A/N: Typed this whole chapter from my phone. Boss status!
***
"We're going home already," Luke whines as we leave the restaurant. He was obviously extremely happy right now. I guess he really enjoyed being able to hang out with friends and not have to hide the fact that he was in a 'relationship' with Autumn. Or whatever they were calling it.
"I guess we don't have to go home right now," Autumn responds looking to me and Jason. I simply shrug. I'm down for whatever.
"I'm going to be chin deep in shit with my father when I get home." I grimace as I realize that my dad doesn't actually know why I've been M.I.A. for the past couple of days, and he couldn't even call me to find out because I didn't have my phone.
"Well then, since we're out and Mackenzie's already in trouble let's make the most of it," Jason says with a devious grin. "She won't be out of the house again until her freaking funeral, so let's go big before she goes home."
"Trust you to see it that way." I shake my head and we laugh at him. "And thanks for the encouraging words," I nudge him.
"What else am I here for?" He says.
Autumn coughs dramatically. "So where to?" She chirps.
We pick a random spot to go to and then pile into the cars, but this time Luke rides with Jason and Chloe and I go with Autumn so we can talk.
"So...?" Chloe asks.
She grins widely. "So, what?"
I give her the 'don't be stupid, stupid' look.
"Long story short?" She asks. I remain silent because she already know the answer. We want all the details.
"Ok. Ok. Ok." She starts. "It all started after the party when I took him home. After the d*ckhead threw up on my shoes we went to the bathroom. I was trying to clean him up, but he was such a f*cking mess that I knew he couldn't stay. So I decided to take him home, and then stop by my house to get a change of outfit.
"When we got to his house I had to drag him upstairs. Mind you, he was flirting with me like crazy the entire time like he normally does, and me being the person I am...was..." she shakes her head. "Am, I reciprocated. When we got to his room he pinned me against the wall, and told me we needed to stop beating around the bush.
"One thing led to another. We agreed to a one time test drive and the next thing I know..." she trails off.
"Bitch. Don't 'next thing you know' me," I stare at her with wide eyes, Chloe laughs. Hearing Autumn talk like this is...fascinatingly strange.
"Mackeenzzzziieeee," she whines, sounding a lot like Luke did earlier. "It's so weird, and it's so unlike me to behave and feel this way. It's awkward to talk about it."
"I understand what you mean. So you like him, huh?"
"No." She says in a high pitched voice which means she's lying. "This is nothing serious. I mean, you know me. I'm Autumn. The one that gets one and then moves on to the next. But here I am screwing around with the biggest walking Sex Playing Billboard ever known to mankind." She throws her hands in the air. "And it's even more confusing because it's the best sex I've ever had."
An idea pops into my head.
"Ever?" I ask.
"Ever!" She emphasizes the word.
"The best sex ever?" I ask again, laughing. I'm about to catch her in a lie.
"And you know how much I get around," she nods her head.
"Well, since you don't like him, then maybe I can try it out too." I sit back and wait for the bomb to explode.
Autumn stops paying attention to the road, she stops laughing and looks at me with a dead serious expression.
"What?" She says.
I try to hide my smirk. "I said since you don't like him and if he's the best sex you've ever had then maybe I could try it out as well." My face is just as serious as hers.
She's silent for a few seconds, looking thoughtful.
"No. You won't be 'trying' anything out with Luke." She says matter of factly.
"Why not?" Chloe says faking innocence. I can tell she just caught on to my scheme.
"You just said that you don't like him" I continue, just wanting her to admit this one thing to herself. Be truthful. "If you like him then I'll back off. But you don't like him do you?"
She clenches her jaw, her knuckles turning colors from the vice grip she has on the steering wheel. She's still holding on to her pride when she shakes her head 'no'.
"Good. I mean, I've always kind of had a thing for Luke anyway. You knew that, right Autumn?"
"No." She says through her teeth.
"I'll just bring it up to him and see what he thinks. I'd love for him to take me for a ride." I pretend to inspect my fingernails. "But of course, if you like him then I'll just leave it alone." I pause for a couple seconds. "What positions is he the best at?"
Five, four, three, tw--
"OK!" She shouts. "I like him! Ok!"
Chloe and I burst out laughing.
"There, there Tummy." I pat her on the stomach. "That wasn't so hard was it?"
"You just had to hear me say it didn't you?"
"I didn't need to hear you say anything," I state. "But you did."
She rolls her eyes playfully.
