TMI (2014 Collector's Dream Winner)

TMI - Chapter 6

Bailey figured that ordering burgers for two parents and four brothers would take a good long time so she decided to visit Meg while Chase fed the Gallagher army.

"Hey!" She skipped through the doors, waved with her whole arm.

Meg lifted her head and Bailey gasped. "What's wrong?" Meg's face was pale and her eyes were just...flat. "Are you still mad at Chase?"

Meg grunted once. Bailey couldn't tell if that was a yes or a no or a laugh or a sob. "Hey... so Chase said he'll help me with the game. Isn't that great?" Bailey bounced on her toes.

Flat dark eyes snapped to hers. "Great. Sure."

Bailey bit her lip and blinked back tears. Meg was — Oh! Of course, she saw the hug! Achievement: unlocked. Bailey swallowed her smile and glanced over her shoulder. "Chase should be here in a minute. He's picking up burgers for his entire family. He was supposed to pick up Dylan and forgot and so Dylan walked all the way home by himself and his parents are totally pissed about it and then Ethan and Evan cried because Dylan and Chase were fighting and then Connor got mad because Dylan yelled at him and all that made his parents even angrier so," she paused for a breath, "Chase promised to buy everyone Happy Meals to make them feel better."

Meg only stared at her, so Bailey thought she should tighten the screws — nothing too cruel, just a little twist. "Oh, I almost forgot why I came in. I just wanted to tell you not to come by after work. Chase and I will be working on the game. I mean, you can come over if you want to, but Chase will be there and I know you don't like leading him on and stuff, so..."

"So."

Meg said nothing more. Bailey shivered. She'd always heard about people acting cold but she'd never actually been on the receiving end of such frost before and she didn't like it. But it was for the best of reasons, and Meg would forgive her.

Eventually.

She hoped.

She glanced over her shoulder again, saw Chase carrying two huge bags of food and decided it would be best if she helped him instead of waited in here. "Bye!" She spread the word over two syllables, waved, and hurried out of the theater before Meg said a word, biting back her smiles all the way home.

When Chase dropped her in front of her grandparents' house, she figured she'd find Gramps in the family room with his newspapers and coffee. Gran would probably be doing the laundry, or in the kitchen, making up some delicious treat. She walked up the porch steps, fished for her key, and heard a car pull into the drive. She turned, watched her mother climb from a hot sports car, a BMW coupe, by the looks of the front end. Bailey had dated a boy who drove one — well, it must have been his parents' car — but it was still pretty cool. He'd taken her to the movies and to dinner and dropped her off. What was his name? With a mental shrug, she decided it didn't matter. He'd never asked her to go out with him again. Stupid jerk.

Nicole climbed out of the passenger seat, her curly blond hair ruthlessly straightened by a Brazilian blowout. She didn't shoot Bailey the warning look, the one that warned her time and again she was to pretend to be Nicole's kid sister, not her daughter. Bailey froze in place. Should she run down and meet her or stay where she was? Her entire routine was now out of step. Nicole smiled brightly, and waved and Bailey instantly knew her mother planned to introduce her to the latest guy.

This was serious. Like Big. Deal. Serious.

Okay. I can do this. She shot back her own bright grin and a waved. "How was your trip?" she asked, slipping into a new routine — that of the loving daughter.