The Underground

Chapter 28: Out of Control

“Ashten Brittany Norwood!!! What in god's name is this all about?” My mother screamed. “And don't you dare lie to me! I know when you're lying, so you'd better have an awfully good excuse. If I find out you're lying, you will be grounded for a year!”

“I'm going to college in a month, Mother. You can't ground me from college,” I said quietly.

“And don't you give me any more of that back talk, young lady! Now, explain yourself!” She was waving her phone so frantically in front of my face that I thought she was going to drop it.

My father stepped in and tried to calm her down. “Charlotte, let's wait until the Bannings get here, and then we can all sit down and discuss this peacefully.”

“Richard's parents are coming?” I whined. “Why do they have to be involved?”

“Because,” my mother seethed. “This tacky picture looks like you're whoring around with the help instead of making plans to marry their son! They have a right to know what's going on!”

Tears stung my eyes at her accusation, and no more words came to me. I plopped down on the couch and waited for my funeral. It wasn't long before I heard their voices in the foyer.

I closed my eyes and remembered the story that Louis and I had planned early that morning. He had been so patient while I fell apart in his arms after seeing our picture all over the internet. I was sure he would be scared away at the thought of my parents tearing him to shreds. But he wasn't. He held me and shushed me while I cried in fear.

“Ashten, it's okay,” he had said. “Everything will be all right. They were going to find out about Richard soon anyway. And maybe we can think of a story to cover us for now.”

He came up with a story in no time, a rather good one, I must admit. Now all I had to do was to tell my parents and the Bannings the same story and hope it would fly.

Mr. and Mrs. Banning came into the sitting room and hugged me lightly, seeming a bit distant. I didn't blame them because this looked pretty bad. We all took our seats while my father asked Emma to bring us all some coffee.

Then my father looked at me, and I wasn't nearly as afraid of the expression on his face as my mother's. “Ashten, can you tell us what happened?”

I took a deep breath. “Well, Veronica and I had gone out to a ballroom dancing class-”

“In the park?” My mother demanded.

“Please let her finish,” my father interjected.

“No, Mother, we went to a class earlier, but the instructor told us about this open swing dance night at Central Park, so we decided to go and try out what we'd learned.”

“And you just happened to land in Louis' arms when you got there!?” My mother snapped.

“Charlotte, please,” my father insisted.

I kept my breath steady and continued. “Louis and some of his friends were there. We just got to talking and goofing around, and then he grabbed me for a quick spin. It was nothing, really. Veronica and I left shortly after that. We just went back to her house.”

Louis had said he would call Veronica and tell her the story so she could confirm if my parents decided to check it out.

My mother gave me an evil look while Mrs. Banning said, “You have to be careful, dear. You can't give people the wrong idea. It will make our families look bad.”

My mother was still fuming when she said, “She's already made us look bad!”

I caught sight of Louis out of the corner of my eye. He had passed the door at the end of the hallway, and I knew he was planting himself somewhere so that he could hear the conversation and so he could be there to offer me some moral support.