About 15 minutes later, Ezra pulled up to my house. The ride was silent and awkward. We exchanged a couple of sideways glances on the way, but neither one of us attempted to speak. I knew this is the end of our little fling; I just hoped that we could start acting normal together when we saw each other again. I didn't know what normal was with him, but I was hoping it was nothing like what just happened in the kitchen. Ezra had to be unstable.

My Mom's minivan was in the driveway. The back hatch was open and I could see piles of groceries inside. My Mom walked back out to the van and started fumbling, trying to pick up too many bags at once. Ezra watched my Mom struggling for a few seconds and then shut off his car.

"What are you doing?" I asked. My heart was racing.

He didn't answer me. He just climbed out of the car and started towards the back of the van. I jumped out of the car behind him, racing to try to find out why he didn't just drop me off and then bolt.

My Mom looked up at him and smiled. "Ezra, it's so nice to see you again."

"Hey, Stacie." He returned her smile. Ezra had turned on his "Mom" charm. "You want some help with those?"

"Really?" She beamed back at him.

Ezra had her fooled. He was really good at this. This dark, bad boy pretended to be all sugar and honey. He pushed his hand through his hair and back off his face. He knew I was watching his every move.

"Here, how about you go back inside and I can get the rest of these." He took the straps from the groceries out of her hands.

"Thank you."

Mom finally looked over and saw me standing behind him. Her face looked a little confused at the sight of me in unfamiliar clothes. She looked between us, trying to figure out what we were doing together. My Mom was too sharp to fall for any lie I was trying to quickly fabricate in my head.

"Hey, Mom," I hugged her quickly, trying to buy myself a few more moments to think. She ran her hands over my back and paused when she realized I wasn't wearing a bra. The thought never even crossed my mind that I didn't have one on. I had a large chest, so there was no way I would have gotten away without her knowing. She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed hard before pulling away to glare at me disapprovingly.

"Hey Peanut, what are you two up to?" She looked suspiciously between us, assessing the situation some more. She was sniffing this out; I could feel it. It was time to start weaving another web of lies to someone I loved to keep my secrets. If I put enough truth in the story, maybe I could pass it off as slightly believable.

"JD drove me to that concert last night. It ended pretty late and I forgot my keys, so I went back to the band house instead of coming home." The story came rushing out of my mouth too fast.

My Mom furrowed her brow looking down at the baggy clothes and too big socks. She was about to open her mouth to say something when Ezra jumped in to help.

"Some jerk at the concert spilled beer on Riley. Aiden let her borrow some clothes when we got back to the house. Everyone had to go to work this morning except me, so I told her I would drive her home since she didn't have her car." Ezra looked down at my Mom and flashed her an award-winning smile.

Relief washed through my mother's eyes when she heard Ezra say it was Aiden's clothes I was in. Ezra and I just lied to my Mother and she actually believed it. That was a first. I had always been a terrible liar and never got away with anything. He was a terrible influence on me.

"Sounds fun." She said with the smile returning to her face. The sparkle returned to her green eyes.

I reached in the back of the van and grabbed a few bags. I walked side by side with my Mom up to the door, with Ezra following close behind us.

"Riley, you should have put your bra back on before you left the house. You don't want to let boys think you're easy." My Mom leaned in and whispered a little too loud.

I heard Ezra snicker behind us and I wanted to reach back and slap him.

We walked into the house and placed the groceries on the island. Ezra went back out to carry another load in while I ran upstairs to find something more appropriate to wear so my Mom didn't make any more comments about how I wasn't wearing a bra. I was laughing to myself as I walked up the stairs thinking what her face would have looked like if she knew I wasn't wearing any underwear either.

I quickly threw on some denim shorts and panties. I pulled my bra on and then covered it with a tight pink tank top. I looked in the mirror, saw my cleavage poking out, and felt too exposed still. I decided to grab a long sleeve half-shirt and place it over the tank. I felt much better with more coverage.

I slipped my sandals on and pulled my hair up in a messy bun on top of my head. None of it was perfect, but it would have to do with the limited amount of time I had.

I had been upstairs too long and left Ezra downstairs with my Mom. Leaving them together too long was not a good idea. Hopefully, he wouldn't go crazy again and start calling my Mom a slut too. He was so up and down with me. He was giving me motion sickness. I never knew which version of Ezra I was going to get.

When I went back downstairs, Ezra was sitting at the island and had a can of Mountain Dew in his hands. My Mom was putting away the last bag of groceries. I paused a little to see if I could hear what they were talking about.

"Thank you for taking Riley home today. I feel so much better knowing you guys all look out for her. She's young and it is easy for a girl her age to get caught up in trouble."

"It's no big deal. I just wanted to make sure she got home safe." He sounded like he actually meant what he was saying to her. I knew better. He probably knew I was out here and just wanted me to feel bad about myself a little bit longer. I was so ashamed I couldn't stay away from him last night.

"Well, it's a lot to ask. I appreciate it. JD told me the story about that girl in the kitchen at that party you all had and I just get so nervous when I hear about things like that. Riley is young and doesn't have much experience and I worry she'll get herself in trouble if she gets around the wrong people."

What the hell, Mom?!?

I felt my cheeks flushing and my anger building. She was talking to him like I am some naïve, helpless little girl.

