the propinquity effect

30

+ 30 +

When I woke up I expected an arm securing me from the world or a bare chest pressing on my bare back. But what I felt was a giant ball of fluffiness and its called Garfield, the yellow-colored cat nuzzled itself back into me as I laid back down. My eyes had not fully adapted to the lightning and I tried myself to sleep again because I was tired. The events from the night before replayed in my head and I tried my best not to smile. Michael did care for me a lot since he asked every once in a while if I was okay. My answer would always be the same: yes.

When I was about to go back to sleep I remembered one thing that I should be going to and that was school. I quickly shove the blanket away from me and my cat jumped off the bed. The discarded jeans from last night was on the chair and I grabbed it as fast as possible. My head was still pounding and my limbs were numb but they were supposed to work if I didn't want my mom to ask what happened.

I put my hair up into a ponytail as I ran to the bathroom and turned on the sink. I washed my face, applying all those moisturizer things on my face and then rinsing it. After that I took my toothbrush and applied my toothpaste on the pink and white bristles, trying my best to brush my teeth as fast as possible. I had not even grabbed any T-Shirts. Next I ran to my bed and grabbed a simple black T-Shirt I never knew I had before pulling my coat from the coat hanger and then rushing downstairs.

Mom and Dave were seated on the dining chairs, sipping their black coffee that was still hot. Dave was in his suit and so was Mom. I guessed I wasn't the only one that got lucky. Shrugging the weird thought out of my mind I put my coat on the dining chair in front of Mom and sat down. The pancakes already waiting for me on the porcelain plate in front of me. Raising one of my eyebrows from confusion I grabbed the silver spoon, a cutlery that Mom never decided to use because it was expensive, and sliced the pancake carefully.

"Alexa, is that your T-Shirt? It looks like a boy's." Mom asked, her eyes locked on the T-Shirt I had on and I raised my eyebrow. Looking down to examine who was imprinted on my T-Shirt and I almost choked on my pancake when I realized that it was Michael's T-Shirt. He must left it when he was in a rush trying to go out from my room before getting caught.

"Yes, Mom. I actually like-" I raised the hem of the T-Shirt to see what kind of band was written on it and I dropped my spoon. "Iron Maiden now, they're so in." I tried to make myself an excuse. Mom shrugged because she was really clueless about it whereas Dave tried to stifle a laughter and I kicked his foot from under the table. The color of Dave's face turned into red all of a sudden as he bit down on his thumb.

"Alexa, what is that on your wrist?" Dave pointed to the tattoo I had on my right-wrist and I quickly hid my arm under the table. I had completely forgotten to cover it up because I was in such a rush. I grabbed a piece of pancake and shoved it into my mouth, trying to look like I wasn't guilty at all. "Never mind, it's just my imagination." Dave stated.

"Alexandria Carmen Grant, is that a tattoo? Did you get a tattoo?" Mom asked, her eyes widened and I gulped. Busted, that was for sure and grounded for God knows how long. Biting my lip from both anxiousness and anger I lifted my arm so she could see it. The brunette in front of me didn't say anything for a long while because she was inspecting the permanent ink on my wrist. "You love him, do you?"

"More than you know." I admitted, putting down my spoon and fork. I was done and I was about to get stabbed by her multiple times. She hated everything about tattoos and she never knew the meaning behind them. Mom ran a hand through her hair as she adjusted the collar of her blouse, her eyes refusing to meet mine like it was such a disgrace.

"Al, he's trouble. First a tattoo then what? Sneaking out and looking for a taste of real life? Drinking under the legal age? Lexa, you know nothing about love!" Mom slammed her fist on the table, making all the plates vibrate. I was shocked, I didn't know what to do. I had never seen her so mad in my life and it was only because I admitted I loved Michael. "You need to break up with him."