Exposure

Chapter 8

At some point in life, people need to realize that compared to others, they are pretty lucky. I tell my self this as Danny, dad and I are eating dinner. After the therapy session, dad had asked multiple times how it went. And lucky for me, everything that happens during the session is strictly confidential to me and Mrs. Blakely. I'm actually starting to like this. She checks in on me every few days to see if I want to have an early session, and she offers to come over to my home instead. A couple of times, we had a session over the phone. It was mostly about how my mom has changed ever since Ken has barged into her life. Well, "our" life. We also talked about drugs. My confession has had her on edge. And come to think of it me too. I've been thinking of ways to get the drug. And that's crazy, but I want to feel like that again. Alive, and fulfilled.

"So, how's your mother?" dad asks as he shoves a piece of steak in his mouth. Oh shit! I haven't told him about Ken, and I'm not planning to. I glance at Danny, who fixes her gaze on dad. She knows I'm not going to talk, so she has too. Maybe this will teach her a lesson. Being the first one to talk isn't always a good thing.

"She's seeing another guy. His name is Ken." She chokes on the word 'Ken'. Dad's eyes drop to his plate, but he continues to chew his food.

The door bell rings, and I silently thank god.

"I'll get it." I hop up from my chair and race towards the door, wanting to get away from the awkward table. When I open it, my heart lifts a little. It's Peter. I've been wanting to apologize to him, and just seeing someone "normal" is making me feel a little better.

"Hey, I-" He gestures towards the driveway and smirks. "Do you have a minute?"

"Yeah," I say as I close the door behind me. I don't think dad will mind me leaving for a few minutes. "Um, what's going on?"

"Well, you kind of stepped out on me the other day." I can't help but chuckle. I definitely didn't step out on him. He was busy. He even said so, and I was upset.

"Peter, you said you had to practice."

"That doesn't mean you had to leave!" His sudden change of tone startles me, and I step back.

"I-I'm sorry! Are you okay?" What the hell is Peter's problem? He comes to my house, just to yell at me? He frantically shakes his head. I notice that his ears are really tiny for his head.

"I'm sorry, Ivy. It's just, I heard that you met Adrien at a coffee shop. And...are you taking drugs from him?"

"What?! Of course not! And I didn't meet him there. I was getting coffee and he found me." Forget about the details! Where did he hear such a rumor? Everything that I'm telling Mrs. Blakely is getting spread around town! And I know she didn't tell anyone.

"Ivy tell me the truth. I want to get to know you, but I can't get into that shit." I start to back away. My throat tight with anger.

"If you don't believe me, you can screw off Peter! I didn't take any drugs from him." As I turn to leave, he grabs my arm. I notice that he's sobbing. All the anger I'm feeling washes away. I hate to see people cry, especially guys. "Peter?"

"My mom died. Last year. She died, because she was addicted to drugs. It took us awhile to get the courage to move to a new town, but my dad and I did. So we moved here." I swallow and stare at him for what seems like a long time. I don't know what to say, and I wish he didn't tell me that. It seemed too painful for him and he didn't need to anyway.

"I swear I'm not. I swear Peter. You didn't need to say that, but I'm really sorry." Now I definitely feel lucky. At least I have my parents. Peter only has one. And here I am complaining about the divorce. I'm such an ass. But I know how to make it up to him.