Chapter Seven
Donna had been seeing the warning signs all along with Galen Morris. He was sweet at the beginning – offering to help her in a time of need; introducing himself to Josh and Donna; ballooning Josh's ego on his political decisions. Then slowly, she started to notice the little things, like with Scott. He would call her a name playfully, then put her down, then start ordering her around. Galen did it bit by bit, slowly catching Audrey in his net. It was painful to watch – like a lobster slowly being boiled to death in a pot. The temperature kept being turned up, unbeknownst to Audrey. But those on the outside of the boiling water – they could tell the difference in temperature very easily.
She waited for the right time to talk to Audrey. Donna avoided it for the few days after they'd been brought home by the police. Audrey was still really upset about it. She was upset with Josh and Donna, not Galen, of course. In her mind, Galen had played an innocent prank and her parents had overreacted. But what she wasn't seeing that Donna saw so clearly was that Galen had left her hanging on a thin string. He could've come to her defense. He could've stood up to his parents like a real man who had caused trouble. But he didn't. He let Audrey and her friends take all the flack.
Donna had a nervous pit in her stomach as she knocked on her daughter's bedroom door on the next Wednesday afternoon. Audrey had been in hiding all week, avoiding her mom and dad, still too angry to talk to them at all. At the interruption in her self-pity, she answered her mother's knock angrily.
"What!" She snapped from her bed where she contemplated some precalculus homework.
"Can I come in?" Donna asked.
"I guess." Audrey answered in an 'if-you-dare' tone.
Donna silently entered the room and closed the door behind her. The room was now spic and span since Audrey had had plenty of time the last few days to clean it after being grounded for two weeks. Donna took a seat on her daughter's bed.
"Whatcha working on?" Donna tried to ease her way into conversation.
"Precalc." She didn't elaborate and kept her eyes on the book.
"Do you think you want to go into a math field?"
"No. I hate math."
"I see." Donna looked at the walls, wondering how to continue. Audrey's room had a darker tone than her sister's. Covering the light yellow paint that had plastered the room since she was three were alternative band posters, fronted by angry-looking men.
"Listen, Audrey."
That elicited a dramatic sigh from Audrey, knowing she was about to be lectured. What about, she didn't know, but she most definitely wasn't in the mood for another one.
"I know you're still angry with me, but I really need to talk to you about something."
"What?" She wanted to get this over with.
"About Galen."
"Mom!" She hissed, "You and dad have already made it quite clear how you feel about him. You're just trying to ruin the one thing that makes me happy so you can keep me in this hell forever."
"Audrey, that's not true." Donna spoke calmly. "Think about it Audrey. Are you really that happy right now?"
Audrey shot her a confused look and Donna sought to explain herself a little more.
"I don't know, sweetheart. You always seem a little deflated when you're around him. You lose some of your bubbliness and your spice."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Audrey told her, but things were stirring in the back of her mind.
"It just seems that sometimes he doesn't treat you with respect. And he orders you around a little."
"Orders me around?" She repeated. "Like how?"
"Well, I just noticed the other night. When you were doing your dress rehearsal, he told you to go get him a Coke."
Audrey raised her hands mockingly. "Oh, no, mom! He asked me to get him a Coke. What a cantankerous ass!"
"It was his tone, sweetheart." Donna clarified. "I didn't like it."
"Whatever, mom." Audrey shook her head and looked away, dismissing Donna's concerns.
"And what happened the other night, Audrey."
"Let's not get into again, mom, I'm not in the mood."
"I was just going to say that he left you out in the cold." She said seriously. "He could've defended you and he didn't."
"Mom, it was harmless."
"You were brought home by the police, Audrey, it wasn't harmless."
Audrey sighed again, knowing her mother was right. But she was just trying to mess up what she and Galen had. She wanted to keep her as her little girl forever, and Audrey wasn't going to let that happen.
"I just want you to think about it, Audrey. I'm not telling you that you can't date him anymore, because I know you're capable of making decisions for yourself. I'm just trying to tell you what it looks like from the outside." Donna reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind her daughter's ear. "I want you to be happy, but I want you to make sure it's with the right person."
"Okay, mom. I'll think about." Audrey told her. She wasn't sure yet whether she would or not, but maybe it would get her mom to leave.
