Flight Risk

"What are you doing home?" I asked as I rolled out of the bed in the morning and made my way out to the kitchen to locate something to eat.

My mom looked up from where she sat on the couch. "It's Saturday," she replied simply, "Where else would I be?"

"At work," I muttered, pulling a tub of ice cream out of the freezer, "Like you usually are Saturday mornings."

She pushed herself up from the couch and crossed her arms. "That's not a good breakfast," she told me, reaching for the ice cream and pulling it out of my hands. She shoved it back in the freezer and smacked my arm. "Go sit down, I'll make you something better. How about eggs and toast?"

I lazily walked to the couch and sat down. "How about just toast?" I questioned in return, reaching for the TV remote.

She looked at me over the island. "What's wrong with eggs, Everly?"

I looked back at her over the back of the couch. "I haven't liked them since I was twelve," I stated, stopping the TV on ABC family as some Christmas program caught my attention. "Are you going to work later?" I asked after she called me into the kitchen to get my toast and sausage. I sat down on one of the stools and pulled my plate closer.

"I wasn't planning on it," she stated, "You hit your head pretty hard yesterday and I don't want to leave you alone incase you have some delayed effects."

I shook my head and shoved food in my mouth. "No, no," I mumbled over my food, "Micki was going to come over and watch movies with me today. I still don't know who won the game, so she was going to give me a play by play."

Mom frowned. "I could use the extra hours," she murmured, "Are you sure Micki is coming over tonight?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "She won't take no for an answer, anyways."

She pressed her hands against the counter and glanced over my shoulder at the TV. "Are you sure you're going to be okay by yourself today? If I pick up the two o'clock shift I can probably earn some extra money for Christmas for you and your brother," she explained, reaching out to push my tangles out of my face.

I nodded again. "Yeah, Mom. I promise you that I'm fine," I assured her, "Plus you know that Gabe wants a bunch of stuff for Christmas this year, so it's probably a good idea if you go in."

"He already mailed me his wish list," she replied with a small smile on her lips, "but you haven't told me what you want yet."

I shrugged my shoulders as I finished my last bite of toast. "There's nothing I really want this year," I said honestly, unable to think about anything material that I could have my mom buy me this year.

She sighed and pulled her fingers from my hair. "There has to be at least one thing for Santa to bring for you, Sweetheart," she sighed.

I thought about it for just a moment and then shook my head. "Nope, nothing," I stated. I slid off of the counter with my plate in hand and walked around the island counter so I could dump my plate in the sink. As I tried to walk out of the small kitchen, my mom wrapped her arms around my waist and stopped me from walking away from her.

"Honey, are you sure you're alright?" she questioned, lifting a hand to my forehead.

"Yeah, mom," I muttered, "I'm just tired. It's early."

"It's almost eleven, Everly," she informed me, "It's hardly early anymore. Why don't you shower and get dressed and we can go shopping? Maybe see if we can find you a nice outfit for my work banquet."

I groaned at the thought my mother's christmas party. It was a pretty large get together of the families of the people who worked at the nursing home. It was the night they passed out the small Christmas bonuses and it was the night that my mom made me get all dressed up for a smile like I actually cared at all about her co-workers and their families.

"Do I have to go this year?" I whined, "Gabe doesn't have to come, does he?"

My mom glared softly. "Of course he does. You both do, Everly so stop your whining and go get in the shower." She smacked my arm softly and I traipsed off towards my room.

I pulled my phone out from under my pillow and then tossed it back onto my bed after asking Zacky if he wanted to come over later. I grabbed some clothes from my closet and a towel from the floor and went into the bathroom.

A half an hour into my shower, my mom was banging on the door. "Everly, come on! You're taking way too long!"

"Mom, go away!" I shouted through the curtain and the door, "If I have to go shopping then at least let me shower!"

"No! Now get out of there!" She banged on the door loudly and then left me alone.

I knew that if I didn't finish within the next ten minutes that she'd be right back outside the door. I rinsed my hair out and stepped out, my growingly good mood disappearing almost automatically.

"Everly, your phone is ringing!"

