The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows

I did fall back asleep, but got woken up by Margo around one in the afternoon. It was warm out, my window still open from me sneaking in, but that was okay because I liked the warmth. Opening my eyes, I looked around and then at the smiling face of Margo, holding up a glass of lemonade. When I sat up, she handed it to me and I smelt it, looking at her curiously.

"Taste it... I made it myself," She urged, pushing it gently toward my face. I obliged and took a sip; it was sour, but it was decent.

"Very good," I nodded, having another sip so she wouldn't get that bummed-out look on her face. "Why did you wake me up?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. I never really liked getting woke up after a long night.

"Well... I figured, I can give you a make-over. Make you look all pretty, yeah? For tonight? And your-" then the blonde leaned closer to me, mouth close to my ear, "-date," she whispered, giggling and pulling away as she slapped my arm gently. "Your father said Joey could come," she stated.

"Oh.. That's, Margo, it isn't a date... And I'm surprised that dad is even going to let him come," I said, changing the subject.

"And why not?" The woman asked, pouting some.

"Because, my dad doesn't like Joey. Thinks he's a bad influence- which he's not- and that he and I have-" I swallowed just then, biting my bottom lip, "-sex." I explained, looking around as my heart began to race.

"Well... Don't you? I mean, ain't that why you sneak out? To go be with your 'lover' or 'secret love' or whatever those cheesy stories refer to them as?" She asked. When she caught the 'oh shit' look on my face, she giggled and placed her manicured hand on my shoulder. "I'm not as oblivious as I appear. I'm a night owl, so I stay up pretty late. I know you're sneakin' out to go see Joey," she smiled.

"Well... Uhm.. No, we're best friends. I go because he makes me happy, and makes me laugh and it's so easy to be around him. I can be myself," I stated. "The reason why dad hates him is because he caught us in a compromising position. That, and Joey is the exact opposite of my dad. He's tall, smart, funny, carefree, easy going, thin... The list goes on," I explained, playing with my sleeves.

"Compromising position?" Margo asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. All of her blonde curls fell to that side, moving slightly from the breeze coming through my window.

"Well, that's why he thinks we have sex. We were playing video games and it was hot so I was in a pair of really short shorts and he took my controller and hid it when I went to get chips. I came back and he had his shirt off, since it was warm.. This was when we were fifteen, so two years ago, which is an age when teens are 'curious' I guess," I used air quotes, swallowing before continuing. "And long story short, I had to climb on top of him to find the controller and seeing as though his shirt was off and my shorts looked like underwear, dad walked in on lunch break and 'caught' us... I tried to explain it to him that I wasn't doing anything bad and he had a lot of built up anger from my mom leaving. This was about a couple weeks after she had left..." I finished, looking down as I folded my hands in my lap.

"Well... That seems legitimate. Did he ground you?" She inquired, looking at me with a face that pushed for an answer.

"Yeah.. For a month. He told me I could only see Joey when I'm home with him, and I couldn't go over to his house. But, I do anyway when he's not here. He yelled at me in front of Joey and made me cry, too. But I don't think it was just... Dad making me cry. I think it was the whole situation with mom leaving me. Margo, I have to say, as soon as he met you, he stopped being so angry and ungrounded after a month, the same time around when he met you. He really moved on fast. I think he needed to, if he stopped and dwelled on mom, then he would take it out on me more and yell at me. But he hardly does that. You saved him, Margo," I murmured, tears welling up in both mine and her own eyes. She leaned forward and embraced me, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Thanks, Ella.. I really appreciate that. He saved me, too... It's time we have an official bonding day. That is why I want to pamper you and make you all pretty for tonight-- we can get to know each other more because I don't think we've ever really had a one on one conversation that gets into the deep subjects," Margo said, arms still around me.

"Yeah, that'd be pretty cool.." I replied quietly, wiping the bottom of my eyes to stop the salty tears from over-flowing and falling.

"We need to get to know each other more, because for the past two years, I've only gotten to know you a little bit and, if Richie and I don't stay together, I still want a relationship with you. You're the closest I've ever gotten to a daughter, and being thirty-four, I know that my time for a kid is starting to run out and I don't think I can handle a baby. I've tried, but.. It's just so hard.." The blonde sighed, letting go of me. "So come on, let's start the make-over process," she said, the smile coming back to her face.

I got up, nodded, and grabbed the glass of lemonade. I followed Margo down the hall toward the master bathroom, seeing everything already laid out for her to use on me. I felt like a science experiment, but this time it was going to be okay because I trusted Margo.

I hoped you would like my make-over.. Which was weird, because since when did I feel this many butterflies at the thought of you liking something about me?