"Okay. Please do." Donna said as she got up. She leaned over and kissed Audrey on the forehead.
Even though she didn't want to admit it, Audrey thought about what her mother said. She'd heard about Galen's reputation at school. He'd dated many girls throughout high school. All of them were pretty and popular. But they all kind of seemed like bimbos without a brain of their own. Audrey knew he wasn't a virgin – he'd probably slept with all of them. Audrey had more respect for herself than that. She'd only let them go to second base, but she knew he wanted to go farther with her. When they kissed lately, he'd been forceful, shoving his tongue in her mouth and grabbing at her chest. At first, she'd enjoyed kissing him, but now he was just rough and she even dreaded being alone with him deep down. He made her feel important though. Being seen with one of the most popular boys in school didn't hurt her status either. Other girls looked at her in jealousy and Audrey enjoyed it. If everyone else wanted him, he must be a catch, right?
Audrey shrugged to herself after a few minutes of contemplation and returned her attention to her homework. She didn't have to worry about going on dates with him right now anyway – she was grounded.
After Audrey had finished her precalculus homework, she decided to take a break and go running to clear her mind. Dressed in her running gear, she walked out of her room and into the living room where her mother was watching a previously recorded segment on C-SPAN. Her father was on, delivering some speech about the environmental bill he'd been working on.
"I'm going running for a while."
Donna looked over the back of the couch at her daughter.
"Okay. You're not stopping anywhere, are you?"
"God, mom!" Audrey said, insulted. "Don't you trust me at all?"
"I'm just making sure, that's all."
Audrey angrily marched out the front door without saying another word. She didn't need to be in any more trouble and she knew she could run her mouth without even realizing it sometimes.
Katie was in her bedroom with the door closed working on an english assignment. That was about all she did these days. She still felt guilty about what transpired over the weekend. She should've been more firm with her sister when she got a bad feeling about the situation. She could've called her parents to come pick her up. Katie replayed the night in her head over and over again, sometimes just how it occurred, and sometimes with her saying and doing just the right things.
Katie had chosen to remain in hiding much like her sister the entire week. Though she knew her parents respected the fact that she'd come clean about the situation, she felt too ashamed to look at them. Katie could still detect a hint of disappointment in their eyes whenever she made eye contact. So she just avoided them. They'd both been in to talk to her several times, trying to reassure her, but she preferred to just be alone. Katie had heard her mother arrive home about an hour earlier, but her father was still at work by the sound of it. Her parents called her out for dinner each night, but that was really the only time she came out from her safe haven.
A few minutes later, she heard the gentle sound of footsteps in the hallway, first coming from the door leading to the garage. Katie was confused, though. It was as if whoever it was was trying to conceal the fact he was in the hallway. Quiet tiptoes were making their way to her door. Curiosity took over and Katie slowly walked to her bedroom door and turned the doorknob, being careful not to make a sound. As soon as she cracked the door, the door was suddenly pushed back hard, and Katie was knocked into the wall, bumping her head. She touched the back of her head in pain, and then finally looked up to see a familiar face. Galen Morris.
"Katie." He whispered.
"What the hell are you doing?"
He smiled in amusement at her surprise.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to…" he waved his hands in innocence.
"What are you doing here? What do you want?" She rubbed her tender head.
"I don't know. I just felt like…coming over."
"Uh…" She didn't know where to start so she started pacing back and forth. What an idiot. "You can't just come over, jackass. If my mom finds out you're here she'll kill you and probably Audrey. Does Audrey know you're here?"
"No. I didn't tell her I was coming."
Katie was confused.
"Do you know how much trouble you got us in?"
"Yeah, I heard about that. Sorry." He didn't seem so.
"Yeah, thanks for defending us."
"Katie?"
"What! What do you want? Why are you in my room?"
"To do this." Then Galen did something so totally unexpected. He grabbed Katie hard and planted a rough kiss on her lips. Katie fought to pull herself away, but Galen brought his hand up and held her head in place.
Just then, Audrey walked in the room, just back from her run, to talk to her sister. Galen immediately stepped back and looked at Audrey, not knowing what to say. Katie looked at her too, seeing a look of pure hurt and hate, like she'd just gotten the wind knocked out of her. She was pretty sure the hate was for Galen, but what happened next surprised her even more than the kiss.
