The deadbolt of the apartment clicked open. "Mom, I'm home," Emily hollered. She went into her bedroom and put down her backpack beside her desk.

Her cat, Max, came in to greet her before her mother did. He hopped onto her antique pipe iron bed and purred ecstatically while she scratched beneath his chin.

When Maggie finally came into the room to see her daughter, she was tucking the white blouse into the black polyester pants she always wore to wait tables. "The restaurant just called. I picked up an extra shift tonight."

Her mother was only forty-one years old and still slender and attractive. So she made excellent tips when she worked the dinner shift. It wasn't something she passed on if they called.

Maggie kissed Emily's cheek and apologized, "I won't be able to cook you dinner tonight. But I already took the chicken out to defrost, so do me a favor and do something with it so it doesn't spoil."

"Sure thing Mom." Emily walked into the kitchen to see the state of the chicken and what else was in the fridge.

Her mother trailed behind her and tried to sound casual as she began the expected interrogation. "How was it?"

I have no desire to get into a conversation about New Jersey. Any discussion that centers on Dad or John will either end up making Mom miserable or in an argument between us...

"I really don't want to talk about this." Emily grimaced as she rattled bottles around in the cabinets to pull out the makings of a marinade.

"You can tell me about your weekend Emily. I'm fine," Maggie insisted.

Emily bent down to get a bowl from a lower cabinet and blew a big chunk of hair from her eyes. "It was okay. I barely saw Dad, Suzanne or John all weekend."

Her mother frowned at her and pressed, "So what did you do?"

Emily began to dump some oil, vinegar and seasoning into the bowl. "I wrote my Morality paper. I met some neighbors. This one really nice neighbor girl named Samantha gave me a dress that didn't fit her."

Emily blew another piece of hair from her face.

Better tie it up before I handle the raw chicken...

She twisted a rubber band around a sloppy ponytail while her mother put her keys and phone into her purse as she prepared to leave.

Success! I actually navigated the New Jersey topic without serious incident...

But then Emily turned to grab the chicken out of the fridge and her mother immediately froze.

"What's that?!" Maggie demanded and moved closer to examine Emily's neck.

Her mother licked her thumb and rubbed it against the makeup caked spot.

Maggie's face shriveled up in scrutiny and then she erupted. "Emily Louise! That better not be what I think it is!"

It's nearly impossible to form a coherent thought while my mother rages, let alone a full sentence...

Emily stuttered, "I... uh... well... it..."

Maggie yelled, "I knew I shouldn't let you go! Your father has no rules. All he cares about is being your friend, not your parent! He just wants to win. He wants your brother and you there because it hurts me. He's selfish! All of those hobbies and not an extra care or dollar spent on your education or your future. You go there for three days and come home with your neck marked up like... like... like... some SLUT!"

Emily's face crumpled. She wanted to yell back.

I knew you were going to be angry with Dad, and of course I suspected you would be upset with me as well... but I had no idea that you would be frothing at the mouth and call me such a horrible name. One... okay two mistakes... don't make me a slut! How dare you call me such a hateful thing when I'm far more innocent and responsible than a lot of girls my age!

But frustratingly, big fat tears rolled down her face instead.

Emily shoved past her mother, ran into her room, slammed the door and locked it. She threw herself facedown and sobbed with her mouth buried into her pillow, trying to not make a sound.

I don't want to give her the satisfaction...

Maggie jiggled her doorknob and screamed through the door. "Don't you dare run away from me and lock your door! This is my house and I work my ass off for you and you will not disrespect me by slamming a door in my face!"

Emily wiped her eyes on the paisley pillowcase, got up from her bed, and unlocked the door. She stood in the doorway glaring at her mother.

"What?" she growled.

Maggie seethed back at her daughter. "I have to go to work now. But we will discuss an appropriate punishment tomorrow morning." Then she turned on her heel to storm out of the apartment.

Emily cried for an hour after her mother left and then went back to deal with the chicken.

It slid out of the styrofoam carton into the bowl with a sickening squelchy splat and now she wanted to vomit looking at the pink gelatinous glob as she stirred it into the marinade.

Emily decided to cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it back into the refrigerator.

Cereal for dinner tonight...

She walked back into her room with her bowl in hand and heard her phone chime.

Emily was grateful for the distraction from her misery and hoped it was Jenny texting that she was done with her paper. But she was happier to discover that it was from Evan. She read it.

Listening to this and thinking of you...

She followed the link he sent to a song called "Emily" by a British rock band named Lower Than Atlantis.

Despite her abysmal mood, the hammering guitars and steady drumbeat made her toss her ponytail around her head and tap her spoon against the side of her bowl.

Then she sent back her own English rock band choice. Radiohead's "Creep" communicated the type of mood she was in. A few minutes later, Evan responded.

Having a bad day Brooklyn?

Emily smiled to see that he had read her intentions perfectly. His next text came through.

Want to talk about it?

She debated whether or not she should unburden herself to him.

Can I reveal to him what my life is really like? Would he still like me if I did? He said he is interested in being my friend if we couldn't date...

While she weighed the pros and cons of calling Evan, her phone vibrated to life as his name appeared on the screen. He had made up her mind for her.

Today is as good as any to start building that friendship...

She answered his call. "Hello Evan."

His voice was concerned. "Are you okay Emily?"

Just hearing his voice has already made me feel a little bit better...

Emily decided to be honest with Evan and told him about the distance she sensed from Jenny. She expressed her concern that her best friend was going through something that she wasn't confiding in her. Then she launched into describing the fight with her mother.

Evan's really good at listening... I can tell that he isn't doing anything else while he talks with me, like watching television or checking out Snapchat... He asks questions when he needs explanations... He reacts the way I want him to during the more intense parts of my day, like when he heard that Mom called me a slut...

When she finished Evan lamented, "I'm sorry that you fought with your Mom and even more sorry that I was the cause of it."

Emily clarified, "You weren't exactly the cause. You were more like the excuse."

Then Evan added, "I think she's going to hate me even more than your Dad does."

Emily gave a little laugh at his attempt at a joke.

"So what do you think your Mom will do to punish you?"

"I'm going to guess she'll take my phone away for a few days at least."

Evan made a deep rumble of concern through the phone. "How will I get in touch with you then?"

Emily explained, "She can't take away my laptop because I need it to do schoolwork. So you can email me. I'll text you my address."

He huffed, "That'll have to do, I guess. But I like hearing your voice too. It sucks that I won't be able to talk to you like this again. Can we Skype?"

"No way! Mom made me tape the camera on the laptop after that teen beauty queen scandal where she was hacked by a virus that allowed the weirdo to record her changing and stuff without her knowledge."

Then Emily hummed thoughtfully, "Hmmmm."

Evan reacted to the promise in that noise. "Hmmmm what?"

"We do have a house phone. But you would have to risk my mother picking up if she were home when you called. And considering you think she already hates you I'm not sure if you are willing to try that," she offered.

However Evan jumped at the opportunity, "I absolutely want your house number. If she already hates me how much worse can it get?"

I'm not sure that I should answer that...

"You're better at this friend stuff than I gave you credit for last night," she complimented instead.