Magnolia

Shit. Oh my god.

   I woke up and was confused where I was. After two minutes, I figured it out, but it wasn't good. Presley was fast asleep to my left. I reached for my phone and saw that it was 6A.M., but also that my phone had blown up with texts and calls.

   Shit. Fuck.

   I opened some of the texts. A few from Yasmin, asking where I was. Three from my mom, all caps. She was mad, but she was also worried. I could tell. The three missed calls were from her, too.

   Turning towards him,  I started to slowly shake Presley. I didn't care that this was going to be awkward, I just knew I had to deal with this, and I needed him.

   His eyes slowly opened and when he saw me, he looked confused, for a split second.

   "What..."

   "Presley, we fell asleep. It's 6A.M.-"

   "Shit!"

   He was already sitting up, wide awake. I can tell he's freaking out, and I wished he wasn't. I took in a deep breath and then reached out and touched his cheek. He shut his eyes for a second, slowing his breathing.

   "It's Saturday," he said, and I nodded for whatever reason. "What do we do?"

   "My mom's been calling and texting," I said, even though I knew this would get him worked up again. I didn't answer his question either.

   "I should get you home," he told me, sitting all up the way.

   "I don't want to go," I answered, leaning into him. "Can we just wait it out a little?"

   "You... want to stay?" he asked, the sweetest look on his face.

   "I told you I'm ready to stand up to them," I said, nodding. "Might as well really do it."

   "You want to stay," he repeated, then grinned.

   I leaned over a bit more and kissed his cheek. "You're so cute."

   He yawned, then turned his head and kissed me on the lips. "I've never spent the night with a girl."

   "I have," I said, then laughed. "I mean, a girl. As in, Yas. I've obviously never spent the night with a guy."

   He kissed me again, leaning into me. "I am so lucky."

   "You might not say that later, if my parents find out where I was all night," I said, trying to be funny.

   His face goes serious. "What are we going to do, actually?"

   "I just want to ignore my phone and stay here with you. Will your parents care that I stayed all night?" I asked, suddenly worried.

   "No. They trust me. But they'll care if your parents put out a missing person's report on you." He smiled, so I knew he was sort of kidding.

    "Right."

   Honestly, I had no idea what to do.

   We snuggled together for awhile, and Presley fell back asleep for a bit. I couldn't sleep, my brain was going too crazy, so I reached for my phone again and texted Yasmin back.

   I spent the night at Presleys.

   Yasmin: Excuse me, what??

   Me: I didn't really mean to, but we came back to his house last night after we met at our spot.

   Yasmin: Did you have sex?

   Okay, so she was just going to go out and ask.

   Me: No.

   Yasmin: Why not?!

   Yasmin: Sorry, that was rude. I was just excited for you. Anyway your mom's been calling.

   Me: She has?

   Yasmin: Yeah, I didn't answer. I didn't know what to say.

   Me: Okay. Thanks. I'm going to face her today, for real.

   Yasmin: Good luck. Call me later?

   Me: Will do, if I make it out alive.

Then I saw another text from my mom. It was the fifth one, but this one was different. The others were asking where I was. They were telling me that I was in trouble. But this one? I could tell she was desperate. My stomach tightened.

   You are so lucky that your father worked overnight. I will deal with this without involving him, if you cooperate.

   As if this was a negotiation. My parents had always thought of our lives that way. Business deals. Plans. Priorities. No fun, no just being a kid or a teenager. And I had had enough.

   Me: Is that a threat?

   Mom: Maggie, where are you? Why would you do this?

   Me: I'm fine, I'm safe. But I really just need you to back off a bit. Please?

   Mom: You spent the night somewhere and you're not with Yasmin, I assume. You need to come home.

   Me: So you can punish me?

   Mom: Magnolia, I wish things were different. I really do. But your father, he's not going to change his mind on this.

   Me: You're afraid of him, and you want me to be, too. But I'm not.

   A few minutes went by and she didn't text back. Shit. This was not good. I think I went too far.

   I woke up Presley as I was getting dressed. I knew his family would be surprised to see me there, but that was better than what was going to happen if I didn't get home. 

   "Hey," Presley said, yawning. I saw the gears turning in his head. "What's up?"

   "I think I should get home," I said, pulling my sweater on.

   He sat up and nodded, agreeing right away. He didn't care that it was only a bit after 7A.M. He didn't care that his parents might be down in the kitchen when we went down. He just got up and started getting dressed, too.

   Before we left his bedroom, he grabbed for my hand. I was so nervous because my mom didn't text again after what I said to her. I knew she was mad. I wondered if she took this was me not co-operating.

   "You're shaking," he told me, pulling me close to him. I let him kiss me and then he leaned his forehead against mine. "Last night was awesome."

   "Yeah," I said simply.

   "You're scared to go home," he told me, his strong arms still holding me against his body.

   "Yeah," I said again. "I wish I could stay."

   "Let's go get some coffee." His words didn't acknowledge what I said, which stung.

   Presley's dad was in the kitchen when we went downstairs. I wrapped my arms around my body and leaned against the door frame, not going into the kitchen. Presley's dad looked at me and smiled and then looked at him.

   "Good morning," he said, then seemed to go back to his breakfast.

   "Morning," Presley answered, already pouring two cups of coffee.

   "Uh, does Mom know that Magnolia was here all night?" his dad asked, still with no judgement in his voice.

   Presley shook his head quickly and then came back to where I was standing. He nodded towards the living room and I followed him, then sat beside him on the brown sofa. Finally, I exhaled. Presley smiled at me, handing me one of the cups of coffee.

   "It's okay, I'm here," he said, then takes his first sip.

   I drank back my coffee fast, even though it was hot, and then placed the cup down on the side table. I was leaning my head onto his shoulder, wishing I didn't feel complete dread throughout my body, as my phone vibrated in my sweater pocket. Instinctively, I pulled it out, flipped it over and looked at the message.

   Mom: I know where you are and I'm on my way there to get you.