Emberlynn hastily tucked her phone under her pillow at the sound of a soft knock on her bedroom door. Her parents didn’t even wait for a response before opening it. Wow, so much for privacy…

With grim expressions on their faces, Emberlynn watched as her parents did exactly as she feared they would — They pulled her desk chair over to the foot of her bed, sat across from it on the edge of the pink bench, and gestured for her to sit.

Oh God… The Hot Seat. She hated it when her mother and father pulled this crap on her. It was freaking terrifying. And they totally knew it too.

Emberlynn let out a soft sigh of defeat as she rose from the edge of her bed and took a seat in the chair across from her parents. They were eyeing her almost expectantly as she did so.

Determined not to give in to their interrogation tactics, Emberlynn decided to do the only thing she could think of — lie horribly.

“Okay, I know how things probably looked this morning.” She began, her voice serious. “But I can explain!”

Her mother raised an eyebrow skeptically at her. “Alright then, let’s hear it.”

“I had a really hard time sleeping last night. I think maybe I’m stressing about going back to school or something?” She shrugged as innocently as she could. “Anyway, I got up SUPER early this morning, and I couldn’t get back to sleep. So I threw on some clothes and went for a walk to go watch the sunrise over the mountains. I didn’t think anybody would be up by the time I got back. I’m sorry for worrying you.” Emberlynn hoped she sounded sincere.

“I see… Well, that explains things.” She could tell by her father’s tone that he was completely insincere. “But wasn’t it cloudy this morning?” Phoenix asked. “Not exactly ideal conditions for watching the sunrise…”

“Yeah, I should’ve checked the weather before I left.” Emberlynn replied quickly. “Couldn’t see a thing. It sucked. Total waste.” She shook her head sadly. “But oh well… Now we know this was just some big misunderstanding though. Right?”

“Oh, shoot!” Phoenix dramatically slapped his palm to his forehead. “Speaking of misunderstandings… That was YESTERDAY that was cloudy. This morning was clear skies, wasn’t it?”

Gigi nodded, staring at her daughter as she did so. “You should’ve had a really beautiful view.”

Oh shit.

“Why don’t you try again?” Phoenix suggested almost teasingly. “Decent Bluff roll, sweetie. But you’re gonna need a nat 20 to get out of this one.”

Beside him, Gigi’s lips curled into a small smile. “And the DM isn’t allowing re-rolls on this one. Sorry.”

Normally Emberlynn loved the moments when her parents joked together and got along so well. But why the hell did it have to be at HER expense this time?

“Now you guys are just being cruel.” She grumbled angrily.

“Maybe a little.” Phoenix admitted as his smile began to fade away. “But seriously — Emberlynn, do you have any idea what a big deal this is? What were you thinking, sneaking out like that?”

“But it’s NOT a big deal.” She insisted. “I made it back just fine, didn’t I? I wasn’t murdered or kidnapped or abducted by aliens. So I don’t see what the problem is. I always make it home in one piece.”

Her mother’s eyes went wide. “Always?! So this wasn’t the first time?”

Fuckkkkkkk. “Uh… I… I mean…”

“Emberlynn, this is serious! We gave you a curfew for a reason. You can’t be out on your own in the middle of the night” Phoenix cried. “What if something HAD happened? Nobody would have known where you were or who you were with or what you were doing… We wouldn’t have even noticed you were gone until this morning.”

Emberlynn rolled her eyes. Why were parents always so freaking melodramatic?! “I still don’t get why you guys are freaking out. It was fine! I’M fine! Can’t you guys just trust me?”

”Not if you’re going to do things like this. You’ve broken our trust by the way you behaved last night.” Her mother replied firmly. “You can’t lie to us like this, Emberlynn. You can’t go sneaking off in the middle of the night. It’s not safe.” Gigi flicked her eyes toward Phoenix for a moment. “And your Papa and I think that maybe you shouldn’t be going ANYWHERE until you can understand that.”

“What? NO!”

“School starts next Wednesday, right?” Phoenix interjected. “Well, until then, you aren’t leaving this house without an adult.”

Emberlynn shook her head in disbelief. “Not even to see Zelda?!”

“Nope.” Phoenix replied. “And don’t even think about trying to sneak out again. Your mother and I will be checking on you.”

She couldn’t believe it. She was grounded for the first time in her life. For a whole week! “UGH! You guys suck.” Emberlynn grumbled, narrowing her eyes at both her parents.

“What kind of parents would we be if we didn’t?” Phoenix almost smiled as he spoke, as though trying to lighten the mood.

This time, Gigi shot him a look rather than joining in on his joke. “Honey, what your father means is that we love you. We want you to be safe. And we have rules for a reason. And you need to understand that there’s gonna be consequences if you break them.”

This time, Emberlynn did not immediately reply. She was afraid of saying something that would just make things worse. But they had to understand, didn’t they?

“It’s not like I was even doing anything that BAD though.” At last, she spoke. “I wasn’t getting drunk or doing drugs or stealing stuff or anything like that.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Phoenix smiled warmly at his daughter. “But I guess the point we’re trying to make is that it doesn’t matter what you were doing. That’s not why you’re grounded. It’s because of the lying and sneaking around… Do you understand that?”