"You fucking bitch!" Audrey yelled and then slapped her sister hard on the face.
Katie cried out in pain and grabbed her face as Galen ran out the door and fled out the garage. She looked at her sister with a look of utter betrayal and shock. How could she think she actually wanted that to happen?
Then Audrey came at her sister, taking chunks of hair in her hand.
"How could you do this to me!" She wailed. "You're my sister!" Audrey started pushing and pulling Katie around the room. Katie was too bewildered to do much, but she tried her best to fight back, all the while begging her to stop and let go.
Donna had started running towards the room instantly after she'd heard Audrey scream out. Josh had just gotten in the front door and he'd heard it all. They'd exchanged a worried glance as they both bolted towards Katie's room. Josh had seen Galen make a quick exit out of the corner of his eye. Little fucker. Run and hide, asshole.
By the time they'd gotten there, the girls had already knocked over a lamp and several other items from Katie's desk. Katie and Audrey were a blurry clump as they pushed each other around the room, all the while crying and screaming at each other.
"Audrey!" Josh yelled over them, grabbing hold of one of them, he couldn't tell which. "Audrey, let go!"
Donna managed to get hold of the other twin, which turned out to be Katie, and together, they pulled the girls off each other. Katie immediately sunk to the floor and buried her face in her mother's arms, crying uncontrollably.
Audrey angrily snatched her arms from her father's grip and ran out the door, not before yelling, "Whore!" at her sister.
Josh went after her as she headed out the front door running. Neither Josh or Donna knew what had just gone on, but they knew it involved Galen and apparently Audrey was very hurt by something Katie had done.
In Katie's room, Donna rocked her daughter back and forth on the floor, which was scattered now with various objects that had fallen victim to the uproar.
"Shhhhhh…." Donna tried her best to calm her down, but Katie's body was shaking uncontrollably and it didn't seem like she'd ever stop crying. "It's over now, baby. I'm here. Just take deep breaths."
Donna felt like crying also, seeing her daughter so distraught and having just witnessed a rare fight between the twins. They'd had their disagreements in the past, but this was a whole new level. Katie and Audrey had never resorted to physical violence before. It was something that just didn't happen in this house. Something had changed in Audrey. Donna recalled hearing her older daughter's angry voice first, so she inferred it was Audrey who had started the fight. And there was Galen. The bastard ran like hell as soon as a problem arose. That small fraction of a man. It was Galen who had changed Audrey. And now here was the side effect.
Josh tore after his daughter, leaving the front door wide open. He wished Audrey wasn't on the cross country team right now. She could easily outrun him, and he knew he'd have to convince her to stop because he'd never catch up.
"Audrey!" He called after her.
Audrey kept running down the sidewalk, tears streaming down her face, obstructing the view of her path. She heard her father about thirty feet behind her. Audrey knew she could outrun him if she wanted to, but she was too tired of fighting. Finally, she stopped and leaned over, resting her hands on her knees.
Josh saw that Audrey had finally stopped, so he slowed down to a jog and then a walk as he neared her. He stopped in front of her and knelt down to her eye level to talk.
"Audrey, honey." He gently took hold of her right hand, trying to look at her face. "Calm down, sweetheart."
Audrey heaved, trying to catch her breath, in a combination of betrayal, frustration and now exhaustion from her sprint. She felt like collapsing from all the emotion.
"Let's sit down, okay?" Josh suggested, gently pulling her down to sit on the grass just behind them. Audrey gave in but quickly drew her knees up to her chest and buried her head in her arms. Josh tried to soothe her the best he could, patting her on the back, waiting for her to stop crying and her breathing to slow down.
Katie was finally calm now and so Donna carefully brought her daughter's head up from her shoulder. Katie pawed at her face, trying to wipe the remaining moisture from it while sniffling. Donna took her head in her hands and kissed her forehead.
"Do you wanna talk about it, sweetheart?"
Katie nodded, but still obviously wasn't capable of speaking coherently. She had to take about another minute to stop sniffling before she spoke, and she still had to fight back bawling again.
"I…I was just in my room doing homework and I heard footsteps in the hall. I thought it was dad at first, but he was tiptoeing. So I got up to look and Galen came tearing through the door." Katie was playing with her pant leg again, one of her nervous habits. "I asked him what he was doing there and he said he just felt like coming over. Then I asked him if Audrey knew he was here. And then we said some other stuff and he ends up kissing me." She started to cry again at the memory.
