Out...

Out...

"OUT! MATTHEW...GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE. RIGHT NOW!"

Standing in the threshold of the front door I looked at my mother. The shocked and surprised look on my face had to be clear enough for her to see. It didn't faze her. She looked toward the door and pointed her finger to the street behind me.

"I swear to God, Matthew. If you don't get out of the house, this very minute, you'll will be next in line." My mother's words screamed out to me a second time as I tried to walk into the open concept house. The home where our family lived.

My mother, father, and my sister all stood at the huge butcher block that doubled as a gathering place on most occasions. Good and bad. They all appeared to be very upset. And both my mother and my sister looked as though they been crying. Everyone was involved in this family meeting. Everyone but me.

'In line', for what? I wondered to myself. It was very obvious it wasn't for something good. Had my older sister done something bad? Either way I retraced my steps and backed my ass out the front door. Slamming it for affect, I grabbed my mountain bike, and hightailed it down our street.

Whatever it was, I wasn't about to let it ruin my day. No way. Not today. Today was the last day of school. I had graduated high school and was heading to the college I chose in the fall. Until seconds ago, life was good.

I got home expecting a celebration of pizza and wings. Balloons and noise makers. Not really. But the food, yes. We always celebrated big events. And to me, finishing high school ranked among the top 10 in my life. Instead of a party, I got the bum's rush.

"GET OUT!" The words rattled around in my brain as peddled down the street.

*****

When the bell rang earlier in the day, I didn't hurry out. Not like others who were graduating. No. I took a victory lap. Taking my time to drop around and say goodbye and thanks to all the teachers I liked. Even some of the ones I didn't care for.

I hung out with friends I most likely wouldn't see again until a 10- or 20-year reunion. Then I went to coaches' office and had a seat. I thanked him and his assistant for everything they did for me. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be as happy as I were today. Scholarships are getting harder to come by, and I was very excited to get one.

Coach had sent lots of tape to lots of schools. Finally, some of the schools sent scouts. That night, I had a better than good game and the rest, as they say, is history.

But what was supposed to be a big day for the family had somehow changed.

For some reason my father was already home. And seeing him home this early made me curious, because he never left the office before five and looking at my phone, it was only 3:24pm. Him being home this early could only mean one thing. My sister fucked up the possibility of getting herself into college.

****

Tiff and I are I little over a year apart in age. She is older, but we still go to school together. Tiff didn't buckle down the last couple years and missed a few credits. Hence, she had to do an extra year of high school. Today was also supposed to be her last day. We will graduate together. But Tiff has or had a spare for her last class of the day, so she always left school an hour or so before me.

Today wasn't the first time she has messed up. But as far back as I can recall, it was the first time a meeting of this magnitude had been called.

*****

At the park, I threw soon hoops with guys I knew. They played a very tight game of 3 on 3. They let me play because of my height, but they rarely let me shoot.

During one of the breaks, my phone pinged. It was a text from my mother. A simple, 'pizza is on the way', was all it said. Ten minutes later, I was home.

The table was set. No balloons or streamers. Also, no pizza. So, I took a few minutes to shower and headed back downstairs.

Everyone sat in their usual spots. Tiff was across from me, and her head was hanging low. My foot tapped her under the table, but she didn't acknowledge it. When the wings and pizza finally showed, she lifted her head for the first time. With the red eyes, she had clearly been crying hard.

My mother had a large pour of red wine and my father had about the same amount of bourbon. Tiff and I had nothing.

"You want a Dr. Pepper?" I offered my sister.

Her head nodded.

Getting our drinks, I couldn't just sit there without saying anything.

"They posted all the final grades today. Tiff and I both did great in American History. She beat my grade by ten percent."

"How nice," said our mother, stoically. The rest of the room was silent.

"Okay. What's going on? Aren't we talking. Is no one going to say a word? Okay. Let's just let Tiff and Matthew celebrate the big day of graduating high school in silence."

"Matt," said my father.

"What?"

"Matt. Your mother and I are...well...we're not really in the mood to talk or discuss...todays...events."

After that, the pizza and wings seemed to taste like shit. Again, my foot tapped my sister's leg. She didn't even flinch.

