Forbidden

Neighbors

Unfortunately, my mother insisted that we went over to LeAnn's (or how I know it as Liam's) house for dinner. My father didn't seem too pleased but I'm guessing he already knew. This morning I realized that my father and Liam's mother must've been keeping in touch if they decided to tell us both the truth on the same night. It only pissed me off more, but I didn't mention it.

Three knocks on the door. That's all it took for a blonde woman to answer it and greet my parents. But I kept staring at the back way at the side of the house that Liam always used to sneak out at night to meet me. When I snapped back to the present, I walked inside the house.

I've actually never been here since Liam and I were dating in secret, but I've always wondered what it looked like on the inside so I was staring at every detail and memorizing every hallway so that all of the stories Liam used to tell me had a picture to go with them.

"Hello, Morgan," LeAnn greeted me with a smile.

I wanted to ignore her...so badly. But I needed to be polite. If not for my mom, for Liam. It was his mother after all. And I always vowed that if I ever got to meet his parents (the one thing couples in secret fear the most), I would be nice.

The ironic thing is, is that if Liam and I ever got married like I imagined over and over in my head, LeAnn would be my mother-in-law anyway. That thought made me grit my teeth but I smiled, even though I'm pretty sure it looked crooked.

"Hi, LeAnn."

I'm not calling you 'mommy', lady, I thought after seeing her disappointed face.

Just then Liam came out of his room. So THAT was his room. He avoided all eye contact and sat directly at their kitchen table. I sighed but tried to make it inaudible.

I purposely sat two seats away from Liam when dinner was served. Sadly, and yet thankfully, LeAnn was a good cook, unlike my 'mother'. I wasn't ever sure what to call anyone anymore. So I usually settled with lying jerks.

"Good food, Mrs. Baker," my mom said.

LeAnn and my dad were across from each other and they both looked equally uncomfortable. For the first time, Liam looked at me. His eyes were filled with several emotions: longing, regret, etc. Or maybe that was just the reflection of my own emotions. I had no clue but I hoped he felt the same way.

"Thank you," Liam's mom replied shyly.

Awkward...

When I was done, Liam took my plate and dirty silverware into the kitchen for me. What was that? Being polite for the guest, or...?

Whatever it was, I didn't want to think about it. It was only torturing me. Maybe him.

"So, Morgan sweetie, how's school?" LeAnn asked.

Typical question. "Good, I guess."

Liam headed back in and sat down.

"Well, Liam here is very athletic," she offered.

Tell me something I don't know.

"Do you have any hobbies, dear?"

Would you stop it with the names?!

"Uh...not really," I replied.

"Do you have any classes with Liam?" she asked.

I stared at the table, pretending to be interested in the small designs. "Yeah, a few now that you mention it."

There ya go, Morgan! Just act natural, My thoughts congratulated.

"But you two never became friends?" LeAnn asked in disbelief.

Does this woman ever stop talking? Will my parents ever speak up and save me from this nightmare?

"No," Liam and I said at the same time.

"Oh, well, I told Liam to try acquainting himself with you."

"You knew?!" I shouted across the table.

"What?" he said,

"How could you keep this from me? The whole time and you didn't say a word about this!"

"What? No, of course not!"

I could tell that our parents were equally confused but maybe they thought it was normal since we are under their stupid stress now. But I couldn't be here anymore.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. Thanks for dinner," I said, cleaning up after myself and walking out the door.

The whole time my dad didn't say a thing. What a-

No, I couldn't say it. If I did, I could never go back on it. And I wasn't really sure how I felt about the whole situation. The one thing I did know, however, was that I was lost. And if I let myself fall into the pool of confusion, I would be the one who ended up hurt.

Well, at least more than I already was.