"Oh…." Donna moaned, her hearting aching for her daughter.
"I tried to make him stop but he had a hold on my head. Then Audrey came in and saw us, and she blamed me. She slapped me, mom! She slapped me! And that was my first kiss…" Katie started bawling again and rested her head on her mother's shoulder once more. All Donna could do was gently stroke Katie's hair and wait for her to calm down again.
Audrey was now breathing softly, still with her head buried in her arms.
"Do you want to tell me what just happened in there?" Josh finally said, breaking the silence.
"Not really." She spoke with candor, finally lifting her head up and resting her chin on her forearm.
"Come on. Let's hear it." He encouraged, keeping his hands to himself, not knowing how to read her still.
Audrey sighed at the thought.
"I'd just come back from my run and I went to Katie's room to talk to her about something."
"Uh-huh." He was listening.
"And I opened the door and….and I saw them kissing."
Woah. No wonder she was pissed. But he knew Katie – she would never do something like that to her sister. It was that ass clown.
"I was so mad. So I called her a bitch and slapped her across the face. Galen ran like hell out the door."
"You hit her?" Josh repeated, his eyebrows jumping up. Hitting had never been a part of this family. He could never lay a hand on either of them and he thought he'd passed that value down to his daughters. Josh was a little disappointed in her for taking the easy way out. His mind returned again to that little prick – Galen had had this effect on his daughter. If that bastard laid a hand on his daughter…
"Yes." She said, detecting the disappointment in her father's voice, echoing the disappointment in herself.
"I know." She said before he could say anything else. "I shouldn't have."
Josh sighed.
"Are you sure she was kissing him back?"
"No." She was looking straight ahead. "I just saw them, and….I couldn't help myself." Audrey had inherited Josh's quick temper, often acting and speaking before she thought.
Josh tried to think of a way to tell her she was wrong without telling her she was wrong. Audrey hated to be lectured and now was probably the worst time to sound like he was giving her one.
"What do you think Katie was thinking?" He looked over at her.
"I don't know. She was probably just as surprised as me." Audrey figured out that it was Galen who had probably initiated the kiss. Her mother was right all along, damnit.
"And what do you think Galen was thinking?" He inquired further.
"I don't know what, but I know what he was thinking with." She said.
Josh scooted a little closer and felt it safe to put his arm around her shoulders.
"Audrey, we all make mistakes." He began. "But I think Galen has made a few too many. What do you think?"
"I think you're right." She finally said. "And I made a mistake too."
Josh didn't say anything for a few moments, not wanting her to feel like he was saying, 'I told you so'.
"But, unlike Galen, I think you deserve another chance."
"I don't know about that." Audrey said.
"I think so." He kissed her head. "Come on, let's go home and see if we can sort this out." Josh got up and helped Audrey to her feet and they began to walk back down the street to their house.
Katie had calmed down again from another crying bout and now she was in the bathroom washing her face as Donna stood close by.
"When dad and Audrey get back, we'll have a little discussion about this, okay, and we'll work it out. I'm sure that Audrey was just acting out of surprise. She didn't think before she acted."
Katie grabbed a towel from the counter and gently dabbed her face, now finally feeling calm enough to discuss the situation without breaking down in tears again. But like after a storm, she was feeling quiet and subdued and didn't really say anything to her mother.
As she was finishing off, Donna and Katie heard the front door open. Donna peeked out the bathroom door to see a remorseful-looking Audrey walk in followed closely by her husband with his hands stuffed in his jean pockets looking downcast but concerned.
Josh and Donna assumed they'd have a family meeting, the four of them, but the girls had different plans. This was between them. They'd been through so much together, and they'd get through this, too. Josh half expected Katie to pommel her sister at the first sight of her, not knowing what had transpired at home. Using nonverbal twinspeak, they told each other they were okay and ready to talk.
"Mom? Dad? Can we have some privacy?" Audrey requested, surprising them both.
Donna's surprise was observable on her face and Josh took her hand.
"Uh….yeah." She stammered out. "Of course. We'll be here if you need us, okay?"
"Okay, mom. Thanks." Audrey raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly as she closed the door.