I tightened my towel around my body and stepped across the hall, taking my clothes with me. I slammed my bedroom door closed and dove for my phone.

"Hey, what's going on?" I answered quickly, wondering why Zacky would call me when he knew I wasn't near my phone.

"Do you want to hang out with me later?" he questioned, a smile in his tone, "Everyone is going out to some show, but I figured we could just hang out at my place."

I cradled the phone between my shoulder and my ear as I pulled my clothes on. "Didn't you get my text?" I questioned.

"No, sorry," he murmured, fumbling with his phone, "I just charged it and called you first thing." He paused and I heard a few buttons clicking in my ear. "Oh, yeah, we can hang out at your place instead if you want."

"My mom refuses to leave me alone because of yesterday," I grumbled, "So I told her that you promised to come over and keep me company," I added as my mom walked up to my door and pushed it open just slightly. "Not dressed, Mom!" I shouted at her, watching as the door closed just as quickly as it opened.

Zacky laughed on the other end. "Not dressed?" he questioned, "And by me, you mean Micki, right?"

A smile tugged on my lips. "Shower and yes."

"Why're you up and showered already?" he asked, "It isn't like you to be out of bed unless you're forced."

"My mom is taking me shopping for her work's Christmas party," I sighed dramatically, "And why're you up?" I questioned, checking the time, "It's not even noon."

"Wanted food," he replied simply, "So I had to get up and make myself something to eat because I started eating my own arm in my sleep."

I laughed at the stupid joke. "What'd you make?" I asked, sitting on the edge of my bed so that I could slip into a pair of mitch-matched socks and then pull my shoes over.

"Nothing special," he murmured, noise starting up in the background as he turned on the television. "When are you going to be done with this shopping thing?"

"I have no idea," I sighed. I stepped out of my room and turned down the volume on my phone just so that my mom wouldn't be able to hear Zack's voice is she came close to me. "Mom!" I called down the hall, "What time are you going to work!?"

She came walking out of her room. "I have to be there at four," she told me, looking up to me as I held my phone to my ear, "Is that Micki?"

"Yeah, she wasn't to know what time she can come over," I explained, following her out to the living room. I spoke into the phone then, "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah," Zacky affirmed, "I'll be there at four-thirty with movies and food."

I smiled to myself, turning away from my mom. I walked down the hall and stepped into my room. "Okay, I'll see you later then."

"See you, Grange. Pick out something beautiful to wear for that party."

"Yeah, okay," I laughed, "I've got to go now."

Zacky said goodbye one final time and hung up the phone. I tucked my own into the pocket of my jeans and grabbed my wallet from my nightstand. My mom was waiting for me by the front door so I hurried out to her and followed her out to the car.

"Where are we going?" I questioned as I sat in the passenger's seat, "Do we even have enough money to buy me a dress for this thing? I can just wear the one I wore last year. I'm sure it fits."

"No you can not," she retorted, "And of course I have enough money, Everly. Don't even worry about it."

Dress shopping only came once a year and it was the worst day out of all three hundred and sixty-five. My mom carted me around from store to store, throwing dress after dress at me, even though ninety-nine percent of them either didn't fit or weren't my style.

After over two hours, we were in our third store across the street from the mall. It was a little vintage shop with all kinds of clothing.

"What about this one?" I asked my mom with a smile on my lips.

She turned around from the rack she was looking at and looked at the blue and black strapless dress in my hands. "That's not very Christmassy." She frowned. "You couldn't pick a red or white one, could you?"

"Mom," I grumbled, "This dress is beautiful and it's my size and it would go really well with the leather jacket that's hanging in my closet."

She glanced at the racks around us and then sat down on a cloth covered bench. "Well, go try it on," she encouraged, motioning towards the row of small fitting rooms behind me.

I grinned and took the dress into the small wooden room. I slipped out of my shirt and stepped into the dress. It was black at the bust with a design built into it. From the waist it flared out just slightly and was a blue, almost turquoise color. It stopped right above my knees, which were still covered by my dark jeans.

I pushed open the door and stepped out. I bit my lip as I waited for my mom's reaction. I smoothed down the dress and met her gaze.

