out a breath of relief when we make it safely inside. And then a nervous giggle.

Once we've pulled ourselves together, I take a look around. We're in the kitchen. The kitchen where I had countless of fights with my mother and rarely any dinners together. Where I kissed Dan for the first time. Where Mom confronted me about that kiss and kicked me out.