Chapter 35 – Not How It Was Supposed To Be

Adventures of the Melee

Nolan 17, Lissa 17, Ryder 13, Olivia 10

Annabelle 5, Victoria 5, Lucas 3½

Day after Chapter 34

"Where are you two headed?" Amelia inquired with a hint of tension as she encountered Lissa and Nolan on their way out the door with a beach blanket, cooler, and overstuffed bag.

"We're meeting Linnea and Chris down at the pier," Nolan responded with a smile as he hugged Amelia and offered a goodbye.

"Larissa…" Amelia sighed audibly, "are we on different pages here?"

With a perplexed expression, Lissa leaned her head back a touch and made eye contact, "Umm… I don't think so."

"I do think so, my dear," Amelia grumbled. "Do you have the apology letter written? I haven't seen it."

Nolan let out a big breath of air and sat down on the cooler. What the hell? We should have left 15 minutes sooner, he thought as he did his best to remain quiet while the two women sorted out the situation.

"No, I thought…last night, when you came home, you said all bets were off. That I wasn't grounded anymore," Lissa explained as she wondered what had happened to Amelia's memory.

"Correct. I did. You're not grounded anymore and you have your screens back. I'm pretty sure those were the only consequences I relaxed," Amelia clarified as her lips moved to the side of her face. She wasn't angry, but was simply as confused as Lissa. Thinking she'd been clear, Amelia expected the apology letter to be written before Lissa's grounding was lifted.

"Mom, I was right there. You didn't point it out like that," Nolan interjected only to be met with a steely blue-eyed stare from his mother.

"Amma…honestly, I'm not following," Lissa sputtered. "So I'm still grounded or …?"

Amelia ran her hands over her hair and held her hair up. "Let's start again. Last night, I told you that you were no longer grounded and that you could have screens back. I don't recall saying anything about the 10:30 curfew change or about the letter to your mom."

"She's not my mom," Larissa declared flatly. "She's the woman who gave birth to me, promised to protect me, and stood by while I was beaten and nearly killed."

"I'm sorry, Liss. Let's set that topic aside and resolve the crossed wires about curfew and letter. To be clear, those are both still in place. I realize I could have been more explicit. My thought, that wasn't shared well, was that you'd no longer be grounded once the letter was written," Amelia humbly stated.

"C'mon, Mom! Are you saying we can't go?" Nolan responded with a slightly raised voice full of frustration.

Finishing his tie, Owen interrupted sternly as he reached the bottom of the stairs, "What seems to be the problem, Nolan?"

"I've got this, O," Amelia sighed with exhaustion as she put her hand in the air. Owen stood next to Amelia and put his arm around her to show his support.

"I realize I wasn't clear and I'm willing to be flexible. Liss, I'll give you two options: one, you stay home until I've seen the letter and then you can be out with your friends until dinner, or, two, you write the letter while you're at the pier and come home by 4:00 with the letter completed."

With glazed eyes, Lissa tried to keep calm. Looking at Nolan, she stated, "You're call. I don't care."

Nolan stood up and hurriedly declared, "We'll take Door Number Two." Then, he urged Lissa, "Let's go, Shorty." Without pause, Lissa and Nolan headed out the door.

"Fine," Amelia nodded. The young couple climbed into the Jeep as Amelia advised quietly, "Be safe."

Owen, still not completely clear on what had just occurred, kissed Amelia's forehead and mumbled, "Teenagers…"

After walking to the kitchen and pouring himself some coffee, Owen noticed that Amelia was still unshowered and in her robe. He inquired, "I thought you were going in with me so you could be with Ree."

Distracted and tired, Amelia slowly uttered, "I am… yeah… I'll go get ready." Pausing after a few steps, she turned toward her husband and quizzically wondered, "Who's with her now?"

"Karev booted me out the door about three hours ago and insisted he'd stay beside her until you arrived," Owen grinned. "Don't let him know I'm onto him, but he really does have a tender and caring heart."

Chuckling, Amelia added, "He's just a big softy with a thick layer of outer bravado."

Meanwhile, in an upstairs bathroom, Olivia was yelling ferociously at her little sister, Anna, "You stupid brat! These aren't toys! Now my hair is going to be a disaster all day because you used up my serum and detangler."

"But look at my hair, Livie. It's pretty like yours," Anna proudly announced.

Olivia growled and screamed, "Your hair looks greasy and sticky. It's ugly and stupid, Anna. And you're a sneaky, no good criminal."

With an enormous sigh, Amelia dragged herself toward the girls, moaning, "What's the problem, ladies?"

Without skipping a beat, Olivia began her litany that summarized how Anna had intentionally plotted to ruin Olivia's day by emptying the bottles of anti-frizz serum and detangler.

After attempting three times to interrupt Olivia's tirade, Amelia uncharacteristically bellowed, "Enough!" Shocked, Anna's little product-laden head leaned back in fear as her normally gentle Mama blew up.

Olivia, undeterred by Amelia's frustration, attempted to resume her complaints. "…And, Mom, she wasted it all."

"Olivia Elise," Amelia growled. "I said enough. Go to your room, please."

