It was all I could do not to roll my eyes-it really was. As soon as I'd stepped inside the house, they'd lit into me-my parents, that is. And by the way my dad was fuming as we walked up to the house, I thought it was because of what he saw-er, what he almost saw-between Liam and I. I was getting worked up myself. It was no secret that my parents were practically shoving us together-I wouldn't be surprised if Liam knew about it. But I mean, really. They really had no right to be mad at me and Liam.
But, no. They were still stuck on the pregnancy thing. I was only in and out of the lecture-"....have tried so long to have another baby....!" And "Can't you understand that?" and the one that actually made my brows raise in interest, "....can't be spoiled for the rest of your life!". But all I could think about was Liam.
I mean, seriously! I'd just stood there as he was closing in on me! And I desperately trying to deny the fact that my heart had been racing and that, dare I even admit mentally, I'd tilted my head up to meet his lips. God, I was embarrassed just admitting that to myself.
Oh. God.
How would we react around eachother now? I mean, we hadn't kissed-thank God!-but it was so obvious that we-did I just say we?-had meant to. Would he try to kiss me again? Or would we just awkwardly avoid eachother?
"Piper? Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?"
I snapped out of my thoughts at the peeved words of my dad. I blinked. "Yes."
They were looking at me expectantly.
"What?" I asked impatiently.
My mom sighed. Dad just scowled-well, more. "That's it, young lady. You're grounded."
"What?!" I blanched. "What for?"
"You've been copping an attitude ever since the move an I'm sick of it!"
Oh, yeah. Like I don't have any reason to have an attitude. Hell. Maybe I don't. Maybe I've been wrong all this time. "Whoa. Okay." Now I was copping an attitude. But I mean really!
My mom even copped out some tears. "Oh, honey," she said, her voice throbbing with emotion. As if it wasn't bad enough my mom was over emotional, now I had to deal with her when she had hormones on top of that. She gave me the "it's only because we love you" bullshit speech before my dad announced I was having a sarcastic attitude-really?-and sent me to my room.
The room felt bigger somehow, though. Opening my window, I climbed out onto my roof, taking in heaps of cool, night air to calm my nerves. Funny. Mom was usually the first one to overreact. It was like my dad was getting the pregnancy hormones in her place! What was wrong with him? Why was he basically demanding that I feel nothing?
Okay, yeah, so maybe I'd copped an attitude about the whole pregnancy thing-can you really blame me? And maybe I had overreacted. But wasn't I allowed a reaction? Had they really expected me to cry tears of joy? Yes, I was maybe a little bit spoiled in the only child department. But after seventeen-and a half-years, you kinda get used to the idea. My parents were just too little too late in the bringing-Piper-a-baby-sibling portion of their lives. About ten years too late.
Ugh. But whatever. I wouldn't feel anything anymore. I'd show them. (I always thought stupid thoughts like this, just to be headstrong. I never could stay mad for too long at them. Wait.....or anyone, for that matter. I officially suck. You are the weakest link.... Good-bye.)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lulu and I separated ourselves from lunch the next day. She wanted to ask me in private if her brother had behaved himself-that and she was so, so, so sorry forever that she had to let him drive me home.
I shrugged, swirling around the mashed potatoes on my plate. Meatloaf today. This, for the mostly vegetarian, was not good. I worked around it, though-see; mashed potatoes! "He didn't put his hands on me, if that's what you mean."
Lulu cringed. "But....?"
I sighed, ready to give up on the too salty soupy potatoes. "He is determined we should go out."
"Oh, God!" she muttered, thoroughly embarrassed. "My brother is such a creep!"
To this, I just laughed inwardly at the sheer irony. "On the other hand, well....." I held up my still bandaged hand. I had left the wrappings on, not wanting to go down to the barn to change the wrapping nor did I really want to take them off.
Lulu gasped. "Dude, is it broken?"
I shook my head, laughing slightly. "Nah. Just rope burn. My new colt got scared when my friend called on my cell when I was lunging him." Wait. My colt?
"Aw! Well, I mean, not 'aw' that you got hurt-are you okay?-but 'aw' that you gotta new colt! Is he cute?"
I nodded, ignoring the first part of her question. "Yeah. He's eight months old. Blue Rhone. Liam bought him at Pete's Saturday."
