Forbidden Love
Chapter 22
I walked into my bedroom and suddenly stopped. My room was completely empty except for my bed, my dresser, my night stand and my book shelf. I turned around to the door and saw my sisters Ashley and April standing in the door way. “Are we moving again? Where’s all my stuff?”
“Mom didn’t say anything to you when she picked you up from school?” asked Ashley. I shook my head. “Well you might want to go downstairs then and talk to Dad. He’s in his office.”
I nodded a little confused and went downstairs to Daddy’s office. I knocked on his door and pushed it open. I poked my head in and my parents turned to me. “Daddy, where’s all my stuff? Are we moving again?”
He shook his head. “Come in and sit down, Adrienne. You’re mother and I need to speak with you.”
“Okay.” I stepped in and shut the door behind me. I sat down beside my Mom and looked at my Dad. “Did someone die?” I joked, trying to lighten to the mood.
“Adrienne,” my Mom said, turning to me “your principal called this afternoon. She told me you haven’t been turning in your homework and you have received several dentations because of it, but you haven’t stayed after school to serve them. She also told me you and several other students have been using empty classrooms as your own little private hotel room. You kids call them sex rooms?”
I heard enough. I stood up to leave, but in a stern voice my Dad said, “You sit yourself back down in that chair! You’re not going anywhere. Not until you tell us what is going on with you? Are you on drugs?”
I laughed at my Dad. “Yeah Dad, I’m on drugs!” I rolled my eyes. “I’m not on drugs.”
“Then tells what’s going on?” said my Mom. I rolled my eyes again and looked away. “Adrienne, it’s obvious something is bothering you because this is not like you. You are a good kid and a good student.”
I shook my head. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Make us.” I looked at my Dad.
“No,” I said.
“Adrienne is this about a guy?” asked my Mom. I turned to her.
“Two guys maybe?” said my Dad. I turned to him and then turned away.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I licked my lips nervously.
“Adrienne,” I turned to my Dad “I installed cameras around this house a few weeks ago because I had a feeling you and your sisters were up to something. I was right. You girls have been pulling a fast one on me and your mother for who knows how long.”
I looked at my Dad in shock. “You installed cameras? What you don’t trust us?!”
“No,” he said flatly. “You girls have been dating older boys and lying to your mother and me about it. You and JC had a relationship. JC is 30 YEARS OLD!”
I gave my Dad a sarcastic look. “We didn’t have sex if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Well good because if you did you would have been grounded till you turn 18!”
I laughed. “I’ll be 18 in May!”
“Adrienne,” said my Mom “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously.”
“Well why should I? I have nothing else to lose. You guys already cleared out my room and you took me away from all my friends. I'm just here buying time till I'm 18, so I can move out and go back to Texas.”
My Dad stared at me for a Moment and he then turned to his phone. The door bell suddenly rang and Mom stood up and left the office. Dad looked back at me with the phone to his ear. “Hey JC, this is Hector. Are you home right now? Could you come by my house, I need to talk to you. Okay, bye.”
“Dad,” I said, uneasily “why did you just invite JC over?”
He ignored me and turned to see his wife and Mark walk into his office. He smiled. “Hello Mark, I didn’t even know you were coming. What a surprise.” He said sarcastically. “Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I want to talk with you but we’re waiting on someone first. He’ll be here soon.” Mark nodded and took my Mom’s chair beside me.
I looked at my Dad. “Dad, what the hell are you doing?!” I yelled, upset.
“Adrienne,” my Dad said, calmly “I have heard about just enough out of you. You are going to sit there in your chair quietly while I talk to Mark and JC.”
The door bell rang and my Mom left the office again. She soon returned with JC. I looked at him and our eyes locked for a Moment, before I turned away.
My Dad smiled at JC. “JC, thank you for coming over. I called you because I wanted to speak with you. You can sit down.” He nodded and sat down in the empty chair to the left of me. My Mom took a seat on the couch across the room.
“Dad,” I said in annoyed tone “are you done embarrassing me? Can I leave now?”
He ignored me and looked at JC and Mark. “Guys, I called you both here because of my daughter. I want to know why she has suddenly turned from a sweet little angel to a bad ass. Now I know both you gentlemen are nice guys who at one time went out with Adrienne. Can you guys tell me why you liked my daughter and why you asked her out?”
Mark and JC glanced at one another and Mark spoke up first and said, “’Cause she’s hot.” JC chuckled softly and turned away, and I blushed slightly and covered my face.
My Dad chuckled softly. “Mark, I’m glad you think my daughter is “hot,” but that can’t be the only reason you like her.”
“No of course not.” Mark turned to me, but I shyly hide my face from him. He smiled at me and turned back to my Dad. “I like your daughter Mr. Mendez, because she’s nice and sweet and she has this cute shyness about her that makes me want to be more than friends with her sometimes but I know we’re better off as friends.”
I lowered in my seat embarrassed. My parents smiled at me and my Dad turned to JC and said, “JC, you’re turn.”
JC turned to look at me. He chuckled, seeing me try and hide from him. He turned back at my Dad. “I don’t know if I should be completely honest with you or-”
“JC,” he said in a serious tone “I want you to be completely honest with me. I want to know why a good looking young man like you would date a 17 year old girl.”
I sat up and looked at my Dad, upset. “Daddy!” I snapped.
