Chapter 13: Conversation
Chapter song: "Don't Smoke in Bed" – Nina Simone
Time: September

When Quinn got home, the light in the living room was still on. She went inside the house and found her mother sleeping on the couch, a magazine collapsed on her breasts. She was snoring lightly, though she still looked graceful.

I wonder if I snored when I slept on Gus today, Quinn thought. I wonder if I snored when I fell asleep during English lit. Oh god, I really must have been tired today.

She put the magazine on the coffee table and blew out the candle Judy had lit earlier that evening. Then she covered her mother with a blanket and left the living room. Just as she was making her way out through the kitchen, she heard a small voice call.

"Quinnie? Is that you?"

Quinn went back into the living room. "Yes mom, it's just me."

"Wh-where have you been?"

"I just dropped off Gus. It got a little late, so I didn't want to wake you up."

"But… you just got home?"

"Yes."

"Quinnie, it's half past ten," her mother said, glancing at the clock on the downstairs dvd player.

"I know, which is why I'm going straight to bed now," Quinn said in a matter of fact-tone before turning on her heel.

"I don't think this is okay," her mother said, sounding a tad annoyed.

Here we go.

"It's a school night and you shouldn't be driving around at this hour."

"Mom, he lives like 20 minutes away, it's no problem."

"20 minutes away? So… the two of you have been in your room the entire evening?"

"Uh, yeah… I guess." Uh-oh, bad move, Quinn thought.

"That's not very appropriate. You are not going to have strange boys staying in your room until ten o'clock on school nights!"

"But mom, we didn't do anything, we just slept together."

Her mom looked shocked and Quinn quickly regretted her choice of words.

"W-we didn't sleep together, I slept, and he just didn't want to wake me up."

"You slept with him?" her mother exclaimed angrily.

"No, mom, I didn't sleep with him. I've been really exhausted lately and I just fell asleep. He didn't want to wake me up, so he just waited until he had to go home."

Her mother simply frowned in response.

"Please mom, I have been pregnant once, you really think I'm going to let that happen again?"

"I-I don't know what to say, Quinnie. It's just not very lady-like behavior; falling asleep with a strange man in your room."

"Mom, he's not a stranger. He's my friend and I can trust him."

"But he's French!" Judy said, sounding scared.

"Jesus, mom!" Now it was Quinn's turn to be angry. "I can't believe you can be so prejudiced! He didn't rape me or anything; he was just too kind to wake me up. Fact is that Gus is more of a gentleman than any American boy I know!" she yelled.

Why do I feel like I just betrayed someone? She mused, and then she remembered whom she'd considered being the biggest gentleman before she met Gus. Sam. She quickly shook the thought out of her head. I love Sam, but he's too much of a dork to be a real gentleman.

"Gentleman or not, I don't want you having boys over at this hour on school nights, is that understood?" her mother asked.

Wait… did I just admit that I love Sam?

"Quinn!"

"W-what?"

"You're not going to have boys visit you at this hour on school days anymore!"

"Mom, I'm 18. I'm an adult and you have got to stop treating me like a little girl."

"As long as you're living in this house you need to follow my rules."

"Seriously mom, you're starting to sound like dad," Quinn snarled.

Her mother frowned and then casted her eyes downward. "Go to your room, Quinnie. I don't want to have this conversation right now."

Quinn immediately felt bad for her last snarky remark, but she couldn't take it back now. She retreated to her room and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

…

The next morning, Quinn got up early and made breakfast for her mother. She put the plate and the cup of coffee on a tray, which she placed on the coffee table in her mother's room, careful not to wake her up.

When she left for school, Quinn felt slightly better than she did the night before.

Thank you for reading!
Awfully short, but that was all I had time for! I promise another (and longer) chapter before the week ends!