"Autumn it's ok to like someone." Chloe says.
She looks up at the car roof thoughtfully. "I know. It's just so weird to have these feelings. And then for Luke to be the one to bring them out is even more bizarre. Like the effing cherry on top."
At the same time as me Chloe goes, "Pop!"
"Ha! They don't grow back that fast," Autumn says as we all continue laughing.
My phone dings and I pull it out to see a text message from Mila asking if I want to go to the gym with her this Thursday. I quickly type a yes.
"So you and Jason?" Autumn's question refocuses my attention.
The mention of his retarded name makes my cheeks burn.
"Yup, what about it?"
"Lyndsey's not around. Nate's not around. Yet here you two are...together."
"So?" I ask.
"Ok, slut. I see how you want to play." She smirks.
--
We arrive at the designated place and have a great time. Then I realize it's time for me to go face the wrath that is Nicholas Gold.
Jason takes me home and even comes inside even though I told him my dad was probably going to try to kill him. Brave soul. Hopefully, Autumn will return soon from dropping off Luke. Having other people around will make my dad yell less.
I close the front door and lock it behind me. Then I see my phone on the table in the foyer...with lights flashing. Who charged this? Must've been Autumn.
"GET UP HERE RIGHT NOW!" He shouts.
Taking a deep breath, I motion for Jason to stay where he is, and trudge up the stairs. I walk into his office where he's sitting in his chair looking like a picture perfect pissed parent. But more than anything he looks downright fatugues and tired.
"Explain," is all he says, rubbing his forehead.
"Hi daddy." I'm trying to think of whether I should tell him the truth or not. The reasoning for my disappearance seems so absurd now. He still hasn't looked at me.
He doesn't reply, meaning that he's way beyond pissed. His mood right now is completely justifiable.
"I'm sorry." I say.
"That won't cut it. I want reasons," he says curtly.
"Well, umm...you see...what had happened was...umm," I really don't want to rat out Autumn even though she urged me to tell him the truth. My dad still sees me, her and Chloe as little innocents.
"If you're about to start lying you can be grounded for 6 weeks instead of 4. So get to explaining," he says. My dad hates lyning. You could practically decapitate him and he's basically forgive you if you tell him the truth about why you did it. He's a freaking human lie detector.
"I was at Jason's," I say. It is the truth, just not the whole truth which is still a lie, but it's what I decide to go with.
I see his temper flare. "For three days!" He shouts.
"Yes."
"You couldn't call?" He yells.
"My phone was dead and I left it here." I explain.
"You're grounded until I say you're not. And since your phone is 'dead'", he makes airquotes around the word. "Lay it to rest in my drawer."
"Dad, I--"
"Don't speak." He sticks out his hand for my phone and I place it in his hand. "You may go to school and you may come back home, and that is it. Do you understand?" His voice is stern.
I nod my head and turn to leave before a thought comes to mind.
"Am I allowed to have people over?" I ask.
"Chloe and Autumn," he says. "Not Jason."
I shake my head subtly and go to my room.
I can't believe this garbage. Maybe if he was home a little more often then we could have talked and I wouldn't have gotten the wrong impression. I don't know. I'm so angry right now I could spit fire.
Then I hear a light tap at my window. Tap. Tap. Tap.
I get up to look out the window and see Jason standing there. I shake my head lightly trying to tell him to go away, but he nods his heads yes. So I open my window.
"So I'm not allowed over anymore, huh?" He says with a smirk.
I shake my head, and hear the front door open.
"Well, we'll just have to find a way around that, huh?" He says. "I may not be allowed in your house, but you can let me in your pants," he smirks.
Thinking about him and me in that predicament does something to my...area. Makes me want him more. I start to say something smart...but I decide to play along.
"Jason, you don't need to ask for permission. You're a big boy. You can go in the cookie jar whenever you want." I wave him toward me with my finger, and he takes a step forward. The dark look in his eyes makes me wonder if I'm serious or not.
"Hello?" Autumn shouts. Jason looks aggravated. I hear her heavy footsteps climbing the stairs before she busts through my bedroom door.
"Hey," she chirps. "How did it go?"
"I gotta go Jason," I say and close the window before he can say anything.
"Why are two Romeo and Julieting?" She says suspiciously.
"Because I'm grounded," I say.
"So it didn't go well then, huh?"
"I didn't tell him the truth." I admit.
"What, why?" She says hopping off my bed and walking to my dad's room.
