Condemned by Christopher Renna (best biographies to read txt) 📗

She looked at the corner of the room. The dark shape was no longer there. She quickened her steps to follow Conner out to the hall, where she was relieved to see Mr. Wheeler wasn't waiting for them.

Adam reclined on the sofa, smirking at the guys. Several minutes earlier, his mother had escorted the girls outside to their cars. When his parents entered the room, he sat upright. "I'm sorry. We're all sorry. I know we probably shouldn't—"

"Be quiet," his mother demanded. She surveyed each boy. "Do you guys understand how irresponsible you were tonight?"

"Mom, we got carried away. But nothing bad happened."

"Nothing bad happened?" Her tone was hard-edged and loud. "Because nothing bad ever happens, right?"

He lowered his head and stared at his bare feet. Normally his mother would have regarded him with a bewildered expression and maybe rolled her eyes as well. But it was obvious that she was not happy about the scene she'd witnessed in her own home.

"I know all your parents," she said. "Would they be happy about walking into their house and finding teenagers drinking alcohol and having sex?"

Miguel leaned back like he wanted the armchair to swallow him whole. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Wheeler. It was poor judgement on my part."

"I'm sorry too," Levi said. "We should have been more respectful."

She chuckled. "That's a given, Levi. But all of you followed Adam's lead. Why would any of you be on your best behavior tonight? You had a house with no adults, a whole case of beer, and a partner to screw around with."

Adam's father, propped against the entryway to the living room, crossed his arms and said, "Let's not get carried away."

"Carried away?" she asked with obvious reserved anger. "Getting carried away already happened, right here in our own house. And you want to tell me not to get carried away?"

"We should handle this like we always do. Talk about it as adults."

"We've done that too many times. And look at the result. A total lack of respect and self-control. Obviously talking like adults hasn't worked out so well."

"Mom," Adam groaned. "I said I'm sorry. Why are you so upset?"

"Of course you're sorry. You're always sorry. But are you really? Do you really regret the things you've gotten into trouble for? Huh? Like last night for instance. Breaking into the Smiths' house. Jesus, did you even think about what you were about to do? Did any of you?"

None of Adam's friends looked at him. Everyone avoided eye contact as though the simple action would summon the wrath of his mother. And although he wanted some sort of unspoken reassurance from his friends, he was grateful that he didn't have to look them in the eye while being berated. It felt like the umbrella of leniency his parents had constructed was about to collapse.

Stepping farther into the room, his father said, "Everyone, it's time for you to go home."

Miguel wasted no time following Levi to the foyer, but he poked his head around the entryway before leaving. "Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler."

On their feet, Trevor and Conner stood as if uncertain what to do.

"Um," Trevor mumbled. "We were going to spend the night."

"Of course. Three peas in a pod," Adam's mom responded. "I'm just as disappointed in you and Conner as I am with Adam. You're practically like sons to us. Do any of you speak up when you think one of you is about to do or say something that they shouldn't?"

"Well, yeah. Of course," Conner said. "We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to any of us. But tonight was just a mistake. We were hanging out and thought we could have some fun before you guys got home. It was a stupid mistake."

She exhaled as if she didn't have it in her to talk anymore. Then she turned on her heels and walked out of the room. "Good night."

Adam's dad offered a reassuring smile. "It's okay, boys. She'll calm down, and everything will be back to normal in the morning."

"I'm sorry, Dad. Really," Adam said.

"Yeah, I know. We'll talk about this tomorrow." He squeezed Adam's shoulder and then stepped toward the kitchen. "You guys make sure you lock up the house. I'll see you in the morning."

No one wanted to discuss the evening's events for fear of Adam's mother overhearing and starting in on them again. So they watched television for a while before they headed upstairs.

In Adam's bedroom, Conner collapsed onto the bed with a grunt. "I'm tired." He jumped to his feet. "It smells in here."

Adam laughed. "Duh, moron."

"Well, at least you got off."

"Didn't get far, huh?"

"I would have if your parents hadn't come home early."

"You got a condom. So you must have thought you were going to."

Rather than answering and making his experience with Hailey a topic of further discussion, he shrugged.

Adam opened the top drawer of his dresser and then tossed a pair of socks at Conner. "Use these so you don't make a big mess."

He momentarily glared at Adam, and then plucked the socks from the floor. "I'm too tired now."

Trevor playfully smacked Conner's head before sitting on the bed. "Whatever, loverboy." He leaned back on his elbows. "You didn't get anywhere with Hailey?"

"Yeah, I did. But let's talk about something else."

"My mom was pretty pissed," Adam said as he kicked his shoes off. "I guess I'm really in trouble this time."

"If I was your parent," Trevor said, "I'd be more pissed about the police than catching you with a girl."

Conner crossed the room and grabbed a football from Adam's desk. Bouncing it between his hands, he said, "Hailey thought she saw someone in the room with us."

His friends eyed him with animated doubt.

"I didn't see anything. But she looked kinda scared."

"Bro," Trevor huffed. "She's a Goody Two-shoes. She was probably having second thoughts."

Conner had recognized the genuine fear in Hailey's eyes. But he hadn't had time to react to her belief that someone stood in the corner of the room. Her fear