Chapter 6: Lauren

Lauren stood in front of her mirrored closet door applying her eyeliner. Josh was sitting on her freshly made bed tying his shoes.

“Thanks again for your help this morning,” she said. They had put her sheets through the wash, washed the dishes in the kitchen, and picked up around the pool. It had taken a whole can of air freshener to get the lingering scent of sex from her room and the living room.

“Anytime,” Josh said as his eyes caught hers in the mirror.

The way he looked at her had changed over the weekend. On Friday night there had been a touch of wonder in his eyes. As they prepared to go across the street to face his parents, Lauren saw something warmer she couldn’t put a name to. Well, there was one word by she could use. Just not yet.

“How do I look,” she asked as she finished putting makeup on her eyes.

She wore a white lace-edged peasant blouse over soft faded jeans. Her hair was pulled back in a tail. She had finally removed the flaking red polish she’d worn for Prom in favor of a clear coat she applied while they watched movies the night before.

Josh stood up and looked her up and down. He ran his fingers along her shoulder and down her arm to take her hand, then leaned in for a kiss. How could he make her want more when her body still ached from having him all weekend?

“You’re gorgeous,” he whispered against her lips.

“I meant will your parents take me seriously or do I look like a kid?” she asked.

“It’ll be fine, I promise.” Josh hugged her then but she couldn’t let go of the worry. “Let’s get going.”

For all his talk, Lauren could tell he was anxious, too. It was one thing to be away from the world, away from uncomfortable questions and able to distract each other with sex. It was another to walk into his parents’ kitchen and submit to their scrutiny. They knew her almost as well as her own parents. She was risking their friendship for the possibility of something more with Josh.

Lauren took one last look around the house for anything out of place. Josh had already packed up all the trash, including the dozen or so condoms and wrappers, to throw in a dumpster on the way back to school. She sniffed one last time to check the air, then she led Josh to the door to the garage. Once the outer garage door was open, Josh pulled out his car and parked in front of his parents’ house while Lauren locked up.

He waited for her on the sidewalk with his hand out for hers. “I’m starving.”

“Then let’s go eat,” she said, but didn’t know if she would be able to.

The Alexander house appeared no different, but Lauren felt as nervous as the first day of school when she approached the front door. Josh opened it to let her in first. When the girls saw them both they squealed and ran up bouncing.

“Mom! Dad! Guess who Josh brought to brunch?” Gracie called out while the other two girls got their hugs from Josh and Lauren.

“I bet it’s Kevin,” Mr. Alexander said as he rounded the corner from the kitchen. His face showed confusion for a moment, then he shot a quick grin at Josh. “Well, hello, Lauren. What a surprise. Welcome!”

Lauren extended her hand, but he pulled her into a friendly hug instead. “Good morning,” she said.

“Hey Dad,” Josh said as his father hugged him as well.

“I don’t think you’ve ever brought anyone but Kevin to brunch before,” Mr. Alexander observed as he held his son out by the shoulders. Lauren caught the question in his eyes and used her smile to hide how much she wanted to throw up.

“I hope this won’t be the last time I bring her,” Josh said as a thousand other things flashed in his eyes. His father nodded and patted his shoulder.

“Lauren,” Mrs. Alexander said as she came in drying her hands on a towel. Her expression was not as welcoming as Mr. Alexander’s had been. “Would you come help me with the eggs?”

“Of course,” she said and followed Josh’s mom into the kitchen. The rest of the meal had already been prepared and laid on the kitchen table. The scents of fried bacon and cinnamon rolls made her stomach rumble.

“The plates are warming in the oven,” Mrs. Alexander said as she expertly cracked two eggs, one-handed, over the frying pan and tossed the shells in the trash. While the eggs fried, her mouth worked like it was full of bees.

“I need to explain something,” Lauren said quietly after marshalling her courage. The girls were watching a cartoon show and she needed to explain before Josh or his father came into the kitchen. “I told my mother something that I think she repeated to you.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I thought Josh wanted to keep things casual between us.”

“Apparently he doesn’t,” Mrs. Alexander said as she flipped the eggs over.

“I know that now.” Lauren smiled despite the tension. She got the towel and opened the oven to retrieve a warm plate. While she held it out for the eggs she said, “And I think you know how I’ve always felt about him.”

“I thought I knew,” she growled and placed the over easy eggs on the plate.

