"Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes." - The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan

[24] tense conversations

Everything was unbearably tense. The house was quiet except the sound of my dad cooking. My mom was reading the newspaper, sniffling a couple times. On a typical morning in the Livingston household, we had music playing and we talked over it. But today there was no music and my dad's shoulders were tense and my mom wouldn't stop sniffling. I wanted to ask what was wrong, but I didn't really want the answer. The images of last night of my mom and dad in the bathroom still flashed across my eyes.

When I had gotten up to go to the kitchen late at night, I could her low mumbling and decided to find it. The bathroom door was cracked open, so I peeked through. It was my mom and dad, crouched on the floor. My mom had tears running down her face and my dad was rubbing her arms in attempts to comfort her. I'd gone straight back to bed, not wanting to disturb them. Now, in the morning, things were weird.

My dad announced breakfast was ready and we got up go fix our plates. Once we had sat down and began eating, it was silent once again.

"Nolan," my mom said, her voice sounding loud in the silence. "How was yesterday? With your friends?" I glanced at her. Her hair was untamed from sleep but her eyes were bright and fixated on me. She was oblivious to the fact that I knew she'd been crying in the bathroom with dad late last night.

I set my fork down, "Good. It was fun." I bit my lip, the urge to know what was wrong with her eating at me.

"Where'd you go?" asked my dad. He looked exhausted still. He wasn't a morning person and neither was I. But something was still off. His shoulders were tense and he just looked sad. Which just added to my confusion and curiosity.

"Fun N Go," I told them quietly as I gathered some eggs in my fork. Worry made a home in my chest, and I tried not to let it get too heavy.

My mom smiled, "I remember going there back when I was in school, especially on some of our dates."

Dad chuckled, "Yeah, remember when we played mini golf?" He turned to me, a faint smile on his lips. "Your mom hit that golf ball so hard, it hit the couple in front of us."

"Well, it was an accident and I didn't like Margaret Andrews anyways." My mom said, staring at my dad with a smile of her own. Everything was easing back into normalcy. I still wondered what was wrong with my mom last night, but they could've just gotten in an argument and things got ugly fast. From the looks they were now sharing, everything seemed fine now.

Or at least I hoped.

°°°

The hope that gathered in my head that I could avoid my brother and his further inspection completely vanished once lunch time rolled around. Mom had asked David to make some extra food, and I knew automatically it was for Morris. Undoubtedly, it would be me making that trip to him to deliver it.

Once the food was hot and ready, my mom handed me the bag of food. "Why don't you take this to your brother?" asked my mom with her usual polite smile. "You haven't done it in a while. I figured he'd enjoy seeing you."

I just managed a smile, pressing down the fear of us talking and him asking questions I didn't want to answer. "Okay," I said, grabbing the bag and my keys before heading out. It was a busy day during lunch time, but everything seemed to be in control so I wasn't worried about them not being able to handle it.  The ride over was quiet and I got there quickly. My nerves were bundled so tightly, my pace was slow as I made it to the front doors. The sheriff stood near the front, one hand on his belt while the other stroked his stubble, talking with another officer with papers in his hands.

I scanned my eyes across the room, searching for Morris but he didn't seem to be there. I walked over to one of the officers who sat at the front desk. "Do you know where Morris is? I got some lunch for him."

The lady looked up, her eyes sweeping the room. "Last I saw him, he was at his desk. His fiancée might've wanted to have lunch together, I don't know though." She pursed her lips, making me notice the fresh layer of lipgloss she must've applied. "Just give me the bag and I'll give it to him when I see him, okay? Sorry about that; I wish I knew where he was."

Something that felt along the lines of relief rushed into my bones, making my emotional state going into a sort of new calm. I smiled politely and hoped my smiled didn't look too big or happy. "It's fine. Thank you though. Have a good evening."

"You too," she waved as I started heading towards the doors to leave.

I was halfway to my car when I heard my name called a few feet away, and I automatically knew it was Morris. When I turned around, he was kissing Addie goodbye before she drove off in her car. He jogged over to me, boyish smile on his face. "What're you doing here?"

I squinted my eyes at the bright sun. "Mom wanted to bring you lunch. But I see you've already had lunch with Addie."

He turned his head back where Addie's car had been. "Yeah, I probably should've told her in case she brought me something. But that's okay 'cause I got something for lunch tomorrow now."

I shoved my hands in my pockets, rocking back on my heels. My underarms were damp with sweat not only from the heat but my nerves. "Well, the lady at the front desk has the bag that she'll give to you once you go inside. So... I'll leave you to it."

Morris eyed me and nodded. "Alright. Tell mom I said thanks."

"I will," I started to edge away, just a bit, to let him know I wanted to be gone. I felt like the quicker I got out, the less interrogation I'd get from him. "I better get back - it's busy during lunch hour, you know."

Morris sighed, "You know were going to have to talk about this, right?"

"About what?" I feigned innocence although my heart beat quickened.

Morris crossed his arms over his chest, the slight muscles in his arms flexing. He'd never been a man with a ton of muscles or a six pack, but he had the slightest definition on his arms. "About that girl you brought over," he said. "I know you remember who she is. She was the girl who drunk underage. You probably know about her running off without her parents coming to get her."

I kicked a rock out of my path. I didn't know what to say and was more nervous than anything. How much trouble would I be in? Could I get arrested? I licked my dry lips and kept my eyes centered on the ground.

"It was you who snuck her out, wasn't it? There's no way she'd gotten away so quick without someone with a car. And there's definitely not a coincidence that you two know one another." Morris never let his eyesight stray from my face. "What'd she do to convince you, huh? Smile and use her charm? I know you're a good kid, but mixing with the wrong people-"

"She's not that bad," I defended her, snapping my eyes from the ground to look at his neutral expression.

"You're lucky the sheriff decided not to track her down too hard, he figured she'd learn her lesson. If she came back again, he'd definitely make sure she learned it then." Morris shook his head at me, disappointment and confusion laced in his tone. "If he or anyone else found out you did that for her, know how much trouble you'd be in? Only a legal guardian was supposed to pick her up. Not some boy she used her charm on only for her needs at that moment-"

I gritted my teeth, "It wasn't like that."

"Then how did it go?" He asked, an aggravated look crossing his face. "You're too sweet of a boy for someone like her, Nolan."

Clarity did flirt just to get me to let her go, but it wasn't like I was upset with the idea. I wanted to help her, she didn't force me to do because I made that decision on my own. Of course, she did help influence me. In the end, I made the decision to let her into my car anyways. "That's what I thought." He said when I answered with nothing but silence.

"Are you going to tell the sheriff?" I said instead, eyes sweeping down to look at my feet. I felt embarrassed and really angry for some reason.

Morris shook his head. "No, there's no point now. There's not much we can do. Besides, from her records she might come back."

I set my lips into a firm line. How dare he talk about her like that? Just because she'd gotten in trouble in the past didn't mean she'd be doing stuff again. That was a clouded judgement from Morris and I felt even more angry. "Well," I said in a clipped tone. "I better get back."

Morris laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it, "I'm sorry if I upset you, alright? I just want to warn you about her and I don't want you to hate me for it. I'll see you around, buddy."

I said nothing in return. Instead I just kept walking until I got into the car and headed to the diner. What upset me most was his judgement on her. Isn't he the one who always would advise me how people can change? Especially since he was a live example of it. When he was younger, he'd sneak off to party and hang with his buddies and girlfriend. Suddenly since it's not like that anymore, he just pretends it didn't exist? And that anyone who does that will never change?

Gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter, I turned towards the diner and parked. Right now, I was upset. Once I stepped foot inside, I'd pretend nothing had happened.