Chapter 25: Bushwhacked

Tommy was downstairs, having already said his last tender goodbyes and multiple ‘I love you’s.’ to Shelly before he watched the two sisters drive off. He was now helping Emily clean up the mess the two older girls had left behind. Not that he really needed to help since it really wasn’t that much of a mess, but something made him want to stay down here. Down here with his big sister.

“Wow! --- Look at you! Bro, you are absolutely glowing.” Emily proclaimed loudly, as she looked at her younger brother whose eyes were shining bright and whose face was frozen in a perpetual smile. She then nodded her head at the ceiling before asking, “So what happened up there?”

Tommy blushed a little but that big smile never wavered as he answered her straight, “I told her I loved her.”

Emily’s smile got really big to match his and then she raised her eyelashes and questioned, “And...?” But Emily already knew the answer to that question. It was written all over his face.

Tommy confirmed the obvious. “She told me she loved me too.”

Emily immediately held out her arms and went to him. “Congratulations, Bro.”

They met halfway and gave each other a big hug. “You’re one lucky guy.”

“I know, Sis. Thanks.” His arms tightened around her. “Thanks for everything.”

The second Stacy started the car, she turned to her sister and exclaimed, “Wow! I couldn’t believe you two! You guys were so LOUD up there!”

Shelly felt herself blush but what occupied that blush was a large grin and a very warm feeling in her heart. “Sorry ... We left his door open by mistake.”

Stacy briefly turned her head from the road and back over to her sister and teased. “And from what I heard I could tell you really, really had a good time.”

“Yeah.” Shelly replied back. Her complexion reddened further, but her grin stayed fixed.

Stacy turned the car right and on the street and she continued her tease. “Over and over and over again, you had a good time.”

This time Shelly giggled a little as she continued to stare out the window, seeing nothing, mind too busy recalling all those wonderful memories.

“I’m sort of jealous. I don’t think I ever had that good of a time with a guy.”

Shelly turned her head to look at the person beside her in the driver’s seat and just shrugged her shoulders. “What can I say? Tommy’s the best!”

“Yeah, I’d say!” Stacy replied back, shaking her head slowly in disbelief as she continued to look at the road ahead.

Still staring at her big sister, Shelly again came to the realization that none of that would have happened if not for this person sitting here beside her. So, feeling a little guilty, she said, “Stac, I’m sorry if I was sort of a bitch back there ... I just don’t like sharing him.”

Stacy snickered at the windshield. “You think!” She took a quick glance back to her little sister and said, “It’s ok, I understand.” Then after a few seconds, Stacy cried out in alarm, “Hey! Are you just trying to suck up so you could get me to chaperone again?”

Shelly replied with a big grin and without one hint of hesitation. “Well, YEAH!”

“You know, I might be more willing to chaperone again if I continued to get something in return.”

“Oh, no you don’t.” She smiled back at her sister. “A deal is a deal.”

“My sister is a selfish brat.” Stacy teased right back.

“Don’t you know it!” Shelly proudly proclaimed, knowing there was no way in hell she was ever going to share Tommy with anyone ever again. Then her thoughts immediately drifted back to their perfect night together and again remembered the words they exchanged. Over and over they had said them. And the lovemaking. Oh god, the glorious lovemaking! ... And the cuddling. I mustn’t forget the cuddling. She grinned again and wondered how long she would have to wait to experience a night like that again.

Shelly was still recalling those wonderful memories when she felt the car come to a halt. She looked up and saw the garage door opening before her. She thought it was funny that she hadn’t even noticed the car make its turn and run up the driveway, but now all she could think about was that she desperately wanted to go back to her room and text Tommy. She waited until her sister had pulled the car in, but the second the car stopped, she practically leaped out of the car door, sprinted around the hood, and over to the connecting door between the garage and the family room, she then opened the door and stepped right on through.

She had only taken this one step inside when Shelly noticed the room wasn’t completely empty. Her mother was there. Her mother was sitting on the one upholstered chair they had in the room. A chair that not only faced the TV but also so happened to face the doorway that adjoined the garage. Her mom had a coffee cup in her hand, which she promptly put down on an end table, but during that process, the mother’s eyes never left her youngest child and that’s when Shelly heard her mother’s first words. “So, did you behave yourself over there?”

The second the question was uttered, Shelly’s blissful mood came crashing down and she felt it shatter onto the floor into a million pieces. That’s also when she started to feel that horrible, familiar feeling she got whenever her mother was being critical of her. The one that caused her mind to go numb and turn to mush, and all Shelly could do was stand there, like a deer caught in the middle of the road with headlights barreling down on it. Frozen, mouth hanging half open, eyes wide, like an imbecile she stared back at the person sitting in that upholstered chair.

Shelly had been taken completely by surprise. This sudden intrusion into her love life. Her wonderful love life. And as she saw her mother continue to integrate her with those piercing eyes, Shelly felt the capillaries on her face open up. They began to fill up with her bright crimson blood. The next thing Shelly noticed was a lack of oxygen as if someone had sucked all the air out of the room. And as she stood there, she cursed this damn, distressing power her mother had over her. She desperately tried to wipe away her growing sense of panic, trying to figure out how she was going to extract herself out of this mess. At the same time, she knew it was already hopeless. The answer to her mother’s question had already been answered. It was written all over her face. She had given herself away before she had uttered her first words back. Her mother knew!

