Inferno

~99~ Lie

Ellie's POV

I'm super excited for tonight. Liam and Taylor are on shift, and every single kid has plans. I'm going to have the house to myself. Even Savannah won't be home. She's been letting Alex and Lilah keep her more lately. Alex is thrilled. He's been having a hard time with all of this. He just wants to love his granddaughter, and it's been a very slow process. She actually asked to stay the night tonight, and when I called Alex, he cried.

Mason comes into my office after school, with Luke next to him.

"What's wrong?" I immediately ask him.

Mason sighs and shifts uncomfortably. "I feel like a total loser right now" He says, shaking his head.

"Yeah, you should" Luke says darkly.

"I just really thought that you needed to know that I overheard him talking with Porter during class" he says, still looking awkward.

"He lied about where he's going tonight. The actual plan was to go to a strip club" Mason says, looking like he could melt.

"Normally I mind my own business, but I just really didn't want to see you tomorrow and feel guilty" he says, still prattling.

"Lucas Reed. I was really looking forward to having the house to myself tonight. Thanks for ruining that" I glare at him.

"Mom, come on. I can't seriously be in trouble for something I haven't even done yet" he says, getting mad.

"We're you planning on going to a strip club?" I ask him seriously.

"We were just joking about it" he says. I can immediately tell that he's lying, and the way that Mason's face looks confirms it.

"You're lying. You're in trouble, young man" I say darkly.

"Thanks, Mr. West" he says darkly.

"Don't turn this on him. I woulda' been pissed if I found out he knew and didn't tell me" I say, getting mad.

"You never woulda' found out" he spits.

"Get your stuff, now. Both of our nights are going to suck now, thanks to you. Actually, your nights going to suck worse. I still fully intend to watch I Love Lucy all night, and since you're grounded and have lost TV privileges, I'm going to make you watch it with me. Go now before I get angry" I say darkly.

He huffs and leaves, pushing past Mason.

"I really appreciate this. I don't even want to know how much crap my children do without me knowing about it. I'm still finding out some of the stuff Liam did as a kid" I say, shaking my head in anger.

"That's why I feel like such a loser. I actually did the exact same thing with one of my buddies as a kid. I never did get caught, thankfully. My dad woulda' killed me" he says, smirking.

"Oh, yes. The joys of being a hypocrite...Being an adult is fun" I chuckle.

"I was not a great kid, so holding my kids to such high standards has always been hard for me" I say seriously.

Mason shrugs. "We know better, we do better" he says gently.

"Very true" I agree.

Luke comes bursting in the room. "I don't think I've ever gotten in trouble before I actually did something before" he gripes as he slams his book bag on the cot.

"Sucks to be you. Let's go" I say, grabbing my purse and phone.

"Thanks, Mason" I say with a smile.

"No problem, Mrs. Preston" he says

"You ever going to call me Ellie?" I ask with a teasing grin.