Outside the bathroom door, both parents desperately wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation, but managed to stifle their curiosity. Josh pulled his wife over to the couch to give the girls some privacy.
"What did Katie say?" He really wanted to know what had happened on the other end of the events, putting his hand on the small of her back.
"Well, basically, Galen snuck into her room, grabbed her and kissed her. Audrey walked in on it and instantly blamed her and slapped her across the face. That was her first kiss."
Donna saw Josh's jaw tighten, the anger building inside him. That sniveling little weasel. He'd just love to meet him in a dark alley.
"Well, I think Audrey finally sees what a jerk-off Galen is. This really opened her eyes. It's too bad it had to happen like this." He sat back in the chair and rested his feet on the coffee table in front of him. Donna sighed and joined him, taking his hand in hers.
"I'm glad they're working it out. I haven't heard anything being thrown yet." Donna tried to lighten the mood.
"That's a good sign." Josh acknowledged and kissed Donna on the cheek. "They'll be fine."
"Yeah." Donna whispered, then snuggled her head against Josh's shoulder. They waited there for the girls to finish.
The twins emerged after about half an hour of working things out. As they walked into the living room, a weight seemed to be lifted off both their shoulders. They found their parents waiting for them in the living room. Josh and Donna both immediately got up from the couch to hear what had happened.
"We're fine." Katie declared. "We'll be fine." She looked at her sister, who stepped over and put her arm around Katie's shoulder.
"She forgives me!" Audrey said, flashing a cheesy smile and pressing her cheek against Katie's.
"But she can bitchslap like no one else I know." Katie smiled.
"Oh, so you've been bitchslapped before?" Josh laughed.
"Maybe once or twice."
"Okay, well it's getting pretty late for me to start dinner, so why don't we go out tonight?" Donna suggested.
"Sounds like a plan." Josh said and the girls agreed. Dinner out was a nice break from the monotony of the week and allowed them all to clear their minds. The family returned home rejuvenated and ready to face the next day.
Ever since the stunt Galen pulled on Saturday, Josh had been plotting how to get payback in his mind. Josh was one to act on instinct, and when he was tested when it came to his kids, he was vengeful. He'd thought long and hard about how to get that little prick back, and had finally devised a meticulous plan. He also felt that Audrey had finally given him permission to let out his wrath on the little fucker. And he would. Oh, he would.
The young man turned out to be a spoiled brat. His parents had bought him a brand new Mustang for his sixteenth birthday. But the dumb fuck happened to leave the passenger side door unlocked quite frequently, and Josh jumped at his advantage. He stealthily and quietly snuck up to the car and opened the door. Opening the glove compartment with a little click, he deposited a small ziploc bag of sugar.
Josh patiently waited down the street in his car for the asswipe to come out of his house. Apparently, he was a popular guy, so he was sure Galen would be going out on a Thursday night. About twenty minutes later, Galen emerged from the garage door along with three of his weasly friends. Even better. He was walking like he was the most important guy in the world and his fleas were just egging him on.
Galen abruptly exited the driveway and started bolting off down the street. Josh, with his headlights turned off (something he'd learned from the movies), followed at a safe distance. Once he'd gotten onto a main road where cops would be galore, Josh found his cellphone in his front pocket and dialed 911.
"911 Emergency Response."
"Yes, sir." He began, feeling a little nervous. This had to work. I'm driving down 40th and there's some kid in a red Mustang, license plate Y041282, and he's driving kind of senselessly. You might want to send some one over to check him out."
"He's on 40th?
"Yes, ma'am, heading North."
"Thank you, sir."
"No, thank you." He said and slapped his flip-phone shut, placing it back in his front pocket. He smiled as he gazed ahead at the red Mustang driving fast about 30 meters in front of him.
Quick as a fiddle, Josh spotted a police car about a minute later. It pulled up close to the Mustang, checking out the license place. The dumb fuck slowed down to about 5 below the speed limit. The red and blue lights went on. He he he.
Josh pulled into a gas station about a block away from where Galen had been pulled over and watched from afar.
"Oh, shit, man." Galen tapped the wheel nervously. "What did I do?"
"Just play it cool, Galen, you didn't do anything wrong." One of his cronies said from the back seat.
Galen rolled his window down as the bulky-looking policeman approached his car door. As he came closer, he shined his flashlight into the car, checking out the passengers and finally the driver.
