Okay so I thought I was gonna wrap this up in one more chapter. That didn't happen. This chapter is a little shorter than the last one. I hope y'all aren't sick of this story cause I thought of a really nice ending scene. Seems the readership is tapering off… anyway, that's fine. Thanks for your flattering reviews. I've already started another story. One more like my last ones. I think Phil and Keely are going to camp.

Chapter 14

"Another Morning After"

The telephone woke up Phil. Keely somehow slept through it. Phil had a slight headache but, considering how much he had to drink the night before, he was relieved it wasn't worse. He leaned over sleeping Keely and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he said, yawning. He looked at his clock. It was 11:30.

"Phil? Are you still asleep?" Barb asked.

"Oh, Mom. Hey," Phil said. "No, I'm awake. Now."

"Well, I'm sorry we didn't call yesterday, honey," Barb said, "But we didn't have any bars."

"Bars?" Phil asked.

"On the cell phone," Barb said.

"Right," said Phil. "So when will you guys, um, be home?"

"In about fifteen minutes," Barb said.

"Fifteen minutes?" Phil said.

"Yes, sweetie, we're in Handsometown," Barb said.

"Oh, well, uh, I'll see you soon then, bye," Phil said, snapping the phone shut.

"Keely, wake up," he said, shaking her shoulders. "My parents will be here in fifteen freaking minutes."

"Wha?" Keely mumbled.

"Up, up, up, Keels. For real," Phil said. "They're already in Handsometown. It's a miracle they called at all. They might have found us."

"Who?" Keely mumbled, still snuggled under the covers.

"Keel. My parents will be here in fifteen minutes," Phil said, slowly.

"What!" Keely sat up, her green eyes wide, hair everywhere.

"Parents. On their way here," Phil said. He was smiling now. She just made him melt. He could really get used to having her there every morning. "Come on, get your clothes on."

Keely didn't move. She just stared at Phil confusedly.

"What?" Phil asked. "Do you need some privacy?"

"No, I—" Keely said. "I—" Keely pointed to herself under the covers.

"Are you okay?" Phil asked.

"I'm fine, I just need like a washcloth or something…" Keely whispered.

Phil turned pale. "Oh, right, um, I'll get you one, hang on," Phil crawled from the bed and put on his boxers. He opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hall.

Keely leaned over the side of the bed, picked up her bra and t-shirt, and put them on. There wasn't going to be time for them to talk about what had happened the night before. When she thought about it, she could feel something inside, a dull presence, like when you clap your hands and the clap feeling lingers for a while. It wasn't painful or uncomfortable, just there. Keely put her hand to her belly. Phil came back in with a wet washcloth.

"Here you go," he said, handing it to her.

"Thanks," Keely said, taking it. Their fingers touched. She felt bashful. The washcloth was warm.

Phil didn't know if he should leave her alone or if he should stay. "Um, do you want me to go?" he asked, pointing to the closed door of his bedroom.

"No, it's okay," Keely said. "Just a little, you know, awkward?"

"Yeah," Phil said. He smiled at her and picked up the skirt and her panties from the floor and set them on the bed. He put on a t-shirt and his jeans and walked to his desk and pretended to flip through a magazine.

Keely got out of the bed and with her back to Phil, wiped off her thighs with the washcloth. There had only been a tiny bit of blood. She pulled on her panties and the skirt. "What should I do with this?" she asked Phil. She turned to hand him the washcloth. He was looking at her strangely. "What?" Keely asked.

"I'm sorry… about that," he said, taking the washcloth and tossing it into his dirty clothes hamper.

"What?" Keely asked.

"The, uh, blood…" he said, looking down at the carpet.

"It's okay," Keely said quietly. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Phil felt like he should carry Keely down the stairs. Like she was sick or wounded. He even put his arm around her back like you would someone who needed help walking.

"Phil, I can walk," Keely said. She sounded a bit more like her old self.

"Oh, right, sorry," Phil said. He followed her out the door, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. "Maybe you should go out back," he said. "I wish I could walk you home, but—"

Keely looked like she was about to cry. "You can't?" she asked, weakly.

