The Switch [COMPLETED]

Chapter 10

Paisley Monroe:

"Grounded" was an understatement. 

I was pretty sure that Ashley and I were forbidden from ever leaving our house again until we were well into our forties, and even then we would probably only be allowed out on probation. The only exceptions were school and, in Ashley's case, work. 

I was beyond irritated that even though the whole thing had been Ashely's idea, I had somehow managed to receive most of the blame from my parents. 

I was being "irresponsible" and "jeopardizing my future" by "sneaking out like a delinquent" and "filling my head with unsavory music."

At least I agreed with them on the last part. 

When I had tried to argue that Ashley had been the ringleader, my parents had quickly pushed my arguments aside. 

"She's an adult," my mother had said. "She can make her own decisions," my father had chimed in. "She's in law school," had been added as the cherry on top, as if that somehow magically pardoned all of Ashley's crimes. 

Still, at least she had been sentenced to the same house arrest punishment as I had, only hers was noticeably lighter. She was still allowed to see her boyfriend and attend "school-related recreational activities." Ashley's solemn expression immediately lit up at that last caveat, and I could already see the gears turning in her head. All she had to do was classify something as a "school-related recreational activity" and suddenly she was free to do whatever she wanted. 

I, on the other hand, was pretty much in solitary confinement. I couldn't even so much as go check the mail at the end of the driveway without first asking for permission from my parents. 

I had briefly considered arguing my case, but one look at the subtle flare of my mother's nostrils alerted me that any attempts to negotiate on my part would be quickly shut down. I was the enemy in her eyes now: the sloppy, irresponsible, disappointment of a daughter standing next to Ashley, the Golden Child. 

"I understand," I had said meekly after my punishment had been doled out. "I'm sorry I disappointed you. It won't happen again. Goodnight mom; goodnight dad; goodnight Ash."

I had led myself stoically up the stairs, doing my best to keep my head held high and my back straight. I wasn't going to let them see me cry. No way. Somehow I knew that that would only be seen as a trick or a sign of weakness. My mother never cried. Tears were unsavory. Tears meant you actually had a heart. And having a heart made you sloppy. 

No, tears would not be tolerated. After all, no member of "the perfect family" had any reason to cry. Why would we? We had it all. A picture-perfect Norman Rockwell postcard family. 

An image in my head of my family and I all smiling maniacally as horror music played in the background finally pushed me over the edge, and I let out a quiet sob as I locked myself inside my bedroom and threw myself dramatically on the bed, crying with my head on my arms like a Disney princess. 

I wallowed in my own misery for a good twenty minutes before finally sitting up and sniffling pitifully. I looked at my reflection in the mirror above my desk and sighed. The makeup that Ashley had scribbled all over my face was smeared and streaked from my tears, and my curls were now a tangled mess at the base of my neck. My shirt had slipped down dangerously low, and my jeans felt restrictive and uncomfortable. I looked like an absolute disaster. 

Robotically, I stood up off of my bed and walked over to my mirror before methodically removing the makeup remnants with a wipe and brushing my knotted hair. I lifted the skimpy shirt over my head and flung it across the room before replacing it with the biggest, softest, most faded tee shirt I owned. I smiled slightly in satisfaction upon recalling how much my mom hated this particular shirt. It was "unflattering" and "unsightly."

Yeah, mom, well apparently I was too. 

My jeans were next, and I stripped them off angrily, throwing them against the wall as if to make them pay for how crappy I was feeling. The result was rather unsatisfactory as they slid to the floor with a soft "swish;" nothing like the dramatic BOOM I had been hoping for.

I sighed and shook my head before counting slowly to ten, trying to calm the new tears that were threatening to fall once more. 

Miserably, I shuffled over to my bed and climbed in, inhaling the soft powdery smell of my comforter. I tried to sleep for several minutes, but sleep would not come. Instead, I was tossing and turning uncomfortably as thoughts swirled through my mind, making it impossible to calm down. 

Images floated through my head on a loop, fading in and out until I was going crazy: my mom and dad yelling at me; Ashley insisting I go to the concert with her; Asher Halen smugly taunting me; Asher Halen with his arm around my waist; Asher Halen's green eyes flashing at me; Asher Halen; ASHER Halen; ASHER HALEN.

I sat up in bed suddenly feeling extremely angry. This was all his fault somehow. Him and his stupid cocky face with his stupid perfect life. How dare he talk to me like he knew me? He didn't know anything about me. 

In an effort to calm my irrational rage, I rolled over and grabbed the TV remote, flipping the small television in my bedroom to the first channel I happened to come across. 

It was an infomercial for some self-help program. 

"ARE YOU MISSING SOMETHING IN YOUR LIFE?" a bold voice boomed through my room.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. What WASN'T I missing? A family that actually cared for me? Friends? An actual life for things to be missing from in the first place? 

"DO YOU WANT TO HAVE IT ALL?"

"Wouldn't that be nice?" I murmured miserably to myself.

"I MEAN DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HAVE. IT. ALL?"

I squinted menacingly at the image on the TV. A bald man with an impressive waistline and a massive red beard was blinking at me through the screen, almost appearing to be waiting for an answer from me. 

"Yes? That would be...nice..." I said slowly, tilting my head slightly to the side. Oh, gosh, I was going insane. It had finally happened. I had cracked. I was talking to a man on TV. 

The man gave a knowing smile and nodded slowly at me, meeting my eyes mischievously before giving me a cheeky wink...

-

A/N: Oooooo what's gonna happen now?! I'm so excited to get started on writing this next part of the story. This is the real "meat and potatoes" as they say. I kinda feel like the start of the book may have dragged on a little too long but at the same time: nah. It needed to be built up. 

Let me know what you guys think so far! 

Xo, Adrienna.