Destined

6.

I felt a sense of relief when I woke up the next morning. My Mother hadn't noticed that I came in late, nor had Deon bothered me about what time I made it in. I rolled over on my back and took a few breathes before I got up for the day. I knew Amber would be calling me soon if she hadn't already. I didn't bother to check my phone. I never did in the mornings.

Just to my surprise, the moment I pulled the covers from my body, my phone starts to vibrate. "Hello," I say into the speaker.

"Heeeeey!" Amber chirps. "How'd you sleep honey bear? Hopefully not on top of Jayon," Amber jokes.

"Oh shut up. I'm not even gonna talk about that right now. You know Deon could be listening through the walls," I tell her. She starts to laugh. "Right,"

"How's your hangover?" I ask, getting out of bed completely. I made my way to the bathroom and turned on the faucet, squeezing out a pinch of toothpaste on my toothbrush.

"I'm gonna need you to tell me what happened near the end of the party. I remember nothing except our fight and that makes me so mad because I feel Ike I had so much more fun. I just don't have any recollection of it."

"Hold on," I tell her, putting the toothbrush in my mouth. I scrubbed in every crevice of my mouth and saved my tongue for last. After I spit, I gargled mouthwash. My mouth was on fire but at least I knew my teeth were clean and I wasn't gonna have bad breathe for the day. I actually hadn't had a cavity since I was 7.

I was hoping I wouldn't have to get reminded of that awful party, but I don't know why I assumed she wouldn't bring it up, it was Amber for crying out loud. She talked about everything she went through and did, and I mean everything. It was a good thing at times, but at times like these I just wished we could have brought it up at a later time. Thinking about the night just gave me anxiety.

"Well, you met a guy. His name was Derek," I tell her. Mentioning his name almost made me gag. "You guys really hit it off. He's kind of disrespectful though. I slapped him for calling you an intoxicated hoe. Other than that..."

"Pause, why'd he call me that?" Amber's tone switches.

"Cause he's an asshole. He did like you though. He wanted me to keep you there but I wasn't about to leave you there with his ass. Anything could have happened and you were passed out."

Amber laughs. "True. Fuck him though. I don't even remember how he looked."

"Yes you do Amber. You were in his face before you even got drunk. It's okay to feel some type of way about it. Ya'll were laid up together the whole night, he had no right to embarrass you like that," I tell her. I knew how Amber was with certain things. She had a lot of pride but she usually wasn't afraid to show her vulnerability with me. She hated looking stupid but always put herself in stupid situations.

"I mean yeah Dj. I'm hurt by it but I'm not gonna cry about it. Guess we didn't have the connection I thought we did," she says. "I did give him my number though so I mean, if he wants to kick it again I wouldn't decline. At least I could get some free weed out of him,"

"Oh Amber," I sigh.

"When are you gonna spill the deets about you and Jayon?" She asks.

"Soon," I say, rolling my eyes. "I'm about to go eat, we should link up later. I'll tell you everything in person,"

"Fine. I'll try to be at your house around 7. Gonna see if I can get dropped off," Amber says, hanging up the phone. "Bye to you too," I say to myself. She never said bye over the phone.

I start to make my way downstairs, jumping at my Mom's sudden arrival through the door. "Oh Mom, where were you?" I ask, rushing past her to the kitchen.

I see Deon come down the stairs after he hears the door close. He mean mugs me as he sits on the couch, clicking on the living room tv.

"I believe the question is where were you? I heard you didn't get home till after 12, when I said to be here BY 11," she says walking into the kitchen after me.

I slowly shift my gaze away from my Mom, silently swearing under my breath when I opened the refrigerator door. I grabbed the milk gallon and placed it on the counter, trying to buy myself some time to answer her question as she stood near me in silence. I really thought she was gonna let me slide just this 1 time. It wasn't like I wanted to come home after 12.

"Mom, weren't you sleep by 10? How do you know when I got home?" I ask her, hopping to grab a box of Froot Loops from the top of the fridge. A part of me knew the answer, I just wanted a confirmation.

"Deon was up until 2. He told me at 8 this morning, right before I left this house to handle some business."

Of course it was Deon. How else would she have known? I knew he only snitched because I hurt his feelings, so I tried not to get angry about it. I stared at the back of his head for a while before opening the gallon of milk. "Alright Mom. It's true that I got here after 12," I confess.

"So where did you really go? Or should I ask where did you and Amber really go because apparently you both set foot in your homes' after curfew."

"Mom you don't have to bring up Amber."

"I absolutely do and you know why? Because you were with her somewhere else and not at no damn movie."

I stood silent, grabbing a bowl from the dish washer to pour cereal into. After pouring the milk, I grabbed a spoon and placed it inside the bowl. "Whose idea was it? Huh? Whose idea was it to skip the movie?" She questions me.

"Nobodies, we were never going to a movie. I lied to you because I wanted to go to a party with her, and me lying was the only way you'd let me leave the house after 8," I start spilling everything to her. It was better than piling lies on top of lies which got me no where. She was already ahead of me, so there was no point in lying anymore. I however, did keep the major details out like the fight and me having a complete stranger bring me home.

"I see," she says, disappointment written all over her face. "Well. The next time you want to be grown and leave this house after a certain time with your friend, don't come back. Make sure to bring clothes with you as well since you think you're so damn grown to do what ever the hell you want!" My Mother's voice got louder the more she talked. She slammed her purse on the counter, and went upstairs without another word.

I look over at Deon once again, who at this point looks guilty. "Dj-"

"It's whatever Deon," I cut him off. I didn't care to hear anything he had to say. I take my bowl of cereal and make my way up the stairs, closing my door once I made it in my room. I wasn't coming back out unless I had to open the door for Amber.