How To Steal A Heart

Grounded?

Chapter thirty-four: Grounded? Really? (Madison's POV)

Jacob and I sat on the couch, showered and cleaned while my mom sat in front of us, glaring while we stared down at the ground. 

"Please explain what the hell happened," she huffed. "One by one, Maddie," she nodded at me. 

"I was going to do my laundry but he was already there doing his so he said we should just do it together. I use that specific detergent and then I reached for it but he took it before I could and he held it up high enough so that I couldn't reach it," I glanced at him.

"Then I knocked the cap off the bottle and grabbed his arm so he would pour a little on top of the clothes but he dropped the whole bottle. Then I grabbed it and he put it away. After that, I asked him why he was using my detergent and I was standing in front of the machine when this happened, so when I took a step back because he um- took one forward, I don't know if I accidentally pressed it with my back or his hand a button but the machine turned on and the lid wouldn't close and it wouldn't turn off and then foam started pouring out because we added way too much detergent, to begin with, and then..." I trailed off with a sigh. 

"Jacob?" she asked. 

"Well, I didn't drop the whole bottle inside on purpose, obviously, it just happened, and I didn't hit any button to turn the machine on, she did. After a while of suffocating in foam, I just pulled the wire out of the outlet and shut the whole thing off completely because there was no other way to turn it off," he shrugged. 

"And why didn't you just let her wait till your laundry was done?" she asked. 

I would like to know the answer to that myself. 

I turned to him, waiting for him to answer. 

"We kind of um- had an argument on our last day in Miami. And she wasn't speaking to me properly, so I thought if she was here to laundry, she wouldn't have any choice but to stay there and talk to me or at least listen to what I have to say," he said while scratching the back of his neck awkwardly before glancing at me. 

My lips parted while I stared at him, dumbfounded while my mom sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

"Well, I now have a broken washing machine and a room full of foam. So, which one of you is helping with what? Maddie, you've lived here your whole life, you could have been a little more careful around the machine," she rolled her eyes at me. 

I am not her favorite child so I wasn't surprised that she was blaming me but it was annoying. 

"I didn't do anything!" I defended myself. 

"Rose, I did corner her against the machine," Jacob admitted. 

"I don't care! You shouldn't have stood that close to the machine," she groaned. 

"Hey!" my dad called out from the kitchen. I glanced at him to see a beer in his hands while he waved, calling me over. I huffed and stood up, walking over to him. "Come on," he pulled me with him to the backyard. He pulled a chair and sat beside the hammock while I sat in it. "Your mother's crazy, you do know that," he sipped his beer. 

"I thought I was her kid, not Jacob," I rolled my eyes. 

"Well sweetheart, you are. But now we've got a broken machine," he sighed. 

"What do you two care about? It's not like you guys use it. You're never here anyway," I shrugged. 

He sighed while turning to me. "You know we try to be, and I sure as hell visit a lot more than your mother does," he gave me a pointed look. I chuckled while listening. "I'll talk to her, you'll be fine," he dismissed. "I'm a little more concerned about what's happening between you and Jacob."