Annie rapidly paced around the apartment in a panic. She knew she should call Jeff and tell him that his daughter had run off, but she was too ashamed to do it. She had told Lexi that she was only here because she had nowhere else to go. She's never said anything so terrible before and it was tearing her up inside.
She looked at the front door as the knob turned and Jeff walked in. "Hey Annie." He stopped in his tracks, seeing the look of alarm in her face. "What's wrong?"
"I did something terrible," Annie tearfully said.
Jeff quickly went over to her and pulled her into him. "What happened?"
"Me and Lexi got into a huge fight over that stupid poster on her door. And I said…I told her the only reason she was here was because she had nowhere else to live."
"What?" Jeff said in a low angry voice as he pulled back from Annie. "You said what to her?"
"I'm so sorry. It was a terrible thing to-"
"How could you say that!?" he yelled, causing Annie to flinch and involuntarily take a step backwards. "Do you have any idea what that sounds like? Now she's going to think we're only raising her because we got stuck with her."
"I know, and I'm sorry. I was angry and it just came out of me."
"How in the hell could you have said something so heartless and stupid to my own daughter?!"
"I was angry Jeff!" she yelled, anger seeping into her shame. "She kept pushing me and pushing me, and I said something in anger. I'm not perfect."
"Clearly," he snidely said.
"I already feel terrible about this Jeff!" she insisted. "Don't make this worse. We don't need that right now!"
Jeff sighed as he ran his hands through his hair, trying to somehow calm himself. "Alright. Tell me exactly what happened and what was said by each of you."
"I came home from work and saw that stupid doll drawing on Lexi's door," Annie said, feeling like she was being interrogated. "And after everything that happened this weekend I just couldn't stand looking at it anymore. So I took it down and put it in her room."
"Okay. Then what happened?"
"Then Lexi came home from school and flipped out when she saw that I'd taken it down. She yelled at me to never touch her stuff and I yelled back that she couldn't speak to me like that and she had to respect my wishes if we're living together. She then threatened to leave and live somewhere else, and that's when I said…" She hung her head in shame, keeping the conclusion to herself since Jeff already knew the ending.
Jeff started going to Lexi's room to hear her side of things, when Annie called out, "She's not here."
"What?"
"Lexi's not here. She ran out of the apartment after what I said."
"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" he angrily asked.
"I was telling you what happened, Jeff. I'm sorry I told you things in the wrong order."
Jeff pulled his phone out and called Lexi, cursing when it rang once and then immediately went to voice mail. "Shit." He paused for a moment as he thought things through. "She probably went to her friend Cassidy's. I'm going to go see if she's there."
"I'll go with you. That way I can apologize and-"
"Annie," Jeff said sternly. "I think it'd be best if you stayed here."
With that Jeff walked of the apartment, leaving an upset Annie in his wake.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Cassidy pulled her front door open, immediately pulling Lexi into a hug at seeing how upset she was. "It's okay."
"I hate that bitch," Lexi said through her tears.
"I got that from your my evil stepmother's a bitch text," Cassidy said as she pulled back.
"Hello?" Mrs. Sawyer asked as she came down the stairs. "Oh, Alexis." At first she sternly looked at Lexi, remembering what happened the last time Lexi had come over. But her face immediately softened when she saw how upset the girl was. "Is everything alright?"
"Mom, Lexi's really upset about things at home. Is it all right if we went for a walk to talk?" Cassidy asked her mom.
"Of course. Just don't be out too late, it's a school night."
"Thanks mom." She quickly grabbed her jacket before the girls set off. "So what happened? You didn't really say anything in the text."
"That fucking princess threw me out of the apartment."
"What!" Cassidy yelled in shock. "How…why…what?"
"We got into a fight over this drawing I'd put on my door that she took down. I told her to never touch my artwork and she got all high and mighty, saying it was her house and I had to listen to her. Then she said that the only reason I was living there was because no one else wanted me."
"Oh my God, that's…" Cassidy stopped walking, holding onto Lexi's arm to stop her also. "That's horrible."
"I knew she was nasty and never wanted me around. It's just now finally out there." Lexi gasped as she wiped her eyes with her fingers. "I bet my dad's going to choose her over me. He made such a big freaking deal to respect her and that we're family. I bet in the end he'll take her side over this and will happily kick me out."
