Dark Night

Confrontation

"Grandpa! What are you doing here?" I asked, ripping off a piece of paper to use as a bookmark.

"I've come to sort out this mess, Punkin," he said, then got up and held out his arms. I went in for the hug, feeling relieved.

"How'd you know where to find me?"

"Well, your mom said you hadn't been home, so it was here or the skatepark. If not here, then I wasn't sure, though, so I was glad to find you. So what are you studying, and are you at a point where you can close up shop for the night?"

"The origins of World War I, and yeah, I guess I can stop now." I wasn't really looking forward to going to the condo, but I was going to have to face the music some time and at least Grandpa would be fair. I slowly gathered my things and found my library card. Grandpa picked up my backpack for me and we went to the recently updated self-checkout stations. Checkout complete, I waited for the receipt to print.

"Hey, Delia." I looked up to see John smiling at me. I smiled back reflexively. "Have you seen Paul anywhere?" I looked around and spotted him coming out of the bathroom, pausing by the water fountain, and nodded in that direction. John looked. "Oh, good. I want to go home and put my feet up. Hey, are you ok? You didn't look good in class and you're still looking kind of pale."

"Thanks for asking, I think I'm getting a cold." And I might be, I realized suddenly. My sinuses hurt and so did my throat. "I can't remember. Have you met my grandpa?" I performed the introductions, including Paul when he pelted up.

"You didn't say your grandpa would be back so soon," Paul said, and I cursed his observant nature.

"I thought I'd surprise my sweet girl," Grandpa said, and we all took our leave. "Those kids seemed nice," he said as we drove to the condo.

"John's in pre-calc with me now too. We did a great presentation on Madagascar earlier this month," I said. "Paul's a funny kid. Taught me the basics of skateboarding."

"And how are you feeling, punkin? Because John was right, you don't look good. Is it just the upset?"

"I don't know. I just feel lousy all over. And tired. If there's going to be a big scene, I'd like to get it over with because I'm fading fast."

"Your parents are worried about you, Delia," Grandpa said quietly as he turned into the parking lot. I snorted. Then had to swallow the snot in my throat. "I know you're not feeling loved right now, but they do."

I ignored that and clicked off the safety belt, heaving myself out of the car and around to the trunk, where I grabbed my stuff before shuffling behind Grandpa to the condo. I automatically put my board and gear in the hall closet neatly, shrugging off my windbreaker and hanging it up. Then, out of delaying tactics, I turned to face the group in the living room.

"I'm going to be mediating, punkin, so come in and sit down," Grandpa said. I bit back a sigh and brought in a chair from the kitchen table. The only room was on the sofa between the parents, and just... no. "So the situation is this. Delia found out that Jane had taken money from her college account without her knowledge or consent and this was to pay medical bills for Stan that insurance didn't cover. Delia had a confrontation with you and left, forgetting her phone, getting back just before the curfew, where there was another confrontation, and Delia went to bed, then was gone before anybody else woke up. A call to her school revealed that she was in attendance today, and I found her at the library, studying. That's the general outline, right?" Nods all around.

"I can't believe you'd begrudge me medical care, Del," the skater burst out.

"If it was a lifesaving emergency surgery, maybe not," I said curtly, my lip drawing back over my teeth. "But it wasn't. It was elective, and it's not my fault that it's not covered by insurance. I wasn't even asked. It was just taken from me, and I'm tired of everybody in this family thinking that you walk on water, boy wonder. You want to run through the money Grandma left you, that's not my business. But you don't get mine too."