Inferno

~116~ This is Insane

Taylor's POV

Ellie goes to do laundry and Liam and I just look at each other.

"Crap I didn't even think about that" he mutters under his breath.

I say nothing. Ellie does so much for this family, I tend to forget just how much she really does.

"Is it spooky that she didn't even seem mad?" He whispers.

"Little bit" I say under my breath. She doesn't get to be the one mad. I do.

She comes back out after she starts the wash and goes to the stove. She starts boiling water and dumps pasta in the pot. Then she starts frying hamburger.

"I'm sorry mom" Liam says after a minute.

"For what?" She asks innocently.

"That I said I didn't want you to drive her. Will you still take her to her appointments on Friday?" He asks.

She chuckles. "Nope. Figure it out yourself" she says as she gets the casserole dish out of the cabinet.

"Mom, I literally have no one else who can do it" he says, getting panicky.

"Sorry kid. I'm not driving your daughter if you're uncomfortable with it. Get out your phone and look up nanny's" she says, completely serious.

"I'm not having a stranger watch my daughter" he says darkly.

"Then you two can figure it out. You're not going to sit there on your thrones and look down on me. I didn't mean to crash the car. It was an accident. I know I'm not a great driver; I heard what you said. I won't drive her anymore" she says as she puts marinara sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.

"So you're mad at Taylor but you're punishing me?" He asks, getting mad.

"Not at all. You're the one who got in the middle of it. You made your feelings clear" she says, stirring the lasagna noodles.

He puts his head in his hands. "Can Sasha do it?" He asks me quietly.

"She's got dance until 6 most nights" I say, shaking my head.

"Emma?" He asks, getting upset. I shake my head. "She goes to the gym on Friday's after school.

"Megan?" He asks, starting to completely panic. I shake my head again.

"Megan and Izzy will be out of town this weekend" I say.

"Mom, please. I'm sorry" Liam says, his voice is shaking.

"No need to be sorry, Darlin. You're just protecting your daughter" she says with a smile. It doesn't even look forced. She looks totally at ease.

"This is insane" Liam says, really getting mad.

"You guys staying for dinner?" She asks, looking up at him.

Liam just glares at her.

"Yes mom, no mom, either one will work Liam" she says darkly.

"Mom. I'm sorry I said anything. I want you to drive her" he says quietly.

Ellie chuckles darkly. "No you don't. You've made fun of my driving since you were 10. I'm literally your last resort. I'm sick of that. It's almost 7, and nobody has even started dinner. The laundry wasn't started, I'm so behind on laundry, I'm almost out of underwear. When is it about me? Huh? I took an hour for myself, and now I've got everyone all mad at me" she says, slamming the casserole dish down and puts the noodles in.

We both just look at her. How did this get turned around on us? I don't cook. She knows that.

"Not taking Savannah a million damn places all the time sounds fantastic. She's your kid, you can figure it out" she says as she puts cheese on top and puts the lasagna in the oven.