Emberlynn sighed heavily. She knew this was all just their super-annoying parent-way of trying to be protective of her or something. They didn’t MEAN to be jerks, did they? Like Papa said, parents just naturally suck.

“I guess I kinda get it.” Emberlynn paused for a moment. “And look, I’m sorry I lied, and I’m sorry I snuck out without telling you guys where I was going. I shouldn’t have done it.” She explained. And she almost meant it too. “And I promise it won’t happen again.”

“Good.” Her parents both smiled at her as Gigi spoke.

“So… do you guys REALLY need to ground me then? I mean, I learned my lesson…”

This time, a loud chuckle burst forth from Phoenix’s lips. “Ha! Great effort there, sweetheart. But you’re not off the hook this time.”

“Oh, come on!”

Her father’s smile slowly died away and was quickly replaced by an awkward and uncomfortable expression. “Now, uh… I know this maybe isn’t the best timing in the world. But I know there was something else that your mother really wanted to talk to you about.” Phoenix’s gaze jumped toward his wife for a moment. “Well, uh, we both wanted to. But we thought it might be something… Something your mother might be better suited for than me, so…” He rose to his feet. “I guess I’ll leave you ladies to it…”

Gigi rolled her eyes at her husband. “Smooth, Phoenix.” She muttered.

Emberlynn felt an enormous cloud of impending doom slowly descending upon her as she gazed up at her father’s pained face. “Papa?”

“Love you, honey.” He forced a smile before turning on his heel and leaving the room in a hurry.

Oh God… What now?

Across from her, Gigi patted the spot on the cushioned bench where Phoenix had been sitting just moments earlier. “Come sit with me.”

With great reluctance, Emberlynn did exactly as she was told. “Haven’t you guys done enough damage already?” She grumbled as she took a seat beside her mother.

“We have.” Gigi agreed softly. “But this time, you aren’t in trouble. I promise. I just want to talk.”

“About what?” She asked nervously.

“About where you went last night… And making sure you’re being safe.”

Emberlynn felt her stomach drop. “You aren’t talking about the same kind of ‘safe’ as you were before, are you?”

Gigi shook her head.

Oh God, SHE KNOWS. HOW?!

Despite the panic and dread she felt bubbling up in her stomach, there was a small part of her that almost felt a strange sort of relief at being invited to finally talk to someone about what had happened. But why did it have to be like this?

“How did you know?” She asked in a whisper, feeling suddenly like she’d been transported back in time, and was a little girl again.

“The, er, state you were in when you came back this morning really tipped off your father.” Gigi explained slowly. “And there are really only so many reasons you’d be sneaking around like that, Emberlynn. It wasn’t hard to narrow it down.”

“Oh.”

“So… What’s his name?”

“Mason.” Emberlynn admitted. “I met him at GeekCon. He was visiting from England. He goes back home today.”

Gigi’s brow furrowed for a moment. “So… this isn’t some new boyfriend who’s gonna be sticking around?”

“Nope.” Emberlynn shook her head. “We were just hanging out. Nothing serious.”

“Okay… Well… what were you and Mason doing when you ‘hung out’?”

All of her usual confidence melted away in an instant under her mother’s gaze. “I dunno. Stuff?” She muttered uncomfortably.

“Emberlynn, you’re not in trouble for this.” Gigi repeated her earlier promise. “I won’t be mad at you. I just really need to know.”

Emberlynn bit her lip. “We… messed around? And… And this morning we… we did… it.”

Gigi closed her eyes as the words reached her ears. “Oh, honey…” She sounded as though she were about to cry. “I was afraid you’d say that.” She confessed.

“You promised you wouldn’t get mad!” Emberlynn snapped indignantly at her mother’s reaction.

“I’m not mad.” For a moment, Gigi seemed to be fighting to regain her earlier composure. “I’m just… a little sad.”

“Why?”

Her mother sighed. “Your Papa and I had hoped you’d wait a little longer. Sex can be a pretty big deal, and I’m not sure you’re really ready yet.” She admitted. “I know I wasn’t, at your age.”

“But Mama, I can handle it!” Emberlynn cried angrily. “I’m not a little kid anymore!”

“Trust me, I know you’re not.” Gigi seemed to be forcing a smile. “I just wanted to be honest about how I feel. But I’m not mad, and neither is your father. I’m glad you told me. Thank you.” She finished, oddly stiff.

Emberlynn just shrugged, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. “Okay. You’re welcome? I guess?” She couldn’t even meet her mother’s gaze.

“Now, were you safe? Did he use a condom?” Her mother asked gently.

She nodded and stared at the ground, too mortified at this point to even speak.

“Good. I’m proud of you for being so smart.” Her mother’s tone was still so strained and formal-sounding. But at least she wasn’t yelling. “And I hope you stay smart in the future too.”

About ten minutes later, after an unbearable discussion about birth control, consent, and STDs, Gigi finally left her in peace.

Emberlynn let out a literal sigh of relief as her mother left the room. Oh my God, that was worse torture than being grounded.

But at least she’d finally ripped off the bandaid. Her parents knew she’d had sex, and the world didn’t end. That was a silver lining, right?

Sure, she was grounded for a week for no good reason, and had been forced to endure the most painfully awkward conversation of her life, but…

Emberlynn let out another sigh. Okay, on second thought, maybe the slow, painful death would have been preferable.