Underage

[18] Grandmother's House We Go

Underage
[18] Grandmother's House We Go

My mother doesn't trust me to make it on time by myself, even though I'm never alone these days. Ethan has just about moved in. He's even growing himself quite the collection of clothes in my closet. My mother's called three times this afternoon. The first time,, to make sure we knew what time we were supposed to start getting ready. The second time to remind me that I needed to be dressed and that they were on their way. And the third time, when they were in the driveway and making their way inside. I'm tying Ethan's tie when they walk into my room.

"You look so handsome." my mother says with a large smile on her face. She steps forward and undoes the tie I just fixed, and then ties it herself. When she steps back she pats his chest and gives herself a smug smile in the mirror. I tied it the exact same way. Only after Ethan's done does my mom look at me. Her eyes glance at the dress I picked with a frown on her face and a slight downward movement of her eyebrows. She doesn't like it. "Are you sure you want to wear that dress Thea?"

I look at myself in my body mirror leaning up against the wall. I'm wearing a simple blue dress. It has strap and flows down to my knees. I pair it with a simple black heel. It's a perfect dress for this Florida heat.

"What's wrong with this dress, Mother?"

"It makes you look like a box."

"Just the look I was going for."

Ethan wraps an arm around me but I don't look at him. My mother gives me a look and shakes her head. My mother called last night saying she would have to come to my place because she knew we would be late without them, when I know she just wanted to make sure I was wearing something appropriate. Which I'm not. Apparently, we're in the battle of who has the prettier daughter, or granddaughter in Julia's case. A battle no one ever wins.

My mother allows me to drive my car, just so she doesn't have to drive us back.

Ethan lets me drive as I stay right behind my mother's car. The first thing he does is buckle his seat belt. My bad boy needs his seatbelt when I'm driving but when he's driving he laughs at the idea of seatbelts. Ethan places his hand on my leg, slides it up my dress, and snaps the pair of black spandex shorts against my skin. "At least she didn't find these."

"I know."

Julia's grandmother's house is on the opposite side of town. Not long to reach, but there's no easy way to get there. "Pull over," says Ethan.

I look towards him. "Are you crazy? My mom will kill me if we're late."

"I'll handle it. Now, pull over."

I take a deep breath. I have my own home now—there really isn't much my mother can do. She can yell at me, she can be disappointed in me, but I can't get grounded. She can't shorten my curfew, because I don't have one. She can't take away Magnus.

"Oh my god, I forgot to feed Magnus." I pull over onto the side of the road. I see my mom's break lights for a second but she keeps driving, no doubt my father's doing. I put the car in park and turn towards Ethan. "I'm the worst owner ever, I forgot to feed my dog."

Ethan grabs my hands in his. "I fed Magnus"

"Thank God," I say.

"We need to go over some rules," he says. "One, you cannot hit Julia while we're at dinner. Tomorrow, the next day, I don't care, but do not hit her in front of our parents. Two, be nice to her. God knows Everett won't be."

"If Everett gets to be mean, then I want to get to be mean."

"Not in front of our parents."

"Why do you care?" I ask. The jealousy returns with a vengeance. It's boiling in the pit of my stomach and branching throughout my body. A feeling I haven't felt since the Lauren incident. "Why don't you just tell them what she did? That way, we don't have to sit through dinners all summer with her and her grandma. You tell your parents, or if you want something better, tell my parents. We won't have to see her all summer."