Hi!  It’s me!  Lily!

So today started out boring.  I went to work, doot dooted everyone into gloriously unhealthy food, and just had a decent morning.  I got home later this afternoon, and took Sabby aside.  I told her what Beth had tried to make me do in the game of “truth or dare”.  I didn’t know how to handle it, but I couldn’t let it slide either.

She only had two things to say.

The first was “I need to thank Liz for standing up for you.”  And the second was “Get Beth down here, now.  Please.”

Before I did, I asked Sabby not to be too hard on her.  After all, she was 14 and probably didn’t know what she was doing.  Sabby shook her head.  “Maybe not,” she said.  “But if you’d done it and someone’d had a camera… no.  I need to speak with her.  And I want you here as well.”

I looked hesitant.  “Sabby, she only now stopped being mean to me…”

“Has she?,” she said, barely containing herself.  “Bring her down here, Lily.  Now.  On second thought, stay here.”  She got up and went up the stairs.  She came down dragging a protesting Beth by her arm, and sat her down next to me.

“Lily tells me you made a… very inappropriate dare the other night.  Is this true?”

Beth gave me the stinkeye, but Sabby turned her face towards her.  “Lily asked me to go easy on you.  What you did rightly concerned her  Whether I take her advice or not depends on how well you can explain yourself.  So, explain yourself.”

Beth lowered her head and nodded.  “I did.”

“Why?  Do you know what you did?  You could have gotten Lily into a lot of trouble.”

“I thought it’d be just a little embarrassing…” Beth stuttered.

“Embarrassing?,” Sabby roared.  “Try humiliating!”

“I didn’t mean…”

Sabby deflated.  “No, I don’t think you did.  Lily’s right.  You’re fourteen.  Let me explain to you exactly what could have happened if she had done as you asked.”

And she did.  In great detail.  None of which I will repeat here.  I hadn’t even thought of some of the stuff that she had said.  It was awful!  No wonder Liz was upset!  I thought it was just about trying to embarrass me, but it was soooo much worse than that!  I was even a little upset at Beth when Sabby was done.

But Beth was trembling.  “I didn’t… I didn’t mean… I didn’t know…”

“You didn’t!  And that’s the problem!,” Sabby said.  “Where did you learn that?”

“My… my old friends.”

“You’ll never speak to them again.  We’re finding you new friends.  And if I ever catch wind of you ever doing anything like that again I’m going to take you over my knee and show you what real embarrassment is!  Now go to your room, I’ll come talk to you when I’ve calmed down!”

I was a little shocked.  I’d never seen Sabby even threaten to spank one of her children.  Not even David when he got into trouble with the Internet.  Beth made haste to her room and slammed the door.  I thought I heard a sob before the door slammed.

I looked at Sabby.  “Sabby, are you okay?”  She was shaking.

“No.  I’m not, Lily.  I’m going to go take a bath.”  And she went up to her room.

I sat there for a moment.  I’d never seen Sabby like that.  I went up and knocked on Beth’s door.  “Beth -“, I said.

“GO AWAY!”, she yelled.  “Just go away!  I hate you!  I HATE YOU!”

I sighed.  Back to that again.  I went to my room.  What else was I going to do?

Well, more Smith drama.  I decided to play on my tablet for a bit.

An hour or so later, I heard a timid knock on my door.  I said “Its open,” and it opened slowly.  Beth peeked in.  I sighed and put the tablet down.

“Back to hating me again?,” I said, with a tinge of bitterness in my voice.

“No,” she said, quietly.  “I’m sorry for that.  I…  I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t either,” I said.  “It could have been bad.”

She sat down on the edge of my bed.  “I was just trying to embarrass you a little.  I didn’t mean to… I didn’t know…”

I hugged her.  “I know.  I’m sorry I told Sabby.  But I had to.  I didn’t know how to approach it, either.”

She returned my hug and sat there.  “Mom hates me.”

“No she doesn’t.  She…  ask her about her childhood someday.”

“What do you mean?”

“Not my place.  Just ask her.  I think…  I think you made her remember some things.  I don’t know what.”

She nodded.  She got up and left my room.  I heard her knock on Sabby’s door.  I heard the door open.  Then close.  Then it was quiet.

It’s still quiet.  They’re still talking.  Or Sabby’s hiding the body.

Love you all!  And one week to Orlando!!!  ❤️