"It's really no problem. Riley is a sweet girl." Ezra said without hesitation.

"I know, but it doesn't mean she can't end up like that girl at the party." My Mom said. I could hear the tone of her voice shift, remembering the night I finally told her why JD was arrested. My Mom has never looked at me the same since that night. She didn't love me any less because of it, but I never felt like she fully trusted me after that night either.

"What happened to the girl at the party the other night was not the girl's fault. Some jerk thought he would take advantage of her while she was vulnerable. She couldn't have stopped the guy if she tried." Ezra said. I could hear something break in his voice at the end. It sounded like he was trying to hold himself together.

That's it.

Ezra was crazy.

There was absolutely no other explanation.

The words he was spewing to my Mom were the total opposite of what he told me in the band house's kitchen. He acted like it was my fault and I wanted it. How could a guy who could sound this sweet and sincere be the same guy who chewed me up and spit me out earlier? Maybe he had an evil twin and they switched places every time he walked out of a room.

"Oh my, that's not the story JD told me. Did you see what happened?" She asked. Her curiosity rising.

He hesitated for a second. "I was the one who pulled the guy off her."

"Well, it was a good thing you were there then. That girl could have gotten really hurt if you didn't stop him when you did."

I shifted, making a noise so they both knew I was coming into the kitchen. I didn't want to let on to the fact I was eavesdropping. My feelings about Ezra were changing as quickly as his moods. Between him sticking up for me and calling me names, I wasn't sure what he thought about me. I knew he didn't mind messing around with me, but he didn't seem to like me either. I didn't expect anything from him, so his words caught me off guard, making me even more confused.

"You look refreshed." My Mom said, turning to stick the last cans in the open cupboard. She shut the door softly behind her.

"I'm feeling a bit better."

I sat down on one of the barstools next to Ezra. He looked over at me and gave me a boyish smile. I blushed a little and quickly tried to hide my face. What was I doing? I was flirting with him like a little schoolgirl in front of my Mom.

The front door opened and I heard my Dad's gentle voice. "Honey, I'm home."

"We're in here, Dad." I said, still smiling at Ezra.
Ezra gave me a playful look and kicked at my foot. I kicked him back. He deserved it. I would have kicked him harder for what he said to me earlier, but I couldn't get the angle to kick him where I really wanted to.

I turned to see my Dad walk in and he froze when he saw the dark-haired boy with the piercings sitting next to his daughter. He and JD had the same protective stance. It was funny to watch.

"Hi Honey," My Mom said with a smile. She looked over where my Dad was staring a hole into Ezra. "Kurt, this is Ezra. Ezra is in the band with JD. He plays guitar."

My Dad's shoulders relaxed a bit; hearing Ezra was friends with JD meant he wasn't a threat to his innocent little girl.

"Hey, Ezra." My Dad said, walking over to where he was sitting. "New guitarist, huh? I played a little guitar back in my day too."

"Dad, you still play." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Well, I didn't want to brag about it. How long have you been playing?" He asked wanting to know about all things Ezra.

So did I.

"I started about ten years old." He answered.

I was instantly curious to hear more about him. I could sit and listen to Ezra's voice all day and it still wouldn't be enough. There was something about the dark-haired boy with the piercings that kept drawing me back in. 

"My Dad left my Mom and me and the only thing I had of his was his acoustic guitar. I picked it up one day and never put it down." He continued.

"Self-taught or lessons?" My Dad asked.

"I started teaching myself. By the end of my first week, I was able to play some simple three-chord songs. After a couple of months, my Mom noticed I was enjoying it so much that she enrolled me in a class with a classical instructor."

"Smart woman." My Dad said, genuinely impressed.

Ezra nodded in agreement.

Just the mention of his Mom caused Ezra to smile. Ezra must love his Mom a lot. It made me sad to hear that his Dad left them when he was young. I could even begin to sympathize with him since I had never experienced anything close to that. The closest thing I had ever come to being abandoned was when my Dad went on a weekend trip for his work when I was six. I cried the whole time he was gone because I thought he was never going to come home. Ezra was abandoned and no kid should ever have to go through that. Maybe Ezra did have a heart, after all, a guarded shriveled one that looked like a raisin, but I could see it buried in there.

"The band should come over to dinner sometime this week, maybe Wednesday?" My Mom said hopefully to Ezra. "It's been ages since I've seen everyone. Riley can help me make Lasagna and we can sit and talk about music. Do you think you guys can make it?"

"I have to work in the morning, but I could be here around five. We were going to have band practice in the evening, but I think they will reschedule for a homecooked meal." He took a sip of his Mountain Dew and sat it back down on the island.

"Riley, you can invite Brynn too, so you're not bored." My Mom suggested.

"I have to work that morning too," I told her. "My shift ends at 5:30 PM, so I won't be able to help."

"That's fine, peanut. Are you going to invite Brynn?" My Mom asked again, not letting me dodge the question.

But I didn't want to ask her to come. The little fling Ezra and I had was over, but I still didn't want to share any part of him with Brynn. I needed some time to process what happened with Ezra before she got her hands on him and tore him apart.

I was a terrible friend thinking those awful things and the guilt was too much for my conscience.

So, I caved and did the last thing I wanted to do.

"I'll ask her." I sighed in defeat.