Chapter 3

I'm too tired to pretend today.

"Amy! Come down here!"

An audible "ugh" leaves my mouth. I know what's going to happen. The tons of questions.

What happened?

Why weren't you watching your sister?

Why didn't you wait at the hospital?

I really don't want to deal with it, but I should just get this over with.

My dad is a big guy. When I say big, I mean like six-foot-seven and three-hundred-plus pounds. The look on Scourge's face was comical when I introduced him.

Ugh. Let's not think about that perv right now.

Dad's standing against the fridge, which has tilted off the ground slightly. He seems mad, and it looks like he's been holding his breath for the past few minutes. Mom is elbow-high in soapy dish water. They're more furious than I had thought. We have a dishwasher so Mom only hand washes when she's pissed about something. Or when she's really hurt.

And Dad only gets purple when Mom is hurt.

Crap.

"Care to tell us what happened this morning?" Dad's voice is calm, though his stance tells me he's trying to contain his anger. Mom splashes around in the sink.

"I don't know what happened," I say to the floor. "Rosy sent me this text and I didn't want to be late for class, so I thought if I sent Sonic—"

"Olgilvie?" My eyes flicker up to see my dad's furrowed brow. "You were skipping class with him?"

His confused expression slaps onto my face now. "Huh?"

He raises his hand to his forehead. "Amy, I won't tolerate being lied to. Give it to me straight please. Don't you care at all about what you did to your sister?"

"What?" My high-pitch screech was probably heard a hundred miles away. "What I did? I didn't do anything!"

"Don't lie to me!" I cower under his tone, and I know I'm about to go into hysterics. Dad, like, never yells.

Mom whimpers over the sink, and my dad stops leaning against the fridge. It slams against the floor as his weight leaves it. He wraps his arms around Mom's waist.

I hate seeing her like this, and I know my dad hates seeing her like this, but I'm so confused I don't know what to say.

"Amy." It's Mom's shattered voice that sends the tears cascading from my eyeballs. "I trust you to look after your sister, and you let her drive your car? What were you thinking?"

I feel the blood rise in my face. I'm probably as purple as my dad now. I ball my fists up and suck in a small wisp of air. Rosy!

"I didn't let her," I hiss through my teeth. "She stole my car and took off before I even woke up. I had to get a ride with Sonic today. You can check with him if you don't believe me."

My parents look at each other, eyes swapping questions. After a minute or two of this silent conversation, my dad yanks the phone off the wall. I hear Sonic's house phone ring through the window.

"I need to speak with your boy, if that's okay, Aleena." His voice is kind, but you can totally tell he's in a hurry.

I sit down on the bar stool and wait. Even though I know there shouldn't be anything to worry about since I'm telling the truth, my heart still whacks against my breastplate.

"Sonic, this is Mr. Rose… thank you, that's why I'm calling. Did Amy go to school with you?" My dad's eyes burn into mine as he waits for Sonic to answer. He's quiet for a while.

"Thank you. You've helped clear up the issue. Have a good night." Dad clicks the end button and stands still for a moment. Both Mom and I hold our breath.

Then without warning, Dad takes two long steps and pulls me into a hug. He never apologizes… never. So I'm not expecting him to say anything, but this is fine. I smile into his chest, and I can hear my mom fighting back more tears.

When I pull back, Mom takes Dad's place. "I'm sorry, honey. Rosy told us differently."

Of course she did.

"It's okay, Mom. I'm sorry I didn't stay at the hospital with her. I… you know… school stuff."

She nods and pats me on the cheek. My dad still hasn't said anything, but that's just how he is.

Back in my room, I pull on my baggy pajamas. I'm really in no mood to be fake or pretend. It's not like I have anyone to impress in my bedroom. And after what happened today, all I need is my Black Night book.

With flashlight in hand, I jump into the pages, wiping away stupid tears. I have no idea why I'm tearing up. Even though she stole my car, wrecked it, and then lied to my parents saying I was the one who did everything, I still can't help but feel guilty for leaving her in the hospital with tubes hanging out of her.

I'm a horrible sister.

I hear Sonic's window slide open, and my stomach flutters.

Ugh! I hate the effect he still has on me.

I whip the comforter off my head, and my quills pop with all the static. Sonic chuckles as he leans out his window. I quickly run my hand through my quills, turning red.

"Your sister get home okay?"

"Yeah." I crawl off the bed, trying to look sexy about it, but I'm not sure if I pull it off. I duck out my window so I can hear him better. Our property lines are so close, if we both extended our arms, we could hold hands.

"You're not in trouble are you?"

I shake my head, but drop my gaze to the bushes below us.

"What's wrong, Ames?"

I shake my head again, pursing my lips. No way am I confiding in him. That would send me down a very dangerous path resulting in a drop on the social ladder.

"Come on. We used to talk about everything."

I cringe. "I know."

"Didn't know you hated it so much."

I look up at him. A lose quill has made its way in front of his eyes, but I can see the hurt behind them.

"I didn't hate it. Things are just," I pause, trying to find the right word. When he meets my stare, I finally find it. "Different."

He nods and chuckles. "I guess you could say that."

An awkward silence spreads between us. I blow up my cheeks but stop when I see Sonic smirk at me. But then his smile fades, and his brow furrows.

"Ames, why…?" He doesn't finish, and I don't question. I don't want to know what's going on in his head.

"Thanks for covering for me."

"I just told him the truth."

"Well, thanks."

Awkward silence again. He tosses his head back, sending his quills in a flurry. My stomach does a pancake flip as his green eyes rest on mine. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He slams his window down and shuts the blinds.

I reciprocate, nearly breaking the glass.

On top of being a horrible sister, I'm a horrible neighbor.

My bed looks comfortable, but I plop down on the floor. I grab the edge of the comforter and wrap it around myself.

Stupid boy and all the jacked up feelings I get when I'm around him. He's a friggin' loser! He wore a Christmas sweater today. He invited me to watch a documentary this weekend. And the worst part is: I'm jealous of him.

I can't help but feel the same things I had when we were… friends. I suppose that's the best way to describe the relationship we had. But there are reasons why we aren't that way anymore. We're just so…

Different.

But that isn't his fault. It's mine.

I throw the comforter over my head and close my eyes to escape the pain growing in my chest.

I'm a horrible mobian. Period.

x.X.x

Yeah... yeah... I know I promised SonAmy moments for this chapter but I just couldn't because I need to lead you all to the good things of romance just you all wait!