Never Always Sometimes - Adi Alsaid Page 0,52

gesticulating

wildly with his hands as he yelled, like some conductor in the midst of

a crescendo. “Hell, maybe someone was; we haven’t had time to really

check.”

Ethan stepped away from the door and put his hands on Tom’s

shoulder, whispering something into his ear that Julia couldn’t hear.

Julia strained to remember more about the end of the night, and

what had happened with Dave. She hoped she hadn’t done anything

as embarrassing as tell Dave she loved him. A distinct memory of

climbing onto the roof and throwing eggs out the window, watching

them disappear into the night, popped into her head. That would

have been great to do with Dave, but his presence wasn’t there in the

memory, even though she couldn’t remember them ever saying good-

bye. He should have been there for that.

“It’s unacceptable,” Tom was saying, still in conference with Ethan,

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who spoke calmly, quietly enough that Julia could only hear the breath

of his words, and not the words themselves. “No, there is no side to her story. What, she accidentally threw a party?”

“Ooh, yes!” Julia said. “It was an accident. Peer pressure and the

aching desire to be accepted by my peers.”

Tom got even redder and Ethan shook his head. “Now’s not the

time for jokes.”

Julia tried to get up, but the movement made her head feel like it

was about to explode, so she sank back into the comfort of lying down.

“Sheesh, okay. Just trying to lighten the mood a little. I know I messed up. Can we skip the lecture and just get to the repercussions? I plead

guilty.”

“No, you don’t get off that light,” Tom said, still yelling. “The lecture is part of the punishment.”

Julia sighed and slowly slipped out of the blazer she’d fallen asleep

in. She gave it a whiff, then immediately regretting doing so. She

tossed it across the room toward her laundry pile. “Trust me, what I

just smelled was punishment enough.”

“You’re paying for that to get dry-cleaned,” Ethan said. True

businessman that he was, the only punishments he could ever think of

were financial. Disciplining did not come easily to him.

“I understand that I am financially responsible for the mayhem

below. I wouldn’t have thrown the party if I weren’t ready to face some

consequences. So can we just call this my one big teenage fuckup and

move on? I could use some coffee and a greasy breakfast.”

176 NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES

Ethan sighed and took a seat on the foot of her bed. He looked

up at Tom with a smile and a shrug. “She’s tougher than I am. You’re

gonna have to do all the lecturing.” Then he turned back to Julia. “To

be clear, I’m not okay with any of what happened.”

“Unbelievable,” Tom said. He shook his head and recrossed his

arms. “What was going through your head?”

“Honestly? I was hoping to get laid.”

“Julia!”

“I’m kidding! When did you guys lose your sense of humor?”

“No father would ever laugh at that joke.” Ethan scooted up the bed

to sit beside Julia, his back to the headboard and his legs stretched out in front of him.

“What do you want me to say?” Julia said to Tom. “High school

is wrapping up, Dave got voted onto the prom king ballot, you guys

were out of town. It was on the Nevers list, so I took advantage. I’m

eighteen. I’m allowed the rare burst of immaturity.”

“If only it were rare.”

Julia held her hands to her heart. “Ouch, Dad.” Another piece of the

night came to her: an image of her yelling at Dave. Something to do

with that soccer-playing blonde he’d been chummy with all night. She

nestled into her dad for comfort, not wanting to believe that she could

have ever been so dramatic. “Look, I’m sorry. Can I blame this one on

my genes?”

Tom raised his hands in surrender, palms out. “I can’t handle this

right now. I’m going for a drive.” He pointed at Ethan. “You, stop

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facilitating.” Then he pointed at Julia. “And you, go clean my house.

The couch smells like an orgy.”

“Eww.” Julia laughed. “I love you, too, Dad!”

Tom grumbled a response as he made his way downstairs.

“Next time you have a party, I’d like to be invited,” Ethan said. “Just, you know, not for a few years.”

“No promises.” She nuzzled her nose into his side, the hangover

getting worse. “Have you talked to my mom at all? Did she get tickets

yet?”

“Do me a favor, don’t bring her up while Dad’s around. We told her

she can stay with us, but if he starts thinking you’re acting out because of her visit, he could change his mind.”

“I’m not acting out ’cause she’s coming,” Julia mumbled. “I’m acting

out ’cause I’m a teenage cliché.”

Ethan chuckled