Cinders

~20~ Basketball

The rest of the day I spend in my room. I came out once, trying to see if dad would let me watch the game with him, but no dice.

"Go back to your room, Liam," he said in a tired voice.

He really made me stay in my room until dinner. When dinner got here, he turned off the TV, and we ate at the table. We never eat at the table—We ALWAYS watch TV while we eat.

"You're gonna have to start behaving, bud. It feels like I'm grounded too. This sucks," he says, pushing his rice around his bowl.

"You don't have to enforce it. I like our old arrangement," I say, taking a bite of my quesadilla.

"Yeah, well you weren't that far off at the precinct. I AM afraid of your mom," he says with a goofy smile. "I don't wanna get in trouble again—I don't understand how someone so short and tiny can be so loud. Maybe I'll be able to tweak things later on, but for now, I've got to try it mom's way."

I go back to my room once dinner's over, and I stay there until morning.

~*~

When I come out of my room, ready for school, I hear dad on the phone. He's talking in a hushed tone.

"Shit. Do nothing until I get there," he says as he slams his phone back into his pocket. He sees me then and schools his face from stressed, to a smile. "Morning bud. You ready to go?"

I nod, slinging my book bag over my shoulder as we walk to the car. "Who was that?" I ask. Dad is really tense and on edge.

He sighs. "My case is going sideways; It might be a long night. I'm gonna call mom and see if she can keep you at the station until I get off."

As we're driving, he calls mom. Mom agrees, and said she'll pick me up after school. I'm not sure how that'll work since she's working, but that's not my problem.

School was boring. My friends that were with me the other night are all grounded; They all got in huge trouble. I don't know if they all got in the same kind of trouble I did, though. That's definitely not something you talk about with your friends. At least it's not just me that's grounded and missing out—Silver lining, I guess.

Brooklyn's in History, looking beautiful. I haven't talked to her much, because Aria is still on the warpath. I'm trying to let the dust settle for a while—I don't want Brooklyn to be subjected to Aria. I smiled at her though, and she smiles shyly back at me.

When I get out of school and look around the parking lot, I'm not seeing mom anywhere. Great: She forgot. Suddenly I see Taylor in the Chief's car. I'm nervous to talk to him—I haven't seen him since the other day.

I get in the car and shut the door, looking at him carefully. He's got a big smile on his face.

"Hey Liam!" He says, not sounding mad at all.

"Is mom ok?" I ask. Mom not being here to pick me up, while on shift, scares me. Is something wrong? Is she hurt? The terror it sends me is paralyzing.

Taylor understands immediately. "Yeah, sorry—She's fine. Ambulance and truck had a call, so Chief asked me to pick you up."

The flood of relief washing over me is intense.

The drive is quiet at first; I don't know what to say. Finally Taylor breaks the silence. "How ya feeling?"

"I'm fine now—Your belt is wicked, though. Thanks for giving mom another option to torture me with."

He laughs, hard. "Yeah, it does suck, doesn't it? I was on the receiving end of my dad's belt many times. I almost felt sorry for you there at the end. Ouch!"