PRETTYMUCH a Lie [n.m]

Seventy-Six

Amelia

I wasn't really dreading lunch with Steffi, but I wasn't in fact looking forward to her demoralizing comments and rude attitude towards everything and me, either.

I knocked lightly on the two wooden doors before I opened them and entered my dad's huge house.

"Hey dad, I'm here! Is Steffi ready?" I shouted hearing myself echo through the empty house.

"He's at work, you know, people actually work for a living. I thought I told you it was just Stephanie?" A high pitched voice shot at me from the top of the stairs.

"Wow, I'd actually think you were a sweet little girl until you open your mouth," I sarcastically stated with a fake smile looking over her white dress and adorable sandals.

She rolled her eyes at my comment and descended from the top of the stairs.

"So, they're both working?" I asked curiously as she rounded off the last step.

"Relax, Robert will be back by the time you leave for the airport," she huffed.

"Okay then, well he gave me a lot money for lunch, but I was thinking we could go somewhere cheap and I could take you shopping with the rest?" I offered trying to be as kind as possible.

"I guess that would be cool. I have been needing some more art supplies for my studio," she said and shrugged with an unreadable expression aboard her face.

"Okay then, we can go wherever you want," I stated semi-happily while opening the front door for her and leading her out to the spare car.

My dad had a lot of cars, yes, even his 'spare car' was nice as hell. It was a brand new Acadia. He called it a spare car because he mainly liked to drive his truck around, but when he went places with Gwen and Steffi, he used the Acadia. He also used it for long trips as well. Family trips. A family trip sounded nice. It was such a simple phrase for most teenagers and young adults my age to say, but I couldn't relate. I don't think I've ever been on a fun family trip.

"So, your boyfriend didn't want to come with us?" Steffi huffed from the passenger seat.

"I didn't think you'd want him to," I replied.

"I would've liked to meet him," she stated.

"But yeah whatever," she added in masking her feelings even more than she did normally.

"So, where are we going?" I asked changing the subject.

"It's a small little place down the road a bit," she pointed down the road in front of us.

I followed her directions and pulled into a Waffle House on the other side of town.

"You want Waffle House?" I asked a little bit confused.

This one wasn't as nice as some of the ones closer to Nick's house or my dad's house.

"Yes," she blankly stated while unbuckling herself and opening the car door.

Whatever she wanted. I was fine with Waffle House anyway. When we walked in the door, we found an empty booth and sat down.

"I have to use the bathroom, I'll be right back. Can you order me a water?" I asked nicely as I slid out of the booth.

I didn't really feel comfortable leaving her sitting there, but I figured with her strong willed nature, she would be fine for less than a minute. I could pee really fast as well. She nodded slightly at me while examining over the menu.

I began the walk to the bathroom and peed as quickly as possible, barely rinsing my hands before I opened the door to peak at Steffi again. She was fine. I didn't know why I was so on edge today. I just had a feeling that something bad was gonna happen.