"Wow, holy uncomfortable! I'll just see myself to my room. Goodnight." Seth
tiptoed his way upstairs, passing by the kegs and a few cups strewn about
in his path. With Seth sufficiently gone, Kirsten turned to Sandy.
"What has she become? Have we been such bad parents that she doesn't know she is not allowed to act like a little whore? Throwing parties, and drinking beer, and tramping around. That is not the little girl I used to know!" Kirsten fumed really not at all sure what she was doing, so blinded by her frustration.
"Well, sweetie, that is because she is not that girl anymore. We have to realize that she's growing up, and she just doesn't know how to handle it. We haven't exactly been a great help for her either." He replied.
"Don't blame this on us! This is not our fault. This is not our doing. I am a perfectly fit mother. Sure, I may be gone sometimes. But I care. I do--- I do, really. I just can't believe---" She couldn't finish her sentence as she sat down at the kitchen table and started to cry uncontrollably.
"Aw, honey. This is not all your fault. You are a good mother. You just get busy like you said, and so do I. It's okay." He stroked her hair as she sobbed.
-----
She bolted up the stairs, tripping once on the stairs but picking herself up. She was red from a combination of anger and embarrassment. She slammed her door and lay down on her bed, screaming into a pillow.
Seth walked past, heard her screaming and high tailed it out of there. He was not about to get in the middle of that situation. Hopping into his bed, he grabbed the new copy of Legion and his CD player, happily tuning out what was going on around him.
__
"Expect me to apologize for things that you've done wrong. But you're inciting others. You're owning up to nothing and I wish that I was gone, 'cause you're not going anywhere." __
-----
"Abigail, I'm coming in!" Kirsten hollered as she came up the stairs. She swung the door to her daughters' room open and saw her laying there on her bed. "Abigail, look at me!" Abby hesitated but did as she was told. Her eyes were angry. So were her mothers'. "Abigail, what the hell do you think you were doing tonight? Is that the way I taught you to behave? What is going on with you lately?" Kirsten put her hands on her hips and stared her daughter down.
Abby didn't want to say anything. She was afraid of what would happen if she dared tell her mother the truth. The more her mother stared at her, the more she wanted her to stop, the more she felt she had to talk. She stood up about 5 feet from her mother.
"I hate you! I hate this life. I hate myself. Why can't I party? Why can't I have friends like Seth? This is not fair. You treat me like a little girl. That is, when you ever see me! I am NOT a little girl anymore if you haven't noticed, Mom! I like boys, and makeup and clothes, not Barbie dolls. You are so busy with work and your life that you don't have time enough to care about me. You are missing me grow up, and you treat me like I haven't. I'm sick of it." She slammed back down onto her bed, bouncing up a little as the bed bounced back. She started to sob.
Kirsten didn't know what to say. She came up here all ready to punish her daughter severely for what she had done, but Abby had just told her off. She'd told her the truth, which should have been so obvious a blind man could have seen it from a mile away. She ran a hand through her blonde locks and sighed. She sat down on the bed next to her sobbing daughter.
"Abby, I'm so sorry." She began. "You're right; I have been neglecting my duties as your mother. I thought you'd be fine, but apparently this is the effect. Can you forgive me?" She finished as Abby lifted her head to look at her. Her eyes were smeared with mascara and she blinked a few times.
"Mom, I know --- yeah. I forgive you." She nodded her head. "Can you treat me like the 15 year old that I am?" Kirsten nodded.
"I'll try kiddo; it's just hard to see you grow up. I can't excuse you from this little scene tonight though. That was probably the most irresponsible thing that you have ever done, and it cannot go ignored. You will be cleaning up that entire mess tomorrow morning, and I am grounding you for two months. You cannot go out to any parties or events in that time. You may use the phone, the internet and the T.V. but you will go to and from school under complete supervision of Seth or Ryan. Understand?" Abby nodded. It was fair. Truthfully, she knew she'd gone in over her head.
"After the two months?" She asked.
