Life Through a Lense

Chapter Fourteen

"Is your phone fully charged?" I asked Ivy for the third time tonight.

There were two passes for the Halsey concert, but I could take a hint and was letting her go with her friend Charlotte. Besides, I was over my 'crowded, earsplitting concerts' phase of my life. Instead, Chris and I were going to the New Year's Eve party of an old friend from high school (it was basically going to be an early high school reunion except with people that I gave at least a tiny shit about).

"Yes," she griped.

The maternal side of me was looking at the short dress she was wearing and thought of all the pervs that would be looking at my very leggy sister. But she was old enough to dress herself now so I didn't say anything. As long as she wasn't wearing sequins because sequins were a big no-no in this household.

"Babe, she's going to be fine," Chris assured. "But seriously, don't hesitate to call for any reason, we'll be there at the drop of a hat."

Somehow I figured that LA New Year's Eve traffic wouldn't allow us to get there that quick. Who said 'drop of a hat' besides senior citizens anymore? He might as well said 'jiffy.' I couldn't name all the other dorky sayings he had off the top of my head, but it just made you love him all the more.

"You're going straight there and coming right back, right?" I clarified.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going backstage at a fucking Halsey concert, I think that's enough excitement for one night."

"You have the credit card I gave you for emergencies, right?"

"I'll be fiiinnneee," she said. "Go have fun at your party."

"Okay," I finally conceded. "I hope you have the time of your life."

I took her to her first concert when she was fourteen. Good ole Panic at the Disco. Back then we actually shared the same music interests (before I apparently turned into a middle aged woman who didn't know what good music is). The difference was that she was with me and it was during the day. Now I couldn't believe she was going off on her own.

"Teenagers," Chris said ironically, shaking his head.

It was funny because we were teenagers just over three years ago. I knew thirty year old men that were less mature than Ivy. She was perfectly capable of holding her own; she did it every day at school and she had been out plenty of times before. It's not like this was her first rodeo.

Nonetheless, something felt off-kilter.

Eh, it was probably just the bad gas station meat from the sandwich I'd picked up while getting gas. I know ate terribly, but gas station sandwiches was a low, ever for me. If a footlong is a fourth of the price you would pay at Subway, it's probably in your best interest to not buy it.