Becoming Beautiful (Wattys2014)

| Chapter 28 |

“Would a coldhearted person bake a girl cookies?” I reminded him, batting my eyelashes with a large grin on my face.

“Shut up,” he scowled.

“See?” I laughed.

“I’m never baking for you ever again,” he informed me as he threw a pillow at me.

“What? No!” I exclaimed as he got up from the couch.

“Have fun with Marissa’s stale brownies for the rest of your life,” he told me over his shoulder as he walked up the stairs.

As if on cue, the door opened and Marissa walked in with a large brown bag. “I make amazing brownies! Don’t listen to him, Kenna!” I simply rolled my eyes as I turned my attention back to the television. “Where are you going?” Marissa asked Noah.

“To shower,” he responded as he took the steps two at a time.

“I guess it’s just you and me then,” she shrugged as she plopped down beside me on the couch. Pulling out a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, she placed it on my lap. She took out another one for herself and began unwrapping it. I followed in her footsteps, opening the sandwich and starting on it.

About twenty minutes later, Noah came downstairs with soaking wet hair. When Marissa made a comment about it, he shook his head like a dog, which earned a groan from me. He tossed something at me and I surprisingly caught it, realizing that it was my cell phone. “It was ringing nonstop while I was in the shower.”

I looked to see fourteen missed calls from my mother. My eyes widened as I quickly placed my food on the table, wiping my hands on my jeans. I dialed my mother’s number. She answered immediately and I cringed at the sound of her voice. “Kennedy West, where are you? I’ve been calling you all morning and you haven’t answered any of my text messages or my phone calls—.”

“I’m at Marissa’s house,” I told her, thinking of an immediate lie. “I left early this morning to go out for breakfast with her and Noah.”

“And you didn’t think to leave a note? Or even tell me? Jesus, Kenna, I thought you got kidnapped or something,” she sighed in relief.

“No, I doubt anyone would want to kidnap me,” I chuckled, trying to ease the tension with a joke.

“You’re grounded,” she explained and my eyes enlarged.

“What?” I asked in a quieter voice. “Why?”

“You can’t just run off without telling me, Kenna,” my mother responded.

“For how long?” I asked her.

“A week,” she replied. I can do that. I can stay inside for a week. At least I’ll have my phone. “And I’m taking your phone.”

“What? Why? I don’t think that’s fair,” I told her.

“Well, it’s not fair to give me a heart attack on a beautiful Saturday morning, now is it?” she retorted.

With a sigh, I gave in. “Okay.”

“And I want you home by two,” she told me.

“Okay,” I replied in a defeated tone.

“Love you,” she cooed.

“Love you too,” I muttered as I hung up, dropping my phone in my lap.

I noticed Marissa’s eyes on me. Noah, trying to be sly, was glancing at me every few seconds. “What happened?” Marissa inquired.

“I’m grounded,” I told her dully.