"Willow, there's something that Sam and I need to talk to you about," my mom announced to me over dinner later that week. Paige glanced at me as if she could tell that this was going to be bad. Gloria and Lenny just stared at me with their big, dumb eyes and stupid fucking smiles plastered on their faces.

"Okay," I said, slowly, studying them both.

"I thought that the three of us should have this conversation in private but Sam believes that the other kids," she gestured to Paige, Gloria, and Lenny. "should hear this, too."

"Fine. Will you just get on with it?" I asked, impatiently. There was a tight knot in my stomach, as if I could just tell that this was going to be bad.

"Well, after the recent accident, Sam and I aren't sure if you should be spending so much time with the Duchamp boy," my mom explained and my heart plummeted twenty feet.

I raised my eyebrows, trying to keep my cool. "'The Duchamp boy'? Since when is he 'the Duchamp boy'? You've known Teddy for more than ten years, Mom, don't act as if he's some delinquint kid that you don't know."

I could tell that Sam was glaring at me, but I did my best to ignore him, my eyes still set on Mom, who just sighed. "I know, but lately it seems that Teddy is a delinquint and he seems like a bad influence on you."

"Mom, we're teenagers! We make mistakes! That's what we do! That doesn't mean Teddy's a bad influence on me!" I said, my voice rising as well as my temper.

"Willow - "

"We go to the same school! We have the same friends! He lives next door, for Christ's sake! I couldn't not talk to Teddy, even if I tried!"

"Well, then try harder!" Sam snapped, his eyes filled with rage and a vein in his neck pulsed. "Your mother and I are serious about this, Willow! We don't want you to have any contact with this boy!"

"Well, you might as well just cut me off from Gordie and Vern and Jayme and Chris, while you're at it!" I yelled, getting to my feet. Sam did, too.

"We will if that's what it takes!"

I turned to my mother, who was looking extremely uncomfortable and a little scared. "Mom, come on. You've known Teddy as long as I have. He's obnoxious and a little reckless, but he's not dangerous. He's basically a good kid. You know this."

"Our decision is final," Sam said, determined to have my attention back on him. I almost yelled, "I wasn't talking to you!" but decided to keep my mouth shut.

"Mom, he's brainwashing you," Paige spoke up and Sam turned to glare at her.

"Shut up! You'll talk when you're spoken to, girl!"

"Don't talk to her like that!" I screamed, and then took a deep breath to calm myself down and turned to my sister. "Come on, Paige. Let's go have dinner at Jayme's house."

"GET BACK HERE!" Sam shrieked after us as the two of us walked out the door.

"Sam, calm down!" Mom scolded and tried to soothe him.

As we turned the street on our way to Jayme's house, I saw that Paige was shaking. Before I opened my mouth to ask her what was wrong, she said, "We have to get that asshole out of our house and away from Mom."

My face split into a grin. "Now we're talking. Do you have a plan in mind?"

"I have something, but it's not very good..."

We spent the ten minutes it takes to get to Jayme's house going over the plan to save our family, and by the time we got to her house, we couldn't wait to tell Jayme what was going to go down.