Lulu gave me this 'ooh-how-scandalous' look. "Liam bought you a horse?"
"No! He's training him so he can sell him." Why did my stomach feel sick at the thought of never seeing Terry again? "I'm just kinda helping."
"So he's not your colt."
I shook my head sadly. "Not technically."
"What'd you name him?"
"Mystery. Terry for short."
Lulu blinked. "I thought you said it's a colt? You do know a colt is a baby boy, right?"
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I know that."
"Okay, just checking."
I hadn't really meant to even mention it-I was strong in the force of denial-but in the little bit of silence that passed, I opened a big can of worms. "Liam almost kissed me last night."
Immediately, Lulu dramatically spit her drink out in front of her. See? Can o' worms. "When?! Dude, tell me everything!"
"Well," I picked at my potatoes with my fork once again. "Nothing really happened. I got the rope burn, he patched it up an then.....Shit."
"What?" Lulu looked around wildly. "What?"
"Tanya," I muttered fatefully. And she was making her why right over toward us.
"Oh, hi, Pied Piper," she sneered. Seriously? Did this joke of a southerner really expect me to be insulted by that? Her presence, now, was a different story. "How's everything at the farm? More specifically, how's Liam? I mean, Saturday he said he bought a new colt."
I tried not to scowl. Why was there that little twinge of jealousy in me? No, not jealous. Disgust. What would posses Liam to date this southern belle ho? "Fine."
"Mmm hmm," Tanya snorted. "Well, it's to know you don't know. I mean, that'd kinda make me jealous. You know, you hanging around my boyfriend an all."
I rolled my eyes, my hands clenching to fists. "That's great, Tanya. I hope you an the colt are very happy together."
Lulu laughed hysterically-even Tanya's friends looked as if they were hiding a smile.
Tanya smiled without humor. "Funny. Sounds like someone else is jealous...."
"Well, if I were into beastiality, maybe. Being as though I'm not...."
Tanya yawned. "Tell Liam I said hi, okay? That is, if you see him before I do."
She walked away without another word.
"God, that bitch." Lulu muttered.
"Yeah...." Admittedly, I was a bit disturbed, though.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Okay, so I guess I'd be the one to judge if things would be awkward. If they were, I'd just go back up to the house. If they weren't, than yay us! I just had to hope for the best, as I stopped to pet Terry-who was having none of that, of course. He stayed right in the middle of the round pen with his mama, pointedly ignoring me.
I shrugged. "You're loss."
"LIAM!" I yelled, walking into the barn. Why did my heart hammer against my rib cage? Stop that!
"Piper?"
"Who else, dork?" I said, not able to help a smile when I saw him, brushing down a horse I didn't recognize. I leaned against the wall. "Oh, wait. Could it be Tanya?" To this, I batted my eyelashes dramatically.
Liam rolled his eyes. He went back to brushing.
I'm taking that as a sign of non-awkwardness. Blessed be! "She says hi," I said in a heavy, breathy country accent.
Liam made a face. "Piper. There's a reason you don't have a country accent."
I laughed. "Thank God! I'm not a country boy!" Thank God I'm a Country Boy is just one of the annoying songs being played on the radio when I come down to the barn.
"I don't think country boy applies to you."
"Or does it?"
"Ugh."
I laughed. "Who's that?" I asked, pointing at the mare in the crossties. She was pretty; black with white stalkings and a slightly Roman noise. She was taller than Reesey, but not by much.
"You're very chatty."
I shrugged. "I'll shut up."
"I'm just kiddin'. Sheesh."
"But seriously."
"Kiko."
"Ah. Do we like her?"
Liam shrugged. "Sometimes."
I looked at Kiko apologetically. "Sorry Charlie. Better luck next time."
"We like her at the moment."
I smiled brightly at the black mare. "Scratch that, then."
The words, "So, about last night" actually started to form on my lips in the sudden silence. But I was saved by the vibration in my back pocket.
A simple-How r u?-text from David. I smiled. It'd been a while, it seemed, since I'd heard from him. Well, not that I was really lying awake thinking about him. A felt a twinge of guilt as I hit REPLY.
"Lemme guess," Liam said, pausing in his work. "David." To this, he batted his eyelashes at.
I rolled my eyes, sticking my tongue out at him. "Jerk."
