Dating the Dead • lrh

21. talk

It was well past eight by the time I got home. Shelby and I ended up having a movie marathon, eating her stash of junk food. When Charlie, the bodyguard who caught me sneaking around Shelby's house, brought some food.

After we ate our breakfast, pancakes and bacon, Shelby handed me a Tupperware container to bring home.

"Ooh, lovely girl. Very thoughtful," my mother cooed, serving everyone at the table a slice of chocolate cake.

I wedged between my brother, Jack and Ben, who were wolfing down the dessert.

"Damn this is good," Ben said through a mouthful of chocolate.

I pushed his glass of water closer to him, remembering my near-death experience with choking. Jack slung an arm over my shoulder while shoving a spoonful of cake in his mouth.

"So, are you and Shelby dating, now?" he asked, crumbs falling from his mouth. I refilled his glass with water, fighting the urge to pour it on his nosy head.

"It's not like that," I muttered, taking out my phone from my pocket. Its cracked screen flashed my message notifications. "Hey, guys, can we snap a photo?"

Dad asked why but he smiled when I raised my phone. I took as many pictures as I can until Mum pointed at the screen. "What happened to your phone?"

"I dropped it yesterday." I excused myself and as I turned to leave, Ben asked me if I wanted to join them at the beach. "Rain check, yeah? I'm gonna catch up some sleep."

When I woke up just after lunch time, I found my mother reading on the couch. Lukey was curled up next to her. "Hey, there's food in the kitchen. Just help yourself." As I stacked sausages on my plate, I heard my mother call for me. "Will you please take your food here, I want to talk to you."

I did as she said, setting my plate and glass on the tea table between the couch and the TV. "What are we going to talk about?" I spoke before taking a bite.

"So where did you and Shelby go yesterday?" She closed her book and stared at me.

I took a gulp before I told her what happened, replacing the part where she broke into my window with meeting up with Shelby. "And um, this morning, I brought pizza to her house and," I took in her stern expression, "I know that look, Mum, we just had a movie marathon all morning. Nothing else, promise."

"What time did you go there, again?"

"Before four? Lukey woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep so I thought, I'd go to her house."

"How are you so sure she's awake?"

I bit down on my food before I spoke again. "I wasn't. But I remembered her saying that her day starts at two."

"Honey, as much as I am happy to see you hang out with Shelby, I can't help but be concerned. You sneaking out of the house at an ungodly hour is unacceptable. This will be the last time you do that, okay?"

While my mother talked, I cleared up my plate. "Yes, Mum. It won't happen again," I gulped the rest of my water. "Um, I'm going to Michael's, is that alright?"

"Yes."

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