Page 59 of Part of Forever
“Dating your brother and finding out you had a tumor are two completely separate things,” she huffs out.
My chest is tight. I hate when we argue. But we’ve both kept secrets that we should have been open about. I know that now.
“Can we finish this conversation later? I know we need to hash this all out, but my mom’s gonna ground me for literally the rest of my life, so, ya know. I can’t really add more on top of that.” She gives me a look that saysYou’re being an idiot.But I don’t say anything else.
“You’re just mad that I ruined your night.”
“Yeah, I am.” I stand, pulling my hair into a ponytail as I pace the room. “You couldn’t let us have one night together?”
She rolls her eyes, and I clench my teeth.
“It’s not like you guys aren’t going to have more nights together. He’s in love with you. I didn’t ruin anything.”
Except she did. Mom is going to kill me. Despite her being weirdly nice last night, I know that once I go downstairs to talk to her again, she’s going to let all hell break loose and accuse me of being just like her.
“You did, though,” I whisper.
“Knock-knock,” Nathan says as he opens the door. “Mom’s back, and she’s ready to talk. Erin made cinnamon rolls.”
My stomach twists.
Even though it was Tucker’s idea, I still went with him. She may think I deserve whatever punishment she’s about to dole out, but I’m eighteen now. I graduate ina month. I can make my own choices.
Nathan and Grace don’t follow me downstairs. Tucker’s already sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of Erin’s famous hot chocolate. She hands me a mug as I slide onto the bench next to him.
He puts a hand on my leg and looks at me with apologetic eyes. “It’s okay,” I whisper. “No regrets.” He nods and we both look at my mom, who sits down across from us, and Erin next to her.
Mom looks calm as she looks at both of us. “I’m disappointed in you, both of you,” she says, and I wish she’d yell instead of talking so softly. “After talking to Erin, though, I guess I understand a little more. I was a young teenager in love once, too. But there are still going to be consequences,” she says, and both Tucker and I nod. My resolve from a few moments ago? Completely gone. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to stand up to her.
“Rosie, you’ll work the front desk at the studio right after school for two hours instead of one, every day for the next month. And no phone for two weeks.” I slide my phone across the table, and she gives me an appreciative look for not fighting.I don’t want to get into this with her. She doesn’t trust me, and I don’t know if she ever will.
“As for you.” Erin clasps her hands in front of her on the table as she looks at Tucker. “I talked to your mom this morning. She said she’ll call you later, but said that she’s fine with whatever punishment I deem fit, as you live in my house. I can assume most of this was all teenage hormones and caring for each other. That being said, the two of you do need to be careful. So, for the next couple of weeks, I want you to have a chaperone: me, Grace, Nathan, Kenny, or Micah. Just to help things simmer down a bit. Deal?”
“Deal,” he says. “Can we go now?”
“Yup, as long as there’s someone else with you.” I hate this new rule more than I hate not having my phone, but we’ll just have to live with it. We head up to Grace’s room, where Nathan and Grace are waiting for us.
“Well?”
“Mom wasn’t as mad as I thought,” I say, and Grace looks disappointed.
“You should have seen her last night,” Nathan tells us. “She was livid.”
“My mom talked her down,” Grace says, still frowning. “So what’s the punishment?”
“I don’t have a phone for the next few weeks and I have to work the front desk at the studio.” Which is more of a punishment than I’d like to admit. I don’t mind being in the studio, but working the front desk is the worst job because you have to deal with all the crazy dance moms. I already have a mom who is a coachanda mom. I hate having to talk to the other moms. And it’ll just be more time not dancing while I’m there.
“And one of you gets to be our third wheel for the rest of time,” he says, and Grace groans.
“Noooo… that’s punishment forus.” Grace pulls a pillow over her face. “Just keep it… well, not gross?”
“We can do that,” I say, and suddenly feel lightheaded. My stomach is in anxious knots as I wonder why, so I sit on the bed as quickly as I can, but slow enough to not raise anyone’s suspicion. But Nathan knows me too well, and he’s watching me carefully. “Disney marathon today?” I ask to move the attention away from me.
“YES!” Grace jumps up so quickly that I wonder if she’s forgiven me. But after the fight we just had, I know this is far from over. “We could watch all day since you all are already here. We’ll get through so many movies! I’ll go see if I can bribe Micah to play Mario Kart on a different TV.”
“I’m gonna go shower, but I’ll be back.” Tucker waves and winks at me before heading out the door.
“Are you okay?” Nathan asks as soon as they’re both gone.