He smirked oh-so innocently. "Lemme see."
"No," I laughed.
"C'mon!" Liam laughed, making his way over. "You got stalked by my crazy ex."
"Oh, yeah! She talks about you like she would a porno!"
"Ugh. Don't tell me that. Seriously, lemme see."
"No, you crazy hillbilly!"
"Hillbilly?" Liam blanched. "That hurts!"
I held my hands out as if I were holding a shotgun. "Chk-chk-burn!"
In the process of my Kelso fire-gun-burn impersonation, Liam snatched my cell right out of my hands. "Haha!" he taunted.
"Hey!" I made a grab for the cell, but he held it well over his head. "C'mon, Liam! Give it back!"
"You called me a hillbilly."
"You are a hillbilly!"
"That's it!" He started texting.
"Dude, stop!" Although I was quite surprised the hillbilly knew how to use a cell-even though I'd seen his in his back pocket.....Not that I was looking or anything.
"David my darlin'," he said in a high pitch voice-meant to mimic mine. "I've been waitin all day for you to text me!"
"Liam!" I gasped, jumping up for my cell.
He laughed. "Take it back or I send."
"William Nelson, I swear to God!"
"What? I can't hear you! It sounded like you said William!"
He had always hated it when people called him by his full name. "William! William! William the Hillbilly!" I taunted.
He thumb pressed a button before he handed my cell back.
I snatched it out of his hands, glancing at the screen. MESSAGE SENT. "Wah! You jerkhole!"
Liam laughed. "Jerkhole? An hey, ya practically begged me ta send it!"
"I did-" I glanced at the new message from David-wut? "Ugh. Great." I texted him back. Not me. My friend Liam was just screwin with u. Sry.
"I never understood why people just don't spell what right in texts," Liam observed. "I mean really. It's one other letter."
I shrugged. Maybe I should have been madder at Liam. But, really, it was kinda funny. Not that I was going to tell him that.
But these thoughts were before the next text, asking who Liam was. This was followed by an actual phone call. Guess who from?
I frowned at Liam, who was slyly going back to brushing Kiko down. "Thanks."
"I'm not the one keepin me secret."
"No, you just don't matter enough to tell about," I said with a triumphant smirk.
"Oh, haha."
I laughed, then sighed as I answered my phone, walking back out of the barn.
"Who the hell is this Liam guy?" were the very first words David-my boyfriend-said.
I blinked, taken aback by the bite in his tone. "Hello to you, too."
"Seriously, Piper. Who is this guy?"
"Uh....just an old friend," I said, miffed. Why was everyone getting mad at me all of a sudden?
David had a few other choiced words to "discuss" with me-and by discuss I mean screaming it in my ear.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "You're overreacting."
"Overreacting?" he yelled. "Okay, Piper. How would you feel if I kept a secret girl from you?"
I seriously wouldn't have cared if he told me they were just friends. I never had been one for the jealous type. But telling David that, while he was acting psycho, didn't seem like a wise decision. "David, it's not like that. Liam is just my friend. God, why're you getting so worked up about this?"
"Worked up?" Did he enjoy repeating my words or something? "Piper, I don't like you keeping secrets from me! It's not like you! An I can't see you and...."
I rolled my eyes. "Jeeze, Dave. You're acting like such a girl." I had meant it as a joke to lighten the mood.
The silence that followed informed me David didn't take it that way. "You know what?" he snapped finally. "Whatever, Piper." The phone clicked.
I stared at my phone as it buzzed, mouth agape. If there was one thing that pissed me off more than anything, it was being hung up on. Before, I'd been frustrated and trying to calm my psycho ass boyfriend down. But now I was pissed. "Oh, hell no!"
I jammed my cell in my back pocket angrily.
It was so on like Donkey Kong. Only way worse.
______________________________________________________________________
A/N David is such a puss. Tanya's a bitch. Piper's dad is hormonal(and yes I do mean the dad). Life is fun. But Liam's still adorable! I love that country boy, man! I wish I could look out my window an see that truck outside. Sadly, no :(
I uploaded some pix on the last two chapters of Liam and Piper. Will be getting more of the people soon. Probably.
Love y'all!
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TTFN,
Hannah
P.S My snow is finally melting!!!!!!!!!! I hate icey, dirty, lingering snow!