"I'm not the one who did something wrong, why are you picking on me?" Olivia yelled back.

"Just go… step away, Olivia," Amelia simmered. Turning toward the stairs, Amelia beckoned for Owen.

He responded, "What's up?"

"I need your help up here, please," Amelia nearly begged. The exhaustion of not having slept in two days coupled with the stress of her little girl being hospitalized was wearing Amelia down.

Amelia frowned toward Anna and sighed, "Oh, little one, what have you done?" She cupped her hand gently under Annabelle's chin and tried to run her fingers through her daughter's gooey, unbrushed hair.

"I made my hair pretty like a big girl, Mama," Anna explained with wide blue eyes and a gentle smirk.

Leaning down to Anna's level, Amelia prepared to describe why Anna had made some unwise choices. As she reached the floor, she lost her balance and ended up on her rear. Leaning her head against the bathroom wall, Amelia began to cry for no particular reason.

Owen internally accepted that he'd be late to work when he walked into the scene of Anna's Medusa hair, hair product strewn all over the counter, and a wife in tears. Shedding his suitcoat and setting it on the floor in the hallway, Owen rolled up his sleeves and loosened his tie. Putting together that the messy gels and liquids on the counter were likely the same ones in Anna's hair, Owen walked over to start the shower.

Then, with supreme gentleness, Owen gazed at Amelia and whispered, "Mia…why don't you go rest. You're exhausted."

Through her tears, Amelia countered, "But I want to see Victoria."

"You will," Owen promised. "Go grab a catnap until we leave." He grasped her head in his hand and kissed her before suggesting, "Let me take care of this."

Wiping her eyes as she stood up, she began to summarize what she'd learned about the hair gel drama. Owen shh'd her and reassured her that he'd sort it all out. She mumbled something about trying dish soap on Anna's hair and then fell onto her bed.

Ryder, no different in the morning at 13 than he was at 7, came sleepily strolling into the bathroom with his hair pointed in myriad directions. Yawning, he grumbled, "What's going on? I was trying to sleep."

"Time to wake up, I suppose. Sorry, Ry," Owen responded as he instructed Anna to stand still in the shower while he tried to reach in and wash her hair.

"What happened in here?" Ryder asked as he picked up a brush dripping with gel and looked at the mirror covered in detangler.

From the shower, Anna, still not clear that she'd crossed any lines, proudly announced, "I did my hair so I could be pretty like Livie."

Ryder laughed boisterously, thinking to himself that he wasn't sure which part was funnier: that Anna had covered herself and the bathroom in hair product or that she aspired to look like Olivia.

From her bedroom, Olivia bellowed, "Excuse me. I'm the one who did not do something wrong who was sent to her room and I'm still in here."

Owen shook his head in the direction of Olivia's voice and looked beseechingly at Ryder. He begged, "Will you go tell her to head downstairs and fix herself some breakfast?" With a shrug, Ryder agreed.

He opened Olivia's door without a knock and instructed, "Drama Queen with the bad hair, Dad says to get your ass downstairs and feed yourself."

"That's not how he said it, Ryder," Olivia sassed.

Attempting to intimidate his little sister, Ryder stood in the doorway and blocked Olivia's route. "Don't sass me," he growled.

Without success, Olivia tried to push her brother aside and retorted, "Don't boss me around, you idiot."

"How's it going down there?" Owen called out as he wrapped Anna in a towel and realized her hair was still a sticky disaster.

"Fine, Dad," Ryder lied, not knowing Owen had heard every word of the interchange.

"Doesn't sound fine," Owen observed from afar.

"Daddy!" Olivia whined loudly, "Ryder won't let me out of my room. He's being a bully and cussing."

"Ryder, please," Owen begged.

"She's full of it, Dad," Ryder lied again.

After throwing a surprise punch to Ryder's groin, Olivia escaped and ran downstairs. Ryder doubled over in surprise and pain, yelling, "You little bitch. You are so dead."

Owen sighed, noted how wet his dress shirt and slacks were, and picked up Anna. Walking to the stairs and using his best Army voice, Owen ordered, "Ryder. Stay upstairs. Olivia. Stay down there."

Sleepily, Amelia came out of the bedroom and inquired, "I thought you wanted me to sleep. It sounds like there's a party out here."

"More like a bar fight," Owen grimaced. "Go back to bed, Mia. I'll get a handle on all this as soon as I can."

In the fetal position and tearing up on the hallway floor, Ryder grumbled, "Are you gonna let her get away with that? She punched me in the nuts, Dad."

"Roll onto your back, it'll help," Owen advised as he winced in sympathy. "Guy to guy, I'd never say you deserved it, but we both have to admit that you were taunting her."

"Dad, my sister basically touched my junk. That's disgusting enough. Then she maimed me," Ryder whined.

Trying not to laugh at Ryder's overstatement, Owen silently took stock and listed the kids one by one, Nolan and Lissa are out, Ree's at the hospital, Ryder's right here, Olivia – downstairs, Lucas – asleep, Anna, right here dripping wet. Owen responded to his son, "I'll deal with Olivia later, Ry. Right now, I need to take care of Anna."