"This is so boring," Lexi complained as she stared at the TV screen. They were sprawled out in the den at Cassidy's house, currently watching the second Saw movie in their Sawathon. Lexi had been fidgety during the first movie, and had now moved onto openly complaining during the second one.
"I thought you wanted to have a Saw marathon," Cassidy reminded her. "You said it'd be fun to watch all of them in one night."
"Yeah, I thought it'd be fun. But I've seen them twenty times already. I could quote them all by heart." She grabbed a slice of pizza and picked off the mushrooms and olives, eating the vegetables as she gestured to the screen. "See, right now Jigsaw's gonna introduce himself as John. And in a moment he's going to say the press and cops gave him the name Jigsaw, not him."
"Maybe someone's having a party or something," Cassidy said as she picked up her cell phone and scrolled through her FaceBook page. "Ug, Stacy's again saying I have to be into girls cause I play lacrosse. And…" Cassidy suspiciously trailed off as she lowered her arm.
"What?" Lexi asked.
"Nothing. She just said something about you."
Before she could do anything Lexi grabbed Cassidy's phone out of her hand. Her frown deepened as she read what was on the screen. "That bitch."
"Ignore her Lex. She's just trying to piss you off."
"I'm saying something to her Monday. If she thinks she can call me an 'orphan in waiting' and not get away with it, that bitch is in for a shock. Why are you even friends with her on FaceBook anyway? She's been a bitch ever since middle school."
"Know thy enemy. Besides, it's FaceBook. It doesn't mean I care about her. I'm friends with people on there I've never even met," Cassidy explained.
Lexi looked back at the screen as the Saw characters discovered the used needle pit. "I don't know why we're watching this; we already know how it ends. The house is on tape, the kid's in the safe, and she's Jigsaw's secret apprentice."
The DVD menu suddenly came on as Cassidy turned off the movie. "Okay, this isn't fun anymore. If you're just going to complain the whole time, then let's do something else. What do you want to do Miss Complaining?"
"I don't know, but not this. Who can have fun watching a bunch of movies in a row anyway?"
"I can," Cassidy quietly said to herself. The two girls sat in silence before Cassidy suddenly chuckled. "Hey, do you remember that day during Christmas break, when we were at Sasha's house and her brother got us that bottle of cinnamon schnapps, and the three of us drank it and tried ice skating in our shoes on that lake behind their house?"
"And then when we came back Sasha's mom smelled the alcohol on us," Lexi responded with a smile. "And I said 'we're not drunk' before throwing up all over their sheepdog. And then the dog jumped on Sasha's mom and got puke all over her." She barely finished the story as the two girls laughed hysterically, not caring that Cassidy's parents were asleep upstairs.
"Oh my God, that was such a fun night, even if we got in so much trouble," Cassidy said.
"My mom was so mad," Lexi stated. "She didn't let me leave the house for the rest of the break." Lexi's laughter slowly morphed into sad chuckling as the memory of her mother washed over her.
"Lexi…"
"Screw this," she said as she got off the couch. "I want to get out of here. Let's go for a walk."
"Okay," Cassidy said uncertainly as she followed her friend upstairs to the living room. She frowned as Lexi made her way to the liquor cabinet and opened it. "What are you doing?"
"Just taking a little something for the road."
"Lexi, I don't think we should-."
"Come on Cassie. Your parents have tons of stuff and they hardly ever drink, they'll never notice anything. We'll fill up a water bottle, even out the liquor with some water, and we're good."
Cassidy fidgeted uncomfortably before nodding her head in agreement. The two girls found a large empty water bottle and filled it with raspberry vodka and Jagermeister. They put some water in the liquor bottles to make it look like nothing had been taken before the girls set off into the night.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"So I put my hands up, they're playing my song, the butterflies fly away! I'm nodding my head like 'Yeah!' Moving my hips like 'Yeah!' Yeah I got my hands up, they're playing my song, and now I'm gonna be okay! Yeah! It's a party in the USA! Yeah! It's a party in the USA!" the girls screamed as they drunkenly swayed in the middle of the street. "Miley Cyrus may be a nut job, but I LOVE that song!" Lexi yelled.
"It's great, it's great," Cassidy giggled as she took a swig from the bottle and passed it to Lexi. "Where are we anyway? I don't recognize any of these houses."
"Who cares! We're young and should enjoy life, 'cause it can end at any moment. Just ask my mother," she said darkly as she took a long drink of their alcohol concoction. "She was completely fine, and then one day out of nowhere, she wasn't."
