Troubled kisses(school hiatus)

Troubled Kisses chapter 24

   Nick and I drove for at least two hours, jammin' out to country music and every now and then, we would lower the volume and sing our own lyrics. I laughed when Nick switched radio stations when Taylor Swift came on.

   "Don't hate," I reminded him. He shrugged and continued to drive until he stopped outside of a very, very familiar house. I jumped up and pressed my fingers against the window. "No... no no no no no no no no no no no no no," I said over and over again. Not this house... Anything but this lime green colored, paint chipped, broken shutters, boarded up windows, gloomy looking house.

   "We have to tell them sooner or later." Nick said as he gripped the steering wheel. I gulped and watched him open the car door. I slowly walked out as Nick wrapped his hand around my waist. We walked up the creaky porch steps as Nick ran the doorbell. It reverberated inside of the house and I held my breathe. I could already imagine that woman chain smoking in Nick's face and dad crushing beer cans and throwing it behind him. When the door knob jiggled, I felt my stomach tighten.

   "Why, hello there--" mom said as she saw Nick. He muttered a hi and glanced at me. The door opened wider to see the person next to Nick--which in the worst situation, was me. "Dannie?"

   I looked up and started a smile. "Hi... uh, mom..."

   She gawked at me with wide eyes, looked me up and down and cleared her throat. "C-Come in... I suppose."

   Nick and I made ourselves inside and surprisingly, the house didn't smell like pot or like potheads lived here. It smelled like peaches and vanilla. I scrunched up my nose. Alone they smelled fantastic but together... blech. We sat in the living room where dad was watching World War Z. When we walked in, he looked up, thinking it was mom, but when he saw me, he clamped his mouth shut. He stared at me and when I was about to say hi, he looked away. I lowered my head and sat down biting back the tears. Mom came in and sat in front us. She straightened out her dress and managed a smile. She was wearing a long, floral dress with a jean vest to match. Dad was wearing jeans and a red flannel with glasses that sat on the tip of his nose.

   "Welcome home, Dannie..."

   "Yeah," I laughed uncomfortably. "This place really, uh, changed." I said. Mom pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded. I cleared my throat. "Mom, dad, this is Nick. He's my--"

   "Boyfriend?" Mom asked. I clenched my jaw and nodded. "What lovely man."

   "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Eliar." Nick said as he lent out his head. Mm and dad shook it carefully, like they were afraid Nick would disappear.

   "So boy," dad spoke up. Nick flinched. "What is a college boy doing dating our daughter?"

   "Uh, I'm surprised you noticed," Nick laughed nervously. "I'm a freshman in college and I'm an artist."

   "A tattoo artist?" mom asked in an exciting tone. I raised my eyebrows. Damn, I knew they were clever, but I didn't know they were this quick to catch on.

   "Uh, yes ma'am."

   "Did you hear that, hon? That boy's a tattoo artist! How exciting!" mom shook dad. H groaned and nodded.

   "I heard, I heard." dad replied. Mom smiled and turned back to me.

   "So what brings you back home?" she asked. I gulped and looked over at Nick. He squeezed my hand and nodded.

   "Actually, mom and dad... I'm..." I felt a lump form in my throat and I swallowed it down hard. "I'm pregnant."

   Mom and dad were silent and all I heard was the low humming from the AC. Then, mom shook dad again.