Falling For Mr. Perfect (Daily Updates)

O5 Short Tempered and Abrasive

"SHORT TEMPERED AND ABRASIVE"

After the world's most tension fill dinner of pizza and cheesy bread, I didn't leave my room for a week. Only sneaking out when I was absolutely sure I wouldn't run into my mom.

The night of the fight, my parents talked until the sun came up. Since no one bothered to cut my power back on until breakfast, it was all I had to listen to. They whisper-shouted back and forth about responsibilities and discipline and me and Sabrina.

My sister left the state two years ago, right after her high school graduation, with nothing but a one way ticket to Minnesota. We had a cousin out there who was more than happy to take in Sabrina.

But before that, Sabrina had a rough time with my mom. They butted heads more often and more violently than my mom and I did. It all came to a head when Sabrina got pregnant.

My mom officially gave up on Sabrina and focused all her rage on me. The leash she had me on was shorter than my temper. While I took my dad's humor and laid back energy, Sabrina had our mom's.

I could make a joke and move on, but when those two went at it, it lasted forever. Sometimes my dad would physically have to remove one of them, just to shut them up. My grandma, my mom's mom, always said they were too much alike and that's where all the tension came from.

Two bullheaded women who didn't know when to back down.

Unlike Sabrina, I wasn't interested in yelling back and forth with my mom. I think my silence annoyed her more than anything. Fighting was the most exhausting thing and I didn't have the energy for an all out shouting match.

I was still in my room, waiting for my mom to leave for work when the doorbell rang. Opening my bedroom door just a little, I heard my dad open the door. Then I heard Peter's voice.

He'd been messaging me all week about the daycamp stuff. But I didn't want to talk to him or anyone honestly. Even Cherry couldn't reach me. I wasn't expecting him to show up my house, though.

"You'll have to go up there." I over heard my dad saying. "She's been in a mood."

Slowly, I closed the door and did a quick scan of my room. It was worse than it was the other day. Dirty plates and cups littered my desk. There was a mountain of laundry in the corner. Crumbs in my bed. Soda cans underneath it. I wouldn't let Cherry in here, let alone Mr. Perfect.

I found my old school bag and dumped dishes in it. Haphazardly threw my lilac comforter over my messy bed. Shoved old soda cans in my closet. I had just slid my closet door shut when someone knocked on my door.

"What do you want?" I shouted as I looked over myself in the mirror. I quickly redid my pony tail and straightened out green sundress that I threw on because it was the only clean thing left in my closet that was also comfortable. I spritz some perfume around the room just in case it smelled funny.

"It's Peter."

Satisfied with my quick clean up job, I opened the door just enough to see his clear blue eyes. His curly hair was fluffy across his forehead and today's shirt was Motion City Soundtrack.

"That's not what I asked," I corrected him. "What do you want?"

"You forget about the piano lesson today?"