Forever and Always, Olive

Chapter 17: What's Your Excuse?

Chapter 17

A month- that's how long I'm grounded for. If I was back at home and pulled a stunt like this, my mother and father would've grounded me for four months at least. But then again, if I was back at home, I wouldn't heed their grounding and I'd probably leave the house once they fell asleep. I respect my aunt too much to do that. I mean, it's not like I don't respect my parents; I just figured that I could get away with more things with them. Then again, look where I ended up with that mindset.

Because I bought my phone and pay my own bill, my aunt can't exactly take that away. However, she told me that I can no longer leave the house without reason. By the way, "hanging out with my friends" is not a reason. I feel guilty for lying to her when she asked why I was out at one in the morning. Although my story wasn't exactly a lie, I still felt guilty for the small parts of it that were, in fact, fibs.

"My friend Parker, who is of age, got drunk at a party and didn't have money for a taxi so he called me to come pick him up because I was the only one who answered my phone. I didn't want to wake Viv up, so I decided to borrow her car," I explained to my aunt; she sighed and shook her head when I said this. Either way, I won't be seeing the light of day for a while.

I don't know why I lied for Maddox. Maybe it's because I like him, or maybe it's because I consider him a close friend of mine and I know I wouldn't be allowed to hang out with him if my aunt found out. In fact, I probably wouldn't be able to hang out with any of my friends. I know that my aunt would tell me not to hang out with him anymore if I admitted that it was actually my 17 year old friend who got drunk at a party and called me to go get him.

I plead with her and practically beg her not to tell my parents. I'm doing so well here and I don't want them to be disappointed in me. She agrees that she won't say anything if I stay out of trouble for my month of punishment. I promise her that I will and that I wouldn't do anything remotely bad at school, work, or home.

On Monday, I have to ask my aunt for a ride to school because my cousin will no longer have me in her car. She complains that it still smells like vomit. I wonder why. My aunt doesn't have time to fight with her daughter and can't risk Vivica leaving me at home, so she drops me off at school twenty minutes earlier than I've ever arrived. I'm grateful, though, because the one consistent thing about her hours as an ER nurse is that she's typically out of the house by 5 in the morning, so the fact that she can even bring me means a lot. I should probably ask her to file the paperwork so that I can start getting on the school bus. I shamefully exit my aunt's car and agree to text her when I'm ready to be picked up. 

+ + +

Every class that I have with Maddox was tense and uncomfortable. I'd try my best not to look at him because I'd imagine kissing him. Whenever we make awkward eye contact, he immediately looks away. We haven't talked since he vomited on me, and even then, we weren't really talking. We were just...kissing. Abel texted me this morning that his brother was very embarrassed about how he puked on me and didn't leave his room for the rest of the weekend. I get a laugh out of it but other than that, I don't feel any better. And I definitely am not prepared for lunch at the same table as him.

As I exit 5th period, Winona and Cassidy pull me aside for a casual bathroom chat. At least I think it is. I assume they're going to fix their makeup and use the bathroom, but no. The moment I step in there, the girls corner me. "What's going on with you?" Winona inquires with a concerned gaze.

"Nothing," I dismiss. Not to be rude to them, but they're not exactly good with secrets.

"No, something's wrong. I know it. I can tell," Winona insists with narrowed eyes.