"You're not going to wear jeans to the party, are you Everly?" she asked, unhappily.

I groaned frustratedly. "No, Mom. I'm not going to wear jeans," I growled, turning back into the small dressing room stall. I stepped out of the dress and hung it back on the hanger. "This is the one that I'm getting," I stated as I walked back out.

She smiled and nodded slowly. "It'll do, sweetheart," she agreed, "Give it to me so that I can pay for it."

I was relieved that she agreed so easily. I handed her the dress and folded my arms over my chest. I watched my mom pay for the dress and have it put in one of those little bags.

"You're going to be late," I told me mom as we walked back to the car, "If we don't hurry."

She shook her head. "No, I have my uniform in the back so I can change at work," she explained, "So is there any where else you want to stop before I drop you off?"

I shrugged my shoulders against the passenger's seat of the car. "Not really," I murmured, "I actually should probably get home. Micki is probably waiting outside already cursing me for not being there to let her in."

Mom didn't smile at my joke. Instead she turned in the direction of our house, heading back into town so that she could drop me off and head to work.

It only took about twenty-minutes until we were pulling into the driveway. "See you in the morning, Mom," I murmured as I climbed out of the car and grabbed my new dress from the back, "Thanks for paying for this."

"No problem, Sweetheart, I'll see you in the morning. Sorry I have to leave you alone for the night," she apologized, leaning over the center console.

I shook my head with a smile on my lips. "I'm not alone, Mom," I reminded her, "Micki is coming over, remember?"

She nodded. "Alright, you two have fun and be careful. No rough-housing. I don't want you getting hurt again."

I rolled my eyes. "Gotcha, no rough-housing." I smacked the top of the car. "You better go. I'll see you tomorrow." I climbed the little steps and threw open the door, watching from the doorway as my mom pulled out of the driveway.

I sighed in relief when she was gone and closed the door. I didn't bother to lock it seeing as Zacky would be here in under forty minutes.

I dropped my jacket on the couch and carted my dress and shoes to the bedroom to put away. I kicked my shoes under my bed and pushed my closet open so that I could shove the item into the crowded mess.

After successfully getting the dress to fit, I plucked my phone from my back pocket and held it to my ear. "Yeah, I'm alone," I answered, stopping the ringing phone.

Zacky chuckled on the other end. "On my way in, then," he replied simply before the line went dead.

I tossed my phone onto the bed and walked out to the living room, a smile on my lips as Zacky let himself in through the front door, two bags in his arms.

"Hey, Baby," he greeted, a grin on his face, "How're you feeling?"

I grabbed one of the bags from him. "I'm perfectly fine," I told him, peaking into the plastic bag of DVDs as he took the other one to the kitchen counter.

"You're hungry, right?" he questioned as he pulled out two white cartons of Chinese food and set them on the counter.

I grinned widely and hurried over to him, leaving the bag on the couch. "You bought me Chinese?" I asked excitedly, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Mhm," he hummed. He leaned down and pressed his pierced lips against my own. I rubbed my palms against the the fabric at his sides and then moved to tangle my fingers in his thick Italian hair as his tattooed arms went around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"Lets eat," I cheered, pulling away to sit on a stool.

Zacky chuckled and nodded. He pulled a bunch of packs of soy sauce out of bottom of the bag and another white box. "One for you, one for me," he explained as he opened the one box of rice and gave me my own box of chicken and beef.

"I love Chinese food," I gushed, rushing around the small island counter so that I could get two forks.

Zacky grinned and plucked a piece of chicken from his plate with his fingers. "I know." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes playfully and set his fork by his plate. "Thank you," I murmured before I scooped as much as I could into my mouth, "This is delicious."

Zacky nodded with a mouth full. "Lets go watch a movie," he said through the food, "I brought a whole bunch."

I picked up my plate and hurried to the couch. I plopped down and pushed the bag of movies towards Zack as he came around the back of the couch.

"Grange," he whined as he set his plate on the table, "Why do I have to do everything?"

I grinned and shrugged my shoulders.

Zacky grabbed the bag of movies and plucked one out. I laughed loudly as he started to hold them up like he was model displaying them.