"Dad, I already said I was sorry! What else do you want me to do?" My parents and I are currently on our way back home from the courthouse. As usual, my mom is staying quiet, letting my father release the full wrath of his anger. And to say things were not going very well would be the understatement of the century.
"I want you to tell me why you were drinking and driving. I want you to tell me how my daughter could be so stupid as to ram her car – which I paid for – into a freaking grocery store!"
"So, it's really just the money you care about?" I seriously cannot believe my dad. He doesn't even care that his daughter could have been injured, EVEN KILLED, in an accident that I didn't even cause.
"No, it is just not the money Clara. I just don't understand why you would do something so incredibly idiotic." After all this time, he still doesn't believe that it was Sean who caused this all. To him, Sean is still the golden child of all children, which is probably why he pushed us so much to start our relationship. Well, that and he needed Sean's parent's investment money, and what better way to close the deal than selling his daughter off to his partner's son? In case you can't tell, that was sarcasm.
"Dad, why don't you trust me when I say that it wasn't me that caused the crash? Sean jerked the wheel from my hands, and I didn't have time to stop it. There was nothing I could have done."
"I don't want to head any excuses from you. I don't care if it's the truth or not." Finally, I think he realizes that he's not getting anywhere and is just making everybody more miserable. We go the rest of the car ride in complete silence. All I can think about is tomorrow, my first day of community service. Honestly, I'm kind of nervous and strangely excited. Maybe they'll be a cute guy... Then again, all the people there are trouble, so maybe I should start looking somewhere else. Maybe I could go to Patsy's Diner and do my survey there.
"Clara!" I look to find my mom staring at me.
"What did you say?" I say, not realizing how much I had zoned out.
"I said to be sure to go to bed as soon as get back to the house. You've got to be up early. The service group meets at 8:30." At those last few words, my eyes nearly op out of my head. EIGHT FREAKING THIRTY? WHO DOES THAT?
"Are you sure that's the right time mom?" Please universe, let her be wrong just this once.
"That's the time we have on all the information we have. This is supposed to be a punishment remember? You're not going to get treated like princess, honey," my mom says as we pull into the three-car garage of our house, which I notice has an empty space where my car should be. Frowning, I head inside to text my best friend Ava.
"Don't forget! We have to leave by eight!" my mom yells up the stairs at me.
"I got it. Thanks." She's being so calm about this all, I can't tell who's side she's on.
Getting out my pajamas, I dig into m phone for my purse, and quickly find Ava's and mine's last conversation.
AVA: How did it go? Just so you know, I have ice cream in the fridge 😊.
That's why she is my best friend, she can tell what I need before I even know.
CLARA: It was horrible. I got community service for the ENTIRE summer ☹. The only positive thing I can find in this is that hopefully I'll be able to get a tan. I'll fill you in on the details Saturday. We're still on for Patsy's, right?
I hit send, and while waiting for her response, I get ready for bed and let my mind wander to tomorrow. None of my thoughts are positive, and that may be what worries me the most. It's the sound of my phone dinging that drags me out of my thoughts and back into my conversation with Ava.
AVA: Oh my gosh. Clara I am so sorry all this happened to you. Next time I see Sean, he's gonna wish he never messed with you. And yes of course we're still on for Patsy's. I have to get my daily dose of chocolate in somehow lol. See ya then.
I'm about to put my phone down when an idea suddenly strikes me. I don't know why I didn't do this earlier, but I open my phone and type a message to Sean. "WE'RE DONE." it says, and without a second thought, I hit send.
With that, I get into bed and yet again let my mind drift off to imagining scenarios about tomorrow until I eventually drift off to sleep.
YOU ARE READING
The Summer It All Changed
Novela JuvenilSpending her days of summer raking leaves of elderly people's yards was not what Clara Davis had in mind when she pictured the summer before her senior year. She also never thought her boyfriend would wreck her car, then leave her with the damage it...
