Hooked (14 page)

    
I don’t respond.  I’m looking at my father and I can’t believe he is turning this around on Cash.  He was only trying to help me. 

    
“Do you understand?” 
H
e asks.
 

    
I look up at him and answer, “
Y
es sir.”

    
“
You’re
grounded for a month.  You can still use your car for school and basketball practices and games.  I’ll allow your cell phone until you get home at night in case you have car trouble or need to contact me or your mother.  When you get home every
night, you will hand it over to me.  You will not go out with your friends for these four weeks.  I’m disappointed in your decisions
,
but I want to make sure you understand how serious I am about this.  If you do anything like this again, I promise you one thing only…you will hate life.  Got it?” 

    
I
nod
my head yes and answer quietly, “Yes sir.” 

    
He pats my leg and says, “I love you pumpkin, I hope you know that.” 

    
As he walks out of my room, I think
,
yeah,
I know you love me, I just thought you were a fair man.  I never thought my dad wouldn’t listen to me or trust my
judgment
about someone.  He wouldn’t even give Cash a chance.  That wasn’t the dad I knew, my dad was fair and caring, always told me to trust my gut.  I’m a little disappointed too
,
dad, I
thought
,
and I cried myself to sleep.

     The next day after church
,
mom wanted me to take Eli to football practice.  “Go there and come straight home
,
”
s
he said like I couldn’t be trusted.

     “Man
,
you really made them mad if their making you haul me around to all my stuff
,
”
E
li said shaking his head.

     “Shut up Eli, I’m not in the mood.” 

    
When Eli got
o
ut of the car at the field
,
I realized I never called Cash last night. 
After talking with my dad
,
I cried myself to sleep.
  I sat in my front seat and decided to text everyone to let them know I had survived the night.  First
,
to Jessica and Cara
.
 

*Hey guys, its official…on lockdown for 4 wks.

*Damn!  

*OMG Millie, I’m so
sry
.  Do u think u could get him to lessen the sentence? 

I sent Jess a sad face and told Cara nope and I would see her at school.

    
Now, I had to call Cash.  I dial the number and he answers on the first ring.  “Millie?”

    
“Uh, yeah, it’s me.”

    
“Are you ok
ay
?”

    
“Yeah, I’m good.”

    
“Look, damn I was so worried about you.  I wasn’t sure what your dad was going to do.”  I laugh on the inside at him panicking a little. 

    
“Cash, slow down
,
I
was going to tell you that my dad hammered me pretty hard.  If you don’t want to see me right now, I totally understand.”

    
“Are you crazy?
 
Geez
,
Millie, give me a little credit.  You must really think I’m an as
s--uh
,
jerk.”

    
“I forgot what a potty mouth you have,” I say laughing.

    
“Oh yeah, sorry I’m still working on that.”

    
“It’s okay, but Cash
he grounded me for a month.  I can still have my phone and car
,
but only to school and stuff.”

    
“So
,
where are you now?”

    
“I guess carting Eli around is part of my punishment too
,
because I had to bring him to football practice.”

    
“Well, at
least you got out of the house for a little while.”

    
“Yeah, but I know
you’re
going to get frustrated with just texting me and the every now and then phone call.”

    
“Hey now, we will still get to see each
other at school.
”

    
“Y
ou’re
right.  I guess I just wasn’t expecting my dad to ground me for so long.  He’s never been that mad at me before
,
” I said still feeling guilty.

    
“He was pretty piss
—
um
,
mad.”

    
“Look at you,
”
I gushed
.
“
O
nly one day in and
you’re
already improving.”

    
“I really wish I could see you right now
,
”
h
e says in a serious tone.

    
“Me too,” I half whisper.  “I better go
.  M
y dad’s probably tapping my phone line.”

    
“I wouldn’t doubt it
.
I’ll see you at school tomorrow
.
 