"I know, it's terrible," Cassidy sadly slurred as she gripped onto Lexi's arm. She pulled Lexi down as they fell onto the ground, struggling before they managed to sit up on the curb. "She was a good person."
"Yeah, she was," Lexi said. "Except for the part about lying to me about my dad for all these years. That part sucks." She paused as she took another drink from the bottle, dripping some of the liquid down her chin. "And I can't even be mad at her, because she's dead. If she was alive I could yell at her and demand answers for what she did. But because she's gone, it's like I have to be okay with it, 'cause it's terrible if I'm pissed at someone who's dead."
"I think it's okay to be mad at her," Cassidy slurred as she clumsily took the bottle and drank from it. "It's not like you don't love her. You're just mad at something she did. And it's not like your mom died with that secret. She made sure in the end you could still meet your dad. And you're with him now."
"Yeah. Except it's not just me and my dad. That pocket princess had to come included also. Do you know what it's like to see your dad shacked up with a woman young enough to be my older sister? She's not even ten years older than me. It's disgusting."
"She didn't seem that bad," Cassidy said softly.
"You only met her for two seconds Cass. She's the worst. 'Lexi, turn down your music. Make sure you're doing your homework Lexi. If you want to talk about anything I'm here. I don't like it when you express yourself with creative artwork Lexi, take it down from my door'. Who the hell does she think she is? She's not my mom and she thinks she's entitled to tell me what to do.
"I bet she's just with my dad because she wanted to piss off her parents by dating someone way older than her," Lexi reasoned. "She's probably never had a care in the world, and never had anything bad happen to her in her life. She's a pampered little princess who's just had everything handed to her. She doesn't know what real pain is, or what it's like to not have someone in your life anymore. She'll never understand me at all. She's…just a nuisance who's trying to control my life.
"Cassie." She looked over at her friend, seeing Cassidy passed out drunk against her shoulder. She thought about waking her up so they could try and find their way back, but instead sat there and finished up the rest of the bottle. She looked up at the night sky, wondering if her mother was up there looking down at her, before she hung her head down and closed her eyes.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Annie slowly opened her eyes, feeling the sunlight from the bedroom window on her face. She was a little sore, but it was a good kind of sore. The kind where you first wonder, 'why do my muscles ache', before you smile at remembering the bedroom antics that made them sore.
She stretched underneath the covers as she felt Jeff stir beside her. "Morning."
"Good morning," she responded with a smile. "When we get a house we're having sex in every room the first night."
"I'm sure Lexi will be more than willing to vacate her room for the cause," he said with a laugh.
"Ew. Okay, almost, every room. But when we do get a house we're having sex in the kitchen, and the bathroom, and our bedroom, and the living room-."
"So basically it'll be last night, but in a house instead of an apartment?"
She groaned good naturally as she got out of bed and put on her robe. "I feel like French toast for breakfast. I know how you feel about carbs, but you know how well I make it."
"Tempting, but I don't want these to go to waste," he gestured to his abs as he pulled on a pair of boxer briefs.
"After our workout last night, I think you can afford a decent breakfast that's not black coffee and egg whites."
"Fine, I'll have half a piece. Happy?"
"Ecstatic," she said as she kissed him before making her way into the kitchen. "Do you know when Lexi said she'd be back? Because I'll make some for her if she's going to be around for breakfast."
"I don't know, let me check." Jeff pulled out his phone, but frowned when he saw there was a message from an hour ago. He played the voice main, hearing an unfamiliar male voice.
Mr. Winger. This is Marcus Sawyer, Cassidy Sawyer's father. I was given your number by your daughter, who is friends with my daughter. My wife and I woke up this morning to find both girls were gone and had to go out searching for them. It would be best if you came over to collect her in person. We live on 21 Cameron Street in Cheery Creek. I also have to warn you that there are some things we need to discuss…"
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"What the hell were you thinking?" Jeff asked his daughter. "What made you think it would be a good idea to steal liquor and go off wandering around all night?"
Lexi groaned as she sat in the living room, rubbing her temples. It was bad enough being yelled at by Cassidy's parents. But being chewed out by her dad while she had a hangover was much worse.
"It wasn't that big a deal," she meekly said.
"Yes, a sixteen year old wandering around drunk is a very big deal," Jeff sternly said.
"You could have been hurt Lexi," Annie said. "You could have gotten into an accident, or God forbid someone could have found you and taken advantage of you in that state."