"Matthew, do you work tomorrow?" My mom asked.

"Yes...finally, some conversation." It was my chance to try and lighten the mood at the table. "I sure do mother. I work from noon until six pm. I will be busy piling cans of soup and boxes of macaroni, along with other various consumable items for your dining pleasure. Remember, family members of store employees always get a five percent discount on top of our already low, low, discounted prices."

"Matt...enough. I told you. Mom, and I have had a shitty afternoon." He took a gulp of his drink. "The reason we ask if you'll be here, is because we have an electrician coming in the morning. He should be here by eight. Says it's only a couple hours of work."

"An electrician, Tiff did you put the metal dog bowl in the microwave again?"

Her big toe caught me in the shin.

"No. He's putting up surveillance cameras outside. Ones that will cover all entrances and exits. He..." my father started.

"I'm nineteen-years old for Pete's sake. I don't need your permission to leave the house. I'm an adult. I can do what I want. Do you plan on monitoring me when I leave for school?"

"Leave for school? Tiffany, you should have already been in college. Nineteen? If you're nineteen, then stop acting like you're twelve. Your mom and I have grown pretty tired of your little shitshow years ago. Grow the hell up. Yeah, you can do what you want. But not under our roof. When you go out on your own, and you're paying for it, you can do whatever you damn well please."

"Can I have my phone back?" Tiff sounded as if she was begging.

"Yes. When we drop you off at your new school."

"Un-fucking believable." My sister cried.

"Like your other behavior, swearing is also not permitted in this house."

"It's my phone."

"Our phone. Because we pay for it."

Something wasn't good. I took another crack at lightened the mood.

"Oh my God. Did you guys catch Tiffany wearing yoga pants without underwear again. Are those damn panty lines causing our family grief once again? The shame of it all."

My sister is hot. She has a great body and has never been afraid to show it off. My parents had scolded her time after time about wearing panties under her tight leggings, but whenever Tiff tried to sneak out without, she always got caught.

My father's eyes burned holes through my chest and in his mind, I could tell he was trying to rip out my heart.

"Not funny mister. Your mother and I put up with way too much shit from the pair of you. Once. Just once. It would be nice if you saw things our way."

It was a dead issue. It hadn't happened in over a year. Tiffany had been punished and grounded for her choice and lack of undergarments. It was long past, but it was still worth giving it a kick. Yeah, it had been over a year, but it came back to me. Our last family brawl was over Tiff's lack of panties.

"We do see things your way. But come on Dad, let's be real. They were black yoga pants. Not see-through. What harm was there in not wearing underwear?"

"Because. Goddamn it. If we tell you to wear fucking underwear, you wear fucking underwear. The entire concept of not doing so, creates a sexual imbalance and it leads to...to things like today."

"What. Come on. What happened today?"

No one answered.

"Am I allowed to guess?"

"NO." all three yelled in unison.

After a brief silence my father looked at me. He had his "You had better smarten up" look on his face.

"I understand. You think being funny helps your sister stay out of trouble. But it doesn't. We're family and God damn it; I expect you to help your mother and I out with this. You're to spend every single free second of your time with her this summer. Keep an eye on her and let us know if she's misbehaving."

"Let a prison snitch?"

My father slammed his hand on the table.

"You it whatever you'd damn well like, but if she screws up, it's on you too.

And...it was over. Dad stormed off like he always did. Retreating to his den was his go to move. He would lock the door and hide himself away from the world.

Apparently, there was cake.

But after a meal like the one we just had. Nobody wanted any part of it. They all went their own way.

I retreated to my room.

*****

I could hear Tiff stomping around in her room. It was down the hall. My closet and hers were between the two rooms, but we were also connected by our adjoining bathroom. Still, for me to hear her, she must have been stomping up a storm.

It was like she was a caged animal. And when the caged animal calmed down, and realized she had nowhere to go, I could hear the quiet sobs coming from her room.

The door to her room was open, but just a bit. I knocked and let myself in.

Tiff was lying on her bed. She was curled up in a ball. Still crying to herself. Closing the door, I walked over to her bed and climbed in.

"You, okay?"

"No."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No."

There would be no talking about it, yet I swung my arm over my older sister and gave her a hug.