"Autumn, I'll be fine. It's just a little grounding."
She walks right into Nick's office, and I stay outside the door.
"Hey daddy Gold," she says.
He sighs. "Hey Autumn. What's up?"
She takes a breath and then start retelling the story of this past weekend. Daddy stays quiet the entire time and when she finishes her story I'm emotionally exhausted all over again.
"So you used my tie to up Luke?" He asks.
"Yea, I'm sorry. It was the heat of the--" She stops. I'm guessing he put his hand up, not wanting to hear anymore.
"And Mackenzie thought it was me because my car was in the driveway?"
"Yes."
"So she ran away to and stayed at Jason's house?"
"Correct." Autumn replies.
He sighs deeply.
"Mackenzie, you can come from around the corner now," he says.
I freeze. That man is a freaking Jedi master. I'm going to start calling him Yoda. I step from around the corner with my eyes cast down. The carpet has never been so interesting that right now.
I walk until Autumn's cute wedge heels come into view, signaling that I'm standing next to her.
"Mackenzie, look at me." He says.
I slowly lift my eyes to meet his. Because he didn't look at me earlier when our eyes meet he sees that I've had an extremely difficult weekend. I'm looking better than I was yesterday, but I still look like a sleep deprived prom monster.
"You lied." He says.
"Yes, I did."
"You didn't talk to me about what you thought happened." There's a hint of pain in his voice.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because after all of that stuff, I felt stupid for even thinking that something like that would happen. I see you and mom interact everyday and I should've known you wouldn't do something like that to her," I take a deep breath. "Plus, you've been so busy and were hardly ever home always 'working late' and Autumn was acting weird trying to cover up her think with Luke that I just jumped to the wrong conclusion."
He stays quiet for a second. "You're just as crazy as your mother," he mumbles and I know that I'm not in as much trouble as I was before.
"I'm telling her you said that," I say.
"You better not. Look, you're not grounded anymore. However, you can't drive your car for 2 weeks because you lied." He smiles warmly at me.
I nod my head thinking that it's a fair trade until it registers what he said.
"Wait...what did you just say?" I look at Autumn for confirmation. She nods her head.
"I said you can't drive your car for a week."
Then it registers what he said. "You bought me a car," I exclaim immediately breaking out into my happy dance.
They look at each other and nod enthusiatically. I jump into my dad's lap kissing his cheek and hugging him tightly. He chuckles and kisses me on the cheek.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." I kiss him again.
"You're welcome baby, but don't lie to me next time. I realize how things must've looked, but we've always had the kind of relationship where we could discuss stuff like that, right?"
"You're so right! I know. I know. I know. I know can I see it pleeeaassse." I jump up and down. He reaches into his pocket and hands me my phone and the keys. I don't even bother to look at the keys as I sprint down the stairs and out the front door.
"Where is it?" I ask Autumn. "You knew about this?"
"It's in the garage," my dad answers, leaning on the banister at the top of the stairs.
I race to the garage and yank open the door. Parked next to my mom's car and my dad's other car which he barely drives is my car. It's a Cadillac coup that's a pearlescent cream. It's absolutely gorgeous.
"Daddy! I love it." I open the garage and walk over to run my hands across the hood.
"Autumn you knew about this." I realize that the text message from my dad when she was at the bowling alley was for this.
"Yea, I knew," she grins. "He was working with my dad. I was supposed to get you to open the garage when we came home that night, but we all know how that went." I turn the key in the ignition and the radio starts playing loudly.
"Wow! That's nice," I hear Jason say. I turn around to face him and over doing my happy dance.
"I know. I'm so excited." I continue doing my happy dance and Autumn starts dancing too. "Dance Jason," I laugh knowing he never dances.
He chuckles and shakes his head at me. "Your dancing scares me." He says, but I don't care as I continue dancing in circles around him.
"You'll dance one day Jason." Today really turned out way better than I thought it would.
"I don't dance," he says answering the phone I didn't even hear ringing.
"Hey. Oh. Hi? Nothing. Umm...sure. Yea, I'll talk to you later." He hangs up. "On behalf of Lyndsey, Nate asked us to go out with them on Thursday. You game?"
"Always," I reply. This time I'm the one smirking. "You'll have to drive though."
Today has been great. I find out my friend wasn't actually sexing up a storm with my father. I'm not on punishment for forever, and I got a car.
Score for Mack Gold.