"You can go to parties, after we've said its okay." Kirsten replied. Abby wiped her eyes and nodded in approval. "Try to get some sleep now, dear." She smiled and gave her a quick hug.
-----
The front door opened softly and Ryan snuck in. Walking into the dinning room, he stepped on a plastic cup. He picked it up, noticed the others as well as Sandy sitting at the kitchen table drinking a beer.
"What happened?" He asked. Sandy looked up and laughed a little.
"Abby had a party." He replied taking another sip of his drink. Ryan made his way over to the table and sat down.
"Wow! Two kegs, she's getting a little ahead of herself there. Maybe we'll forget the whole burning down the house incident now, huh?"
"Not a chance." Sandy retorted.
"Where's umm- where's Mom?" It sounded weird to him saying that.
"She's upstairs disciplining Abby. Don't count on seeing her much in the next few months. Kirsten's pretty pissed." Ryan couldn't help but scoff.
"So you're down here, drowning your troubles in the same thing that caused the problem tonight?" He pointed to Sandy's beer bottle, and then to the keg.
"Hey, I am old enough. She is not." Sandy raised his eyebrows and set down the bottle, turning it a bit. "How's Marissa?"
"She's fine. I just got back from our date, nothing special."
"Really like her, huh?" Sandy asked.
"Well, she is my girlfriend." Ryan replied.
"Officially, really? That's awesome." Sandy smiled a little. "I'm really proud of you. You've come a long way from where you were when I brought you here. You've made friends, embraced Seth and scored yourself the prettiest girl in all of Orange County. You must have some of the Cohen genes in you."
"Thanks." Ryan smiled a little. "Well, I'm gonna head off to bed."
"Do you want a room in the house? I mean now that you are completely, totally and officially part of the family?" Sandy asked. Ryan turned around, now standing at the glass door.
"No, the pool house is fine. It gives me some privacy. I like it."
"Oh, I see. Okay." Sandy winked at him and Ryan shook his head, scoffed and made his way to bed. Sandy continued to sip his Corona.
-----
Seth arose fresh as a daisy. He always one of those "rise and shine" kind of people. As he rounded the corner into the kitchen, he said hello to whoever was in it.
"Hey." Ryan replied pouring milk on his frosted flakes. Seth grabbed an orange off the counter and began to peel it. He hadn't seen Ryan since he'd read Abby's diary. Suddenly he remembered reading the entry. He had to tell Ryan. Seriously, he would have exploded if he didn't tell this secret.
"So I kind of read something about you a while ago." Seth started.
"Oh, yeah? Where?" He asked looking up from his cereal.
"Well, it's funny. I was looking for Abby's laundry basket, when my head fell right into her journal and my eyes just happened to start reading the page. It wasn't my fault. Honestly, I didn't try."
"So, what did you read in her journal?" Ryan asked with a mouthful of flakes and milk.
"She has a crush on you." Seth replied smiling a little and biting his lips. Ryan spit his flakes across the counter top, nearly hitting Seth. "She thinks the way you look at her is hot, and the clothes you wear."
"Did you have to tell me that?" Ryan asked, wiping up the flakes.
"I couldn't keep it to myself. Really, I couldn't. I had to."
"Well, as long as it helped to keep you alive." Ryan retorted sarcastically.
Abigail rounded the corner to the kitchen and Seth noticed. "So, that is the reason that eight tracks are so much better than CD's." He tried to make up some conversation. Abby looked at him funny, and poured herself a bowl of cereal. She walked over to where Ryan stood. He tried not to make eye contact. She just stood there a minute.
"Can I get in here?" She asked pointing at the drawer. Ryan was standing in front of the spoon drawer. He backed away.
"Sorry." He replied in a hurried way. She rolled her eyes and grabbed a spoon. He was acting weirder than normal.
"Holy awkward." Seth muttered under his breath as he stifled a giggle. Kirsten entered the room and noted the silence.
"Come on you three, you are gonna be late for school. Let's go." Seth ate his last slice of orange and dashed upstairs to get his bag. Ryan kind of gave Abby a sideways glance and a fake smile when he noticed that she was looking at him too.
