“I have always trusted your judgment, Maggie. Until now. He’s changed you. I feel like you’re pulling away from everything but Clayton. It scares me to see this kind of intensity from you.” I reached out and gave my mom another hug. She held me, stroking my hair.
I didn’t say anything, just let her hold me like she’d always done. After a moment, I stepped out of her embrace. “Please don’t worry about me. I promise that I’m fine. You can’t start blaming Clay for everything. He’s an important part of my life now. I want you to be okay with that. Youwereokay with that,” I reminded her.
My mom frowned. “That was before I realized how willing you were to throw our rules and everything else out the window for him.”
“Don’t you think you’re overreacting to the situation a bit?” I asked, hoping to reason with her.
My mom shook her head. “I tried to be okay with your relationship. I knew your dad was unhappy with it, but I wanted to be supportive. But I know what was going on upstairs before we got home. I’m not stupid.” I flushed with embarrassment and my mother looked at me closely.
“Your father had told you not to have him up there. You have never disrespected us or our rules before. But now... you’re doing it all the time. Blowing off family dinners, ignoring your friends, defying your dad when he asks you to not have Clayton in your room when we’re not at home. Things are getting out of hand and I just want you to take stock of what it is you’re jumping into.” I hated to see the tears in my mother’s eyes, but knew I couldn’t give her the kind of assurance she really wanted.
“Please, Mom. Just trust me. Try to give me the benefit of the doubt. You always have before,” I pleaded.
My mom sighed and tucked a bit of my hair behind my ear, like she’d always done when I was little. “I’ll try. For your sake. But just don’t go making rash decisions that could impact the rest of your life. Teenage pregnancy is a very real thing.”
I cringed. “Mom, seriously. Can we not talk about that right now?”
My mom gave me her best stern expression. “Maggie May Young, I know that teenagers have sex. I’ve seen you with Clayton. I know sexual chemistry when I see it. Your dad and I had plenty of it when we first got together.”
I made a gagging noise. “Yuck, Mom. Are you trying to kill me, here?”
My mother rubbed my cheek with her finger. “Just don’t do anything stupid and I will try and trust you. Just don’t make me regret it.” Her words echoed ominously in my ears. Why did I feel the twinge of a premonition at her words?
I straightened my spine and gave her my best smile. “I won’t. Now, I’m just going to go take a drive. Maybe stop by and see Daniel or something.”
“Okay, but take your cell phone and don’t be home any later than nine thirty. It’s a school night.”
I grabbed my purse and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be home soon. Love you,” I told her.
I hurried to my car and got in. After driving around for ten minutes listening to my angsty indie rock at full volume, I ended up where I should have figured I was headed—Clay’s house.
I knocked lightly on the door. I was startled when Clay’s aunt Ruby swung it open. “Maggie!” she said brightly, pulling me into a lavender-scented hug. She was dressed in her normal gypsy/hippie wardrobe, a patchwork sheer blouse with bell sleeves and a long, leaf-patterned skirt that hung over her bare feet. Her bright red hair hung loose and her green eyes sparkled. She was one of the most sincerely kind people I had ever met, and I loved her for loving Clay so much.
“Come in, honey.” She closed the door behind me and ushered me into the living room. Ruby’s girlfriend, Lisa, sat at the computer, a pair of black glasses perched on her straight and severe nose. Lisa was what you would call “butch.” She had short black hair and her clothes were very masculine. She was a little intimidating if you didn’t know her. But the smile she gave me as I came in transformed her face into something lovely.
“We didn’t know you were coming over, Maggie. Nice to see you,” Lisa’s rough voice said. I smiled back and dropped my purse on the armchair.
“I was just out for a drive and wanted to come and see Clay.”
Ruby squeezed my shoulder. “Didn’t he just leave your house an hour ago?” she teased.
I laughed. “Yeah,” I said shyly.
Lisa chuckled. “Ah, young love. Remember what that was like, Ruby?”
Ruby crossed the room and leaned down to give her girlfriend a loving kiss on the mouth. “I still do, Lise,” she murmured in her ear.
They were so sweet together, their love for each other apparent. Ruby straightened up. “Can I get you some tea? I’ve made some delicious raspberry wheat germ that is wonderful for cleansing your aura.”
Lisa shook her head at me from behind Ruby’s back. “No!” she mouthed, letting me know not to take Ruby up on the offer.
I tried not to giggle. “Um, I’m fine, Ruby. I think I’ll just head up to Clay’s room, if that’s okay.”
Ruby waved her hand. “Go ahead. Just follow the depressing goth rock.” She laughed.
I gave her another hug before going upstairs. I loved how laid-back she and Lisa were. No stupid rules about girls in Clay’s room, and they sure as hell didn’t care if we were in there with the door closed. It was nice to be treated like an adult.
I could hear30Seconds to Marsblaring from the room at the end of the hall. Clay listened to his music at an earsplitting volume. How he hadn’t gone deaf was beyond me. I was eager to see him, make sure he was cool after the episode at my house. Mostly I just needed to kiss him and touch him.
