The Silence Between Us

Courage

Chapter 28:

"Louisa, honey, what the hell happened to your face?"

Meet Kim Patterson, Mae's mom. I feel like the only way I could really describe her in the fewest amount of words but also most accurately would be that Kim was one of those people most likely to pinch your cheeks for a very long time if she thought you were cute enough.

Kim may be one of the sweetest people I have ever met. Whenever I walked in the door, she always greeted me with one of the warmest hugs. Then she would yes, actually pinch my cheeks (I thought only grandparents do that but whatever) and would then proceed to tell me how adorable I was and how Mae was so lucky she has me as a friend. Then I would be met with another hug and sent immediately to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Kim I swear was also the most amazing cook.

Tonight was no different. Well it was a little bit different but more on that later. Mae insisted on having a girls' night with Clara and I, although I have no idea why she would ever want to appear in front of her parents in the state she was in now. She was completely smashed, drunk off her ass, totally out of the loop. According to Finn, after what had happened with Rory and Shawn she just completely lost it and went berserk with the alcoholic beverages. And she was already drunk before that. So yeah, that's how bad she's doing right now.

Clara saw my face, demanded what had happened, and when I had told her the story I couldn't tell exactly what was going on in her head. She was silent for a while, never questioning me and never doubting what I had told her. I didn't know what she was thinking when she was silent. Clara still hasn't asked me any more questions. Although she was surprised that Rory was involved, like the rest of us.

I think my incident with Shawn was another reason why Mae insisted on going over to her place. I didn't know how I was going to cover this up for my mom. The bruise according to Clara was starting to form and already looked terrible. She doubted that makeup could really even fix it. So maybe it was good that I wasn't going home tonight. I didn't want to have to lie to my mom... again.

I turned back around to face Kim, not before trying to cover my face with my sleeve and looking downwards. "Oh nothing, I just wasn't being careful, that's all."

"Right..." She said in a disbelieving tone. That was another thing about Kim, she was a personal lie detector. I don't know how that woman does it. I knew I wasn't going to get off easy, and my suspicions were confirmed when she spoke up again. "I suppose you just ran into a pole then, huh?"

I grimaced as I nodded, not particularly thrilled that I was being caught in the middle of a fat lie. "Something like that." I muttered.

"So, you mean to tell me," Kim said, her voice completely taking on an interrogating tone, "that trusty Wanda the Walking Stick was not doing her sole task of hitting objects in front of you? Or that my daughter wasn't responsible enough to steer you clear of a gigantic pole? Or are you just lying to me because you don't want me knowing the truth." Kim leaned in a little bit more, whispering in my ear. "Honey, it's a mother's job to worry over her children. I don't think you could've gotten away with lying even if you had a solid excuse."

I blinked, slightly shocked at how forward Kim was being. If she could tell that easily what had happened to my face, then what would my mom think when I came home tomorrow?

The quiet tones of Kim's voice completely shifted as she moved away from me, yelling at the top of her lungs. "Maeve Olivia Patterson!" Kim shouted at her daughter's retreating figure, scaring the living daylights out of me. "Don't think that just because I'm concerned about Louisa's face doesn't mean I couldn't smell the alcohol a mile away from you! Consider yourself grounded!"