-----
*Lyrics are The Sharp Hint of New Tears by Dashboard Confessional.
"What has she become? Have we been such bad parents that she doesn't know she is not allowed to act like a little whore? Throwing parties, and drinking beer, and tramping around. That is not the little girl I used to know!" Kirsten fumed really not at all sure what she was doing, so blinded by her frustration.
"Well, sweetie, that is because she is not that girl anymore. We have to realize that she's growing up, and she just doesn't know how to handle it. We haven't exactly been a great help for her either." He replied.
"Don't blame this on us! This is not our fault. This is not our doing. I am a perfectly fit mother. Sure, I may be gone sometimes. But I care. I do--- I do, really. I just can't believe---" She couldn't finish her sentence as she sat down at the kitchen table and started to cry uncontrollably.
"Aw, honey. This is not all your fault. You are a good mother. You just get busy like you said, and so do I. It's okay." He stroked her hair as she sobbed.
-----
She bolted up the stairs, tripping once on the stairs but picking herself up. She was red from a combination of anger and embarrassment. She slammed her door and lay down on her bed, screaming into a pillow.
Seth walked past, heard her screaming and high tailed it out of there. He was not about to get in the middle of that situation. Hopping into his bed, he grabbed the new copy of Legion and his CD player, happily tuning out what was going on around him.
__
"Expect me to apologize for things that you've done wrong. But you're inciting others. You're owning up to nothing and I wish that I was gone, 'cause you're not going anywhere." __
-----
"Abigail, I'm coming in!" Kirsten hollered as she came up the stairs. She swung the door to her daughters' room open and saw her laying there on her bed. "Abigail, look at me!" Abby hesitated but did as she was told. Her eyes were angry. So were her mothers'. "Abigail, what the hell do you think you were doing tonight? Is that the way I taught you to behave? What is going on with you lately?" Kirsten put her hands on her hips and stared her daughter down.
Abby didn't want to say anything. She was afraid of what would happen if she dared tell her mother the truth. The more her mother stared at her, the more she wanted her to stop, the more she felt she had to talk. She stood up about 5 feet from her mother.
"I hate you! I hate this life. I hate myself. Why can't I party? Why can't I have friends like Seth? This is not fair. You treat me like a little girl. That is, when you ever see me! I am NOT a little girl anymore if you haven't noticed, Mom! I like boys, and makeup and clothes, not Barbie dolls. You are so busy with work and your life that you don't have time enough to care about me. You are missing me grow up, and you treat me like I haven't. I'm sick of it." She slammed back down onto her bed, bouncing up a little as the bed bounced back. She started to sob.
Kirsten didn't know what to say. She came up here all ready to punish her daughter severely for what she had done, but Abby had just told her off. She'd told her the truth, which should have been so obvious a blind man could have seen it from a mile away. She ran a hand through her blonde locks and sighed. She sat down on the bed next to her sobbing daughter.
"Abby, I'm so sorry." She began. "You're right; I have been neglecting my duties as your mother. I thought you'd be fine, but apparently this is the effect. Can you forgive me?" She finished as Abby lifted her head to look at her. Her eyes were smeared with mascara and she blinked a few times.
"Mom, I know --- yeah. I forgive you." She nodded her head. "Can you treat me like the 15 year old that I am?" Kirsten nodded.
"I'll try kiddo; it's just hard to see you grow up. I can't excuse you from this little scene tonight though. That was probably the most irresponsible thing that you have ever done, and it cannot go ignored. You will be cleaning up that entire mess tomorrow morning, and I am grounding you for two months. You cannot go out to any parties or events in that time. You may use the phone, the internet and the T.V. but you will go to and from school under complete supervision of Seth or Ryan. Understand?" Abby nodded. It was fair. Truthfully, she knew she'd gone in over her head.
"After the two months?" She asked.
"You can go to parties, after we've said its okay." Kirsten replied. Abby wiped her eyes and nodded in approval. "Try to get some sleep now, dear." She smiled and gave her a quick hug.