The comment made Lauren pause. She suddenly lost her nerve and asked, “Who are these for?”

“Josh.”

Lauren took the plate to the kitchen table. “Josh? Your eggs are ready.”

He was still talking to his father near the front door and both men were smiling, which calmed her nerves a little. After he nodded to acknowledge her, she left the eggs on the table and returned to the kitchen.

“I don’t expect you to take my word for it.” Lauren intended to say she would prove it, but didn’t have the chance.

“That’s good,” Mrs. Alexander snapped and turned to face Lauren. A smoldering anger was still glowing in her eyes. “I don’t plan to.”

Lauren’s chest tightened. The closeness she had always felt to Mrs. Alexander caused those hard words to burn even deeper. She turned to open the oven and get out the next plate to hide the tears welling in her eyes.

“These are for Brian,” Mrs. Alexander said as she placed the eggs on the plate. “Call the girls to the table. I’ll start their scrambled eggs next.”

Lauren took the plate in and sat it down in front of Mr. Alexander, who was now sitting at the table with Josh. “Here you go.”

“You okay?” Josh asked with his brow pinched in worry. He must have been able to tell something was off from her expression.

“I’m fine.” Lauren forced a smile. “Girls? Breakfast.”

She returned to the kitchen wiping her eyes. If Mrs. Alexander noticed she didn’t say anything about it. She just stepped away from the stove and said, “Will you watch the eggs for me?”

“Sure,” Lauren whispered as Mrs. Alexander walked over to get the girls settled at the table. Josh was still talking to his dad, but kept glancing over with a questioning look in her direction.

She stirred the eggs until they were firm, then used the towel to get out three warm plates. She split the eggs between them just as Mrs. Alexander came up to take two to the table. Lauren followed with the last plate and placed it before Gracie.

“Are you gonna marry Josh now?” Gracie asked.

The question silenced the table. Everyone was frozen except Mrs. Alexander who continued filling the plates in front of Riley and Kate with bacon and cinnamon rolls. Josh had a nervous grin on his face, but didn’t jump in to answer his sister’s question.

Lauren swallowed and tried to smile. “We’re only dating right now. That just means I’m his special friend and he’s mine. Marriage would mean we want to be a family together and we’re still too young for that.”

“Yeah, but if you get married then we’ll be sisters,” Grace said with a serious expression. “I wanna be your little sister.”

That melted Lauren and made Josh and Mr. Alexander chuckle. Mrs. Alexander didn’t even smile.

Josh saved Lauren from having to address that comment. “You can always be wish-sisters if you want. Lauren and her best friend, Breezy, are wish-sisters.”

He’d obviously been listening when she and Breezy had tried to explain their friendship to Josh and Todd. The shared sexual experience had prompted a deep discussion over hotdogs and chips. Once Breezy had gotten past her fear of sex, she had a thousand questions about what happened and what it meant. That led Josh and Todd to ask ask about Breezy and Lauren’s friendship.

“What’s a wish-sister?” Gracie asked Lauren.

“When Breezy and I were about your age, we wished on the same star to be real sisters. When we woke up the next morning, we complained to my mom that our wish didn’t come true. But Mom said it really did because wish-sisters were just as good as real sisters.”

“I wish you were my sister,” Gracie said with a solemn nod.

“Me, too,” Lauren said and hugged Gracie hard.

“And now you’re wish-sisters,” Josh said before crunching a piece of crispy bacon.

“How do you want your eggs?” Mrs. Alexander asked Lauren, ignoring the drama around the table.

“Over easy, if you don’t mind,” Lauren said as her smile faded.

Lauren sat at the empty place between Mr. Alexander and Gracie. She took a sip of the orange juice, then smiled at the scene in front of her. She had always wanted siblings and the happy chatter as the girls ate and watched their show filled her with a warm longing.

“So, Lauren,” Mr. Alexander said. “Josh tells me you’re gonna graduate a year early.”

“Yeah. My dad did the same thing when he was in high school. It’s a ton of work, but it’s worth it to me.”

“Do you know what you want to do in college?”

“Right now I’m looking at political science. I devoured Machiavelli at the beginning of the year and that led eventually to studying Riker and his use of game theory. I’m also fascinated by the way Nate Silver applies statistical analysis to explore public opinion. I’d love to study cognitive biases and how they impact public policy.”

