My hands gripped the steering wheel while I contemplated just pulling right back out of the driveway and taking off. But I knew that would only bring suspicion to Janet since she was unaware of the reason why my parents were even there.
"Oh look, your parents are here." Janet said as she pointed to the back of their SUV, "They probably just want to make sure everything's alright. I kinda called them last night." A faint chuckle escaped her lips as I peered at her for all the drama she unknowingly caused.
"Yeah, I know. Don't ever do that again please."
"Why?"
"Look, I can't really get into it right now, but my parents are here because they're pissed off at me."
"Well, I'll just explain everything to them. Don't worry." She shrugged her shoulders like she thought she could repair the damage that had been made.
"I think maybe you should just go home, I'll talk to them. It doesn't have to do with you, so I don't want to drag you into this mess."
"No, I want to stay." After going back and forth for a while in my parked car, I realized she was too persistent and I wasn't going to win this battle. Janet's reluctance to leave just made my heart beat out of my chest even more.
I drew in a deep breath to try and calm my nerves as I took one last look at Janet's unknowing face. I just hoped she would be ok and wouldn't go off and get high or something when this was all over with.
We got out of my car and approached my parents SUV. When I walked up to the drivers side window, I was met with two stone faces that couldn't even bother making eye contact with me. I knocked on the window, prompting my dad to roll it down just enough to say, "We'll be in in a minute."
He quickly rolled it back up, leaving me to stare at his face through the glass. I was finally going to have to tough it out and go face to face with the web of lies and deceitful ways that have tangled up my morality.
Janet and I walked into the house, "J, are you sure you wanna stay? Honestly, I'd rather you just leave this up to me. I need to fight my own battles." I tried one last attempt to get her to leave my house.
"No, I wanna be here to back you up. I know how your parents can be." I had a feeling she was just trying to make up for everything that happened between us.
My mom and dad soon walked in with stern looks on their faces as my nerves started to unravel in the midst their presence. "Hello Janet." My mom said pleasantly, bringing her in for a courteous hug. My dad ignored the both of us and collapsed down onto the couch with a pissed off look on his face.
My mom didn't say anything to me, but only looked at me briefly. And in that brief moment my desperate eyes pleaded with her not to say anything in front of Janet. I just couldn't hurt her that way, she was too unstable.
Her attention turned back to Janet, "I'm sorry to even ask you this, but we need to talk to Vivian in private, would you mind leaving?"
Janet's face looked confused as she stammered for words, "Uh...ok." There was no way she would deny my mom's request to leave. So Janet walked over to me and gave me a peck on the lips. When I looked at her as our faces parted, I could tell her eyes were so desperate to know what was going on. "I'll talk to you later, ok?" I gave a reassuring nod and smile as I tried to hide my own nervousness.
She lowered her head and headed towards the door. Although I knew I was going to get a mouthful from my parents, the weight of the world lifted off of me when I saw Janet leaving.
As soon as the latch on the door closed, "What the hell is wrong with you Vivian?" My dad scolded, standing up from the couch. "Do you need help? Is there something going wrong in your life right now that would cause you to behave that way?"
I rolled my eyes and looked at both my parents. I couldn't believe they were coming into my house and lecturing me about my life. "I'm sorry... This is going to sound bad, but I'm not trying to come off as rude or crude or anything... But I'm an adult-"
"Tread lightly on your words girl." My dad interrupted.
I sighed, "I own my own house and car, I pay my bills, I have a good job, I don't drink or do drugs. Now, I know some of my lifestyle choices haven't been up to your standards, but, I can entertain whoever or whatever I want in any way I want because this is my house."
"We didn't raise you to be that kind of woman. You shouldn't be doing that outside like some slut with God knows who." He took in a deep breath, "Who is that boy anyway? Do you even know him?"
"No, I don't know him at all, he just knocked on my door and that was that." I said, sarcastically. I came to the conclusion this wasn't going to end well, so there was no use in trying.
"This is serious Vivian, we're worried about you, we just want to know if you're ok, otherwise we can get you professional help."
