The Unknown

Wrong house

Stacey's pov

This was a call I never wanted to make.

"Mike, something happened. Can you come pick me up?"

Mike replies, "Alright, I'm on my way. I'll be at Kristen's in about fifteen minutes."

"Um, I'm not at Kristen's. I'm at ..."

You can hear the police officer's radio in the background "10-97 ...juveniles ...go ahead."

Mike asks, "Stacey, what's going on? Was that a police radio I heard? Where are you?"

"I'm at Suzanne's and yeah, the police are here. Everyone's okay, I just need you to pick me up." I give Mike the address and wait for him to arrive.

You might be wondering how I got myself into this mess so let me go back to the beginning. I asked Mike if I could spend the night at my friend Kristen's house. I told him we would just be watching movies in her basement. I've spent the night there many times before. Mike knows when I am there, at least one of her parents will be home and supervising us closely at all times.

In reality, Kristen and I were spending the night at Suzanne's house with some of our other friends.  Suzanne's parents were out of town and her older sister was in charge. I didn't tell Mike I was going there because I knew he'd want to talk to Suzanne's parents before allowing me to spend the night since he doesn't know them very well. Obviously, he never would have let me stay there, knowing her parents wouldn't be home.

When we got to Suzanne's, this boy Colin that she likes called and we met up with him and his friends since they were just down the street. They were with Colin's older brother and asked us if we wanted to come with them while they drove around and met up with some of the brother's friends. Since Suzanne really liked this kid, she begged us to go with them. Even though we knew it wasn't a great idea (the brother had a reputation for being in trouble with the police), we went along to make Suzanne happy.

Well, the boys ended up playing mailbox baseball and egging and throwing tomatoes at several cars and houses until we were pulled over by the police. Thankfully, the boys took all the blame, even though we might have thrown an egg or two, so one police officer took the boys to the station, while the other officer took all the girls back to Suzanne's house and had us call our parents to pick us up.

That brings us to where we are now. I can't even imagine how upset Mike is going to be when he gets here and finds out what happened. He already knows I lied to him and he does not tolerate dishonesty. He's going to be so disappointed in me.

I hear a familiar voice, it's Mike. He's speaking with the officer. His gaze meets mine and I freeze. That's one cold look he just gave me. Mike finishes his conversation with the officer, shakes his hand and starts walking towards me.

"Mike, I'm sorry..."

He puts up his hand to silence me.

"I'm glad you're okay. I was worried when I received your phone call." Mike gives me a quick hug and I hear him sigh before pulling away. Without letting go of the grip he has on my upper arms, he looks me in the eye and sternly says, "We're going to have a lengthy discussion about your dishonest behavior when we get home. Until then, I do not want to hear one word come out of your mouth. Understand?"

  I nod and he escorts me out to his car with a death grip on my right bicep.

We ride home in silence. Mike has an extremely tight hold on the steering wheel. His nostrils are flared and his expression is rigid. I know he's furious and he's trying very hard to maintain self-control. When we pull into the Center's parking lot, he grabs my wrist before I can make a quick exit.

"Straight to my room," is all he needs to say to send a shiver down my spine.

I follow him silently to his room. He opens the door, ushers me in, and points to the chair in the corner. I reluctantly sit. The silence is deafening at this point. I would rather he were yelling and venting his frustration instead of keeping it bottled up inside. His eerie calm demeanor is unstable, fleeting, and unpredictably terrifying. Better the devil you know, than the one you don't.

Mike continues to pace restlessly in front of me, breathing loudly through his nostrils, his mouth pressed tightly closed in a thin scowl.

I swallow hard. This is maddening. I tap my foot nervously, exhale loudly and anxiously wring my hands. I want to scream out, oh my god just punish me already and get it over with, but I'm too much of a coward. I know I deserve everything I've got coming to me. Mike values honesty above all else and I've singlehandedly shattered his trust by lying repeatedly today. 

Mike finally takes a deep breath and breaks the silence, after what seems like an eternity.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Stacey, which is more than I can say for you and the way you've manipulated me tonight." 

Wow, straight out of the gate, brutally painful and unfortunately, accurate. Before continuing, Mike gives me the most heartbreaking look of betrayal, causing me to hang my head in shame.

"I'm having a very difficult time controlling my temper right now. I'm so furious with your blatant dishonesty, I don't trust myself to punish you fairly. Perhaps a restless, fitfully sleepless night will bring some clarity and serenity to the situation."

Unsure of what Mike wants from me due to his sarcasm, I don't speak or move, afraid the slightest sound or movement will unleash a volatile reaction. I look at him with pleading eyes, wordlessly begging for mercy. Seeing my look of desperation, Mike takes pity on me. His tone, flat and free of emotion.

"Go to your room, Stacey. We'll revisit this conversation in the morning."