"Good evening, officer. Is there a problem?" Galen asked politely.
"I need to see your license and registration, please." The officer said methodically.
"Yeah, sure." Galen reached over to the glove compartment to retrieve his registration. As the door opened, a small ziploc bag of white powder fell out onto the floor. His friend in the passenger seat quickly stomped a foot over it, but the damage had been done.
"What was that?" The officer questioned in a no-nonsense tone.
"What was what?" Galen played dumb, which wasn't too hard.
"Don't even try me. Give me that plastic bag that just fell out."
Galen put up his hands in innocence.
"Hey, sir. Officer, I mean. I have no idea what that is. It's not mine." He said, stereotypically of a druggie.
"I've heard that before. Hand it over."
Galen's friend handed him the pouch and Galen gave it to the officer. He took it in his hand and carefully examined it with his flashlight. The officer looked at Galen suspiciously. It was very dark out, and the officer couldn't tell what the substance was merely by looking at it.
"Sir, I'm going to have to get you to step out of the car." He ordered him.
"Officer."
"Step out of the car, please." The officer stepped back.
Galen looked annoyed and afraid, and he carefully exited the car, closing the door behind him.
Josh was watching from the car, and a grin slowly covered his face. He saw the officer walk him back to the rear of the car and place the bag on the stupid-looking spoiler. Galen stood respectfully with his hands behind his back and watched keenly as the officer opened the bag. That's right, you little fucker, you're scared now aren't you? It's tough when no one comes to help you. This was Josh's time to really nail him now. He slowly pulled out of the gas station and steadily approached the spot where Galen was pulled over. Josh rolled down the passenger side window and slowed down to just a few miles per hour. Camera in hand, Josh quickly snapped a picture of the scene. The flash caught Galen's attention and he made eye contact with him for a brief moment.
The officer picked the bag back up and hesitantly put it to his nose. He took a small whiff, and immediately could tell the substance was nothing more than sugar. He zipped the bag back up and tossed it on the back of the car. The officer seemed to give him a short lecture of some kind, and then handed him back his registration and let him on his way. Josh quickly turned off the main road and zig-zagged around, in case the little twirp tried to follow him. If he dared. Galen had seen who it was, and Josh doubted that he would dare cross this angry father's path.
Upon Josh's arrival home, he quickly printed the photo evidence off on his printer. He held it up to have a good look in pride. He'd embarrassed the hell out of him in front of his friends and that wasn't going to be the worst of it.
Josh knocked on Audrey's door, who, for once, civilly answered back and told him he could come in. It's as if she knew. As Josh walked in holding something behind his back, Audrey immediately noticed the look on his face, like he was up to no good. Like he had a plan.
"What?" She asked him, smiling slightly.
"You're even going to love me or hate me." He began, hooking her in. By the now full-blown smile on his face, Audrey guessed it would be the former.
"Okay." She grinned as he sat with her on her bed. Audrey sat up a little straighter in anticipation.
He whipped out the photo and displayed it for his daughter. Audrey put her hand up to her mouth and covered it, lurching forward slightly in laughter.
"I know I'm crazy. You've know that since you were, what, two minutes old?"
"Dad, what did you do?" She exclaimed, not knowing what to think.
"Don't worry – he's not in legal trouble." Josh cleared up. "I planted a bag of sugar in his glove compartment and had the police pull him over. I snapped this shot on my way by. Whaddaya think?"
"I don't know what to say, dad!" She laughed, still shocked. "Why the hell did you do this?"
"You know why. He got a taste of his own medicine."
"Thanks….I guess." She looked at him with admiration. Audrey hadn't looked at him like that since she was nine years old and he dressed up as his interpretation of a republican for Halloween – a pseudohead stuck to the back of his pants, appearing to go up his ass.
Josh sighed. She didn't seem to get all that this could entail. Audrey had a fine mind – but she just didn't think as evilly as he did. She'd come around. Audrey took the photo from his hands and gazed at it, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
"Audrey." He got her attention again. "Have you ever heard of blackmail?"
Audrey looked up at him immediately. "Excuse me?"
"Blackmail." He repeated. "It's when you…"
"I know what it is, dad, I'm not stupid."
"Sorry." He readjusted himself in excitement. "Audrey, you work for the yearbook, you know. And you know people in the school newspaper."
