The next afternoon as Libby ate lunch with her brothers and sister, there was a knock at the door. Jake got up, almost knocking his plate over. Libby shot out a hand to steady it. "Careful," she snapped. He left to get the door.
Jake came back with Teddy walking behind him.
Libby said, "I'm not home." She set down her fork and rose to her feet.
Mrs. St. Peter, who was washing dishes, "Libby, don't be rude. Are you Teddy?"
"Unfortunately," Libby muttered.
"Ha ha," Gage laughed. "Libby's being moody."
"I just wanted to talk to you about last night," Teddy murmured.
Tabitha gagged on her food. "Gross! You two are not supposed to do that! You hardly know each other! Wrongness!" She struggled to swallow her sandwich. "AUGH! Gross! Naked Teddy…no! Happy bunnies! Must fight the images…Rainbows and giggles and ribbons and lubricants and naked sister--NOOO!"
Libby glared at Tabitha. She walked around the table, gesturing for Teddy to follow her outside.
"I'm sorry, Libby," Teddy began when they were sitting on the porch swing.
She muttered, "That's a good start."
"Thank you."
"You make me want to throw up."
Teddy stared at her. "I make you sick?"
She shrugged. "It's a good puke, not a bad puke."
"Interesting."
"I wasn't going to leave you there." She looked away and cleared her throat. "What did you do last night?"
"Had a few drinks with Kennedy…"
"A few?" she demanded. "Do you even know how you got home last night?"
"You brought me…probably called a cab, I would imagine…"
"How do you suppose I got you into your house? Gave you a piggyback? Chris had to help me lug you inside. Then we sat in your bathroom with you while you threw up for a half an hour but you probably don't remember that."
"No, I don't."
"I know a lot of people got wasted last night, Teddy, not just you. But the fact that you get drunk by yourself worries me." She looked up at him. "In thirty seconds you totally changed."
Teddy groaned, frustrated. "I told you not to worry."
"You also told me you'd bring me home when I felt uncomfortable!" she yelled. "And I told you that I didn't want to go somewhere that was going to have all that shit there. I told you that I didn't want to stay for very long. I was out till six babysitting you!"
"Since when are you my mom?" he demanded.
"When are you going to start taking care of yourself?" she shot back. "You have a problem, Teddy and you need to deal with it."
"I don't need this from you Libby," he growled.
"You need to hear it from someone!" she cried. "Everyone knows, it's not a secret!"
"I have a lot of shit going through my mind, Libby. No one's ever attempted to listen or talk to me about what's going on in my life, I just do it for a release--"
"I don't want your fucking reasons!" she snapped. "No one ever listens to you, no one ever talks to you, that's bullshit! You're full of bullshit, Teddy."
"You've been here for a week! Don't start making judgements, because you don't know anything!"
"No wonder your friends have given up on you," she growled. "You really are an asshole."
"And you're a bitch. Good luck fitting in." Teddy shook his head and sauntered down the porch steps.