Chasing Abby(20)

“We’re thinking of going to Jockey’s Ridge,” I reply, taking the clean skillet from my mom.
“Jockey’s Ridge again? You graduated eight days ago and you’re already repeating your summer outings. Why don’t you all go to the movies or something?”
“That’s a great idea!” I say as I hang the skillet up on the pot rack above the tiny kitchen island. “But… I have something I need to talk to you about first. Well, Caleb and I have something we need to talk to you about.”
My mom finishes drying off her hands on a clean towel then turns around. “What do you have to talk to me about?”
“We kind of wanted to talk to you and Dad.”
She looks at me like I’m crazy. “Abigail, is this something serious? What is going on here?”
“I’m not pregnant or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
She lets out a huge sigh and shakes her head. “Jesus, Abby. You scared the heck out of me. Your dad will be done soon.”
We all retire to the living room to watch some TV while we wait for my dad. My mom puts on the Animal Planet and I know Caleb is dying to make a smart comment. Every time we sit down to watch TV with my mom, she always puts on the Animal Planet. It’s almost as if she thinks this is the only safe channel to watch with us. Caleb thought he was so clever when he bought my mom an Animal Planet Explorer lifetime membership for her last birthday.
My dad walks in through the front door about twenty minutes later. My leg bounces impatiently as I wait for him to wash his hands and find us in the living room. When he comes out of the kitchen, he chuckles when he sees us all sitting down together and staring straight at him.
“Is this some kind of meeting of the minds? How’d it go last night, sweetheart?”
“It was great!” I reply quickly, shooting a glance at Amy.
“It was awesome, Mr. Jensen,” Amy begins. “We went for some fro-yo, then we watched pay-per-view porn all night.”
“Amy!” my mom shrieks while Caleb and I laugh.
“Oh, sorry. Was I not supposed to tell them about that?” Amy asks with a smile.
I can always count on her to completely erase any doubt that we were together. Though, according to Amy, my parents never called her all night. My mom did call me around ten o’clock to make sure I was okay and that I’d taken my nightly meds. But other than that, my sleepover with Caleb went off without a hitch. It’s almost frightening how easy it is to lie to my parents. Maybe I can lie to them about living off-campus with Caleb.
No, I could never pull that off. The stress alone would kill me.
And speaking of stress, here goes nothing.
“Mom, Dad. Caleb and I are going to share an apartment off-campus this fall.”
“What?” my mom and dad bellow.
“That is not even funny, Abby,” my mom says, her mouth hanging open as she waits for me to tell her this is a joke.
“Your mom’s right,” my dad agrees. “The porn joke was funny, but this is not.”
“It’s not a joke!” I shout as I push up from the sofa. “I’m eighteen years old. I’m allowed to live with whomever I choose and I want to live with Caleb. He knows me better than anyone. He knows when I’m stressed. He knows when I need to take my meds. He knows how to take care of me better than any random roommate ever will.” I look at Caleb and he has his head down, but I can see a shadow of a smile on his lips. “And we love each other.”
“Was this your idea?” my dad roars.
Caleb raises his head and I’m pleased to find he looks more surprised than scared. “No, sir. This was not my idea, but Abby’s right. I can take care of her better than anyone. I’d rather have her with me where I know she’s safe.”