BAMBI

XI

My hands gripped the steering wheel while I contemplated just pulling right back out of the driveway and taking off. But I knew that would only bring suspicion to Janet since she was unaware of the reason why my parents were even there.

"Oh look, your parents are here." Janet said as she pointed to the back of their SUV, "They probably just want to make sure everything's alright. I kinda called them last night." A faint chuckle escaped her lips as I peered at her for all the drama she unknowingly caused.

"Yeah, I know. Don't ever do that again please."

"Why?"

"Look, I can't really get into it right now, but my parents are here because they're pissed off at me."

"Well, I'll just explain everything to them. Don't worry." She shrugged her shoulders like she thought she could repair the damage that had been made.

"I think maybe you should just go home, I'll talk to them. It doesn't have to do with you, so I don't want to drag you into this mess."

"No, I want to stay." After going back and forth for a while in my parked car, I realized she was too persistent and I wasn't going to win this battle. Janet's reluctance to leave just made my heart beat out of my chest even more.

I drew in a deep breath to try and calm my nerves as I took one last look at Janet's unknowing face. I just hoped she would be ok and wouldn't go off and get high or something when this was all over with.

We got out of my car and approached my parents SUV. When I walked up to the drivers side window, I was met with two stone faces that couldn't even bother making eye contact with me. I knocked on the window, prompting my dad to roll it down just enough to say, "We'll be in in a minute."

He quickly rolled it back up, leaving me to stare at his face through the glass. I was finally going to have to tough it out and go face to face with the web of lies and deceitful ways that have tangled up my morality.

Janet and I walked into the house, "J, are you sure you wanna stay? Honestly, I'd rather you just leave this up to me. I need to fight my own battles." I tried one last attempt to get her to leave my house.

"No, I wanna be here to back you up. I know how your parents can be." I had a feeling she was just trying to make up for everything that happened between us.

My mom and dad soon walked in with stern looks on their faces as my nerves started to unravel in the midst their presence. "Hello Janet." My mom said pleasantly, bringing her in for a courteous hug. My dad ignored the both of us and collapsed down onto the couch with a pissed off look on his face.

My mom didn't say anything to me, but only looked at me briefly. And in that brief moment my desperate eyes pleaded with her not to say anything in front of Janet. I just couldn't hurt her that way, she was too unstable.

Her attention turned back to Janet, "I'm sorry to even ask you this, but we need to talk to Vivian in private, would you mind leaving?"

Janet's face looked confused as she stammered for words, "Uh...ok." There was no way she would deny my mom's request to leave. So Janet walked over to me and gave me a peck on the lips. When I looked at her as our faces parted, I could tell her eyes were so desperate to know what was going on. "I'll talk to you later, ok?" I gave a reassuring nod and smile as I tried to hide my own nervousness.