Lexi glared at Annie, not appreciating being lectured by someone who wasn't that long ago a high school student herself. "I'm fine, all right."
"Well, you're going to have a lot of time to be fine, because you're stuck here for the rest of the weekend," Jeff told her. "Until Monday morning you're only leaving here if there's a fire."
"And I don't think it's a good idea for you to be hanging out with this Cassidy," Annie added.
"She's been my best friend since 2nd grade, and I've only known you for a few weeks," Lexi said as she rose from her seat, her anger temporarily numbing her hangover. "What the hell gives you the right to tell me who I can or can't be friends with?"
"Okay, alright," Jeff said as he got between the two women. "Lexi, why don't you go to your bedroom? Now," he added with a tone of finality. He waited until Lexi stomped to her room and slammed the door shut (which caused the doll poster to shake ominously) before turning towards his fiancé. "Was that really necessary? Trying to tell her she can't see her friend."
"Jeff, she got liquor from the girl's house. And her parents had no idea they were out all night drunk."
"Yeah, that wasn't good. But come on, I know for a fact you were drinking at 19. Or am I remembering Troy's birthday wrong?"
"Jeff, there's a big difference between having a few drinks with friends in college, and stumbling around drunk in the dead of night when you're still in high school," she said sternly.
"I just think you're being a bit harsh. I actually do agree with her. We don't have a right to tell her who she can't hang out with. I can see why she was mad at us about that one."
Annie sighed deeply, feeling her anger rise closer to the surface. "She wasn't mad at you. She was mad at me."
"Can we not do this right now," Jeff angrily said. "I know she's treated you badly, but don't act all put upon. It's not like she's not pissed at me also."
"I'm not acting all….I'm just saying I'm not going to roll over and let her walk all over me."
"Yeah, but you have to know where to draw the line. It's not like you're her mother."
"I know I'm not her mother!" Annie screamed. "She reminds me of that every God damn day. But I'm still responsible for her. And maybe if you had shown a little responsibility instead of just being her friend this never would have happened!"
"Where the hell do you get off questioning my parenting?" Jeff yelled at her. "I'm learning as I go along! And considering I could have split like my father did when I found out I had a kid, I think I'm doing a damn fine job! And maybe she does have a point! What right do you have to always boss her around when you're not even her parent!"
While he was still mad, Jeff instantly regretted what he just said. Especially when he saw the look of pain in her eyes from his words. He expected her to yell or cry or say something. But instead she turned around and walked out of the apartment before he could say anything.
"Shit."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Jeff paced through the living room, not sure what to do. It had been fourteen minutes since Annie had walked out and he was at a loss. Should he go after her, or stay here and give her space? A part of him wished Lexi would come out of her room so he could have something else to focus on. But she was staying put, and he didn't have the energy to initiate anything with her on his own right now.
Screw it, I can't wait here, he thought. He grabbed his keys and opened the front door, only to find Annie sitting in the hallway, leaning against the wall. "I thought you left?"
"I did, this is me leaving," she said simply.
"Mind if I join you?" Before she could respond Jeff slid down and sat next to her. "I'm sorry for what I said back there. I was angry and it was way over the line." He waited for her to say something, but she just continued to stare into space. "Annie…"
"Jeff, I know you're that girl's father. And I know I'm not her mother or anything like that. But I care about her. And I want to be there for her. Even if she hates me."
"She doesn't hate you Annie. She just doesn't know how you fit into her life."
"Well, where do I fit into her life?" Annie genuinely asked. "I know I'm not her mother, and I would never even try to pretend I am. But you're her father, and in two months I'm going to be your wife. So I'm asking you, what role am I supposed to have in your daughter's life?"
Jeff paused for several moments, wishing he had a clear concrete answer. "I…I don't know exactly. I guess, right now, you're someone who cares about her, and will be there for her when she needs things she might not be able to get from her father."
"I'm sorry for what I said before," Annie told Jeff as she looked at him. "I know you're doing your best, and it's not easy to be someone she can have fun with and someone who has to discipline her. We both have fathers who sucked, and you're nothing like them."
"And you're nothing like your mother. I admire you for continually being there for her even after everything she says to you, especially since she's not your child. You're a good mother."
"Jeff, I'm not Lexi's mother.
"No, but being there for her like that, that's very mother like behavior. And someday she's going to realize just how lucky she is to have you in her life."
I hope so, Annie thought with uncertainly.
