Page 51 of Under the Influence

“Mom is making your favorite tonight,” I wiggle my eyebrows, changing the subject.

“Ooooh, chicken alfredo?”

I laugh, forgetting the chick is basically a garbage disposal, “No, Stuffed Peppers.”

“Damn, Mad. Those are so good. I’m coming over.”

“You sure you’d rather slum it with me than ride around in pretty boy’s jeep?”

“Oh, I’m sure. I’d ditch Stevie Nicks for your mom’s peppers.”

“I feel used.”

She laughs, shoving my arm playfully, “Gotta be part of someone’s family.”

Those words make my head spin with anger. Her mom and dad seriously piss me off. Pastor Blackwood pretends she doesn’t exist and hasn’t said six words to her in three years. Her mom acts as if the whole affair never happened but mostly takes it out on Lainey. If she had never been exposed to the truth, the slime ball probably would’ve gotten away with it.

He still stands up there every Sunday and has hundreds of people come to listen to him be a hypocritical piece of garbage. I’m not sure what story they’ve spun for that to happen, but I can assure you it isn’t the truth.

After school, Lainey and I watch as Cori reluctantly gets into Nash’s Jeep, putting on a pretty good show for everyone watching. I’m proud of her for standing up to him because someone needs to, yet I just can’t help but wonder if I made the right decision by telling her to play his game.

Guess we will know soon enough.

When we pull up to my house, Lainey’s gasp fills the entire car, “Who the hell is that?”

A man in a black truck is backing out of my driveway, and my mind goes wild with a thousand different scenarios, “Oh, I don’t know.”

She lights up as her pupils basically form little hearts, “Oh my God! Does Jenny Atwood have a boyfriend?”

I scowl at the thought, “She better not.”

Lainey opens the car door, skipping over to me, slipping her arm around my elbow, “Has she ever dated anyone, Mad? Oh my goodness, it was a secret!”

Her excitement is unsettling. It’s not that I don’t want my mom to be happy, it's just that no one is good enough for her. There isn’t a man in this world that loves her more than me, and if they don’t worship the ground she walks on, they can get lost.

“Jenny!” Lainey yells as she bursts through the front door. “We met your boyfriend outside, and my oh my, is he smokin’ hot!”

Mom’s face turns a ghostly shade of white as I turn my dark eyes to her. She looks different. Not because she went to the salon or changed her hair but something else. Something I’ve never seen.

Mom waves Lainey’s comment off, “Oh, Sam is just a friend from the station.”

Lainey’s eyes get wide as she pulls out a barstool. “He’s hot. You should totally bang him before someone else does.”

I stare at them, my mom’s mind obviously still on this Sam character.

“Right, Mad?” She nudges me with her elbow.

Lainey’s pushing is pissing me off, “Why don’t you just go fuck him if you want him so bad!” I growl, slamming my backpack down on the floor.

“Madden Caleb Atwood! Watch your mouth,” Mom warns, piercing her eyes into mine.

Lainey is satisfied with herself, “Yeah, Madden Caleb Atwood. Watch your mouth.”

I yank her off the stool, wrestling her to the ground. She wiggles underneath me as I dig my fingers into her ribs. She struggles to breathe between her laughing and my body on top of her.

“Mad, stop,” she giggles, twisting her tiny frame around just enough to get to the spot that gets me. I ease up a little but only enough to let her get a breath in.

“I’m gonna—” she squeals. “I’m gonna pee on myself.”