"If you need to talk, I'm here."

After minutes of silence, a quiet, "thanks Matty", escaped from inside of her.

Holding her tightly, I left only after she had cried herself to sleep.

In the morning I would find out she wasn't exactly 'caged'. She had roaming privileges, but she was under house arrest.

*****

The next morning, I found my sister standing by the back patio door. Dressed in her robe and fuzzy slippers, she was watching the "guy" string cable from camera to camera. He tested each one with his phone and a monitor he had set-up. He was all business.

Tiff put her arm around me and leaned her head to my shoulder.

"Thanks for having my back last night, little bro."

"You wanna tell me what this is all about?" I asked without taking my eyes off of the camera installer.

"Not really."

"Fine," I said pulling away from her grip. Looking back at her, I took the toaster out from under the counter. "Tell me anyway."

The tears in her eyes had returned.

Tiff made her way over to the island and sat on one of the stools. I poured her another half cup of coffee and waited for my toast.

"You know Brian?"

I did know Brian. All too well. He was and still is an asshole. But I didn't really care, because he has nothing to do with me. But he and Tiff had been out on a couple of dates.

"He...well, we I guess...wanted to do something cool for grad. So, he had his dad's truck. We went out to the lake, but it was so busy." Her head hadn't lifted up even slightly, as she spoke. "Somehow, we ended up back here...and..."

"And what?"

"Mom caught us."

"Who cares if she caught you. We're allowed to have friends over for Christ sakes."

"No. She caught us...doing..."

"What? She caught you doing what?"

"It."

"Whhhhhaaaaaat? Come on. Tiff. You're way outta that goofs league. You know you can do so much better than a jerk like him. What happened to that Anthony guy? The guy with the cool dog."

"He...he met someone else at college."

"So, you have rebound sex with a loser like Brian?"

"Not really. We were going to. I was trying. I was going to let him. I wanted him to. That was the plan. But mom put an end to it."

"Well in a few months you'll show that goof Anthony. Guys will be pounding at your dorm door, and he'll be wishing you'd take some time out of your day to talk to him."

"And I really did like Anthony, but he says I'm too immature for him."

"If you were going to let a loser like Brian get into your panties, maybe you are."

"I wasn't wearing any."

It was a feeble attempt at humor. Still, we both laughed.

My toast popped, but I buttered it and put it on a plate for my sister. Along with the toast, I pushed the jar of Nutella toward her.

"Thank you," she said as weakly as I had ever heard her speak. I wasn't sure if it were for the toast or for what I said about Anthony.

"So, continue. Mom caught you. What was her problem? You're an adult. Hell, we both are. And as you say, you weren't actually doing 'it'?"

"No. But...Matt, she was so upset. She called me a bunch of names. Told me I was a stupid whore and a slut for doing what I was planning on doing, in their home. She told I should be embarrassed by the bad example I always set for you."

My hand reached out and grabbed my older sister's shoulder. I couldn't help it.

"Stop. Tiff it's bullshit and you know it. They want what's best for both of us, but what she said was offside. No. It was freakin out of bounds. She had no right. Her house or not. She shouldn't be calling you names."

Between sobs, she bit into her toast.

"Brian heard it all."

"Brian can kiss my ass. Who cares what that idiot heard. He's probably too stupid to comprehend any of it anyway."

"I do. I care. He's going to tell everyone," Tiff sobbed. I suppose she did care. The pretty girls always seem to care what everyone thinks of them.

"If he does, then he can kiss your ass."

"That's what I wanted him to do," Tiff said with a sob.

The toaster popped for a second time. Buttering my bread, I shook my head in disbelief. She was so much better than that asshole Brian. But for some reason, after she broke up with Anthony, she lost her confidence.

"They took my phone and told me I'm not allowed out of the house until I leave for school. Can they do that?"

"Not really. But if you're living under their roof, they also pay for your phone. So, they can make your life a living hell if they want."

*****

As we had been told, the electrician was done well before I left for work. Both Tiff and I went outside to check out his handy work. When we got to the edge of the driveway, my phone rang. It was my mother. I put it into my pocket without answering. Seconds later, I received a text.