“Wow,” Mr. Alexander said as he glanced at Josh. “That sounds interesting.”

“It is to me,” Lauren said, feeling a little embarrassed about gushing on her favorite topic.

Mrs. Alexander put a warm plate of eggs down in front of Lauren, then went to sit at the other end of the table between Josh and Kate. She avoided making eye contact with Lauren, choosing to look at her plate. Lauren pushed the feeling of anxiety away and tried a bite of her eggs. Mrs. Alexander had managed to keep the yolk soft while crisping the edges, just the way she liked them.

“The eggs are wonderful,” Lauren said.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Alexander said as she finally met her eyes without smiling.

“What’s up Mom?” Josh asked. “You’ve been tense all morning.”

“I’m fine,” she said, clearly not fine.

“I know you were worried about me dating Lauren on Wednesday,” Josh touched his mother on the arm. “But it’s fine now.”

“For now,” she whispered.

Lauren felt the eggs in her mouth go rubbery and lose their flavor. Mrs. Alexander had never been so cold before.

“Billie,” Mr. Alexander said with a warning in his tone.

“Josh hasn’t dated anyone since we moved here,” she said directly to her husband. “Since he dated Mary Kate.” Lauren’s stomach clenched as she realized what she meant.

Josh rolled his eyes at the mention of the name. “Jeez, Mom.”

Mrs. Alexander turned to her son. “I watched you suffer for months after she broke your heart and I don’t want to see it happen again.”

“Yeah, it sucked,” he said. “But we were just kids.”

“You were the same age Lauren is now,” Mrs. Alexander pointed out with raised eyebrows. “And I know Mary Kate was the reason you’ve never dated anyone else.”

“I’m not gonna break his heart,” Lauren insisted, her heat rising at the assumption she would hurt him somehow.

“I don’t think you’re being fair to Lauren,” Mr. Alexander said.

“I’m sorry, but I think she’s too young to get serious with,” Mrs. Alexander said to Josh. “And I know for a fact that Adam and Ana aren’t going to be happy about this either.”

“I trust Lauren to know her own heart,” Josh said. “And we’re telling her parents we’re dating this afternoon.”

“Why do you think I would ever hurt him?” Lauren begged the woman who was like her second mother. The fact that Mrs. Alexander doubted her cut deeply.

“Didn’t you publicly humiliate your last boyfriend?” Mrs. Alexander asked her directly.

Lauren was stunned to silence. How did Mrs. Alexander know about Bruce? While she was lost in confusion, Josh stepped in to defend her.

“That guy got what he deserved,” Josh said with an ironic chuckle. “He was a real piece of work.”

“So break up with him,” Mrs. Alexander said with a dismissive wave of bacon. “But why be cruel? It just brings you down to his level and shows people what kind of person you really are.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that,” Josh said as he finished his plate. “I know the whole story and spoke to people who were actually there. Lauren did nothing wrong.”

Lauren was stunned by how Mrs. Alexander had characterized her. The words burned in her chest and made her eyes fill. She put down her fork, her appetite gone. Unable to meet anyone’s eyes, she muttered, “Excuse me.”

The downstairs bathroom offered a sanctuary while she pulled herself together. She ran water in the sink to muffle the sounds of her shuddering breath and sniffles. Sitting on the closed toilet, she put her face in her hands and took deep breaths. How could anyone look at what had happened with Bruce and end up blaming her?

Bruce had avoided her all last week, even eating alone or with his best friend at the edge of the cafeteria during lunch. Lauren had heard rumors that he was getting razzed by everyone for getting dumped at Prom. Even though he technically dumped Lauren in the hotel room, the only thing people remembered was that he left and Lauren had arrived with Josh.

Then the rumor started about how lousy he was in bed. Lauren hadn’t told anyone that but Breezy, so it had to have come from Sammy Deluca. Lauren could admit to herself that she enjoyed watching Bruce suffer, but that didn’t mean she was a bad person. Did it? He deserved a little pain after cheating on her and breaking her heart. So why did Mrs. Alexander’s words hurt so much?

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket. Lauren pulled it out to find a text from her dad that pulsed her heart rate. We’re home early. Where are you?

Her fingers trembled when she responded. At the Alexanders’ for brunch. Be home in a minute.

“Lauren? You okay?” Josh asked through the door.