"Ok, well first of all, nothing is wrong with me. And I don't need professional help. What you guys don't know is I'm in a relationship that I want so desperately to be out of. But no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to shake the feeling that I'm totally responsible for her. So if I dump her and she goes and overdoses on drugs, oh by the way, she's a drug addict, then I am solely responsible for whatever happens to her. Whether she dies or gets hospitalized, again. And in regards to what you saw, that man is a friend of mine and yes, I do know him. But, that's not even a discussion we should've be having." Tears started welling up out of the anger I felt inside towards my parents, who were often so quick to judge and make assumptions of me.
After a long silence between the three of us, my mom finally spoke up, "Well, honey, why didn't you tell us about Janet or how you feel about her?"
"Because it's none of your business. I shouldn't have to explain every aspect of my life to you guys. You never even call me or talk to me so why do you even care? You know what though, I'm done talking. You've heard more than I think you should know."
The tension in the room was thick, especially between my dad and I as we stared at each other. My parents acting like they were so concerned with me when they hadn't been concerned since I was eighteen was frustrating to say the least.
Finally, my dad made the first move towards the door. He didn't say anything but just stormed out, slamming my storm door so hard, I thought the glass panel was going to break.
My mom gave me a hug and said goodbye before following him out to their car. I knew I shouldn't have spoken to them like that, but I was very offended that my parents felt I needed professional help because of the fashion I chose to have sex with someone.
I listened as my dad pull out of my drive way and screech the tires, taking off back to his house.
After I knew for sure they were gone, I washed my tears away in the bathroom sink then called Janet. "Hey Janet, you can come over if you want." I said nonchalantly, trying to minimize the situation that just occurred.
"What happened?"
"Oh, I'll tell you when you get here." I lied, I wasn't planning on telling her yet. I'd just told her I would stay with her and support her, which I planned on doing.
She walked into my quiet house 45 minutes later. Her feet running straight into the kitchen, where she knew I'd be, "What happened?"
I shrugged it off, "Ugh, my mom and dad are just trying to control me as usual, you know how they are."
Her eyes narrowed, staring at me for far too long like she was trying to pry the truth out of me. "No, it was something more serious, I could tell Viv." She wasn't convinced.
"I just told you, Janet. But that's on you if you don't wanna believe me."
Her hand brushed against mine as it sat on top of the cold counter top to get me to bring my eyes up to hers. "I feel like you've been keeping stuff from me lately."
I shook my head, "Well, you're wrong." I waited with bated breath for her to accept my answer. She finally let out a sigh of defeat. I knew she didn't believe me, but I also knew she was just as tired as I was of all the drama that seemed to surround us lately.
I motioned towards the staircase with my head as a smile stretched across my face, "Come on, let's go to bed."
"Ok, do you wanna bring this?" Her voice took on a timid tone as she waved the vibrator that had been sitting on the kitchen counter, at me.
"Uh... no, I'm not feeling it tonight. But I'm glad my parents didn't come into the kitchen." I laughed, before leading her upstairs to my bedroom.
After taking off my clothes and slipping under the covers I fell asleep pretty much instantly. At around 1:20 in the morning, I was woken up from the sound of my loud phone going off beside me.
"Hello?" My voice sounded raspy from sleeping.
"What are you doing?" Prince's baritone voice sounded wide awake.
I bit my bottom lip when I heard that deep voice. It only reminded me of the fun we had the night prior. "Take a wild guess."
"Masturbating?"
I smiled wide at his guess, "Mmm, you know me so well."
"Can I come over and help?" It was then that I realized a now wide eyed Janet was peering holes into the side of my face.
I pressed the phone receiver down hard against my ear, like that would change the possibility that she might have heard the first part of our conversation. "Uh...no. I'll call you tomorrow." I said, quickly and quietly.
"Huh?" He must have heard the shift in my tone.
"Not now."
"Oh, is Janet there?" He whispered.
"Mmhmm."
"Ok bye."