Raising Teens

Chapter 9

Noah

When I came back, Brecklyn was sleeping.

"Mom said to tell you that if she falls asleep, you need to wake her up to shower." Caden says. "And she also mentioned the word divorce if you don't."

I roll my eyes.

"She's not going to divorce me if somebody puts a gun to her head." I say. "But I'll wake her up."

I set the duffle bag of things down, shaking her lightly.

She opens her eyes, moving, opening her eyes by a hair.

"Do you want to shower now or do you want to wait?"

"Um..." she mumbles. "I'm sleeping."

Sometimes when Brecklyn is asleep, she'll have full conversations with me, and she won't remember them.

Like now. I can tell she won't remember this.

I shake her again.

"Why are you shaking her? She's awake." Charlotte says.

"No she's not." I say.

Sure enough, she actually opens her eyes this time.

"What?" she sighs.

"Do you want to shower now or later?" I ask again.

"Um..." she leans over the side of the bed at the duffle bag on the floor. "Now."

"Okay."

"Do you have any recollection of you just telling Dad that you're sleeping?" Rose asks.

"What are you talking about?" she asks.

"See?" I look at Charlotte.

"I need to learn to just listen to you." She says. "I always question things with her, and you're always right."

"That's because I know her better than she knows herself." I say.

She leans down, but winces, sitting back.

"Can I have the bag?" she asks.

I pick it up.

"Why are you wincing?" I ask.

"I don't know. I think I bruised my ribs when I went through the windshield."

I hate thinking about her going through the windshield. She has cuts on her faces, and scrapes all up and down her arms, and bruises.

"Well, if you were wearing your seatbelt," I start.

"Well I wasn't, and bitching won't change that." She cuts me off.

I sigh.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

She starts digging through the bag.

She wanted phone chargers and her Macbook and the charger and a whole list of movies, and a pillow from our bed, but it had to be one from my side, and she asked for one of my jackets, a ton of my shirts, thongs, bras, jeans, sweatpants, pajama pants, her hairbrush, tooth brush, toothpaste, her razor, her shampoo, her conditioner, her body wash, and her pink fluffy loofa.

She asked for random things around the house.

She fishes out one of my shirts, a black thong, and a pair of sweatpants, and then her shampoo and conditioner, and razor, and her body wash and the loofa.