Cinders

~21~ Friends~2

My grounding is officially over!!! As soon as the two week mark hit, I swear I started hearing angels singing Hallelujah. Over dramatic you say? You try being grounded for three weeks, have a two day taste of freedom, and then get re grounded for an additional two weeks. You might be a little dramatic too.

Mom's working out in the gym, so I decide to go over to Taylor's and see if he was being serious about his Call of Duty offer. I knock on his door, and wait. He opens it after just a couple seconds, and as soon as he sees me, his brow furrows. Is he mad at me for some reason? As soon as I start to get nervous, he starts to speak.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" He asks in an annoyed and confused tone.

"What?"

"Liam, is that you?" He still has that puzzled look on his face.

"Taylor, are you high?"

Suddenly his smile is huge, and takes over his face.

"Dude! It's been so long since I've seen you! Have you gotten taller? Tell me, what's it like being locked up? You know the bright thing in the sky? That's called the sun, Liam, don't stare directly at it," he says, pulling me into a headlock and knocking the breath outta me.

"You're funny," I say sarcastically once he lets
me go.

"So tell me—did the time away hinder your Call of Duty skills?"

"I'm not sure, wanna find out?" I ask, smiling like a dork.

"Let's do it," he says as he motions for me to come in, and shuts the door behind him.

"Grab anything you want from the fridge, except the beer," he says as he goes to the TV and gets the game turned on.

"Dang it. I was REALLY wanting the beer. I got my fake ID taken away by a cranky old man."

I get a soda out and plop down on the couch next to him.

He snorts and shakes his head. "I don't need your mom using the belt on both of us, kid."

I grab a controller and put my feet on the coffee table. I just feel so comfortable around him.

"Your mom knows you're here, right?"

"No, but she's working out, so she'll be a couple hours probably."

"Will she have an issue with you being here?" He asks, a little hurt at that idea.

"No—I'm not grounded anymore. I've got my phone on me. She'll call if she's worried," I say, wishing he'd quit gabbing and start playing.

"Ok"

We start playing, and I'm suddenly disappointed. He's good. Really good. I get killed quicker than I'd care to admit.

"Is there anything you're not good at?" I ask him.

Taylor chuckles "Getting your mom to go out with me."

"How's that going?" I ask as we restart the game and start playing again.

"It's not."

"Mom laid into dad two weeks ago. It was really bad," I say, trying to change the subject.

"Really? I didn't hear anything," he says, trying to pretend like he isn't curious—He totally is.

"It wasn't here; It was at the precinct. I think seeing how you reacted when you caught me drinking was the reason."

"What do you mean?" He asks, cursing under his breath when he dies in the next second.

"I heard her on the phone with Megan after you left that morning. She said that you staying to make sure I was gonna behave meant everything to her. She said it was the first time she's ever felt truly safe."