Blended Family

Joey

I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Suddenly the lights, the loud music, the crowd was suffocating. A few heads turned as I bolted for the door and quickly found a stairwell. I ran down several flights of stairs before finally giving in and collapsing. I put my head in my hands and just sobbed.

I'd seen it with my own eyes. Elliott and Cara making out. At my quinceanera. I'd gotten a bad feeling about her, but I didn't like to be too judgmental. Okay, I was judgmental, but I didn't want to see like a jealous, bitchy girlfriend.

I should've trusted my gut. Should've known she was up to something. I definitely had not invited her to this party, so how the hell had she gotten in? People were supposed to show their custom-made invitations at the door. Suddenly, it dawned on me. Elliott had let her in. It wasn't just Cara seducing him. He was into her.

I rested my cheek against the cold wall as I just sat, feeling sorry for myself. My feet were killing me. I rarely wore heels so I kicked them off, letting them fall to the floor. I just sat there, wallowing in my own pity, hurt beyond measure, and lost track of time.

I didn't even have my cell phone with me. I'd left it at my table. I wondered if anyone even noticed I was gone. Everyone was over the moon that Selena Gomez had shown up. So was I, of course. Everyone was having tons of fun, so people probably didn't realize right away that I had left.

A few minutes later, I heard the door open, then shut loudly.

"Joey?" I heard Pippa calling from several flights up. I didn't answer right away, but sniffled. In the silent stairwell, I suspected she heard me. I heard her footsteps on the stairs, and a few moments later she called out again.

"I'm down here," I called back quietly. She slowly began making her way down the last couple flights of stairs. I heard her behind me, then she sat next to me. She simply put her arm around my shoulders and squeezed.

"Elliott said you got upset and left," she said softly. "Did something happen?"

I wiped at my eyes and she fished around in her purse for some tissues. I took them gratefully. Mascara came off and I'm sure I looked like a mess.

"I caught...I caught Elliott kissing another girl," I told her. Somehow, it didn't feel awkward. I was dating her son, but Pippa felt more like a mother to me than mine ever did. I felt like I could tell her things, even if it involved her son.

"Wow," she said simply. "They were kissing?"

I nodded, messing with the tissue between my fingers. "Behind some of the panels. I saw them."

She let out a disgusted sound and squeezed my shoulder tighter. "Joey, I'm so sorry. That's terrible."

I nodded. "Why would he do that? I thought he liked me."

"He does like you," she told me, and I bet she was searching and scanning for answers just like I was. She didn't want to think her son was a cheater. "I'm not sure why he'd do such a thing, Joey. I'm surprised."

I let my head rest against hers and we just sat there quietly as I cried a bit more. I liked that she didn't keep talking. There was nothing else to say right now. A few minutes later, the door opened again. This time, it was my mother.

"Josephine?" she called frantically. Pippa turned her head, tilting it up.

"We're down here, Clarita!" she called back. "I found her."

I heard my mom's feet moving quickly down the stairs and I sighed. I didn't want to have to explain this to her. I don't know why I didn't, but that's how I felt.