To say that Karen was upset with the fact that Angela had gotten into a fight on the first day, would have been a understatement. I don't think I've ever SEEN Karen that angry before. She had been silent the whole way home after she picked up. Angela and Madison had received an in school suspension for two weeks. Karen's grip on the steering wheel was tight enough to turn her knuckles white and her face was set in a almost permanent frown. We pulled up into my driveway, and she was the first to get out. She stalked up to my house and slammed the front door behind her, not even bothering to wait for us.
Angela rolled her eyes as she opened my door. I took her hand as she helped me down.
"Is she going to be okay?" I asked, concerned. Angela shrugged her shoulders.
"Don't know. Not the first time I've been in a brawl with another chick though, but...she just needs to cool off. Knowing her the moment we set foot in there she is going to start chewing me out, then she's going to cry, which will make her think that she is a bad mother, and then I'm going to hug her and reassure her that she isn't, and that she is the best mom on earth," she said. She sounded almost confident. I looked at her as we started walking up to my house.
"You've been through this with her before?" She nodded her head, looking grim.
"Let's just say I've done a lot of stupid things in my sixteen years. Things that I'm not proud of to be completely honest, but I mean life's hard sometimes, so why not right? I can't be little miss perfect all the time. I can't be that girl that fakes everything and lets other people walk all over me. I can't be-"
"Like me." Angela stopped in her tracks and grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop too. I turned my head to look at her.
"You aren't a poser, Lindsay Hartman. You're a sweet and honest girl. You're nothing like the rest of them." I smiled at her.
"Thanks, Ang." She smiled back at me.
"Anytime," she said softly. She patted my back, heading up to the house again. "Now let's go get yelled at." I laughed and followed her into the house. Karen was standing in the foyer, still looking pretty steamed. She hadn't even taken off her jacket or put down the car keys. Her nostrils were flared in rage, her eyes looked about ready to pop right out of their sockets, and I swear that I saw smoke coming out of her ears. She slammed the keys down on the table and I jumped back. Angela didn't even look fazed though.
"Angela Marie Wents, I cannot believe you would do something like this! Getting into a fight?! Seriously?! What were you thinking?!" she screamed. I almost fainted right then. I had never heard Karen yell before. Not even at me. Angela crossed her arms over her chest, trying to look tough.
"That witch had it coming, Mom. She was picking on Lindsay and when I told her to back off, she refused," she replied calmly. Karen threw her hands in the air, looking frustrated.
"Angela, that's when you tell your teacher, not slap the girl across the face!" Angela sighed and rubbed her temples.
"Mom, she had it coming because she pushed me. I told her to leave Lindsay alone and she shoved me, which caused me to hit the floor. I knew that she wasn't going to leave Lindsay alone unless I did something!" Karen crossed her arms over her chest.
"So, you hit her? Because she pushed you and you fell? Angela, there was no reason for you to get physical with that girl! You gave her exactly what she wanted, which was for you to slip up and give her a response, which you did by the way. If you had told your teacher-
"For Merlin sake, Mom, she wasn't even in the darn room! She was taking care of Cora Scotts sister at the time!" Karen's face fell a little. "By the time Miss Everston came back, Madison and I were trying to rip each other's throats out. Ask Lindsay!" She gestured towards me and I froze. Karen's eyes looked over at me.
"Is this true, Lindsay?" she asked, her voice calm and quiet now. I slowly nodded my head.
"Angela was just trying to protect me." Karen sighed heavily and slowly turned around, her back to us. When she turned back around, her eyes were filled with tears and her arms were outstretched towards us.
"Come here you two," she said. Angela and I walked right into her arms. Karen started to cry on our shoulders. "You girls mean so much to me." I rubbed her back with my hand, trying to calm her down. I felt Angela shaking next to me, and I pulled back. I went upstairs, letting them comfort each other in peace. I walked into my father's study, and closed the door behind me. I took a deep breath, taking in the musky scent of his office. I walked around his desk and sat in his worn leather chair. I leaned back and closed my eyes. I remembered running into his study to find him hard at work. He'd stop, look down at me, and pick me up so that I could sit in his lap.
I'd fall asleep in his arms and the next morning I'd wake up in my bed. I opened my eyes, coming back into reality. I wiped the tears that had fallen down my cheek away. I saw that his desk drawer was slightly ajar. I pushed against the drawer, trying to shut it, but it wouldn't go. I pulled the drawer out, trying to see what was keeping it from shutting. I found a manila envelope to be the culprit. I pulled it out and noticed that it was kind of heavy. I stared down at the broken seal. I was so tempted to open it, but I knew that it wasn't any of my business. I looked at the picture that sat on my dad's desk.
It was of him and my mother, when they met back in college. They looked so happy. I reached forward, my fingers brushing against the glass. I gave a small smile, missing them from my life. I turned the envelope over and saw that it was addressed to my dad without a return address in the upper left corner. I looked back at his desk. It was a cluttered mess. Papers were scattered over the wooden surface, and his pens weren't even in their cup. I sighed heavily and stood up. I organized the papers and put the pens back into their cup. I bumped the manila envelope, knocking it to the floor.
I looked down and saw that the contents had gone all over the red carpet. I groaned as I knelt down, gathering them in my hands. I noticed that most of them were legal documents, but not just any legal documents. They were divorce papers and adoption certificates and paternity tests. 'Why does Dad have these?' I thought to myself. I heard someone coming up the stairs and I hurriedly shoved the papers back into the envelope. I put it back in the drawer as Karen came in, a smile on her face. "What are you doing, Lindsay?" she asked. I forced a smile and touched my father's desk.
"Just tidying up in here. Thought Dad would like that," I lied. She put her hand on her hip, a smile still on her face.
"You are always so considerate, Lindsay. Now, come on, it's time for you and Angela to celebrate your birthday." She held her hand out to me.
"It's Angie's birthday too?" She nodded her head, still smiling.
"Yeah. She didn't tell you?" I shook my head, forcing a chuckle.
"Come on, Lindsay!" I heard Angela shouted up the stairs. We laughed and I started to walk down the stairs. I saw a cake sitting on the little table in the middle of the room, candles burning. Angela stood on the other side of the dim room, her smile shining from the candlelight. I walked over to her and Karen sang to us. We both leaned down and blew the sixteen candles out. Karen turned on the lights and she cut three pieces of cake. She gave us each a paper plate and we went into the living room to watch some movies. As I ate my cake, I wasn't even watching the movie. I was too busy wondering about those papers that were in my father's study. 'Is he really going to leave Mom?'
