Muse

Chapter 12: Breathe P2

The car ride home is silent.

I mean like, silent.

I've been needing to cough for 20 minutes now but I'm afraid my mom might crash the car just teach me a lesson. I'm not even kidding.

She pulls into the driveway like an agent in a spy movie: speeding up instead of slowing down and flooring the brakes just for kicks.

She gets out without a word and I follow suit.

She does one of those dog owner moves by holding the door open for me and glaring at my head the entire time, sending my tail between my legs.

Its been a while since I've been in this much trouble, you know with my mom always gone and all, so I don't know if I'm supposed to wait for her or if I'm automatically banned to my room.

Like the coward I am I try to sneak off to my room. My foot doesn't even make contact with the first step when my mom clears her throat behind me.

I slowly turn to look at her and she's standing by the door, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Then she points to the couch.

"Devyn," she starts angrily and then thinks better of her tone and sighs.

"I just don't understand. Why did you have to sneak off like that? With that boy! At a church gathering?" She says.

"I'm sorry," I say.

"That's it? Your just sorry? What even made you do that in the first place? Embarrassing me in front of Adam like that!" I take note of how she uses Pastor Adams first name so casually but I don't feel like now is the time to mention it.

"Well, Zach and I didn't really know anybody other than each other, and I know him because he's on my dance team, and when we went to the rank it was like a zoo! And well we didn't want to skate with a bunch of middle schoolers so we snuck into the gym and well, you know the rest," I say and realize sneaking into the gym is actually punishment worthy regardless of the reason. Shoot.

When I look up at my mom, she's close to tears. Uh...did I say something wrong?

Almost to herself she starts rambling urgently. "I don't understand. Why would you do that? Hours. Hours! I-I thought I lost you, again. I did all the right things, I just, I just don't know what I could of done differently....I don't...I swear if get my hands on that boy! This is -"

"Mom...mom!" She finally shuts up and looks at me, tears running down her cheeks. She looks hysterical.

"What?!"

"Mom," I start, calmer than before, "I understand you're upset, you have every reason to be. But what do you mean by 'you thought you lost me again'?"

Her eyes widen and she opens her mouth and closes it, not knowing what to say. I wait patiently as she composes herself. She wipes away her tears along with all her hysteria and unexplained sadness.

When she opens her mouth again, she pauses, brows furrowing in what I thought was confusion, but apparently it was rage.

"You want to know what I wanted to talk to about Devyn? When I sent you that text? I wanted to talk to you about college," she says forcefully. What does that have to do with anything?

"College?" I ask. I'm genuinely confused right now. First, college has absolutely nothing to do with what we're talking about and secondly, how did she turn from a sobbing mess to a rage driven maniac. Ok that might be exaggerating a bit, but still.

"Yes Devyn, college. I don't want you to go to Cali's School Of the Arts." And at that I practically melted.

California's School Of The Arts has been my dream school since 9th grade and I have been approached by several scouts who guaranteed a chance at a full ride scholarship. Why would she not want me to go.