Headliner
Chapter 26
Lexi pressed on the brake and slowly came to a stop. She jumped out of the Denali and grabbed her bag from the back seat. She hugged her dad and thanked him over and over again for allowing her to drive the Denali to school. He smiled as she ran to catch up with some of her friends. He spun the key ring around his finger and began to whistle a country song. He grasped the door handle and paused. This was the very song he had been whistling just moments before he met Lexi. He smiled his big Texas smile as he drove home to get some sleep.
She twisted the dial on her locker as Katrinne and Courtney bickered over whose shoes (which were exactly the same) looked better. Lexi rolled her eyes at them. It was definitely school time again.
By lunch time she was about ready to strangle her friends. They'd moved on from arguing over their shoes and now saw it as time to argue over who had the better class schedule. Luckily she saw Luke from afar and rushed over to him. He showed off his pearly whites as she neared. "Luke! You've got to save me."
"What's the matter, Lex? Already late on your homework?"
"It's the first day of school, Luke. I don't have homework."
"I know. It was a joke. What's wrong?"
"Courtney and Katrinne are going to force me into a mental institution prematurely. First it was shoes, now it's schedules."
"Relax, I'll just call a couple of my friends over and we'll solve the problem."
Luke had the magic touch. He invited two of his friends (who Courtney and Katrinne just happened to have major crushes on) to join them for lunch and the fighting ceased.
He walked her home after school. He even carried her books, which she found quite amusing. "Luke, you really don't have to do that."
"It's the first day of school. You have like two books, let me do it."
"Alright." They strolled down the street hand in hand. They stopped at a Snow Shack about halfway home and bought shaved ice.
When they reached her house, he set her books on the wall. She smiled up at him. "You know your teeth are totally blue, your lips too," he said laughing.
"Well yours are extra red."
He kissed her.
Sara and Nick, who had just finished a movie, stared out the open window. Sara saw his face starting to turn red. "Nick, are you okay?"
"Yeah. Who is that?"
"That would be Luke, her boyfriend."
"Oh, her boy—her boyfriend?"
"Yeah." Sara watched Nick as he walked to his bedroom. He walked back out with his gun held firmly at hand. He had his hand around the knob when she knocked the gun out.
"Sara, what are you doing?"
"Keeping you from doing something you'll regret."
"What makes you think I'm going to regret this?" he asked bending over to get the gun.
She kicked it across the hall. "Nick, if you know what's best for you, get away from the door and don't try to get the gun."
"Sara, no offense or anything, but you're not the boss of me. This is my house and I'll do what I want."
"Yeah? You want to play that card? Fine. According to the law, Lexi is my kid and I say how people act around her. You take one step out that door and we're gone. And believe me, you embarrass her like that and she'll be happy to leave."
Nick dropped his arms in defeat. "How long has she been dating him?"
"About a couple months before she turned 16."
"She's been going out with this guy since February and I've never known about him until now?"
"He wasn't around when you were home. You know, I don't think she knows I know about him. His mom called one day and said he was going to treat her right or he was going to be in trouble."
He nodded and dashed for the gun just as she lunged at him. She caught him mid-stride and they hit the floor. He grabbed the gun but she smacked his arm against the coffee table and it flew across the room. He got up and she wrapped her arms around his legs, pulling him down.
Outside, Lexi heard the commotion and quickly unlocked the door. She and Luke peered in, their eyes widening at the sight of her parents rolling around on the floor. "Hey!" she yelled, "Could you guys stop now, please?"
Nick and Sara got up slowly and watched as Lexi's eyes found the gun on the rug.
"Would someone like to tell me what's going on here?"
"It's not what you think it is," Nick said.
"Well that's a relief."
Luke turned to his girlfriend, a look of shock spread across his face. "Maybe I should go."
Lexi showed him the door. "That's probably the safest option. See you tomorrow."
He handed her her books before going down the steps rather quickly.
"Now, seriously, what's going on?" she asked setting her books on the carpet.
"I was sleeping," Nick began after a moment's pause.
"And I came through the back door," Sara continued.
"I thought it was a burglar so I got my gun."
"And I saw the gun and thought he was a burglar."
"We both attacked each other and realized it when you came in."
"Right," said Lexi, not believing them for a second. "Just try not to play 'burglar'" she said making air quotes, "when I'm going to be home." She tossed her parents a large eye roll before heading to her room.
"Phew, that was close," Nick stated.
"Yeah," Sara scoffed, "you're just lucky I went along with your little story."
"Lucky? I could've handled it on my own."
"Oh really? Well, then I'll just go tell her the truth and we'll see how well you handle that."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Watch me," she said moving toward Lexi's door.
Reenacting their earlier account, he lunged and knocked her over. He pinned her arms to her side as she struggled to get free. They heard a groan from down the hall.
"Okay, I have my cell phone; I'm going out. Call me when you're finished," Lexi said and stormed off.
Nick stood up and held out his hand. Sara took it reluctantly and he pulled her up. "We seem to be arguing a lot lately," he pointed out.
"Oh, you noticed it too?"
"Sara, you know, we've got to stop using certain things against each other."
"Like what?"
"The house and Lexi. It's not fair."
"Hey, you started it."
"I didn't say I didn't. I just said we've got to not use those. Neither of us can help the situation we're in."
"What do you mean 'situation?' If you think this a problem,"
He cut her off and ran his fingers through his hair, "This is really not going how I wanted it to. I didn't mean that in a bad way."
"Why don't you say what you mean, Nick?"
He took a deep breath and stared her square in the face. "I love you, Sara."
She seemed to lose the ability to function. "I, you, what?"
A/N: Get those fingers working and tell me your thoughts.
