Silent Emotions

10. Bottle of tequila

Silence fell upon us. It was as if the world just stopped abruptly, never letting us move on. Or just move really. All the muscles I had in my body were frozen. Quinn stood still, not able to come up with anything else after his big confession.

"Will you two go get the kids? We're pretty much done here." Glenda's voice chirped from the kitchen.

My eyes widen in realization. It had been quite a while since we were out here. Not only did we look like a mess, but also are in no way capable to make ourselves presentable in such short notice. Quinn eventually snaps out of it after I repeatedly half whisper and yelled his name.

With adrenaline still pumping through my veins and anxiety eating me up the more I hear both our dads coming closer.. I dragged Quinn over by the edge of the pool and came up with the next best thing.

"Hold your breath," I said after I already pushed him into the pool. The look of pure betrayal in his face made me giggly-- totally forgetting this situation at hand and beforehand. I heard the sliding door open and soon I was getting ready dive in. Just as they see Quinn struggling to stay afloat, I expressed my concern monotone.

"Oh no. You're drowning. I'll save you," I jumped in and helped Quinn who looked like a grumpy cat. Dad greets us with a towel and a questioning look.

"You both look like hell," he comments as he helps me dry my hair. I shrugged and gave him an innocent smile, "Well I did just save that guy from drowning." Once we were dry enough, all four of us went back to the kitchen where the moms fussed over us.

"Thank you so much for saving my son. Knowing him, he'd probably sink to the bottom." Glenda smiled widely at me as she hands me the mashed potatoes. I mumbled a response, feeling hunger overcome me. My main focus really was the food. Not anything relating to small talk.

"What happened to your nose, son?" Claude asked briefly after talking about business stuff with my parents. I kicked Quinn's leg under the table making him wake up from daydreaming. His eyes slowly turn to his father, though no response came out of his mouth. The look he sent his own father made everyone feel the intense atmosphere.

"Oh honey. Don't worry too much about it. It's probably just Jay being clumsy," Glenda tries to brighten the mood.

"It was nothing, I'm leaving now." Quinn said throwing everyone off. He didn't even touch his plate. And just like that the Petersons left after Claude promising mom another meeting. Mom and I cleaned the kitchen while dad cleaned the living room where they had some cheese and wine.

"What happened between you two?" Mom asked. I almost dropped the dish I was washing in the sink. Trying not to look tense, I looked over my shoulder and see mom watching me vigilantly. It was the whole catching me with my hand in the cookie jar moment all over again.

"Nothing," I dismissed. My hands shook as I washed the dishes. I prayed long and hard I didn't make much noise or looked suspicious. Which was hard considering I wasn't really much into any religion. Dad was raised as a Catholic while mom didn't really have much of a religious background. To this day I have yet to know about her side of the family. It's some kind of faux pas. We're never to ask or talk about it.

"Really but it seems like--" I turned around and sent her a pleading look. Knowing dad was listening from the other room. If he even had any suspicions, he'd act right away. And not knowing much about the whole truth of what happened the night of West's death does not seem favorable.

"We're talking about this whether you want to or not," she crosses her arms together sending me the mom stare. I sighed and put the remaining dishes away. Knowing my next actions will definitely lead me in trouble.