Find You in the Dark (Find You in the Dark #1)(42)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

I wished the floor would just open up and swallow me. But my mom wasn’t done yet. “I’m not sure what the rules are at your house. But in this one, we do not condone two young people, particularly when they are dating, being alone together in a bedroom. I remember what it was like to be your age. With the hormones flying and not always knowing when to put the brakes on things.” Oh dear Lord! “Mom!” I yelped in mortification.

My mom turned her harsh gaze on me. “And you, young lady, will have consequences for blatantly disregarding our rules. Whatever your reason for doing so.” She looked between Clay and I. “Your father and I will be in the kitchen eating. I suggest you get Clayton out of here before your father sees him.” I sagged in my chair with relief. My mom was bad enough, but I sure didn’t want to be tag teamed by both she and dad.

“And then you come straight down to the kitchen.” The guilt flared up again as I heard the angry disappointment in her voice. With a final pointed look at Clay, she went back down stairs. Clay got to his feet and put his books back in his bag. “That could have been a lot worse.” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

Clay looked up at me through his hair. “Well, that was bad enough.” He said gloomily. I hated when he got that tone. It tore at my heart. I went over to him and wrapped my arms around him, rubbing my nose with his. “Don’t worry about them. They disapprove of everything.” I murmured, trying to make this better for him.

Clay hugged me back, kissing me lightly on the lips. “No, your mom hates me now. I get it. I keep screwing things up where they’re concerned.” He pulled back and slung his book bag over his shoulder. I touched his arm. “Don’t leave so upset, Clay. Come on. We were having a good time. Don’t let them ruin it.” I sounded a little desperate. But I hated these dark moods of his. They worried me.

Hearing the concern in my voice, he gave me a smile. A small one, but a smile nonetheless. “I just want to do everything right by you, Mags. I want to be the perfect boyfriend. I want your parents to like me and not blow a gasket when we spend time together.” I wanted to cry at the despair in his words. “I don’t want perfect, Clay. I want you.” Clay rested his forehead against mine, kissing me slowly. “I love you so much. I just want to be everything you deserve.”

My stomach flopped over at his words. “You are everything. To me you’re the world.” I whispered against his mouth. At that moment, I knew it was the truth. I’d follow Clayton Reed to the edge of the Earth if he asked me to. We stood that way for a moment, absorbing the comfort that only we could give each other.

But then too soon, Clay pulled away. “Okay, sneak me out of here and I’ll call you later.” I took his hand and we quietly went down the stairs, my heart threatening to explode with every creak of the floor boards.

I could hear the nondescript murmur of my parents’ voices in the kitchen and knew we were in the clear. I carefully opened the door and shepherded Clay outside. I blew him a kiss and he pretended to catch it. I giggled and closed the door after making sure he was out of the driveway. I then made my way to the kitchen. The walk down the hallway was like walking the gangplank.

Chapter Thirteen

My parents looked up at me as I came into the kitchen. My dad gave me a warm smile. “Hi there my Maggie girl.” I looked at mom and tried not to shrivel under the dark look she gave me. So, she wasn’t going to tell my dad about Clay being in my room, but I guessed that didn’t mean I wouldn’t be punished in other ways. Like being slowly tortured by her evil eye.

“Get a plate and get some cheese wantons before your mother eats them all.” My dad joked, earning him a pinch in the arm from my mom. “You make me sound like a gluttonous pig, Martin.” She sounded annoyed. Though I knew her bad mood had nothing to do with my dad and everything to do with me.

I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a soda. “Why don’t you drink some milk or water instead of that syrupy junk.” My mom said sharply. I saw the look my dad shot her. He was confused about her apparent irritation with me. Normally I would have argued, but I recognized that would have been the wrong move. So I put the soda back and instead got a glass from the cabinet.

Filling it with water from the tap, I came and sat at the kitchen table. My dad moved the cartons of Lo Mein and Sweet and Sour Chicken so I had room for my plate. “So how was school today?” My dad asked brightly. I shot a glance at my mother, but she was looking at her phone, checking emails.

“Good. I got an A minus on my English Lit project.” I reported, trying to ease the tension in the room. My dad patted my hand. “Wonderful, Maggie. You take after your ol’ dad, smart and beautiful.” I couldn’t help but smile at my dad’s compliment and it made me feel even worse for being deceitful. My mom looked up from her phone. “Yes. But book smarts doesn’t replace common sense, wouldn’t you say? Good decision- making is important. Right, Maggie?” She asked me pointedly.

Great. I was going to have to suffer through a conversation laden with double meaning in the hopes my dad wouldn’t catch on. I only nodded and stuffed my mouth with a piece of chicken. My dad scooped more Lo Mein onto his plate and tried to take the wanton from my mom. She moved it out of his way and smiled. She could never stay irritated with my father for long. They were kind of beautiful like that.

“Nice try, Martin.” She said. My dad laughed and returned to his own food. We ate in silence for awhile. It was awkward, but better than having to make fake small talk. Finally my dad asked me, “Do you have any cool plans for Thanksgiving break? You and the crew doing anything epic?” I choked on my rice. “Cool? Crew? Epic? Have you been reading the urban dictionary again, dad? Trying to get in touch with the youth and all that?” I teased. My dad chuckled. “Hey. I’m hip. I’m down with the young folk.” He tried throwing a really horrible hip hop sign with his hands. I was in hysterics. “Enough! I can’t take it!”

My dad looked pleased that he had broken through the unbearable tension between us. My mom even laughed. Things relaxed a bit after that and I tentatively answered my father’s question. I knew I could never tell them we all planned to go to Clay’s cabin for the night. So I had to come up with a story quickly that would cover my tracks. One they would never question.

“Well, Rachel asked me to spend the night on Saturday. She wants a full on girl’s day. You know get pedicures, go see that new Brad Pitt movie. We haven’t spent a whole lot of time together lately.” My dad swallowed his food and nodded. “Sounds like fun. Can I come? I could use a new coat of polish on my toe nails.” I just shook my head, smiling at him.