Please Don't Make Me Beg
Chapter 7: Westbound Sign
*Author's Note: Okay, this is a dual sequel to "Please Don't Make Me Beg." The Chapters titled "Westbound Sign" will be from the point of view of Andi, Li's daughter. Li's story will continue under the chapters titled "Nice Guys Finish Last." Hope it's not too confusing!*
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**Andi's POV**
It's 3:30 am, and she's still not home. I've tried calling her cell phone six times, but I get her voice mail every time. She never ignores my calls, EVER--and why hasn't she called me back?
Maybe she's just having a great time. After all, when she called last night, she did tell me she was going to meet the guys from Green Day, and my mom is obsessed with Green Day.
Coffee, that's what I need. I'll make another cup and sit out on the front porch for a while. By the time I finish, the car will be pulling into the driveway, and I'll give her a little hell for staying out so late and worrying me. Then I'll make her sit down and tell me all about it.
But first I'll try calling just one more time...
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Andi sat curled in the recliner, oblivious to the rerun of "Taxi" on TV Land. The cup of coffee on the table was cold and forgotten, and beside it was an untidy heap of items from her pockets--keys, a few crumpled dollars, a ticket stub from the concert. Her ears were still ringing from the incredible music and pyrotechnics. But she wasn't thinking about the show.
With a mixture of concern and irritation, she absently fiddled with the silver cell phone in her hand, flipping it open and closed. Where the hell was her mom, and why hadn't she called?
Evan had stayed with her for a while after Dan had brought them home from the Amphicentre, but when it got late, she had sent him home to rest so his voice wouldn't be shot for band practice in the morning.
"I don't like leaving you here by yourself. I can call the 'rents and stay until she gets home," he worried.
"No, Evan, I'll be fine. I'll lock up after you leave, and I'll bring Cooper inside. He'll bark loud enough to wake the dead if anyone tries to get in."
"You sure?" he asked.
"Yeah, she'll be home soon. She's probably out partying and acting like a complete fool, and if she is, then good on her. It's been too long since she just cut loose and had a good time," she reassured him. "She needed a break."
"I know, but it's not like her to just go off and not be in touch or anything." He and Andi's mom really enjoyed each other's company, and he seemed genuinely concerned.
"Okay, you can stop trying to make me panic any time now!" she scolded him. "It's not like I hadn't thought the same thing!"
He hung his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry, babe. I just want to make sure everything's okay before I take off."
"Look, get your butt home, get some sleep, and you better be on time for band practice in the morning. We won't sound very good without a lead singer, will we now?" She punched him in the arm playfully.
He pulled her close for a long kiss, and then cuddled her head against his chest. "Call me if she's not home really soon, okay?"
"Okay, worry wart. I'll be fine! Now get out of here!" she giggled, not quite feeling as cheerful as she sounded. As he pulled out of the driveway, she wished for a second she had let him stay. The house was quiet with him gone--too quiet for her frazzled nerves.
Her mom had really struggled to keep everything as normal as possible since Andi's father had died four years earlier. She still worked, kept in touch with a few friends, still went to every gig the band played and clapped louder than anybody. But lately it seemed to take more effort, as though she wasn't able to keep up the pace anymore.
It was music that connected the two of them more than anything else, the wild, rough beat of punk that they both loved. It gave them a release for feelings that neither really wanted to talk about, and in the mornings after a particularly rowdy show, they'd sit down over coffee and cold pizza and compare bruises like battle-worn soldiers, grinning all the time. That was when her mother really seemed to come alive, and Andi could see a glimpse of the young woman she had once been.
The bond they shared had deepened since her fathers death, strengthened by the knowledge that they only had each other to lean on.
Andi knew it would make what she had to tell her mother that much more difficult. She only hoped it wouldn't change things between them forever.
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**Andi's POV**
It's 3:30 am, and she's still not home. I've tried calling her cell phone six times, but I get her voice mail every time. She never ignores my calls, EVER--and why hasn't she called me back?
Maybe she's just having a great time. After all, when she called last night, she did tell me she was going to meet the guys from Green Day, and my mom is obsessed with Green Day.
Coffee, that's what I need. I'll make another cup and sit out on the front porch for a while. By the time I finish, the car will be pulling into the driveway, and I'll give her a little hell for staying out so late and worrying me. Then I'll make her sit down and tell me all about it.
But first I'll try calling just one more time...
**********************
Andi sat curled in the recliner, oblivious to the rerun of "Taxi" on TV Land. The cup of coffee on the table was cold and forgotten, and beside it was an untidy heap of items from her pockets--keys, a few crumpled dollars, a ticket stub from the concert. Her ears were still ringing from the incredible music and pyrotechnics. But she wasn't thinking about the show.
With a mixture of concern and irritation, she absently fiddled with the silver cell phone in her hand, flipping it open and closed. Where the hell was her mom, and why hadn't she called?
Evan had stayed with her for a while after Dan had brought them home from the Amphicentre, but when it got late, she had sent him home to rest so his voice wouldn't be shot for band practice in the morning.
"I don't like leaving you here by yourself. I can call the 'rents and stay until she gets home," he worried.
"No, Evan, I'll be fine. I'll lock up after you leave, and I'll bring Cooper inside. He'll bark loud enough to wake the dead if anyone tries to get in."
"You sure?" he asked.
"Yeah, she'll be home soon. She's probably out partying and acting like a complete fool, and if she is, then good on her. It's been too long since she just cut loose and had a good time," she reassured him. "She needed a break."
"I know, but it's not like her to just go off and not be in touch or anything." He and Andi's mom really enjoyed each other's company, and he seemed genuinely concerned.
"Okay, you can stop trying to make me panic any time now!" she scolded him. "It's not like I hadn't thought the same thing!"
He hung his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry, babe. I just want to make sure everything's okay before I take off."
"Look, get your butt home, get some sleep, and you better be on time for band practice in the morning. We won't sound very good without a lead singer, will we now?" She punched him in the arm playfully.
He pulled her close for a long kiss, and then cuddled her head against his chest. "Call me if she's not home really soon, okay?"
"Okay, worry wart. I'll be fine! Now get out of here!" she giggled, not quite feeling as cheerful as she sounded. As he pulled out of the driveway, she wished for a second she had let him stay. The house was quiet with him gone--too quiet for her frazzled nerves.
Her mom had really struggled to keep everything as normal as possible since Andi's father had died four years earlier. She still worked, kept in touch with a few friends, still went to every gig the band played and clapped louder than anybody. But lately it seemed to take more effort, as though she wasn't able to keep up the pace anymore.
It was music that connected the two of them more than anything else, the wild, rough beat of punk that they both loved. It gave them a release for feelings that neither really wanted to talk about, and in the mornings after a particularly rowdy show, they'd sit down over coffee and cold pizza and compare bruises like battle-worn soldiers, grinning all the time. That was when her mother really seemed to come alive, and Andi could see a glimpse of the young woman she had once been.
The bond they shared had deepened since her fathers death, strengthened by the knowledge that they only had each other to lean on.
Andi knew it would make what she had to tell her mother that much more difficult. She only hoped it wouldn't change things between them forever.