"No, yeah, I can… um," he pursed his lips. "Can you wait in the garage for a second? Till they get here? Then we'll go. Okay?" She made a face that broke his heart. "No, wait, I'll take you now. I'm sorry." Keely didn't say anything. She just stood there. Phil knew his parents could walk in at any moment. "Keels?" She was crying. "Oh, Keely, what is it?" He went to her and held her in his arms. Her body shuddered, but her crying was silent. He pulled back so he could see her face. She was beautiful when she cried. Her pink lips and cheeks even brighter.

"I don't know," she said through sobs. She was putting all of her weight on Phil now, and so he sat down on the floor. She crumpled next to him

"It's okay, Keel," Phil said. He held her and rocked her back and forth. She was falling apart. He had no idea what was going on inside her head, but it was as if he shared the emotion with her. He felt himself start to cry. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Is it something about last night?" he asked. "Is that it?" He felt her take a breath.

"I don't know what it is, Phil, maybe," she said. She really didn't know what was wrong, but she couldn't stop crying.

"Do you, um, regret what we did?" Phil asked her, whispering. He had a lump in his throat, tears in his eyes.

"No," she said. She swallowed. "I can't explain it, Phil… I just don't want to be without you."

Phil and Keely both heard the front door open. Barb and Lloyd were home. "Okay, Keels," Phil whispered. "They're home. You don't need to move. We can stay right here." Keely erupted into a fresh batch of tears and leaned into Phil's chest. Barb walked into the kitchen.

"Phil? Keely?" she asked. "Is everything okay?"

Before Phil could answer, Lloyd yelled from the front of the house. "Honey, I'm going up to take a shower!"

"Okay," Barb yelled back, her eyes never leaving the sight in front of her.

"We're okay, Mom," Phil said. "Can you give us a second?"

"Oh, sure, Phil," Barb said. "I'll just be in the other room."

When she was gone, Keely looked at Phil. "I should go home," she said. "My mom's probably freaking out wondering where I am."

"Are you sure?" Phil said.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. But can you still walk with me?" she asked.

"Of course," Phil said. They stood up together. "Mom," Phil called. "I'm gonna walk Keely home. I'll be right back."

"Okay, Phil," Barb said, walking into the kitchen. "Bye, Keely."

"Bye, Mrs. Diffy," Keely said, trying to smile.

Phil and Keely walked to the Teslows' house in silence, holding hands. Keely still cried a little bit at first, but by the time they got up on her front porch, she had stopped completely.

"I'm sorry, Phil," she said. "So much has happened so fast."

"I know," Phil said. "I just hope you're okay. I mean, Keels, if I ever did anything to hurt you I'd—"

Keely put her finger over his mouth like she'd done so many times before. "Phil," she said. "I can't believe I found you."

"Me neither," Phil said, smiling.

"Okay, I should go in…" Keely said.

"I love you, Keely," he said.

"I love you, too," she said.

"I'll call you as soon as I can," he said. "No telling what conversation I'm about to have with my mom."

"Just tell her the truth, Phil," Keely said. "It'll be all right."

Phil kissed Keely tenderly before she slipped inside the door, giving him a little wave. He stood there for a second before turning and walking home.

"Hi, Phil," Barb said when Phil walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom," Phil said. He leaned against the counter.

"So—" Barb said, pouring him a glass of orange juice.

"So, um, I bet you're wondering what that was all about, huh?" Phil said, smiling.

"You could say I am a little curious," Barb said.

"Yeah, um, well, so Keely spent the night," Phil said, looking at the floor.

"Did you two have another late movie night?" Barb asked.

"Not exactly," Phil said. He took a sip of juice.

"Well?" Barb asked.

"Well, um, we had been at Owen's. He had a party last night," Phil said.

"Was there drinking?" Barb asked.

"Um, yes, there was drinking," Phil said.

"Did you partake?" Barb asked.

"Yes," Phil said, "But Keely didn't," he added quickly. "And we didn't drive or anything. We walked here."

"Well, you're grounded for that," Barb said, wiping off the counter with a sponge.

"For drinking or walking here?" Phil asked. Barb stopped and looked at him sternly. "Okay," Phil said.

"Okay?" Barb said. "You're not going to try and talk me out of it?"