"Matthew. What are you doing? Your father told you. It's your responsibility to keep your sister in line. So tell her to get back in the house. And answer your phone when I call you, mister."

"It's for you," I said with a laugh. Tiff read it and started sobbing again.

Seconds later moms second text pissed me off.

"Tell the drama queen she brought this on herself."

We went inside. The heavens above were watching our every move.

At 11:30, I went looking for my sister. She was wrapped up in a blanket, watching some show about how to build tiny houses on trailers. Weird shit if you ask me. I told her I was leaving and got no response.

"Tiff...honest to God. If you don't look at me, it's going to hit you square in the face." Her head turned and she jumped. My phone landed beside her on the sofa. Her smile was huge. "Don't tell mom or dad. And if they call or text you, you only respond with a "thumbs up" emoji. Got it?" Her head bobbed up and down. "Good. Stay out of trouble. Tomorrow I'll check the wiring on those cameras and see what we can do about turning them off."

My older sister jumped off the sofa and put me in a death hug. Her lips and tears slobbered all over my cheek. At least the thought of being able to contact her friends made her happy.

*****

There was something about helping my sister that made me feel better. In fact, I even felt good about it.

My E-mountain bike was humming down the street. Work was going to be a breeze. An uneventful six hours for which I would get paid. Soon enough I would be home. Relaxed and playing my video games.

Unfortunately, no one told the rest of the universe about my plans.

No, that universe had other plans for the two-dozen people I know and work with at the Walmart where I stocked shelves. Some are friends. Some were teammates. Some are just people who know me in passing. We didn't all work the same shift, but we all work at the same place. And in the information world, it is a lot of people.

*****

Tiff has made a few mistakes and bad choices in her life, but she's my family and I've always had her back. I can't say that was always the case with her. Because in the past, Tiff threw me to the lions more than once or twice. She outed me to girls I liked. Her lies about me to my parents had caused me problems over the years and she had no problem 'not' keeping a secret. But all those things aside and regardless of the crazy things she did or does, she is still my sister and I love her.

That love was put to the test and the shit hit the fan in my world at my first work break of the day.

*****

When I walked into the break room, it was easy to see most of the people in there who are my age, were talking about me. They stopped talking out loud. But their whispers continued. I sat where I normally sat. With a group of guys, I know well.

"Matty, how you holdin up brother?"

"Good," I said as if I had no idea what he was asking.

"Really man? The rumor mill is churnin up some butter today."

"Probably. But I don't care."

"Your sister, okay?"

"She's fine."

"Good. She doesn't deserve that kinda shit."

"What 'shit'?"

"Lots of rumors goin round."

There would be no putting this to bed in the 10 minutes we had for break unless we got right to it.

"Okay tell me who said what."

The two guys I consider friends did all the talking. The other three didn't say a word. Whether it be fear or something else, they never spoke. And at the end of my friends giving me the details, it was very close to what had actually happened.

Letting my friends know absolutely nothing, I asked where they had heard about Tiff's troubles.

"Dobb's. Word is he's tellin everyone. Even posted some cruel shit about Tiffany on Facebook."

"Figures. Can't expect much more from Neanderthals."

He was one, and it did figure. Like I said before. The guy's a tool.

*****

Gathering my garbage in front of me. I was nearly ready to get back to work when one of Brian's idiot pals stopped at our table.

"Parker. I hear there was shitshow at your place yesterday. Cum and fur flyin everywhere."

"So, I hear," I said. Agreeing with what he said.

"Yeah. You probably heard everything. Your sister crying and your old lady screaming. Brian says she called your sister a 'stupid whore'."

"That's exactly what I heard."

"Ha. Told yah," the dumb oaf bellowed. Turning to the group at the table he had just walked away from, he gave them a thumbs up. Like the truth was going to save him.

"Yeah, my mother always screams at Tiff when she goes out with a fucking loser. We all do. And when my mom caught her with Brian, she lost her mind. I think she said something like, 'you stupid whore, you can do way better than that little dicked, asshole'. Our whole family is embarrassed and pissed at her for not finding someone worthy of her. Luckily Dobbs couldn't get his tiny dick hard, or we would have had to send Tiff away to a monastery. Or at the very least, publicly flog her."