JC looked at me and stared at me for a Moment, debating if he should be totally
honest or hold back. He finally turned back to my Dad. “To tell you
the truth, you’re daughter might be 17, but when I talk to her I feel
like I’m talking to someone my age. Your daughter is wise beyond her
years. She is extremely smart, kind and strong. All your daughters are, but
for some reason Adrienne just stood out from the rest. Maybe it was her shyness,
maybe it was fact she doesn’t have a twin, I don’t know. I just
know Adrienne just got my attention.”
“Wow he really likes you,” Mark whispered in my ear. I turned
to him and he gave me a smile. I blushed and turned away.
My Dad nodded and looked at me. “That sweet, kind girl that JC and Mark fell for and liked, what happened to her?” I shrugged my shoulders. “No Adrienne, don’t shrug your shoulders at me.”
“Adrienne,” my Mom said, speaking up “why don’t you just tell the boys what we heard on the tapes? You’re Dad and I know that’s the reason you’re acting out.”
“Or I can just show them.” I looked at my Dad. “I’ll let you leave the room.”
I looked at my parents in surprise. “You would actually show them the tapes?”
“Yes, if that what it takes for you to stop acting out. You’re acting out because you’re angry and upset. It’s your choice, you can either let me show them the tapes, or you can tell them.”
I glared at my Dad. He had no right to invade my personal space like this. I stood up and left the room, slamming the door behind me. My Mom quickly came after me.
“Okay. Tape it is.”
“Hector,” said JC “is this really necessary?”
He nodded. “YOU especially need to see this.” He picked up the remote and turned on the plasma screen TV.
Ashley stared at me from where she stood across the kitchen, leaning her back against the refrigerator, her bowel of cereal in her hands. “You like him don’t you?”
I looked up at Ashley. “Like who?”
“Mark. You fell for him.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it again in silence. I looked down at my bowl of cereal and stirred it. “I don’t know when it happened.”
April looked at me. “I bet it was when you stopped acknowledging JC after you and Mark started working on your project. You have been ignoring JC for two weeks, Adrienne. I didn’t want to believe it at first, but after yesterday I started to think about it and you have.”
“Adrienne,” said Ashley “if you like Mark that’s fine, but stop stringing JC along. He’s a nice guy he doesn’t deserve it.”
I looked back down at my cereal. JC was a nice guy, but we could not have a seriously relationship. There was too much sneaking around involved and with Mark there was no sneaking around, there was just us going out and having fun. I looked up at my sisters. “I want a real relationship and I only get that with Mark.”
_
They looked at their younger sisters. “What’s wrong?” they
asked.
Alex looked at Amber, and then back at her older sisters. “It’s about Adrienne. There are rumors going around at school about her and…”
“And what?” said April.
“We’re afraid they’re true,” said Amber. “She’s going to get into trouble.”
“With who?” asked Ashley.
“Mom and Dad and the school because the principal is looking into the rumors. Apparently Adrienne is not the only one who is using empty classrooms has sex rooms.”
“WHAT?” both April and Ashley said in shock.
Alex looked at both her sisters. “Adrienne has been hooking up with half the guys at school. The girls at school are all calling her a slut.”
“Adrienne would never have sex with a boy she hardly knew,” said Ashley.
“I thought that too,” said Amber “but I saw her come out of an empty classroom the other day with a guy and by lunch it was all over school that Adrienne had sex with him in the classroom.”
“You know guys. They like to brag about nothing.”
“I know, but I saw them with my own eyes.”
“No what you saw was them coming out of an empty classroom together.” April looked at her sisters. “Why is she doing this? Is this about Mark and JC?”
“We think so,” said Allison and Alex.
_
I tossed Damien a Coke and a bag of chips. “Wait for me in the family
room, it’s around the stairs. I’ll be right there.” He nodded
and left the kitchen. I turned to Ashley. “What is it?”
“Now you’re bringing them home?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“And I told you and April NOTHING HAPPENED. Damien is just a friend.”
“Adrienne, I know you're upset about your break up with JC and I know you are upset that Mark has a girlfriend, but this has to stop.”
“I’m over Mark.”
“What about JC?”
“I’m over him too.”
She laughed sarcastically. “Is that why you brought home his look-a-like? Is this what all this has been about? You’re still not over JC. You still like him and since he broke up with you, you have no chance in getting back with him.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I turned and walk away.
JC and Mark watched the TV go black and switch off. They were silent for a Moment before Mark turned to Hector. “Can I go talk to Adrienne?”
He nodded and watched Mark leave. He turned back to JC. “JC-”
“Hector,” he said, cutting him off “I don’t know what you want me to say. I don’t know why you showed me those tapes. It doesn’t help matter much. Adrienne is still 17 and I’m still 30 years old. If I wanted to get back with your daughter you wouldn’t allow it.”
“You’re right, but I wanted to show you how she felt about you. I need you to talk to her. She’s fallen hard for you and I need you to tell her to forget about you and to move on.”
“Hector, I can’t do that,” said JC.
“Yes you can. She’s just 17 years old. She still has her whole life ahead of her. I don’t want you holding her back. I don’t think you want that either.”
He shook his head and said, “No.”
“Will you talk to her?”
JC stared down at the ground for a Moment, and then looked back at Hector.
He nodded. “I’ll talk to her.”