Brady Remington Landed Me in Jail(50)

"I'll have fun today. I don't need classes to have fun…" And I didn't so I went to the library and found a corner to hunker down. A part of me did feel foolish because seniors didn't have to be in school for the last week, but the truth was that I didn't know where else to go. Brady worked during the day and I went to school. I suppose I could've stayed home, but I shuddered at that situation.

Later when the last bell of the day rang, I lifted my head and yawned. I'd read most of the day, fallen asleep a couple times, and emerged only once to find something to eat. After that I had stayed put and eventually curled back into a ball on the floor.

Now, as I was headed home, I passed the Corner Diner and glanced over. Sure enough, Clarissa was right. The parking lot was overflowing with cars and a few trucks filled with water tanks. Some guys held water balloons behind their backs and I sighed in slight amusement. At least I wasn't there where I would've gotten drenched. Brady was probably there. Brady was probably the one who had the idea.

When I got home, I was surprised to see the front door propped open by a potted plant. The screen door flapped open briefly every now and then, but as I stepped inside, I was met with siesta music and the smell of baked jalapenos. My grandmother sashayed around the kitchen with the pepper apron on and her hair swept up in a high ponytail. She looked showered and refreshed.

"Hey." I was cautious. I never knew what I was going to get now.

"Hi!" Viola turned with a bright smile on and a forced twinkle in her eyes.

My heart fell. It was all a show. "How are you?"

My grandmother chuckled heartily as she produced a pan of muffins from the oven. "I'm good. I'm good. Why wouldn't I be good?"

I let my bag drop from my fingers. "Are you okay?"

"What—huh?"

I'd never seen my grandmother like this. She was the kind to tackle whatever demon or obstacle lay in front of her and hoot and holler as she did. This Viola looked like the type that I knew she detested. She was faking. And she was bad at it.

"You're singing and you're dancing and you're baking?"

Viola deadpanned, "Yeah. Why?" Her pan of muffins didn't waver in her jalapeno potholders.

"I had sex with Brady." I took a deep breath. Let's get this started.

My grandmother took a breath and then another one. The muffins started to waver now.

I pressed, "Ever since you found out, you've been avoiding me. You haven't wanted to talk to me. How is that normal when a parent-like figure is avoiding the teenager? I'm supposed to be the one avoiding you. Not the other way around. Now you're dancing around and acting like everything is hunky dory? It's not."

As Viola swallowed visibly, I watched how the muffins almost dropped.

I cried out, "I am sorry that I have shamed you so much that you can't even talk to me. I am sorry that you can't bear to be in the same room as me except when Clarissa was here. I am sorry that I turned out just like my mother and you've had to deal with all this past stuff again. I am so sorry that…I don't even know what anymore. I'm sorry for disappointing you and for not being the perfect daughter that my mother never was!"

The muffins dropped.

I brushed away some tears. "And you don't even know what's been going on in my life. Brady and I had sex. Then Clarissa acted like my friend only to not really be my friend. There are these other girls who hate me. Kid—what do I even say about him? Brady hates him. You hate him, but I don't. Then he tells me all this stuff about his dad. Is Frank Stephens my father? And if he is, then why does he hate me so much?"

I gulped for a breath and wiped away more tears before I looked at my grandmother. She stood there frozen with the pan still in her hands. Her eyes were glazed over like she was seeing a stranger.

I took another shuddering breath.

Viola choked out, "Are you saying—are you in love with Brady?"

My eyes went wide. "That's all I get?"

She took another deep breath and slowly placed the muffin pan on the table. "So…you two had sex."

"Yes."

She nodded with her lips pursed and a look of concentration on her face. "Okay. So…have you had sex again?"

I nodded,. Then I rushed out, "But I have my period so I know I'm not pregnant. I went to the doctor and I have birth control now. Just in case, you know."

"So…" She looked in pain. "Are you two a couple?"

"I…" I had no idea what to say. Were we? We hadn't talked about it. I loved him. I knew that, but that was about it. I hung my head and whispered, "We haven't really talked about it except that Brady once said he couldn't handle the changes."

My grandmother always knew what to say, but this was the one time I saw that she had no clue. A myriad of emotions flickered over her face. "So…I am sorry, Rayna. I know that I'm supposed to be the perfect and wise grandma who knows what to say to you, but I don't. Do I like the idea of you and Brady? No. Am I torn because I know that you're my granddaughter and you've finally given yourself to a boy? Yes. I want to hug you, soothe you, and tell you that everything is going to be okay. But I can't. Do I love you? Of course I do. Do I know what to do to make everything alright? If I did, things wouldn't be this screwed up. I would've known what to say the first time I found out."