Our Hope

7 - Hope

Hope waited in his front door irate, tapping her foot. Her heart dropped when she marched into his empty room to wake him. She searched his house and did not see him. Nor did his mom.

Her viewer beeped with Bettencourt Enterprises news.

Skye and Mystery Guy, Night Out - Who is Her New Man?

Her heart had dropped again when she observed the image of them together from last night. It did not mention his name, but she knew.

"I found him!" She screamed into the house. She wiped a bead of sweat from her face. It was too early in the morning to be this warm and humid. Today would be a scorcher.

Cole ambled next to her.

"You went to a club, knowing we had to study, and on a school night?"

"Yes. I did but I'm here and ready."

"You're going to study with no sleep?" She wanted to strangle Skye even more than before but resisted. "Look, Skye might not take this seriously, but our lives and futures are at stake." She moved her hand from his chest to hers.

"Hope, I'm here and ready," he said, reassuring her.

"Hope, did you find him?" His mom marched out of the house. She saw him and hollered, "COLTON MICHAEL DONALDSON!" You are in so much trouble! Do you understand how worried we were?"

His dad sauntered around the back of the house. "There you are. I'm late. I have to go to work." He tossed his briefcase into the passenger seat, got into his car, and drove away.

His mom moved next to him and thrust her finger in his face. "You are grounded! You are not allowed to leave this house without our permission."

"Grounded? You've never grounded me before!"

"You've never done anything this stupid before!"

"For how long?"

"It's not his fault," Skye spoke up and moved in between them, "It's mine."

They waited silently.

"I'm the one the one that couldn't sleep. I missed my brother. So, I came over here and he was kind enough to go with me." She gave them the sad puppy dog eyes that Hope saw on her reality show.

Cole's mom turned her attention toward Skye. She stated this calmly, "If you're moving in will work, you cannot take either of them without our permission" she pointed to Cole then Hope." Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry."

Cole's mom headed back into the house then stopped and thrusted her finger at Skye. "If anything like this happens again, I will have no other recourse but to contact your mother. I will let her deal with you."

"Yes." Skye lowered her head.

She pointed at Cole, "You're still in trouble. I don't care who shows up here. You cannot leave."

"What if it's Hope?"

His mom restrained herself from slapping him, breathed deeply, and said, "Yes. You are only allowed to leave if Hope is with you."

She marched back into the house.

The three of them followed her.

Skye removed her shoes, dropped face-first onto the couch, where they study, and fell asleep.

Hope and Cole went to kitchen table instead. They gathered their viewers and read Perfect System to prepare for day two.

His mom gave Cole a cup of coffee.