By the time I reached home it was 1 pm, I bit my lip. My parents wouldn't be happy with it, I was late. I jumped over the wall and into our front yard, and creeped to the back door. The door slowly creeped open as I lightly slipped through. I sighed in relief, it looked like my parents were out.
"Finally decided to come home ,Ethan", my mom's voice rang through the kitchen.
I cringed. I was too hasty. So my mom was home, huh.
Generally I don't get in trouble for something as insignificant as being late, however today was different. My dad had an important meet up with his colleagues and was requested to bring his family along. I was supposed to be home by 11 so I could go along with them. I scoffed, it isn't like I was dying to anyways
My mom marched over toward me and grabbed me by my shoulders. She was close enough for me to see her pores.
"Ethan don't you understand... we can't trust you... why is it so difficult for you to follow instructions" .
I avoided her gaze as I glared at the floor. Truth be told I wasn't sure what to say to her.
" we try our best to support you so why do you behave like this?"
, i grimaced as I pushed her away, "empty promises and words don't make a difference, you guys can say whatever you want but that's all you ever do!",
My mom backed away, she looked heart broken.
I wasn't done, " you guys can continue to praise me but I know it doesn't mean anything. You talk about how much you believe in me and how much I need to excel. You know how much my academics mean to me!! Still... you're never there to cheer me on, so why should I care about dads stupid job. I don't need to be there for him if he isn't there for me"
"don't say those things about your father. You live under his roof, appreciate the life he's given you. I tolerate it otherwise but Ethan you've really crossed the line... I don't do this normally but you've really hurt my feelings... you're grounded",
She looked at me with hurt, "no phone, computer, games, don't go out with your friends for the weekend"
"NO YOU CANNOT DO THAT, I NEED TO GO OUT-"
"It's final", my mom said as she turned around and walked away.
I stood completely still as I saw her back leave my sight and then let out an exhale along with a tear I hadn't realized I'd been containing.
I kicked my trash can as I muttered under my breath.
Eventually I ended up grabbing a popsicle sitting in my refrigerator before I went up to my room; I took a nap.
It had been a long weekend, what with seeing Annabeth and Percy so close... Harper as well... I wondered what I'd do about that.
Me and her had been friends for a while now, we were pretty close. Of course when I heard that she liked someone I wanted her to tell me... that's the whole point of friends. Now, looking back on it, I shouldn't have bothered asking; if I had just left her to her own devices both of us might have gone through that night unscathed. I just shouldn't have been nosy... what you don't know can't hurt you.
I buried my head into my pillow as I felt my throat burning up. I scrunch my eyes up. I didn't want to ruin the friendship between me and Harper yet I... I couldn't help feeling a sense of disgust and uncertainty at the whole situation.
I tried forgetting about it and focusing on the warm and sunny scent of my comforter instead, before I knew it I had drifted off into a slumber.
"Ethan!", my moms shrill voice pierced my sleep.
I sat up and groggily rubbed my eyes, when I looked out my window the sun had already set.
"Time for dinner!", she continued , in the same shrill voice.
I was adamant to stay here, I was still mad at my mom for grounding me. Tonight I'd just have to starve, my stomach rumbled in protest.
I snuggled back underneath the blanket as I heard the muffled sound of my moms footsteps approaching my room. I steadied my breathing too, so my act of sleeping was slightly believable. My mom opened the door and seemed to contemplate waking me up, but she apparently decided against it, I deduced this as I heard her footsteps withdrawing as the door shut.
I sighed in relief.
I flopped on to my side and stared at the wall opposite to me, I still had a bunch of loose ends that I needed to tie. I figured that I could deal with Harper later on, first and foremost my own problem.
Percy and Annabeth.
I reviewed what I knew about Percy so far. He met Annabeth a while back, considering it was during the summer break... hm... I'd say he knew her for at least 5 months. Out of those 5 months she probably spent around two months with him, in June and July... then three months later on October 31 they met again for Halloween. I smiled to myself, Percy really didn't have anything on me. I was Annabeths childhood friend, and the cherry on top was that I spent almost everyday with her. I almost felt ridiculous for feeling Insecure. Almost.
Except... Something tickled my subconscious. I hated to admit it but Percy was just as close as me and Annabeth in a shorter amount of time. That camp they went to... that was definitely it. There's no way Percy is as close to Annabeth with his personality alone. He seems like a sarcastic jerk. The camp was probably the only reason they were close to each other. Yeah... that was it.
Percy was a delinquent brat who probably failed all his classes at school. If we are being honest there's no reason for Annabeth to like him better than me.
In fact he was probably over at her house right now. All I needed to do was wait until my parents went to bed. Then I could sneak out of my house.
The plan would be in motion.