"No. I mean, I'm underage. I drank alcohol. That's against the law," Phil said.

"So what about Keely?" Barb asked.

"She stayed here last night," Phil said.

"In the guest room?" Barb asked.

"Um, no, not exactly," Phil said.

"Not exactly?" Barb said.

"She um. She stayed in my room," Phil squeaked, wincing.

"Are you two dating now?" Barb asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well, we, uh, sort of started that on Saturday night, I guess," Phil said. "At movie night."

"Phil's finally dating Keely," Barb said, smiling. "It's about time."

"Tell me about it," Phil said. "But, um, Mom, I really need to talk to you."

"What is it, sweetie?" Barb said. She looked worried.

"Keely spent the night, you know, um, in my bedroom," Phil said. "In my bed. With me."

"Phil—" Barb started.

"Look, I know you're probably disappointed, I just… We just… We, um, things, you know, happened, and, um, so she was really upset this morning… when you got home, and I don't know what to do," Phil said. The lump grew back in his throat. He felt tears grow in his eyes and fall on his cheeks. Phil could count all the times in his life that he had cried on one hand. And three of those times had happened in the last 24 hours.

"Oh, Phil, sweetie," Barb said. She hugged him. "Honey, um, these things that happened—"

"Uh, yeah, it was um, pretty intense," Phil said, nodding.

"I knew you would eventually... Phil, but I guess a mother's never exactly prepared to hear it…" Barb said. "And with sweet Keely… I should have known this was going to happen, with you two graduating and spending so much time together…"

"I love her so much, Mom," Phil said. "I just love her. So much. More than anything."

"I know you do, Phil," Barb said, rubbing his back. "I've known that for a while. It's okay."

"But she fell apart this morning, Mom," Phil said. "I asked her if she regretted it and she said no, but I don't know what else could have made her cry like that. Maybe she wasn't ready… I thought I did everything right. And what if she only did it, you know, for me?"

"Oh Phil, that doesn't sound like Keely. But you need to ask her these questions, sweetheart, not me," Barb said. Now she was crying. "You're just like your father."

"What do you mean?" Phil said.

"You wear your heart on your sleeve. You care so much for Keely that you're actually feeling what she feels," Barb said. She swept the hair off of Phil's forehead. "And honey, believe me, she doesn't know what's making her upset. And neither do you. It's got something to do with growing up, becoming adults. I've been there."

"What does that mean, Mom?" Phil asked. "I mean, I'm pretty sure we both wanted to do it. I mean it felt like she did. How could something that was so great last night make her so upset this morning?"

"I don't know, Phil. Girls cry. I cry nearly every day. It's what we do," Barb said, wiping her eyes with a kitchen towel.

"Well, I have a lot to learn," Phil said. He chuckled and sniffled at the same time. "Is she gonna cry like this all the time?"

"You have the rest of your life to figure that out, Phil," Barb said. She patted his back.

"Guess so," Phil said. The rest of my life with Keely. That thought alone dried his tears.

"Phil will you look at me?" Barb asked. Phil looked at her. She put her hands on his shoulders. "I knew this day would eventually come, I mean you're an eighteen-year-old boy. You're a man, for heaven's sake. You're in love. I know you don't need me to tell you this, but please be careful."

Phil blushed. The conversation had been easier than he expected so far, but it was suddenly excruciating. "Mom, I am… We are. I promise." He rolled his eyes. "We've only, you know, done it… once."

"Oh Phil," Barb said. Phil looked away.

"Are you mad?" he said.

"No… I just… you're all grown up," she said. "I can't tell you not to. And I adore Keely." She sniffled and smiled at him. "But don't make a habit of doing it here… I don't think Keely's mother would like the idea of you two spending the night together…"

"God, Mom, no, we won't…" Phil said. "We'll be, um… inconspicuous. We'll behave ourselves."

"Okay, Phil…" Barb said. "Go call her. But you're still grounded. You live in my house. I make the rules."

"Fair enough…" Phil said. "Can Keely still come over?"

"Yes, she can…" Barb said. "But no spending the night. You got me?"

"Got ya," Phil said. Then he ran upstairs to call Keely.

ahh. what's gonna happen? tune in next time...