Once she was able to come to terms with this fact, an anger rose from within her. Angry by this reprehensible intrusion into her love life. Her wonderful love life and she found herself cursing her mother for ruining such a wonderful, most perfect evening. An evening she should have always remembered as the best day of her whole goddamn life! Now, it was turning into a nightmare. And as that rage came to a full boil that’s when she finally heard the answer to her mother’s question.

“NO, MOM!”

For a moment, albeit a small moment, maybe less than a fraction of a second, Shelly thought that she was the one who had uttered those two words. That she had shouted them out in a rare act of defiance since the game was up anyway. Cajoled to do so by that provincial devil (or was it angel now) that was sitting on her shoulder.

But that thought soon vanished when she saw her mother’s change of focus. It had moved over to her right, to the person who now stood beside her. That’s when Shelly realized where those words had come from. They had come from her sister. The same sister that had been so chummy just a second ago. Her traitorous sister had just stuck a large knife into her side. Shelly whirled around and stared fiercely at the Judas standing beside her and swore to herself that she’d make her sister pay for this if it was the last thing she’d do. She’d make her pay.

Stacy couldn’t help but notice her sister’s ire, but as usual, the older sibling seemed completely unfazed by the younger sibling’s deathly gaze. Instead, she just gave her little sister a smirk of a smile (which only reinforced Shelly’s sense of betrayal) and then in her most infamous, irritating, patronizing voice, she repeated those exact same words, “No, Mom!” And then she further elaborated. “They didn’t behave themselves.” She then shook her head slowly and obnoxiously back and forth at her little sister. (And for every shake of the head Shelly felt that knife in her side take another twist.)

Stacy returned her full attention back toward the mother to continue her narrative. “After Emily and I went to start the movie, Tommy and Shelly snuck off together.” She then nodded her head again disapprovingly at her sister. “They went to his room, Mom!”

Stacy then paused, turned her head back and nodded knowingly at Shelly. “That’s where we found them.”

She paused again for dramatic effect. “They were NECKING, Mom! --- In his BED!”

Again she turned back toward the mother sitting in the chair, and with a smirk she added, “But don’t worry Mom, we caught them in time. They still had all their clothes on. But when Emily and I discovered what they were doing we dragged them both back down the stairs. Right away! --- And I swear Mom and from that point on we didn’t let them out of our sight. We made them stay with us right there in the family room and forced them to watch the movie with us.”

Stacy then slowly turned back toward her little sister, and she added with a wry grin, “And you should’ve heard them whine about it too, Mom!” Stacy then snickered. “They both sounded like two little babies.” She then nodded her head at the so-called rebellious sister. “Especially this one here ... She was the worst.”

Shelly felt her stomach do another flip and as she continued to look at her older sister, she felt all that anger evaporate away only to be replaced by a sense of shame and embarrassment. She realized that this was the first time, the very first time, in her whole life, that she was so grateful that her sister was such an accomplished liar.

The mother, whose attention had been drawn toward the older sister’s play-by-play, now returned her full attention back toward her wayward child. Disappointedly, she exclaimed in the disdainful voice she used whenever she started to give her two daughters a lecture, “You see, Shelly!”

Her mother’s voice caused Shelly to once again jerk her head back toward the original source of her torment.

“You see!” Shelly heard her mother repeat. These words were accompanied by a sharp nod of her head.

“Now, do you understand why you are never allowed to be alone with that boy!”

By this time, Shelly felt like she’d been on a wild roller coaster ride. Her emotions had flown haphazardly from euphoria, to fear, to anger, to shame, and were now careening back around to anger again and she didn’t know where the next turn was going to take her, but she knew one thing, she wanted to get off this damn ride. She was sick of it. So with a fearsome rage that she swore she had never experienced in her whole damn life, she looked back at her mom, still sitting so smugly in the upholstered chair and once again holding that stupid little coffee cup. She looked at the person who had just ruined the most glorious day of her WHOLE GOD DAMN LIFE! A mother who wouldn’t be happy until she tore Shelly away from the boy she loved and who loved her back, and Shelly couldn’t hold herself back anymore. She found herself giving her answer to that awful person still sitting oh so smugly in that fine upholstered chair. “Yeah, I get it, Mom!”

And then Shelly screamed. “I FUCKEN GET IT!”

That’s when she felt the tears start. The salty liquid had begun to collect in the corner of her eyes. Not wanting her mother to notice this outward sign of weakness, Shelly bolted away and quickly turned to the left for the stairs, but as she rushed past, her anger not in the least bit assuaged, she completed her tirade with a clear, loud, and resounding, “AND FUCK YOU TOO, MOM!”

The second those words were out of her mouth, Shelly broke into a run before her mother could call her back. Her feet stomped up the stairs in a desperate attempt to get away, to seek out the limited refuge of her bedroom. Taking the steps two at a time and stumbling once, she got herself right back up to continue her desperate escape. By the time she reached the upstairs hallway, the tears were already trailing down her face and every breath was a struggle. She completed her escape and ran through her bedroom door which she slammed shut with a loud bang and finally launched herself on top of her bed. It was only then, with her face pressed down hard into her pillow, that she let the sobs take over.

Back in the family room, Stacy, having witnessed her sister’s tirade, could see her Mom’s face transform from a one of motherly disappointment and redress to one of complete dismay and absolute shock. Her Mom just sat there with her mouth half open, face turning white as she looked over her shoulder at the now empty hallway which had just been vacated by her youngest daughter. Oh shit, Shelly! What did you just do? Stacy thought to herself,