Chloe let me use her computer so that I could finish my last assignment for the school year. I sat on the bed typing away. There were only three weeks of school left and I was grateful for it. That means less time to see Mr. Hudson. I guess I should go back to calling him that.

"I love you Lyd, but you need to go home."

"Why," I whined, stretching out the word.

"Because your mom is worried sick. She's been texting me all morning for your whereabouts. Now, I'm no snitch, but Claudia is the only parent in the world who scares me." She grabbed onto my arm and knelt down on the floor next to me, "I don't want to be banished from your house forever, for harboring a fugitive."

I pulled my arm back and sucked my teeth. "You're not going to be banished. And I'm not ready yet." She looked at me with pleading eyes. "Fine, tell her I'm here." She tilted her head to the side. "I'll go back home once I'm finished with this assignment. But, don't tell her that part." She grabbed her phone and started typing.

I wasn't ready for my mom's reaction when I got home. Not only had I slept with my teacher, but I had also run away and probably broken her phone. Clearly, the fall wasn't enough to where the phone didn't work though. I knew she was going to be pissed, but she knew what she said was going to hurt me and she said it anyway. Did she really think that of me?

"You know your mom didn't mean what she said."

It was like Chloe read my mind. "Of course she did. When you're drunk or mad the truth comes out."

"Or, when you're drunk, you lie to look cool, and when you're mad you lie to hurt the feelings of the people you're mad at."

"Regardless, that was low. And she blew everything out of proportion."

"I agree. But, you should at least hear her out."

"She wouldn't hear me out. And whose side are you on?"

"I'm always on yours. That's why I'm telling you this. You can't be mad at your mom forever."

"Yes, I can. Do you remember Carly Thompson in sixth grade? I hate her to this day."

Chloe laughed. "Okay, but she's a student. Claudia's your mother, and the only parent you have left. If my parents cared about me the way your mom cares about you, I would never take that for granted. Your dad left so she became both parents. She was always there. The only reason she got mad at you was because she cared."

As much as I didn't want to admit it, I knew she was right. "You know Chloe, you are smarter than people give you credit for."

"That's the highest compliment you could ever give me," she reached up to hug me and I hugged her back.

"What? I tell you you're gorgeous and a great dancer all of the time."

"Yeah but you're super smart, so if you say I'm even remotely smart, I die."

"Well, then I'll tell you more often."

"No, because then it loses its value. Save it for rare moments." Chloe got up to lie down on the bed and rested her head on my lap. "Would you ever have a threesome with me and another guy?"

"I don't even want to think about sex right now." I finally processed what she said. "Wait! What?"

"I was just curious," she shrugged.

"Why?"

"Because you have a banging body."

"Umm... thanks, but isn't that a little weird?"

"Only if you make it weird," she smiled.

"Have you had a threesome before?"

"No, but I've experimented with "tacos" before. It's definitely something I'd want to try. It's on my bucket list."

"What do you mean, you've 'experimented with 'tacos''?"

"You gotta try the food to know if you like it if you catch my drift." She winked at me and I burst out laughing.

"So, how was the food?"

"Eh, it was good. But nothing compares to good dick. But girls know how to go down way better."

I laughed, "Why is this the first time I've ever heard of this?"

"Honestly, I just remembered it. I was drunk and in a weird mood. I only did it that one time though."

"Would you do it again?"

"Maybe in college with someone more experienced. But I definitely want to try a threesome. I'd just rather do it with someone I know and am comfortable with. Like you."

"I'll take it into consideration," I said halfheartedly.

"Really," she perked up and I rolled my eyes. "That was more than I thought you were gonna say."

"If I agree it would be in college though."

"That's not too far away!"

"I know. But you have to find a good guy. And nice. And doesn't have any STDs."

"Deal," she held out her hand and shook mine.

"This is not for sure."

"It's too late, you already shook my hand. Ooh! I'm excited."

"Does that mean we have to...," I lowered my voice to a whisper, "flick each other's beans?"

She whispered along with me, "I would assume that's how a threesome works. You can study your pornos," she laughed.

"We agreed not to talk about that." I hit her shoulder.

"Anyways, it wouldn't be the first time we've seen each other naked.

"Oh yeah! When we waxed each other in tenth grade. That feels like a fever dream. It was funny though," I laughed at the memory.

"Yeah, maybe for you. You flinched like four times. That hurt like hell for me." We giggled.

"Promise me we'll still be friends in college. And forever."

"Promise." We wrapped our pinkies and pressed our thumbs together. We kissed our own hands and let go. Best friend promise. "If we've lasted this long, we'll last forever," she smiled up at me.

.

.

.

It was 2:24 pm when I got home. My mom was sleeping on the couch but started to stir when the door creaked closed.

I sat on the opposite couch and waited for her to get up. I'd rather just get this over with. When her eyes finally opened she looked at me and we both just stared at each other.

She walked over to me and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back. "I am so sorry, Lydia. I hope you know I didn't mean what I said. That was really low and a spur-of-the-moment thing." She pulled away from me and held onto my shoulders while looking into my eyes. "I love you so much. And I know that you're nothing like him and you never will be. Please know that I would never think that of you."

I just nodded. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I should've heard you out. I know you're a good kid. I've never had to yell at you before and I don't know what came over me." She sat down on the couch and looked into my eyes. "I'm willing to listen to you now."

I sighed. "I honestly don't know, it just sort of happened. It felt good to do something I knew I wasn't supposed to be doing after years of doing what everyone thought I should be doing. Plus I found comfort in him. I felt like I could talk to him and relate to him."

"Did you like him as more than a teacher or sexual partner?" I looked at the floor. I didn't know what to say. "Be honest."

"Yeah. I did. I don't know when it happened. I just knew one day that I had feelings for him. And I thought that he had feelings for me but I was stupid to think that."

"What happened?"

"I don't know, I think he's getting back with his wife or something. I just know that I don't want to see him," I rubbed my forehead. "I finished all of my work for the rest of the school year, and there are only three weeks left. Do I have to go?"

"One, you're not stupid for having feelings for someone. That's something you can't control. Two, I'll let you stay home for two weeks. I don't want you to miss your last week of high school."

"But mom..."

"This is part of your punishment. The other part is you're grounded," she shuddered. "That felt weird to say." We both smiled. "I've never had to say that before. Anyway, I'm not punishing you for what you did with your teacher. I'm punishing you for running away and not contacting me unless Chloe told you to. I didn't appreciate that."

"I understand. What does being grounded include?"

"I don't know. I'll have to look it up later." We laughed.

I leaned on her shoulder, "Did your phone break?"

"No. Thank God. I was about to whoop your ass for that one." I smiled.

"I'm sorry, mom. I just needed a clear head and you weren't letting me talk so I got frustrated. You've always let me explain myself before jumping to conclusions, or getting mad. I guess I wasn't used to it and it overwhelmed me."

"I understand. I'm sorry as well." She wrapped an arm around me.

"Umm... did you watch the video?"

"I saw you on the bed naked and he walked into view and I stopped there. It made me uncomfortable."

"I hope you deleted it."

"I did."

"I'm gonna go to my room. I don't like the energy we've created in the studio."

"What does that mean?"

"Never mind," I giggled.

I stood up and headed to my room. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw 5 missed calls from Daniel. I mean, Mr. Hudson. I debated blocking him, but something told me not to. Whatever he wanted to tell me could wait because I wasn't ready to hear it.