-----
The front door opened softly and Ryan snuck in. Walking into the dinning room, he stepped on a plastic cup. He picked it up, noticed the others as well as Sandy sitting at the kitchen table drinking a beer.
"What happened?" He asked. Sandy looked up and laughed a little.
"Abby had a party." He replied taking another sip of his drink. Ryan made his way over to the table and sat down.
"Wow! Two kegs, she's getting a little ahead of herself there. Maybe we'll forget the whole burning down the house incident now, huh?"
"Not a chance." Sandy retorted.
"Where's umm- where's Mom?" It sounded weird to him saying that.
"She's upstairs disciplining Abby. Don't count on seeing her much in the next few months. Kirsten's pretty pissed." Ryan couldn't help but scoff.
"So you're down here, drowning your troubles in the same thing that caused the problem tonight?" He pointed to Sandy's beer bottle, and then to the keg.
"Hey, I am old enough. She is not." Sandy raised his eyebrows and set down the bottle, turning it a bit. "How's Marissa?"
"She's fine. I just got back from our date, nothing special."
"Really like her, huh?" Sandy asked.
"Well, she is my girlfriend." Ryan replied.
"Officially, really? That's awesome." Sandy smiled a little. "I'm really proud of you. You've come a long way from where you were when I brought you here. You've made friends, embraced Seth and scored yourself the prettiest girl in all of Orange County. You must have some of the Cohen genes in you."
"Thanks." Ryan smiled a little. "Well, I'm gonna head off to bed."
"Do you want a room in the house? I mean now that you are completely, totally and officially part of the family?" Sandy asked. Ryan turned around, now standing at the glass door.
"No, the pool house is fine. It gives me some privacy. I like it."
"Oh, I see. Okay." Sandy winked at him and Ryan shook his head, scoffed and made his way to bed. Sandy continued to sip his Corona.
-----
Seth arose fresh as a daisy. He always one of those "rise and shine" kind of people. As he rounded the corner into the kitchen, he said hello to whoever was in it.
"Hey." Ryan replied pouring milk on his frosted flakes. Seth grabbed an orange off the counter and began to peel it. He hadn't seen Ryan since he'd read Abby's diary. Suddenly he remembered reading the entry. He had to tell Ryan. Seriously, he would have exploded if he didn't tell this secret.
"So I kind of read something about you a while ago." Seth started.
"Oh, yeah? Where?" He asked looking up from his cereal.
"Well, it's funny. I was looking for Abby's laundry basket, when my head fell right into her journal and my eyes just happened to start reading the page. It wasn't my fault. Honestly, I didn't try."
"So, what did you read in her journal?" Ryan asked with a mouthful of flakes and milk.
"She has a crush on you." Seth replied smiling a little and biting his lips. Ryan spit his flakes across the counter top, nearly hitting Seth. "She thinks the way you look at her is hot, and the clothes you wear."
"Did you have to tell me that?" Ryan asked, wiping up the flakes.
"I couldn't keep it to myself. Really, I couldn't. I had to."
"Well, as long as it helped to keep you alive." Ryan retorted sarcastically.
Abigail rounded the corner to the kitchen and Seth noticed. "So, that is the reason that eight tracks are so much better than CD's." He tried to make up some conversation. Abby looked at him funny, and poured herself a bowl of cereal. She walked over to where Ryan stood. He tried not to make eye contact. She just stood there a minute.
"Can I get in here?" She asked pointing at the drawer. Ryan was standing in front of the spoon drawer. He backed away.
"Sorry." He replied in a hurried way. She rolled her eyes and grabbed a spoon. He was acting weirder than normal.
"Holy awkward." Seth muttered under his breath as he stifled a giggle. Kirsten entered the room and noted the silence.
"Come on you three, you are gonna be late for school. Let's go." Seth ate his last slice of orange and dashed upstairs to get his bag. Ryan kind of gave Abby a sideways glance and a fake smile when he noticed that she was looking at him too.
-----
*Lyrics are The Sharp Hint of New Tears by Dashboard Confessional.