The Girl Next Door > jariana (COMPLETED)

forty-seven

Ariana

My mother quietly cleared away the plates from the table. I sat desperately trying to hold back tears and surprisingly my sister kept rubbing my back. My dad's hair was messy from running his hand through it. I'd never really seen it as messy. He always had it combed neatly, like Superman's Clark Kent.

"Can we be excused?" Allison asked timidly.

My mom paused. "Girls, you can go."

"No. I have more to say," My dad said looking at both Allison and I.

"No, Ed. You've said enough." My mother never took center stage, but it was her turn. "I've let you be the leader, knowing you do what you do out of love for our children," she said turning her gaze on us. "I can't stand being lied to anymore, girls. Your father does the best with what he has. He provides for us and there are rules, regardless if you agree with them or not. We need to take a step back. You two think that we don't know what's going on, but we do. We see the bigger picture because we've been there. You may think we're too conservative or not cool, but the fact is we've been through our share of heartbreak."

Allison sat shaking her head. Finally brave enough to speak. "Mom, it's just tough to listen to you guys. Just because Ari got trapped up into something doesn't mean I should be punished too. Not allowing Owen to come over is so lame. It's not gonna keep me away from him. It's not gonna change my past either." My heart sank when I heard her last words.

I looked at my dad for any kind of reaction. My mother's lips went tight and my dad looked sadly at my mom. What kind of look was that? Did he know about Allison and her past? Was I just over reading everything? Allison pushed her chair away from the table and its legs made a deep screeching sound against the hardwood floor. I held my breath. "Justin isn't a bad guy. He's taken care of Ari, maybe in ways you don't approve of, but he has. We're all just experiencing what it's like to be teenagers and you guys act like it's a crime. I didn't know that Justin had a drug problem. I don't think anyone did. I think you're being way harsh on everything, Dad."

My dad looked like he aged 10 years right in front of me as he hung his head. His face looked drawn and droopy as the creases tucked deeper into his skin. Allison disappeared with out another word and I sat like a piece of stone, as if I'd stared into Medusa's eyes.

"Ariana, you think I don't know about what goes on under my roof or outside of these walls? I know I may not know everything, but I know how it feels to love and lose. I know what it feels like to be alone. I know what it feels like to be lied to by people who say they love you. I know what battles to fight. Your mother and I tell each other everything, whether you all think we don't. Under the circumstances of Justin, I thought it was better not to have Allison's boyfriend hanging out. I thought of you when I made that decision. I didn't want him flaunted in your face. Maybe I should have stated that."

"Why don't you tell her now?" I choked out, holding back tears.

"I will when the opportunity presents itself."

"Dad, I'm sorry," I said, trying to gulp down the golf ball in my throat. "I still don't understand what the big deal is."

"Ariana, I don't think you will until you have your own children. Justin just turned 18 years old. You're 14."

"I'm gonna be 15 soon." I piped.

My dad just rolled his eyes at me and went on. "He's not your typical teenage boy, Ariana. He never was. I thought he'd end up more like Kyle, the studious type, but he took to music and the road. However, in light of his drug addiction I think he needs to know what rock bottom is. If not having access to you is hitting rock bottom, then hopefully it'll help him to realize what he's lost because of it. I'm going to say this one more time, for the last time. I will not sit here and allow you to have an intimate relationship with an 18-year-old, drug addicted rock star. I don't care how long we've known him."