"Lexi, no. You've said your dad loves you. He wouldn't turn his back on you."
"Well if he loves me then why does he keep that pocket princess around? I mean, she can't be that good in bed since she's so uptight. And I know he could find someone way hotter and more age appropriate. So if he really loved me he'd know how much I hate her and get rid of her for me."
Before Cassidy could respond both of their phones buzzed, indicated someone had posted something to their FaceBook pages. They pulled their phones out and brought up their profiles, seeing what had been posted. It was a badly photo shopped picture of Lexi's head on the body of a drug addicted hooker. At the top of the photo was the caption: 'Good thing my mom died before she could see me like this.'
"That fucking bitch," Cassidy exclaimed as she saw that the picture was from Stacy. "I don't know what her problem is but this…" she paused as she looked at her friend, seeing the dangerous look in her eyes. "Lex. Lexi?"
"Come on," she said as she marched down the street.
"Wait, where are we going?"
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"Lexi, I don't know about this."
"She deserves this," Lexi said as she and Cassidy crouched behind the bushes in front of Stacy's house, a carton of eggs in each of their hands. "She's made everyone's lives miserable for years. She deserves some payback."
"But what if we get caught? Lexi, think about this for a sec. She just posted that picture of you. It's going to look really suspicious if we-"
"Cassidy," Lexi hissed, almost dropping her carton. "I'm doing this. Are you going to help me or not?"
Cassidy took a breath before placing her own carton on the ground, looking back at Lexi defiantly. The two friends looked at each other for a moment before Lexi sighed in frustration. "Fine, keep look out." Lexi crept out from behind the bushes and cautiously approached the corvette before opening her box and starting to throw eggs at the car. She meant to do it quietly, but she started yelling in glee as the eggs exploded all over the doors and windshield.
"Lexi!" Cassidy yelled as the porch light came on. Lexi dropped her egg carton and both girls scampered off into the darkness.
Lexi ran for several blocks before finally stopping, figuring they'd put enough distance between them. "That was close," Cassidy said as she caught up with Lexi. "I know you have longer legs then me, but next time we have to bolt don't race half a block ahead of me." She wiped her forehead, working to catch her breath. "Did that make you feel better?"
"About Stacy, yes. But about my evil soon-to-be stepmother…" She trailed off as she shielded her eyes from an approaching car. Her eyes narrowed as she saw that it was her father's car. It stopped in front of them before Jeff got out.
"Lexi, there you are. I've been looking all over for you."
"Well, here I am."
He paused at that before looking over at Cassidy. "Hello Cassidy. Thank you for being there for my daughter."
"Of course Mr. Winger," she coolly responded. "She's my sister. I'd do anything for her."
He nodded his head before looking back at Lexi. "Can we please get in the car so we can talk?"
Lexi stood there for several moments before saying goodbye to Cassidy and getting in the passenger seat."
"Do you need a ride home?" Jeff asked Cassidy.
"My house is only a few blocks from here. I can walk."
"Okay then. Goodnight." With that Jeff got in his car and drove off. "So, you want to talk about what happened?" he asked his daughter.
"Why do you have to be with such a bitch dad?"
Jeff's grip on the steering wheel tightened at hearing Annie insulted, but he managed to keep his cool. "First off, don't call her that. And second, I already talked to Annie about what happened. I want to hear your side of things."
Lexi was silent for several seconds before finally saying, "She took down my drawing from my door without my permission. My artwork is extremely personal to me and she just took it down like it was trash."
"Okay, maybe she shouldn't have done that. But to be fair, she did keep asking you to take it down and you ignored her. But that's not what really got you upset, isn't it?"
"She said I was only living there because no one else would take me in," she said as tears ran down her face. She looked over as Jeff held out a tissue. She gratefully took it and used it to wipe her face and blow her nose. "She hates me."
"Annie doesn't hate you. She was angry. And when people are angry they say hurtful things. She feels terrible about this and if you hear her out I know she'll apologize to you."
Lexi scoffed at that before looking at her father. "Do you regret me living with you two?"
