It's Complicated

Chapter 19

Nine A.M. found me with my hair in a mess and still in my pajamas. I was just heading downstairs to breakfast. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted up the stairs and woke me up.

Larry and Dad were upstairs, and Aunt Millie was in the downstairs office, which was in a corner of the living room. There was a knock on the door, so I got up and went to see who it was. When I opened the door, Geo grinned at me, hands in his pockets. "I thought you'd be dressed by now," he said, eyeing my over-sized tee and yoga pants.

I felt my cheeks grow hot with a deep blush. "I just got up. Wanna come in? I was in the middle of breakfast." I backed up so he could pass.

"Why not?" He walked in, looking around at things as if he hadn't ever been in my house before. We went to the kitchen, and he sat next to me, watching me eat.

Aunt Millie came in and he looked up at her. "Hello, George," she said, smiling at him. "Good to see you. I thought it was you I heard. What's your plans for today?"

He returned her smile. "Skating at a new rink near Denver. There's a snack bar and arcade there. Susan is coming with us."

She nodded. "Sounds like fun."

I hurried to eat while no one was watching. Which, naturally, led to me choking on a tiny piece of crispy bacon. George patted my back while Aunt Millie watched with concern. Once I knew I wasn't going to die, I pushed my plate to George. "I'm going to get ready," I told him quietly. He nodded as he ate the eggs I'd left.

Upstairs, I hurried to put on a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved shirt I had had made a few years ago with a picture of John Denver playing a twelve-string guitar and the words Rocky Mountain High in cursive on the top, a pair of sneakers, and then I grabbed my roller skates from the closet. I hated renting shoes, so I bought my own. They were brand-new, but I'd made them look vintage. I'd also painted the wheels a brownish-red color that made me think of fall. No one could mistake them for theirs. Not to mention I had scratched my name into the underside.

My hair was next. I brushed the waves and curls before putting gel into it. I hated when I had it in my hair, but I liked the effect more. Once they were semi-straight, I moved on to makeup. Just a touch of liner and mascara, a little gloss on my lips. Done.

I stuffed my skates into a backpack that I used as a purse on days like this along with my wallet and a tube of lip gloss. I was ready. When I stepped out of my room, I heard voices drifting down the hallway to me. Dad and Larry were in Dad's room, having it out, it seemed. I glanced at the stairs, knowing I should go down to where George was waiting, but instead I went to the door to listen.

"If you were with Maria, then why did you lie to me?" Dad was asking loudly. Silence. "Answer me!"

"I didn't want you to be mad," Larry replied quietly.

"I wouldn't have been mad then, but I'm mad now. Think of your actions! You lied to me, saying you'd gone by to pick your sister up, but she didn't come. Then, when I got her, she said she never saw you. If you were in my shoes, what would you have done?" Silence. "Let me tell you, then. You would have believed the one you trusted to be more honest, and then punished the other. I trusted you, and I was on my way to ground Daisy this morning when you came in here."

"I'm sorry, okay?" Larry said.

"Good. I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, though. She is. Because of you, I got mad at her. When she gets home, you're going to apologize and tell both of us exactly what you were up to. In the meantime, you're staying home today. I'm off so I'll be here all day. You're grounded today for lying, and I'm grounding you for two weeks for being out well past your curfew. That means school and home. No calls, either. You're not allowed to use your phone for a week."