It All Started With An Apple

Chapter 17

I expected some sort of scene when we walked through the door.  You know how in those movies parents sit in the living room waiting to lecture you for hours on end for how irresponsible you are?  Yeah, I was expecting something like that.  But none of that happened.  In fact the only person my mom actually acknowledged was Dannon.

“Dannon!” she called happily as we made our way into the house, wrapping her arms tightly around him.  “How lovely to see you, hon!”

“Hi,” Dannon said with a smile, hugging back lightly.

“Sooooo, this is the Dannon I’ve heard so much about?”

I couldn’t help but grin as Garrett sauntered into the room, his arms crossed securely around his chest.  He was trying to act serious.  I bit my lip to keep from laughing.  He wasn’t exactly succeeding.  Dannon seemed to sense this, too, because he chuckled.

“Bri, introduce them!” my mom quipped.  Why she had to be so loud, I didn’t know.  And why she couldn’t introduce them herself, I also didn’t know.  Pregnant women these days. . . .

“Garrett, this is Dannon.”  My hands swept the air between them.  “Dannon, this is Garret.”

“Yo!” Garrett waved his arms ecstatically.  “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Dannon grinned.  “Oh, really?” He tossed me a glance before turning back to Garrett.

Garrett nodded, a large smile spreading across his face.

I crossed my arms over my chest, squeezing my way past my family members.  “Can we move out of the doorway, please?” I demanded, feeling suddenly claustrophobic. 

My mom shot me a look, and suddenly I knew. The only reason why she was welcoming and warm now was because she was planning on reprimanding and yelling at me later.  She didn’t want Dannon to see her dark side, oh no.  Why show people how inconsiderate she could be?  Nuh-uh.  I don’t think so.

“Mom, please save the lecture.”  I stared at her coolly.  “I had a right to be mad.”

My mom looked devastated.  “Brianne—”

“He already knows, Mom.”  I gestured to Dannon.  “I told him.”

An innocent smile tugged at Dannon’s lips.  “Guilty,” he murmured, holding onto one of his arms awkwardly.  I wondered if he was expecting what I was: my mom to blow up at any moment.

My mom let her façade wear off and her smile was exchanged for a scowl.  Her hands found their way to her hips, seeming more menacing than I’d ever seen her.  Wait, no—scratch that.  She’d been this menacing one before when Garrett and I were seven.  I’d cut off all of Garrett’s hair in his sleep because he called me fat.  Yup.  I got grounded for a while.  “It took you two hours to tell him?” she demanded with a huff.

Oh, here we go.

“We—”

“I took her to Friendly’s,” Dannon interjected, saving me from whatever lame explanation that had been formulating in my mind.  “She was pretty upset.”

“Aw!” my mom cooed, the anger falling off her face as she turned her attention to Dannon.  “I’ll have Brianne pay you back,” she promised as she patted Dannon’s shoulder, her eyes gleaming with appreciation.

“There you go again,” I seethed, my teeth grinding together painfully as my anger tipped over the edge.  “Volunteering my stuff up like it’s nothing.”