"No Lexi, I don't," Jeff seriously said. "Yes, I'll admit it was an adjustment when you first moved in. I'm not even close to figuring out how to be a dad. But I love you, and I don't want you ever thinking we don't want you. I love you with all my heart." She smiled at hearing that, but the smile left her face when Jeff followed up with, "And Annie loves you too. Please just listen to her when we get back."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"I feel terrible," Annie said as she looked up into Lexi's stony face. "What I said was out of anger, and way over the line. I'm so sorry I made you feel unwanted. There was no excuse for saying that to you. And I'm sorry."
"Fine, I accept your apology," she quickly said, more for her father's benefit then for actually feeling forgiving. "Though it's not like you really care about me. You made that pretty clear tonight."
"Lexi," Annie said with true seriousness. "Someday you'll learn the difference between being angry at someone, and true hatred and indifference."
"Is this about your own parents abandoning you," Lexi glibly spat back.
Annie paused, surprised that the girl knew this, before continuing. "I have no idea what it's like to have a parent unexpectedly die and leave me. But you have no idea what it's like to have parents turn their backs and throw you out of their lives. We may have our problems, but I'm not giving up on us someday having some sort of a relationship. And I hope you'll someday be able to get over whatever issues you have with me."
With that Annie walked out of Lexi's room, leaving the girl to think about what she had just heard.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"Just a minute," Annie yelled as she ran to the front door. She opened it, completely surprised to see who was on the other side. "Cassidy, hello. If you're looking for Lexi she went to the movies with her dad."
"I actually came to see you Mrs. Winger."
"It's actually Miss Edison until the wedding," Annie said as she let the girl inside. "Do you want anything to drink?"
"I'm good Miss Edison."
Annie led the younger girl to the couch as they sat down. "May I ask why you came to see me?"
"Lexi was really upset when she came to see me last night. I haven't seen her that upset since her mom died. And you made her upset by telling her she wasn't wanted."
"Cassidy, I appreciate you coming to your friend's defense, but this really isn't your business."
"I think it is," she pressed on, despite being aware that she was overstepping her bounds. "Lexi is like a sister to me, and she shouldn't be made to feel unwanted. Especially after everything she's gone through."
Annie sighed in frustration, running her hands over her face as she tried to think about how to appropriately respond to this. "Cassidy, this is a very complicated situation for all of us. And yes, yesterday I said something terrible out of anger. But I care a lot about that girl. And I want to get along with Lexi and get to know her. But she keeps treating me like I'm some sort of enemy."
Cassidy looked at Annie, not sure what to think now that she'd heard her side of things. "It's not just you Miss Edison," Cassidy said, feeling a bit like she was betraying her friend with this admission. "She hasn't been the same since her mom died. She's been reckless and taking stupid risks. No matter how much I try to be there for her she keeps lashing out. I want to help, but I don't even know what to do at this point."
"Well, if you figure it out, make sure you tell me and Jeff. Although it seems he's gotten through to her more than I've been able to."
Cassidy nodded her head before looking at the clock on her phone. "I should go," she said as she got up from the couch. "I'm sorry I came barging over here."
"It's fine, you were just looking out for your friend," Annie said as she escorted the girl to the door. "Lexi is very lucky to have you in her life."
"Thanks." Cassidy opened the door and started to walk out before turning back. "You're not nearly as bad as Lexi's made you out to be."
"Thank you for that," Annie softly said as she closed the door.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"Eleven hundred dollars!" Stacy yelled. "That's how much it's going to cost to repair it?"
"I know it's a lot, Miss," the mechanic told her. "But we're going to have to repaint all the spots on the car the eggs dried on. If you had wiped it off immediately there might not have been so much damage."
"I didn't know this happened until this morning!" Stacy yelled. "My dad heard some noise last night but couldn't see what'd happened to my car. I got up and found it like this."
"And I'm sorry. But since it's damaged the paint it's going to have to be repainted and refinished. Plus there's some dents from the eggs we have to bang out. And the side window's cracked, so we have to replace that. Bottom line, that's about how much it's going to cost to repair the car."
I'm going to fine the assholes who did this, Stacy angrily thought. I'm going to find them and they're going to pay.