Red For Rebellious

Crazy Eyed

“Well should we just leave?”

At the sound of someone else’s voice, Colton and I looked away. Standing in the doorway was one of the boys with the number 3 pinned to his chest. Colton shifted underneath me and it was then that I realized I was sitting on top of him. As if I had sat on a pin, I shot out of his lap and straightened out my shirt.

“Ah yeah, you guys are free to go,” he finally choked out.

The bell rang once again and we were left in silence. Thankfully, the cook came out from behind the kitchen and saved us from any awkwardness.

“I got the regular,” he said setting a try of steaming hot food on the table.

My eyes were glued to Colton as he thanked his friend. His lips looked extra red, and his shirt was all wrinkled in the front from where I had grabbed him.

Breathe.

Breathe I told myself.

Colton sat down at the booth before looking up at me. “You hungry?”

“I have to go.”

The words came out of our mouths at the same time. I bit my lip as he looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “You sure?”

Am I sure? OF COURSE I’M SURE WE JUST MADE OUT AND YOU’RE ACTING LIKE IT’S NO BIG DEAL.

“Yeah, I mean I have stuff, and some other stuff, and my sock so yeah.”

I turned around just as Colton’s hand wrapped around my wrist. He motioned for me to take a seat, and I reluctantly lowered myself down.

“You seem—“

“Weird? Freaked out? Yeah I am, just a little!”

Colton sighed. “Look I though you wa—“

“Just forget the whole thing happened Colton. We can think about it as a friend helping a friend.”

A funny expression crossed his face, and I couldn’t quite tell what he was thinking. Who knew what went on in Colton Jones mind, but I sure didn’t want to.  Before he could reply, I was back on my feet and heading out the door.

“See you tomorrow!” I called back.

Rushing out to my car, I started the engine and was out of the parking lot in less than five seconds. While I drove home, only one thought filtered through my head.

Did I just make out with Colton?

**

The rest of the day went by with a blur and ended with me trying to avoid my parents. It didn’t work out well…

As soon as I walked through the front door my mother and father both appeared from the kitchen with stern faces. “Finally she arrives,” my mother said in a dull tone.

Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for the worst. “Come with us to the table Sutton, we need to talk.”

My father’s voice was firm and demanding, and I tried not to notice how tense the muscles in his shoulders looked as I followed them to the kitchen table. We all sat down slowly; me first and then my mother and father. For some reason, the sound of the clock handing above over kitchen doorway seemed to increase as the silence wavered on longer.

“Sutton, your mother and I were always aware of Melody’s actions. The nights she snuck out, the nights she snuck Mark in: everything. We chose to let he live her life the way she wanted and we hoped that she would learn from her mistakes, but we shouldn’t have let it go one for so long. If we would have grounded her for sneaking out the night before, maybe she wouldn’t have gone out to that party.”