21 Leave Your Burdens At The Door (1/2)

Phoebe's mother, the great Margaret Edan, sat in the middle of the living room on the ottoman that belonged to on part of the couch. She wanted to give the girls plenty of room to breathe, but she also wanted her aura of intimidation to be seen. She knew very well that her daughter didn't take her seriously unless she was red in the face or silent when she should speak, but she didn't necessarily want to make Phoebe aware of the anger she was feeling right now, because she didn't want her to think it was about kissing a girl. She had to make sure Phoebe knew she was upset about sneaking another person in her room, when she's grounded, but not about the kiss.

Phoebe and Amelia slowly walked into the living room with their eyes down. Phoebe took the far-right side while Amelia stayed closer to the exit. They made sure to keep a safe distance between each other.

Taking in a deep breath, Margaret Edan prepared herself for a conversation she never imagined having in front of a girl she hadn't seen in years and her daughter.

”I want to start by saying that you broke a few rules tonight, one being that you're grounded and shouldn't be having sleepovers,” she started.

”Can I intervein and say that you're supposed to knock before you enter a room?” Phoebe started but her voice was squashed when her mom's sweeping look came over her. Pushing herself back into the couch further, she told herself to keep her eyes down, she didn't want to look over at Amelia and see the hate in her eyes again.

”That's not what this is about, and I only came in there because I thought you had snuck James into your room. I had my fingers on my cell phone waiting to hit the number for her father, so I had a right to barge in.” Margaret composed herself long enough to think of what to talk about next. She didn't want to come across as if part of the scene was a bad thing, she had it in her head that her daughter would hate her forever if she thought she was unsupportive.

”This is about you breaking the rules when you know you're grounded and on thin ice, as it is. Now, I would like to know the reason you were hiding a girl in your room.” Phoebe's heart lurched in her chest. She didn't have a reason that sounded good enough and she didn't want to just say Amelia's business out loud. She just gained a bit of the trust between them back. Even she wasn't dumb enough to just throw it away.

”It's complicated, mom. I couldn't tell you because – ”

”Because she was protecting me, Mrs. Edan. I'm sorry to have caused this rift between the two of you, I can leave once I grab my bag.” She made a move to get up, but Phoebe's mom stopped her with a few words.

”What happened?” She started, making Amelia freeze, mid-rise, and then slowly sit back down.

”You don't have to answer that,” Phoebe took the floor. ”Mom, you can't just ask her what happened, what if it's really bad and she can't talk about it?” Amelia's heart froze in her chest. It's been years since she's heard Phoebe stand up for her. Years since she's been on her side about anything. Pushing herself back into the couch cushions, she cleared her throat, making them both look at her.

”Mrs. Edan, it's not some big secret, but I appreciate Phoebe keeping it for me regardless,” Amelia seemed to speak only to her, but Phoebe snapped out of the trance she was being pulled under and focused enough to see the softer look on her mom's face.

”If you feel like you're in danger at your home, I can do something about that. But I need to know what's going on.”

”It's not a dangerous situation,” Amelia started again and made Phoebe scoff. Giving her a pointed look, Amelia continued. ”After we got in trouble for the food fight, I was kicked off the team and that meant my scholarship was taken away.” She tried to ignore the sympathetic sounds coming from the woman in front of them before finishing her story. ”My mom didn't really care, she hasn't in a long time, but my sister yelled at me. Told me to get a job since I won't be graduating – which I got – but she kicked me out of the house when I told her I was gay.” Amelia shrugged and looked down at her nails with newfound curiosity, so she wouldn't see the look on Margaret's face.