One Step At A Time
1605 Words
Dear Diary,
My mom and I have always had a difficult relationship. We never saw eye to eye. When I wanted to go left, she pulled me right. When I wanted to hide, she pushed me out into the open. But we can also be best buddies. It just depends on the time, the lunar cycle, whichever planet is retrograding and all that.
I never expected her to be a softie mom. I came to understand that this is the way she has to be, really soon. Dad was always working, he still does. So, she practically had to do most of the parenting herself. And I think she did a great job, even if I almost never agreed with her.
Today, however ... Well, let's just say that she did the last thing that I expected from her.
Our mom grounds us the moment we come home from school. We had to take public transport, because she refused to come pick us up. And the first thing she asks is, is that makeup on your face, Perrie Lilith Hughes? Not a bonus point for me at all.
She even goes as far to seat us both down in the living room, while she stands behind the coffee table with her arms crossed against her chest. Then, she delivers a speech about how incredibly disappointed she is in her children. She doesn't even listen to me, when I tell her I was just passing notes with Leslie.
"You should've known better," she simply tells me, then continues with her reprimanding. Aiden and I just share a look, which pisses her off even more. And that's how we also find ourselves on dinner duty tonight.
Our mom disappears soon after, finally giving us some space to breathe. Dad is at work, like usual, so he isn't able to cool her down. As we're chopping vegetables for the salad, the front door opens. I put the knife away, then wash my hands to go check if our mom just went out. Aiden doesn't even budge.
But as I turn the corner, I almost bump into Hunter. I flinch in surprise, managing to brush my fingers against his hand, completely unintentionally. It's because he stops just an inch away from me, what was I supposed to do about it? "Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were coming over," I say before he opens his mouth and embarrasses me with something untoward.
He smirks, and I turn on my heel, returning to the kitchen before he's able to respond. "Hey man," my brother greets him without even glancing at him. How did he know ... Wait.
"You invited Hunter over despite us being grounded?" I scold my brother. He knows very well what our mom means by grounding. No other exits except for school. Not even for football practice. Aiden is going to bawl his eyes out about that one. And we aren't allowed to have anyone coming over. "No offense," I then say to Hunter, hoping that I didn't come off as too mean.
He seems amused. "None taken. Go on. Do you have any popcorn, by the way?" he responds, making my face fall. Okay, not feeling bad about it anymore.
"Not that I know of. Will you have dinner with us?" I then ask as loud as I can without sounding too weird. But despite being the subtlest that I can be, my brother realizes what I'm doing.
"Perrie, stop. Hunter's practically family. You know that mom won't say anything about it," he tells me from the other side of the kitchen island. He's lucky that it's positioned between us, or else we'd already be in each other's hair.
"Why don't we ask her, then?" I suggest, still talking loudly. My brother leans against the counter with his arms crossed against his chest, then shrugs.
"Yeah, why don't we?" he asks, clearly getting angry with me. Well, he can be angry all he wants, it's not fair that his best friend can come over when we're grounded, but mine can't. Don't misunderstand me, I feel bad for Hunter's situation at home, I really do. But I could use Leslie over when things are so tense in the house.
Hunter glances between the two of us, then raises his hands in defense. "Woah, if it's a problem, I can go. I don't want to be in the middle of this," he speaks up.
I already open my mouth, but Aiden beats me to it. "No, bro, there's no way," he tells his best friend and I shut myself up.
"What's going on here?" a fourth voice joins the debate, making us all freeze. We turn towards mom at the same time and she leans against the doorframe with a small smile covering her face. "Oh, hey, Hunter. I didn't know you were coming over today," she remarks casually.
My jaw almost drops. No drama, no 'you're not allowed to have anyone coming over, Aiden', just 'oh, hey, Hunter'. I draw in a sharp breath, then walk past my mom and head straight upstairs. Now, this is what I'm talking about.
"Perrie, where are you going?" I hear her voice behind me, but I ignore her. I know she feels sorry for Hunter, I do, too. But it's just not fair that he's counting as the exception to the rules she set. "Perrie!" she shouts, just as I close the door to my room.
Not even a minute later, she already barges in, furious that a, I ran away, b, ignored her calls and c, closed the door in the middle of the day. It's kind of ironic that she closes it behind her as she steps in. I'm curled up on the bed, hugging my knees and leaning my head on them.
"What is this behavior, young lady? I taught you better than this!" she lectures me, but I don't know what to say. I don't know how to defend myself. I can't explain my behavior.
My mom realizes that I'm going to stay quiet, so she walks to the bed and sits down next to me with her arms crossed against her chest. She stares at me silently, with her lips pressed into a thin line. She's furious, I know it. But she never explodes when she's really, really angry. So, this is alarming for me.
"Well? Care to explain what that was all about?" she asks calmly. But her tone is so deadly that I realize she's a ticking timebomb. Open your mouth, Perrie, or you'll be grounded for the rest of your life.
"I want my best friend to be an exception when I'm grounded, too. Why does only Aiden get to have that privilege?" I ask, knowing that I'm walking on really thin ice here. But I have to try, at least.
My mom fumes like a dragon. "You know the difference very well. You might think that I'm cold-blooded, but I can't let Hunter stay with his foster parents. Not with the way they treat him, compared to their biological children," she tells me, her voice still calm, but it's now trembling with emotions.
I stay quiet. Yeah, I know that. I wouldn't want Hunter to stay there either. But for once, I just want to be selfish. "You're treating Aiden and I differently too, in this case," I mumble quietly, almost hoping that she doesn't hear me. However, I don't have that luck.
My mom grows pale and stares at me with wide eyes, like she can't believe that I had the guts to say that. Yeah, same here, mom. I can't believe myself either. I expect her to slap me. Really. She never laid a hand on me, when I was a kid, because she can't tolerate violence. But right now, I know that I crossed the line. She's not even breathing.
The tense silence seems to last forever. We just stare at each other in shock, until finally, she inhales sharply, and I blink in fear, waiting for the bomb to drop. Then, she breathes out slowly and closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them again, she appears a little calmer than before.
Then, she nods in response. And my jaw practically drops. "You're right. I'm making a difference that's really unfair," she admits, then makes a face like she can't comprehend her own words. I stare at her in shock. As she stands up, I almost feel like saying, hey, what does that mean for me now? But she looks down at me and nods again. "Leslie can come over, if you want her too. This is a new rule, okay? You get to have one friend to come over, when you're grounded," she declares.
I don't know if I'm about to start laughing or crying. But soon, my mouth gets curved into a big smile and I straighten up a little. "Really, mom? You mean that? You promise you won't change your mind?" I ask, almost ready to grab her hand and plead with my gaze, like I used to do when I was a kid.
She smiles back, making relief wash over me. She wasn't just testing me. She really meant it. I can hang out with Leslie! "I promise," she tells me. Then, she grows serious again. "But only if you come back down and help your brother finish dinner. And apologize to Hunter," she negotiates with me.
I jump on my feet like an athlete, practically ready to run downstairs, as long as she doesn't change her mind. "On my way!"
- Writer
