Out of Play

“Okay. Thanks.” Her voice has that same ridiculously over-dramatic tone that Rebecca has with Mitch. “I know. Kid hormones. I’m just not used to it, that’s all… Well, he can’t stick around forever, but it makes me extra determined to get her out of here… That whole situation is strange… I know. Okay, goodnight.”

Now is when I should sulk in my room, but I don’t. I’m not the smartest girl when I’m this worked up.

Mom opens the door and freezes when she sees me.

“Don’t talk about me to your boyfriend!” I yell.

Mom slides her phone into her pocket with shaky hands. It’s as if she’s about to tiptoe through a room with a glass floor. I want her to yell. Tell me I’m being petty. Instead, she goes weirdly stoic. “Pe

“I’m not a kid. It isn’t a hormone thing. It’s that my mom’s left me here to take care of things while she runs around with some guy she didn’t see the need to tell me about!”

She blinks a few times, still seeming unsure of what to say. “The night you called, I was at work. I couldn’t leave, and—”

I put my hands on my hips. “And what about every other night?”

“Pe

“No!” I yell knowing I’m about to unleash and that it won’t be pretty, but I’m past caring right now because it’s been building for way too long. “What about when you weren’t at my games, or when I had to come home instead of going to the party after? What about then? God! The least you could have done was to tell me you were seeing someone!”

“It’s not that simple, Pe

“Of course it’s that fucking simple!” And I just shattered any chance we had of making this civilized.

Her nostrils flare, and her mouth pulls into a thin line. We might be about to step into the fight that’s been simmering since I pulled away from her in my truck. “And what have you been doing with Bishop?” Her voice is teetering on the edge of serious anger. “Because it’s not like you to be…to be…sleeping over, or…”

“Don’t. Even.” I point. “This isn’t about me. This is about you!”

“Not when you’re screaming at me like this it isn’t!” Mom yells before pulling in a deep breath, like she’s actually trying to control her frustration. “We need to talk about you now. Not me.”

“Oh. Really? Because you don’t know anything about what’s been happening in my life. Bishop’s the first guy I liked who actually likes me back!” But he’s so much more than that. I just have no idea how to explain, or why I’d want to bother trying with her right now. It’s all in a red haze of frustration and anger anyway.

Mom steps toward me, her face stony, still not pushing back the way I want her to. “Did you know he had a girl up here?”

I suck in a breath, ready for anything she has to say to me. “Of course I know!” I yell. “Why are you so determined to make my decisions for me! Or to ruin this for me?”

Her careful façade breaks, and her face reddens. “Because you’re a kid and don’t know what you want!”

I laugh a harsh laugh, anything to hide how I’m starting to shake apart inside. “I’m a kid?” I know exactly how to send her over the edge, and I can feel the words making their way to the surface even though I’m sure it’s the stupidest thing I could do in this moment. “The tattoo parlor doesn’t think I’m a kid.”

Anger blazes in her eyes, and the silence is weighted enough for me to know it’s time to retreat.

I spin and head for the stairs, my vision and my brain still clouded with frustration. This was supposed to be about her, not me.

“Pe

Not going back up will be stepping way into new territory that I’m not sure I’m ready for, but then I hear a quick knock at the door.

“I’ll get the door,” I say as I jump down the last couple steps.

I swing open the front door and come face to face with Rebecca.

My jaw goes slack. What the…? I ca

Mom starts stomping down the stairs. “You are not to see him—” She stops as soon as Rebecca comes into view, with a delightfully stu

“Mom. This is Becca.” I even try to use the name I know she likes. “She came to help me study since you won’t let me go anywhere.” I try to lay my nicest voice on thick. Thick enough that she knows I’m doing it, but it hopefully won’t make her more angry.

Rebecca’s mouth opens, but she’s quick. “Yeah. I knew Pe

“Okay. Well. Pe

I give Mom a salute that I hope says fuck you as much as it says yes ma’am.

I slide my arm through Rebecca’s—something I never thought I’d do—and we head for my room.

“What’s going on?” she whispers as we step through the door.

“Long story.” I sigh and flop on my bed.

It’s silent for a few moments, which is fine with me. I have no idea what to talk to Mitch’s girlfriend about.

“Your room looks like a guy’s room, Pe

“You’ve been over here before.” I grab a puck off my nightstand and spin it in my hands.

“Actually, you make me change for the hot tub in the tiny unfinished bathroom downstairs.”

I cringe because it now seems pretty harsh. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

Her smile is wry. “Sure you are.”

I fiddle with the edge of my blanket and try to figure out what I’m supposed to say next. “So… What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for Mitch. I knew you couldn’t go with them, but I thought I’d come in and wait for the guys to come back if it was okay. Ever since they caught us together, my parents think Mitch is the devil’s spawn or something, so I’m still on lockdown. I had to lie and tell them I was helping you with Government to get to the party the other night.”

“Yeah. Okay.” This should not be so uncomfortable. Being friends with a girl should be easier than this. “Have a seat.” There. That seems friendly. I scoot up on my bed to make room. If she’s trying, which she obviously is, I should try, too.

“So, you okay?” she asks.

I’m not sure where to start, but I am sure I don’t know Rebecca well enough to be baring my soul here. “What?”

Rebecca cringes. “I could hear you and your mom.”

I roll my head around trying to get rid of some of the tension. “She’s pissed over Bishop, and I’m pissed for other things, and I get my temper from her, so…”

She smiles. “So when you two argue, it’s like world war three?”

I grin back. “Pretty much, yeah.”

She rests back on her arms. “My parents are, like, insane about everything.”

“Which is why they freaked out over Mitch.” And the cool thing is that Mitch doesn’t come close to Bishop in a million ways, so having her here… I don’t know, but it feels okay.

“And why is your mom freaked out over Bishop?”

I could tell her my mom probably thinks Bishop and I had sex like her and Mitch, but that’s way into personal territory. “I don’t think my mom knows what to do with the idea that a guy could like me.” I barely know what to do with it.

“Don’t worry, Pe

I hope so. And then I realize that a girl and I just talked about boys, and I didn’t sprout pink fingernails, hell hasn’t frozen over (that I know of), and it might even be okay.