"Only a child sees things with perfect clarity, because it hasn't developed all those filters which prevent us from seeing things that we don't expect to see."
~Douglas Adams
"Alyssa!"
I bolted upright in my bed at the familiar voice, my lips parting in surprise.
Why the hell was my grandmother showing up here unexpectedly? My mom hated her and Dad. . . he had such a loathing for her, that it was unbelievable that he was her son.
"Nana?" I replied, climbing out of my bed and walking out of my room without changing my clothes.
I jogged down the steps, skipping multiple at a time so I could beat Tessie or Ty to her. I stopped dead in my tracks, gasping, when I saw her already sitting at the kitchen table, Ty pouring her a cup of coffee.
"Ally!" Tessie said from her chair, stabbing into her cereal with her spoon.
"Hi." I whispered, not knowing what to do other then stand there and stare in shock.
My grandmother wasn't exactly the most approving woman. She had been raised in a strict Irish Catholic household. Which meant she wasn't allowed to do a lot, and made sure that Jason, Steph, and me were raised the same way.
So it was incredible for her to be completely okay and normal about a man living in the house, especially when my parents and Sienna weren't around.
"Why didn't you tell me you found such a lovely man, darling?" My grandmother asked, sending Ty a thankful nod.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" I said, gesturing toward my shorts and thin top, "I would have been able to make myself presentable." She finally seemed to take in what I was wearing, bringing her coffee cup up to cover the disgusted look on her face.
"I thought your parents would have told you. They're going to have to stay in London for a few more weeks and didn't want you to be here alone." She said, tapping her long, black painted, finger nails against her mug.
"I'm twenty years old, I don't need a baby sitter. And if they gave a crap about how I felt, then they would be here grieving over their little girl instead of trying to buy some pathetic company in England." My grandmother gave me a disapproving look.
"Don't talk back to me, child. I don't care how old you are, you won't treat me like all these other kids treat their parents." She lifted her hand and pointed at Ty beside her, "You should take lessons from Tyler here. He's polite and knows how to talk to his elders." I fought the urge to roll my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest instead and looked directly at Ty. He only offered me a shrug and a small smile before he headed back into the kitchen and out of sight.
"Have you two planned a wedding and-"
"Nana." I groaned, burying my warm face in my hands, "It's not like that." I knew it was no use to try and explain everything to her, she didn't think the same way I did, she wouldn't understand.
"So you're allowing a man to sleep with you before marriage? I raised you better than that, Alyssa. You will not go against everything I-"
"We aren't even together, Nana!" I snapped, cutting her off.
"Don't lie to me, dear. I am not the one that has left you hanging your entire life, that has made you call me your guardian when I am not even here to raise you." I winced, turning my face away.
YOU ARE READING
The Wish List
Teen Fiction"Her dying wish was for me to complete her list, and I wasn't going to stop until it was completed." When Alyssa Morrison loses her little sister to cancer, the last think she wants to think about is completing the ridiculous list she left beh...
