Daemon left as fast as humanly possible after that. Mom went downstairs without saying a word. Knowing I was in trouble, I passed Will in the hallway. He was barefoot. Apparently, I wasn’t the only female in the house to have had a guy in my bed.
I found her shoving the coffee pot into the maker. “Mom, it’s not what you think. I promise.”
She turned around, planting her hands on her hips. “You had a boy in your bedroom, in your bed. What am I supposed to think?”
“Looks like you had a sleepover, too.” I fixed the pot so it wasn’t half out of the maker.
“I’m the adult here. I can have whomever I want in my bed, young lady.”
Will laughed form the doorway. “I have to disagree with that. I’m hoping I’m the only one in your bed.”
“Ew,” I groaned, going to the fridge to get juice.
Mom’s eyes narrowed on her boyfriend. “Is this what you’re doing when I’m working nights, Katy?”
I sighed. “No, Mom, I swear it’s not. We were…studying, and we fell asleep.”
“You were studying in your bedroom?” She smoothed some of the mussed hair back from her face. “I’ve never had to set rules with you before, but I see there need to be some established.”
“Mom,” I groaned, glancing at Will. “Come on…”
“There will be no boys in your bedroom. Ever.” She pulled the creamer out. “There will be no boys staying the night in any part of this house.”
Sitting down, I sipped my OJ. “Can you stop referring to boys in the plural? Geez.”
She poured herself a cup of coffee. “Blake is here all the time. And then there is Daemon. So, yes, it’s boys in the plural sense.”
I bristled. “Neither of them is my boyfriend.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better about one of them being in your bed?” She took a drink of her coffee and then scrunched up her nose in distaste. “Honey, I’ve never had to worry about you doing anything stupid.”
I stood and handed her the sugar she forgot. “I’m not doing anything stupid. Nothing is happening with either of them. We’re just friends.”
She ignored the last statement. “I can’t be here a lot, and I have to trust you. Please tell me that you’re being…safe.”
“Oh my God, Mom, I’m not having sex.”
Her look told me she wasn’t entirely convinced. “Just make sure you’ll be careful. You don’t want to be a young mother.”
“Oh, dear God,” I whispered, hiding my face behind my hands.
“And I am concerned,” she continued. “First it was Daemon, then you seemed to have started seeing Blake, but now…”
“I’m not seeing either of them,” I said for what felt like the hundredth time.
“You two did look very close.” Will propped a hip against the sink, watching us. “You and Daemon.”
“This really isn’t any of your business,” I said, angry that he was here for such a private and excruciatingly embarrassing conversation.
“Katy,” Mom snapped.
Will laughed it off. “No. It’s okay, Kell. She’s right. This isn’t my business. But there does seem to be some history between you two.”
For a moment, his smile reminded me of someone. Fake. Plastic. Nancy Husher. I shuddered. God, I was paranoid. “We’re just friends.”
“Friends who hold hands while sleeping?”
I glanced at my mom, but she was busy studying the inside of her chipped cup. Feeling overly exposed, I folded my arms around me. “I’m sorry, Mom, for upsetting you. It won’t happen again.”
“I hope not.” She washed out her coffee cup, wearing a slight frown. “The last thing I want right now is a grandchild.”
Done with this conversation, I squeezed past Will and went into the living room. Gah, my mom thought I was making babies. Even I was disturbed by that thought.
Grabbing my backpack off the floor, I dragged it to the couch. When I looked up, I saw Mom and Will in the hallway. He was whispering something to her, and she laughed softly. Before I could look away, he kissed her…but our eyes locked.
…
Hours later, Will was still in the house—my house. Not his. Was this how my Saturdays would be when Mom was off? Watching the two of them working on crossword puzzles in between making out? I wanted to claw my eyes out.
The way he stared at me made my skin feel like a thousand dirty roaches were crawling under it. It had to be my paranoia, but I couldn’t shake the ugh factor.
I checked my blog real quickly and found that I had over twenty comments on my IMM. Curious for the sudden comment love, I scrolled through them. Some of them gushed over the books I had. Others gushed over the boy who’d been sitting beside me.
Dammit. He’d hijacked my blog.
Putting in earbuds, I listened to some tunes while reading my English assignment. Mom appeared sometime later, and I tugged out the buds, hoping we weren’t going to have another sex conversation. Especially when I knew Will was right in the kitchen, making himself at home.
“Honey, Dee is here to see you.” Then she walked over and flipped my textbook shut. “And before you say you’re busy or have plans with a boy, you need to get up and go talk to her.”
I took the last bite of my cold Pop-Tart and frowned. “Oookay…”
She pushed back her side-swept bangs. “You can’t spend every waking second studying and hanging out with Blake or whomever.”