“I know,” she whispered.
“You’re only seventeen. What were you thinking? What kind of guy wants to meet you in the middle of the night? You could have gotten yourself hurt, or killed.”
“Or mauled,” she said under her breath louder than she’d wanted.
“Mauled,” he asked and she saw the anger flash in his eyes. “What do you mean mauled?”
“Nothing, I meant nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me again,” he warned. “Did he hurt you, this Kevin guy? Which Kevin was it, Kevin McNally or Kevin Hartwig? Was it that jackass jock Anderson? Whichever it was, I can take a drive over there right now and let him try to maul me!”
“No, no Dad. Everything’s fine,” she lied and felt warmth spread across her cheeks. She was unaccustomed to lying to her father. “I was just, uh, supporting your argument.”
He did not seem convinced. “Melissa, you broke my trust once today. Do not try for a second time. When you lie to me I can’t trust you or protect you.”
The last thing she had wanted was to lose his trust, though she’d known it was a consequence from the start. She hated herself for being so stupid earlier, for choosing to do something that threatened the trust between them. She had been wrong, plain and simple. And earning her father’s trust back would not be easy. She cried quietly.
“Get some sleep, Missy. We’ll talk in the morning,” he father offered with a pained look.
“Aren’t you going to ground me ‘til I’m thirty?” she asked through sobs.
“Nope. I doubt it. I don’t think you’ll be sneaking out to meet that jerk, or any other, anytime soon. But in the meantime, I’m calling Ronnie and Frank tomorrow to see about chopping down that old oak by your window,” he said and winked. “Love you. And please don’t pull any crap like this again, okay?”
“Okay,” she breathed and watched as her father disappeared upstairs. She waited a moment before going up to her room. Once she heard his door shut, she ascended the staircase and went straight to her room. She sat on her bed and a fresh wave of tears washed over her. She felt shame for her bad behavior, and agonized over the days to come, days that included Kevin. He sat at the desk behind her in third period English class. The thought of him looming a desk away after the evening they spent together made her cringe. In a few short hours, she’d be forced to face him. She desperately wished she could rewind the night to the moment she’d received his text. She would have made an excuse, or told him her father was awake, anything to have avoided the whole ordeal. But she knew that time continued, that there was no rewind button in life. If there were, she’d go back even farther, to when her mother had been alive. She slumped down on her bed and allowed her body to fall back against her pillows. She closed her eyes and willed the night away. And the night vanished. Within seconds, deep, velvety oblivion enveloped her and she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Arianna's Awakening (Arianna Rose Part 1 & The Awakening Part 2) Page 28