Cinders

~59~ Smarty Pants

The next day goes by slowly. Very, very slowly. I'm so bored that I decide to work on homework.

Taylor made me go out and wash his car earlier, but he went out with me to make sure I didn't scratch it. Every little thing I did, he critiqued. He ended up just taking the rag from me and doing it himself while I just stood there. He got so annoying, I ended up squirting him with the hose. He was NOT happy about that.

"Are you kidding? What's your problem Liam?!?" He asks, throwing the rag back into the bucket, making the water slosh out.

"I didn't realize you were such a baby, Preston. It's just water."

"It's 50 degrees out here. Plus, you didn't do it to be funny, you did it because you're mad. That little stunt just cost you extra chores, my dude. Let's go upstairs. Now," he says, pointing to the complex and picking up the bucket.

"What's wrong?" Mom asks as soon as she sees Taylor's face.

"I might've been a touch overbearing while he was washing my car, but he got mad and pelted me with the hose. It's freezing out there," he snaps, taking off his shirt and throwing it in the hamper in their room.

"You can clean out the fireplace for that stunt. I was gonna let you take it easy the rest of the day, but now I'm officially irritated. Get it done—Now."

"Jeesh. Why are you so cranky?" I ask as I walk to the pantry to grab a sack.

Mom looks at him, her tone gentle. "You are a little cranky today, babe. Are you ok?" She asks, rubbing his back.

Taylor sighs and gets out his phone, handing it to mom. "Look through my texts."

While mom is looking through his phone, he looks at me. "I'm sorry Liam; You don't have to clean out the fireplace. I've been an ass today—Sorry, buddy." He pulls me into a hug and kisses my hair.

"S'okay," I say, smiling back at him.

I go into my room and grab some homework; I have SO much still to do. I go to the island and open my math book.

Mom finally gives the phone back to Taylor and chuckles. Her laugh seems off, though.

"She's persistent, isn't she? How did she even get your number?" She asks, trying to sound casual.

"I have no idea, but she's driving me crazy. You do know that there's no reason to be jealous, right? I'm not encouraging this. She will get bored soon," he says, giving mom a kiss.

"You talking about that new firefighter at the station?" I ask, still writing down a math problem that I don't understand. Math is dumb.

They both stop talking and look at me.

"How did you know that?" Taylor asks.

I shrug and look up at them. "She stared at you all night....Then that crack she made about how mom should've kept quiet because you have a right to be comfortable in your own home....Then she sat on her cot and watched you get files out of your office when you thought I was sleeping."

I stop talking once I see their faces.

"What did she say about me?" Mom asks, getting annoyed for the first time.

Taylor tells her the story, and mom rolls her eyes. "Why did you even tell her about that?" Mom asks once he's done.

"I didn't. I was telling Greene, because I think it's funny how crazy you are about that stuff. She overheard."

"It's no big deal, I AM crazy about mud all over my carpet—I don't wanna live in a barn," she shrugs as she gets a water out of the fridge.

Taylor chuckles. "Yeah, well I shouldn't have said anything—Especially not around her. I'm gonna have to talk to her; She can't keep texting me. Especially since none of it is work related. I would like to know who gave her my number, though."

His phone lights up again and he looks at it, then slams it down. "I'm sorry, Ellie Jane. I haven't texted her back since this morning. This girl is a nut."

"It's all good. I can't blame her—I crushed on you hard since the moment I saw you in Ryder's office. Can't blame a girl for trying."

"You say that, but you never even gave me the time of day. I think you're confused on how to flirt, girly. You actually need to talk to the person you're interested in."

"I guess I'll know for next time," she grins.

Taylor pulls her into a huge hug and smacks her butt lightly. "There's NOT gonna be a next time. You're all mine—Forever."

"Can you guys take your tongues out of each other's mouth and help me? Geometry sucks," I say, slamming my pencil down. I'm borderline failing this class.

Taylor chuckles and pulls away from mom, coming over to me. He sits down and pulls the book over to him. "Let's see what you've got."

"Buddy, this one is A=2B=60°"

I just stare at him. How the heck did he get that and how did he do it so quickly?

"These angles are complementary... so A+B=90°" he says, staring at me like I should be understanding what he's talking about. He sighs and looks at me again. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do ya?"

"Nope," I say, rolling my eyes.

He rolls his eyes too. "Ok, let's go over the entire chapter."

"For someone so cute, you're sure a smarty pants," Mom croons as she strokes his cheek.

"You really DID only date me for my looks, didn't you?" Taylor asks, pretending to be offended.

"Of course I did," she says, kissing his cheek and leaving to fold some more laundry.

Taylor chuckles and then turns his attention back to me. "Ok, bud—Let's work."

Wonderful.

By the time we're done...2 hours later... I'm actually understanding the material better than I have all year.

I should've asked him for help ages ago.

"Ok, well he's grounded for two weeks. You're gonna enforce it, right? Uh huh. That doesn't sound very convincing Alex. I swear if you give him a free pass tomorrow I'm gonna kick you in your ass. Ok, we will bring him to you tomorrow by 7:30....ok, bye," mom says as she hangs up the phone.

"You're grounded, Liam Alexander. You better NOT break your grounding, do you understand me? I don't care what dad says."

"Ok," I say, knowing full well that if dad lets me, I'll totally break my grounding.

She looks at Taylor and sighs. "This little chump is getting a free pass tomorrow—Guarantee it."

"Well, he doesn't have one now. Go on to your room now, bud. You can stay there until dinner." Taylor says, shutting my book and handing it to me.

I just silently nod and go to my room—I can't wait to go to dad's tomorrow.