My Heart's in Alabama

25 - Kiersten

After an absolute whirlwind of a night, Sal, Teddy, Bridgette, Whitney and I decide to sleep it off and reconvene in the morning. 8:00 sharp at Peters Paradise underneath the old cherry tree. I barely slept a wink, but I'm dying to hear what everyone else thinks about last night - two certain friends in particular - so I jump out of bed at 7 am and throw on a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt. Mixed with the stale hairspray and smudged eyeliner from the night before, it really makes me look like a mess, but eh, I'll be among friends.
Besides I have more important things to do. Like hound Teddy for answers about him and Bridgette.
I grab my phone and house keys and rush out the door. My one-track mind is so laser focused on Teddy and Bridgette's scandalous secret romance, I don't even notice Matt doing calisthenics in his front yard and run straight past him.
"Hey, Kiersten, wait up!" He calls, running after me.
My eyes bug out of my head when I see the huge purple bruise under his eye. Omg. I got so caught up with Teddy and Bridgette I completely forgot about the other totally insane thing that happened last night. Matt and Hayden's fight! Oh, I hope he's okay. I tried texting him like a million times, but he never answered. So unlike him.
"Matty, your eye," I say and lightly run my thumb over the bruise.
Matt's cheeks flush at my touch. He turns his face away, almost like he's embarrassed, and brushes me off.
"It's no big deal," he says and quickly changes the subject. "Where ya going?"
"Peters Paradise. We're all meeting there at 8:00. Didn't you get Whitney's text? She sent it to the group chat."
Matt shakes his head.
"My dad took my phone."
That explains it.
"Oh," I say in surprise.
I wasn't really expecting Matt to get in trouble for fighting. In all my years in Lake Hutton, I can't recall a single time a fight between two boys ever led to punishment. Boys will be boys and all that. Heck, there's plenty of dads around town that would be proud of their sons for fighting. Mr. Purdy does have a tendency to go against the norm though, so I suppose I should have seen it coming. 
"Is he gonna give it back?"
"I don't know. Maybe."
"All right, well, no big deal," I say and grab his hand. "We gotta hurry though. If we make it before everyone else gets there, maybe we can ask Teddy some questions about Bridgette."
I try pulling him forward, but he's about as mobile as a 10 ton boulder. When I look back at him, he's got his shoulders slumped and a big, disappointed frown on his face.
"I can't go."
"What? Why not?"
"I'm grounded."
"Grounded?"
Once again, I'm surprised. I didn't know parents actually grounded their kids. I thought it was something that only happened on TV.
"Yeah," he says and looks back at his house.
Through the window I can see his dad push himself off the couch and walk towards the front door. Matt sees him too and he lets out a heavy sigh.
"Oh, man," he groans. "He's gonna kill me."
"Why? We're just talking."
"I know, but he..."
Matt pauses and his eyes shift down to his feet. Whatever he has to say next, he's having a real hard time saying it.
"He doesn't want us hanging out."
I'm hit with a mix of disappointment, hurt, and confusion. I wrack my brain trying to figure out what it is I did wrong, but I come up empty. I don't understand. I always thought Mr. Purdy liked me.
"For how long?"
The front door swings open and Mr. Purdy pokes his head out.
"Hey," he says sternly. "If you're done, come get some breakfast."
Matt hangs his head and his shoulders sink even further. Mr. Purdy stares at him impatiently waiting for him to go back inside. Usually, Mr. Purdy smiles and waves when he sees me, but this time, he doesn't even acknowledge me. I know he holds Matt to a high standard, but this seems way over the top. I can't help but wonder if there's something more going on that's making him act this way.
"Sorry, I gotta go," Matt says. "We'll talk at school, okay?"
I tell Matt okay and watch him follow his dad into the house. I stand there on the sidewalk, sad and confused. I'm sure it'll pass. Matt's arguments with his dad always do. But that won't make me miss hanging out with him any less.
I tear my eyes away from the house, knowing that looking at it will make me feel worse. I manage to walk away even though every part of me wants to rush back and beg Mr. Purdy to change his mind. Not much I can do now except ride it out until I see Matt at school on Monday. On the bright side, at least I have Teddy and Bridgette's relationship drama to distract myself.

After some thorough searching, I find Teddy hiding out in the hayloft of the horse barn. He sure didn't make it easy. It's like he's avoiding me or something. Can't imagine why.
"Hey, liar," I say as I plop down next to him into a pile of hay.
"I never lied about nothing."
"Lying by omission is still lying, Theodore."
Teddy rolls his eyes and shakes his head, but he's not fooling me. I can see that little smile on his face.
"Not in my book."
"You're so full of it," I say and give him a nudge on the arm. "What other secrets are you keeping? You got Bridgette hiding under the hay somewhere?"
"Go ahead and look," he says coolly.
I narrow my eyes at him. He seems confident. A little too confident. I don't trust him for a second.
"I think I will."
I start digging through the hay and looking around corners, searching the whole place. Teddy kicks his feet up and chews on a piece of straw while he watches the show. I make it a point to be extra dramatic every time I inspect potential hiding spots for his entertainment. Let me be clear, I was fully kidding and honestly was messing with him. I didn't really think he was hiding Bridgette under a pile of hay. So, you can imagine my surprise when I tossed aside a hay bale and was greeted by Bridgette's baby blues.
My mouth hangs open and I hear Teddy snicker behind me. Bridgette tries to stifle a giggle, but she can't hold it in. Before I know it, they're both cracking up and I'm left there looking dumb yet again.
"Omg, you guys are so sneaky!" I say. "Is this fun for you?"
"Kinda," Bridgette admits with a giggle.
"What if I had been Sal or Whitney? What then?"
"They won't be here for another hour," Bridgette says dismissively and gets up from her hiding spot.
"Yeah, plenty of time to come up with an excuse," Teddy says, grabs Bridgette by the waist and pulls her down into his lap.
Bridgette lets out a happy squeal while Teddy holds her tight. He gives her a squeeze and smiles down at her with the twinkliest twinkle in his eyes. Bridgette snuggles in deeper and gets caught in a fit of giggles looking back up at him.
I observe this bizarre PDA fest with my eyes wide open, practically bursting at the seams. I have to tell someone. I can't NOT talk to someone about this. I mean, this is crazy! I'll never get over it. Not our Teddy getting all lovestruck and giddy. Sal, yes. Whitney, yes. Bridgette, yes. Matt, debatable. But, Teddy? Teddy?? No way.
I can't hold it in any longer. I gotta text Matt. I whip out my phone and my fingers fly over my keyboard typing out an entire novel-length play by play of what I just witnessed. I get so excited to see his reaction, I don't even think before I press send.
I tuck my phone in my pocket and anxiously await his reply. A couple seconds later, my phone pings and I eagerly pull it back out. But it's not Matt. Then, I remember. It can't be Matt. Matt doesn't have his phone. Matt's grounded.
Shoot, I think. This sucks.
Well, guess I better see who it's from. I check my message and I don't know whether it's a blessing or a curse, but it's Whitney. And she's on her way up.
I try to warn Teddy and Bridgette, but it's too late.
"Toodle loo!" I hear her shout in a sing-song voice.
Teddy and Bridgette look at each other in a panic. There's no time for them to untangle. Whit and Sal reach the top of the ladder and poke their heads through the opening to the loft. Just like that, Teddy and Bridgette get caught in each other's arms for the second time in 24 hours. Man, I'd love to hear his excuse for this one.