I guess I’ll have to dream about you for the next month until we can have our date nights and I can actually hold you for real because we both know how you get with pub
lic displays in front of people, so I’m assuming our time at school will be
spent with zero P.D.A’s
,
”
h
e says making me feel tingly inside from the first part of his comment and a little peeved at the second
.

     “I’ll be dreaming of you
,
too and you know I can’t help that it makes me uncomfortable.  I so wish you didn’t know that by the way
,
because I think you have more fun tormenting me about it than you do from actually touching me.”

     “Never could tormenting you be more fun that touching you.  Your skin is so soft, so different than mine.  Althou
gh,
I do like a riled Millie
,
”
h
e added
sarcastically
.

     
“Whatever, you know I’m right.” I giggle a little bit because I
like being right about him, like I’m figuring him out a little bit.
I’ll see you tomorrow.”

     “Bye sweetheart.”

     I end the call and sit there for the next thirty minutes thinking of ways to see Cash…and I got nothing.  What is wrong with me that I would only be one day into my grounding and yet
,
here I sit thinking of ways to go against this
punishment
?
 
  After practice was over
,
Eli came back to my car and told me the Jr.
High football team was going to have a camp out next month. 

    
“Why?
”

     “
I don’t know, we just thought it would be fun.  We have to find more chaperones though.”

     “Well, maybe mom or dad could go with y
’
all
,”
I offer.

     “Yeah, that could work, but oh yeah, they won’t do it because they won’t leave you at home by yourself after last weekend
,
”
h
e added just to be smart. 

    
I roll my eyes
,
but don’t comment because at this point
,
I don’t care.  I just want to get
these
four weeks over and move on.

     When we get home
,
mom and dad are watching television in the living room.  “I’m going to do homework,” I tell them as I head upstairs.  I don’t really have any I’m just not in the mood to sit in there with them.  I go to bed early because I have absolutely nothing better to do. 

CHAPTER
8

    
It’s amazing that I over slept considering I had like twelve hours of sleep
,
but I somehow
manage
to do it.  I have hardly any
time to get read
y,
so my hair ends up in a ponytail.  With the way I feel, I’m ok
ay
with that. 

     I pull into the parking lot, grab my back pack and run up to the school.  W
hen I get to
my locker, Cash is already there.  “Hey!”  I say with the biggest smile.

     “Well, if I had known showing up at your locker would get you to smile like that, I would have done it the first day
,
”
h
e says chuckling.

     “Well, I’m a really simple girl,” I say looking around to make sure not many people are in the hall so I can kiss him.  Since I’m late, there is hardly anyone around so I go up on my tip toes and give him a peck.

     “Wow, and a kiss!”
H
e smiles with his lips still on mine.

     “Well, I guess I better get to class, don’t want to add detention on to my sentence.  I guess I’ll see you at lunch.”

     “Umm, negative sweetheart
.
Y
ou’ll see me first, fourth, fifth and seventh period,” he says showing me his dimples, so I know he’s up to something.

     “What?
How?”

    
“I went to the
office and asked to be put in the advanced classes and when Ms. Canada went to get me a form
…
I took a peek at your file and looked to see which classes you had
.”

     “Oh
,
my goodness Cash, you could have gotten into big trouble for that.  I can’t believe you did that!”

     “Relax
,
Mil, it’s not that big of a deal.  I needed to know what classes you were in and you weren’t available
,
so I too
k
an alternate route.  She doesn’t know I did it and
it’s
not like I looked at your medical file, you don’t have herpes do
ya
?”
  He smiles at me.

     “Ugh
.
”
I roll my eyes at him.
“No
,
I don’t have herpes!
  You can’t do stuff like that, you’ll get caught and get into trouble.” 

    
He wraps an arm around my waist and asks me, “
W
hich way to English?” 

    
I start down the hallway and he continues to walk beside me.  Of course, everyone is staring at us and I automatically tense up.  Cash shakes his head and laughs at me.