“I’m fine,” she said as she stood and pocketed her phone. After washing her face, she turned off the water, blotted her face dry, and opened the door.

Josh’s family was still eating, the girls oblivious to everything as long as the television was on. She gave Josh a half-hearted smile.

“I don’t know what’s up with Mom,” Josh whispered to her. His face was still creased with worry. “We can leave if you want.”

“My parents are home early,” she whispered back. Josh’s eyes widened at the news.

“Let’s go then,” Josh said, then turned back to the kitchen table. “Mom, Dad, Lauren’s parents are home and we’re going over there for a while.”

“Good luck,” Mr. Alexander said with an encouraging smile. His wife said nothing.

Their plan to use Josh’s parents accepting them dating was now a bust, but Lauren told herself it would still work out. Her parents were reasonable people. After all, Mom already knew they were having sex and was helping Lauren find better birth control. Her father might not want her to grow up, but he had adjusted to her dating Bruce. Eventually.

Josh held her hand as they walked across the street. Her parents were still unloading the car, so Josh jogged up and took a heavy suitcase from Mom.

“Thank you, Josh.” Mom shot a curious look at Lauren. “It looks like you survived and the house is in one piece.”

“Yup,” Lauren said as she hugged her mother. “How was Aunt Julie?”

“Feisty when she’s been drinking, like always. I take it Breezy stayed over?” The look on her face said she wasn’t really asking if Breezy stayed over. She was asking if Josh had.

“She came over to swim yesterday afternoon,” Lauren answered, her eyes glancing to Josh who was following Dad into the house with the suitcase. Grabbing the last plastic bag from the trunk, Lauren slammed the lid shut and walked with her mother through the garage.

“I see,” Mom said, her mouth in a thin line and her voice full of worry.

When they came to the living room, Dad was glaring holes in Josh as he put the suitcase down. “I have to admit, I didn’t expect to see you around here today,” Dad growled.

“Sir?” Josh asked with his brow wrinkled in confusion.

“Dad, what’s wrong with you?” Lauren said as she stepped between her father and Josh. “Be polite. Josh and I are dating.” She hadn’t intended to drop the news like that, but she could tell something was off and hoped to get everything out in the open.

Her father sucked in his cheeks and raised an eyebrow in a sardonic expression as he pulled out his phone. He touched the screen a few times before holding it up to show them a dark video. The tinny audio was barely audible, but Lauren gasped when she heard her own voice.

“How dare you! You had no right to come up demanding I explain myself to you! Where I go and who I speak to is my business. The fact that we had sex doesn’t give you the right to embarrass me like that in public.”

“Bruce was kind enough to forward this little gem to me last night,” her father said, his voice dripping with anger as he looked at Josh. “Apparently it’s gone viral here in town, so now everyone knows that you’re screwing my underaged daughter. Maybe I should call the police and let them sort this out.”

“Dad!” Lauren’s mouth got slick as the nausea rolled up her throat. Her father, the man she loved and respected above all others, had lost his mind. Threatening Josh was bad enough, but if he thought she was going to knuckle under to his threats he was in for a rude awakening. “I’m not a child anymore. And I’m not going to stand by and let you ruin Josh’s life.”

“You have no say in this. I’m the adult here,” Dad snapped at her, never taking his eyes off a pale-faced Josh. “Well, the adult not screwing my underaged daughter, anyway.”

“That video doesn’t prove anything!” Lauren was scrambling for anything to salvage this disaster.

“Stop it, both of you,” Mom yelled, her hands clenched into fists. “Lauren, you and Josh need to go. Let me talk to your father alone.”

“Don’t you talk around me,” Dad yelled at Mom. “I’m not done with them by a long shot.”

Josh was already moving towards Lauren as she fought off angry tears.

“You’d better think hard before you do something you’ll regret,” Lauren said to her father.

“Is that a threat?” Dad hissed. “Because of him?”

“You trying to control my life has nothing to do with Josh. Ruining your friendship with the Alexanders by putting their son on the sex offenders registry does. And if you ruin his life trying to control me, I’ll never speak to you again.”

His face turned red, but he only sputtered while Mom pushed Josh and Lauren out the front door and closed it behind them. Before Lauren could do more than lean over the bushes in front of the house, she threw up the few bites of eggs and orange juice she’d had for breakfast. Josh went to her side and held back her hair.