Forever Shaded and Jaded

Chapter 1

I pause at the base of the front porch. I glance again at my watch.

12:35pm. Two hours late. Again. He's going to be furious.

With bated breath, I turn the doorknob and step inside. The house is dark. Maybe I got lucky, I think to myself. The floor of the old house creeks quietly as I make my way across the front hall, tiptoeing to the stairs. Just when I think I've gotten away with it, I hear a voice.

"Theodore Grey." It comes out as an exasperated growl. "How many times have we discussed this?"

I can feel the anger building in my chest. Why does he always treat me like a child?

"I lost track of time," I grumble. I'm not giving him any more than that. It's all I ever get from him, anyways.

"This is unacceptable Ted," the voice continues, angst building. "Your mom and I were worried about you. Do you have any idea how late it is? Do you have any idea what could have happened?"

"Dad!" I cry in exasperation. "I'm fine! I can take care of myself. It's not like we live in the red light district."

I can almost hear the steam exiting his useless ears.

"You're just a boy; you don't get to make this call", he growls. "I make the rules around here and it's your job to obey them!"

"You make the rules?" I smirk. "Okay." The word is dripping with sarcasm. I suppress the urge to remind him that mom is the real dictator around here.

He stands authoritatively. Sigh. Now I've done it. He really doesn't like to be mocked. He stomps towards me and hovers over my face, eyes blazing.

"Not. One. More. Word. Upstairs to your room. Now."

In a moment of both rebellion and stupidity, I roll my eyes at him as I turn towards the landing. Fuck, why did I do that? He grabs my arm and yanks me back towards him.

"You are treading on thin ice here son," he warns.

"What's going on?" I look up and there's mom standing a few stairs up, arms crossed. Thank God.

"Look at the time!" Dad barks, "What do you think is going on?" You know he's mad when he starts taking it out on mom.

"Christian, it's midnight," she says with a sigh. "Teddy, up to your room, we'll talk about this in the morning." I heave a sigh of relief and happily continue up the stairs. She stops me as I pass by.

"We will talk about this tomorrow morning, do you understand me?" Her voice is stern and accusatory without a hint of patience for excuses. God, why are they so crazy? I just nod my head and continue up to my room, Dad fuming in my wake. I can hear them arguing for a few more minutes before finally giving it a rest.

I put in my ear buds and switch on Pearl Jam before hitting the pillow. Tomorrow morning is going to suck.

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