DutchessTiki- Yeah, I had to hit y'all with a cliffhanger, since I hadn't had one yet lol. And honestly this chapter isn't anything compared to the next two. It's just starting to get good though if you ask me, but I hope you enjoy this chapter still!
Chapter Ten: Free at last
"Who dropped you off?" I heard Eli ask the second my feet touched down inside of the house.
"Here we go." I mumbled under my breath as I pulled the screen door shut, and looked up to see him getting up from the couch. Judging by the blanket and pillow laid out on the sofa, it looked like he had been camping out in the living room the past couple of nights.
"Mama put you out?" I facetiously asked with a half smirk, as I took my shoes off, and picked them up, so I didn't track mud through the house. Eli brushed past me, damn near knocking me over, to look outside the door, before turning to look at me.
"Answer my question, Elise. Who dropped you off?" He repeated, shutting, and locking the front door. I just sighed.
"Gemma Teller… One of my white trash friends." I shot back, mockingly.
"So that's where you were all weekend? With that motorcycle gang?" I turned around at the sound of mama's voice, to see her standing in the foyer, with her hands on her hips, and a scowl on her face. I could tell she was upset, and I didn't find amusement in pissing her off the way I did with Eli, so I pulled myself together and became serious.
"Yes ma'am. Gemma threw a birthday dinner for me Friday night, then I ended up staying the night with her daughter, and working on this English assignment we got partnered up on." I only half explained.
"Oh, well I'm glad to hear you had fun considering you were supposed to be helping me out at the shop!" Mama hurled back, sounding more hurt than angry, which made me feel bad.
"Well I would've shown up if I could stand to be around your husband without every conversation we have, turning into an argument! And I was going to call you, to see if you could pick me up when I was walking, but I left my phone in your husband's car."
"You got one more time to address me as anything other than dad, Elise! I mean it!" Eli cut in, and I swept my gaze over to him, shooting him a daring look.
"Mama, can you tell your husband that I wasn't talking to him?" I raised an eyebrow at Eli who was now fuming.
"You know what?!" He boomed, walking towards me, but stopping when mama moved in front of him, blocking his path.
"You two cut it out!" Mama shouted, but I wasn't going backing down.
"Nah forget all that! What are you gonna do pops?! Beat me? Try to break my wrist again or what?" I challenged, and mama looked between the two of us in confusion.
"Again? What's she talking about Eli?" She asked, and he looked just as confused as she was.
"Oh you don't know? Well let me jog your memory." I spoke up, holding up my wrist that was still bruised but only slightly, and causing mama to gasp.
"Eli! When did that happen?!" She asked, and he just stood there shaking his head, obviously clueless.
"It happened when I tried to get out of the car. He grabbed my wrist, and squeezed so tight that it left a bruise, and swelled up pretty bad.
It's not half as bad as it was on Friday, but it's still a little sore." I explained, trying, and succeeding in my attempt to gain sympathy from my mom, to take some of the heat off of my back.
"That true, Eli?"
"Oh come on, Rita! Don't tell me you're falling for this girl's bullshit. She's trying to turn this around on me, and you're really going along with it!"
"I asked a question! Did you or did you not leave that bruise on my daughter's wrist?!" Mama's usually sweet voice echoed throughout the house like thunder, causing me to jump, as I couldn't recall her ever getting that loud before.
"If I did, I don't remember! I was probably too heated to realize what I was doing!"
"Which is exactly why you should've kept your hands to yourself to begin with! You don't know what the hell you're capable of doing when you're angry! I guess I'd be in the wrong if I slapped you upside the head out of anger though wouldn't I?!"
"Okay first of all calm down! It was an accident! And second of all it's just a damn bruise! I think she'll live."
"No you don't get to accidentally cause harm to my daughter. I don't care how mad you are, Eli! You know what? I've tried to stand back and let you do as you saw fit as far as keeping her in line, but you really crossed the line this time! From now on I think we'd all be better off if you let me deal with her."
"You? By yourself?" He scoffed. "Good luck with that! You think you can do a better job of keeping her in check than me? Go ahead! But don't ask for my help when she gets out of control, and you don't know what to do with her! She's your problem now Rita!" He glared between mama and me, before storming off, bumping shoulders with me in the process.
Mama waited until he left, before walking up to me, and lifting my hair away from my neck. At first I wondered why, but then I remembered… The damn hickey!
"Yeah, I knew I wasn't seeing things. You better be glad your dad didn't see that."
"Mama-" I started to explain, but stopped when she held up a hand.
"Go get ready for school tomorrow. I'll be up in a bit. You'll tell me about it then, but right now I need to deal with your father." She cut me off, and walked past me to go confront her husband.
I blew out a sigh of relief, thinking that whole thing wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Then I trotted upstairs to my room, so I could unwind.
I did my nightly hygiene ritual, flat ironed my hair, wrapped it up, and set out an outfit for school. Then I made my way over to my desk, to go over my English assignment one last time, and once that was done, I put my laptop in my book bag, that had obviously been thrown in my room by Eli last Friday. It had been three hours since I got home around seven something, and the time was now fifteen to eleven.
It was now going on nine, almost two hours after I got home, and I was laying in bed, writing in my journal about the weekend I had, when I felt a presence in my room. I looked up to see mama leaning on my doorframe with her arms folded over her chest.
"Got your husband all tucked in on the couch?" I poked fun, only for mama to remain stony-faced.
"I'm not amused, Elise. I'm waiting for you to explain why you're coming in my house with hickies on your neck!" She demanded, and I shut my journal and sat up.
"I mean there isn't much to explain. It's the result of a kiss that went too far. Nothing more."
"Too far as in you had sex too far?" She asked and I looked at her like she was crazy for even thinking that.
"What? No! I'm not dumb enough to lose my virginity to someone I barely know. It was just a kiss mama."
"With who?" She asked, and I looked down at the floor, scratching the back of my neck, not really wanting to tell her.
"Uhh… Y- You don't know him." I stammered, trying to make it seem like no big deal.
"Ohhhhh, so you don't wanna tell me huh? Fine then, don't tell me, with your grown behind! And since you wanna be so grown, how about you start behaving like it. That means finding a job, and no you can't work at my shop, since that would be too easy. It means providing your own necessities, and paying what ever bills you might pick up along the way. It also means finding your own way to and from school and work."
"And as for that phone you left in your dad's car? You won't be getting that back, so I'd start saving up for a new one if I were you. Eli wanted me to start charging you rent but I didn't like that idea, so you get free room and board until you head off to the academy, but Everything else is on you, are we clear?" She finished laying out the new rules, and I just nodded, trying to keep from smiling, because a little bit of freedom was all I wanted in the first place.
At that point, I didn't even care about being without a phone. I was just so glad to be treated as an adult for once. I no longer had to deal with my pops breathing down my neck and policing every damn thing I did. Free at last, free as last, thank God almighty I'm free at last! It was funny to me though, how I had to totally disregard their rules, for them to finally step back and give me my freedom. I would've done that a long time ago if I knew that was all I had to do.
"I'll take you to school in the morning but you're on your own after that. Now this conversation is over, and I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late." She shot me a stern look, before turning and walking out of my room. I waited until I heard her walking down the stairs, to start smiling at the thought of not being under my dad's strict orders anymore, as I went back to writing…