"Yeah."
"Do you realize what you could do?"
Audrey got an interested look on her face, but retained her excitement.
"Dad, are you encouraging me to blackmail my ex-boyfriend with an incriminating photo?"
Josh looked away, noting in his head that she'd just called Galen her 'ex-boyfriend'. "You didn't hear it from me."
Audrey punched him in the shoulder. "Dad! I can't believe you!"
"I'm just saying – "
"Dad." She put her hand on his foot seriously. "I appreciate what you did, I really do." She smiled and looked at him directly. "But I don't think I could do that."
Josh didn't respond, and looked at his daughter, assessing her.
Here was Josh, thinking Audrey was a vengeful person, who would want to take the easy, fun way out, and she'd just proven she was a better person than he was at the tender age of sixteen. That was his girl. She was all grown up and was already teaching him things.
Josh took her hands in his, serious. "You're such a better person than I am. I'm so proud of you."
"Dad." She was uncomfortable at his corniness, looking away. Josh shook her hands gently to get her to look back at him. "I'm serious. You are." He looked her straight in the eye.
"Thanks, dad." She said amiably. These moments were rare between the two of them, as they were normally at each other's throats. Josh brought her hand up and kissed the back of it.
He cleared his throat. "Okay, enough corniness, I know." Josh stood up and picked up the discarded photo from the bed.
"If you change your mind…"
"Dad!"
"I'll keep it in my bedside drawer if you ever need it." He quickly said as he opened the door. Josh looked back at Audrey, who was smiling. He winked at her before stepping out and closing the door. Audrey couldn't help but laugh to herself after he'd left. That was her dad.
Josh and Donna decided to make an exception to the girls being grounded for two weeks. Ella's mother had called Thursday night because she had a business emergency come up and needed to travel to Baltimore the next day for the weekend. The Lymans happily agreed to let Ella stay at their house, provided the girls didn't invite anyone else over. Josh and Donna were always happy to open their home to Ella. Her mother was thankful for this, as she didn't want to leave Ella home alone. She'd been a pistol lately and didn't want to leave her daughter home alone all weekend. Carol Parker trusted no one more than the Lymans with her daughter. They'd been there for them through everything – Ella's diagnosis, her husband's affair, and when John left the family. The Lymans were like family to Carol and Ella.
Fridays had officially become Katie's therapy day. The last couple of meetings had left Katie feeling pretty down afterwards, but on this Friday, she actually felt charged when she left the office. Dr. Hampton had advised her to talk to her parents more about her feelings concerning the pressure she was under. It wasn't going to be easy, but Katie finally felt ready to bring it up. Donna picked her up this Friday and she made a declaration of her intentions to talk to them about things in the car on the way home.
Donna and Katie arrived home to a jubilant atmosphere in the family kitchen. Josh and Ella were already bantering away some subject off on a tangent. It appeared that the three of them were trying to clean up a little bit.
Donna set her bag down on top of the counter and sighed, glad it was Friday.
"Hey, can't you see we're trying to clean up in here?" Josh said playfully, giving her a look.
"Then why don't you get this white trash out of the kitchen?" She shot back at him, and playfully swatted him on the behind.
"Oh!" All three girls chimed at once. Josh acted insulted.
"No meatloaf for you!" He said in his best Soup-Nazi voice. Josh returned his attention to the stove, where he was cooking some green beans.
"That should add another year to my life, avoiding that crap." Donna jested.
"You've got that right." Ella commented. Josh was used to hearing it from Donna, but didn't intend to let Ella get away without her comment being unanswered. Josh turned to her with an evil, playful look in his eye. Quick as can be, Josh took her in to a head lock and started giving her a noogie. Ella screamed in protest.
"Mr. Lyman! Stop! Stop! I didn't mean it!" She laughed, karate chopping his knees in protest.
"How does my meatloaf taste, Ella?"
"It's a delicacy!" She yelled underneath his armpit, pleading with him. "I'll savor every bite!"
He held her there for a few more seconds.
"Please, it stinks under here!" That got her another knuckle rub to the head, and then he finally let her go.
Ella fixed her hair, smiling. "God, you guys are like Neanderthals."
Josh made a sudden movement towards her, causing her to scream out loud again.
"I know where you sleep, Ella. You better watch it."
"Right back at you." She said. The room fell silent for a few moments, then Ella spoke up again.
"Hey!" She suddenly got very excited again. "We need to play the 8-8-5 game! We haven't played it in forever!" Ella exclaimed, causing Audrey and Katie to clap their hands in excitement. The 8-8-5 game was a game the girls had invented when they were eleven years old. They loved to mess with the American University students in town. All the numbers connected to the university's dorm system began with 8-8-5, so they would just randomly plug in four more numbers to reach some poor kid in the dorms.
"Aren't you a little too old to be doing that?" Donna protested.
"Never!" Audrey said. She rushed to the phone on the other side of the kitchen and the twins followed her. Ella was the ringleader in this and was the master of prank calls.
Donna and Josh looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
Ella dialed a random number, a smile spread wide across her face. Audrey and Katie were giggling, trying to suppress their laughter.
"Hello?" Ella said as the victim on the other line picked up.
"Um, yes, this is Susan Anthony from the Registrar's Office. Sorry to bother you, but I have some good news and some bad news. We have a problem with your students loans."
Ella paused as the other person spoke.
"Well, you see, your federal loan seems to have not gone through, so all the classes you are taking this semester are actually void unless you can come up with $15,000 by Monday."
Ella listened intently to the person on the other end and the twins leaned in to catch what he was saying.
"Yes, I do have some good news. I just saved a load of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico!" She punched the off button and burst out laughing along with Katie and Audrey. Donna smiled and Josh let out a loud laugh, full dimples showing.
Once the girls had caught their breath, Katie encouraged Ella to go farther.
"Do another! Do another!" She pleaded. Ella was definitely the comic relief in this house.
Ella dialed another number and waited for someone to pick up. Apparently, no one was home.
"Voice mail." She said. Ella was about to hang up when something caught her attention. She pressed the phone back to her ear and smiled widely again.
"Ha!" She yelled. "Zack Hanson! His name is Zack Hanson!" She started cracking up again. "Oh, I have the best idea!" Katie and Audrey were already rolling, but quickly controlled their voices. Their faces were red as they listened intently.
Ella waited for the boy's message to finish, biting her thumbnail in anticipation. She gestured with her hands when she finally started to speak.
"Zack Hanson! Ohmigod! Zack Hanson! Is it really you? I've been in love with you for eight years!" She exclaimed in animation. "Ohmigod, I can't believe it's you! Hey, hey, hey." She tried to settle down. "Why don't you call your brothers, bring your drum set and tell them to bring their guitars. We can meet outside your dorm and we can all sing 'Mmmmmbop!' together and it'll be so much fun! Call me!" She clicked the off button again. Katie and Audrey sunk to the floor in laughter and Ella did a little dance, celebrating her genius.
"You kill me." Josh shook his head, scratching the back of his hair.
The girls continued to laugh even when the phone began to ring again. They obviously weren't able to answer the phone, so Donna stepped over the bodies on the floor and picked up the cordless phone, smiling. Ella reminded her of what was important in life. Just having fun and being with her family. Donna was about to be reminded just how lucky she was.
Donna walked into the living room to get away from the noise, putting a finger to the ear that wasn't covered by the phone.
"Hello?" She answered. "Yes, this is Donna Lyman." Josh watched her intently from the kitchen, stirring the green beans.
"Yes she's here." Donna stopped walking and stood still in the middle of the room.
"What?" She put her hand over her mouth, and then quickly to her chest.
Josh immediately sensed something was terribly wrong and went to join his wife. Donna started to bend down in shock and might have collapsed if Josh hadn't taken a firm grip on her arms and led her back to the couch, the girls' laughter still apparent in the background.
Donna's face scrunched up as she began to cry, putting her right hand up to her forehead. Josh put his hand on her back and rubbed it supportively.
"Okay. Yes, I understand. No. Yes. No, we'll do it. You'll be here in half an hour? Okay. Yeah. Bye." Donna said tearfully, shaking slightly. She removed the phone from her ear and stared at it for a moment before pushing the off button. Minutes before, Ella had been giggling into this phone, which made the situation that much more ironic.
"What is it?" Josh whispered, sensing he shouldn't bring attention to the situation.
Donna took a deep breath and finally met her husband's eyes and put a hand on his knee.
"Ella's mom was just killed in a car accident."