The sun was out in full force by the time Ada stirred. Her eyes squinted at the light. Usually awake an hour before her alarm sounded, she could tell without looking that the time was later than she was used to. Ada's hand went behind her, searching for her phone on the table beside them. Once she found it, she brought it to her face, noticing that it was dead.

"Go back to sleep," Tom mumbled beside her as he pulled her close.

Her eyes risked opening, the light stinging them as she searched the wall for the giant clock. Her lids no longer drooped with temptation to close, but shot open once she noticed the time. She shook Tom, who already looked as if he was drifting back to sleep. "Tom, school starts in forty minutes!"

Ada could manage that time if she hurried, but Tom wouldn't be so lucky. With wrinkled up clothes that couldn't pass for work attire and which carried the slight aroma of booze, there would be no way he could drive straight to work from her place.

Tom didn't budge, and she had to shake him harder, resulting in Tom falling to the ground with a loud thud. He let out a groan as he rubbed his injured head with one hand and his tired eyes with the other. "I'm pretty sure it's Sunday, isn't it?" he asked groggily.

Ada thought for a moment, making a time log of the weekend's events. Any other time, she wouldn't have had to think of it, but her brain hadn't begun to function yet. "Pretty positive it isn't."

Tom's eyebrows pinched together, though his eyes were still closed to avoid the morning sun. "You sure?"

"Just said I'm positive."

"You said you were pretty positive," Tom corrected.

"It's Monday, dumbass," her dad chimed in as he leaned in the doorway with a cup of coffee in hand.

And in one second, Tom's eyes shot open and his body flew upwards. The palm of his hand pressed against his forehead at the too fast movement and he turned to glare at her father.

"Why the hell didn't you wake us?"

Her dad just shrugged and took a drink of his coffee. "I was gunna. Had a pot of cold water ready and everything, just to do it right. Then I looked at my daughter's old ass boyfriend holdin' her and I thought, 'eh, best just let 'em sleep.'"

Tom glared at her dad with tired eyes and stumbled as he tried to get up. "I'm going to be late for work thanks to you."

He just smiled and brought his coffee cup up to his lips. "You're welcome. Maybe next time you'll follow my damn rules."

"You told me to sleep on the couch and I did."

"You know what the fuck I meant. And I also told you I didn't wanna see this relationship. Break the rules, face the consequences."

It was a standoff that Ada would have been prepared to break up if it was heated, but since this one appeared to just be two men annoyed rather than pissed off, Ada abandoned the group and went downstairs to get ready.

Ada tied her unbrushed hair up as she trotted down the stairs, going to her closet full of new clothing. She grabbed the yellow and white striped dress to cut down the time needed to get ready and got dressed before going into the bathroom to finish her routine. She could hear the front door slam close from Tom's exit just as she headed back up the steps.

Her sister was coming downstairs just as Ada passed on her way to the kitchen. She didn't have time for explanations or lectures. So instead she gave her sister a smile and a 'good morning' as she continued on to the kitchen.

Her mother was there, looking tired as she stood by the sink holding her coffee cup in both hands. "Morning."

"Good morning." Her mom handed her travel mug to her and Ada put in some creamer before filling the remaining space with coffee.

"So he stayed over?"

"He did," Ada answered as she put the lid on her mug.

"You two didn't..."

Ada's face blushed as she realized what her mom was asking. "No!"

Her mom put her hands up. "Hey, I'm just asking. I don't know what speed the two of you are going."

Her mother bringing up their speed was all the confirmation Stevie needed to put two and two together, if she hadn't already.

So Ada took it one step further. It was easier to talk about her mom with this, seeing as she already knew. At least this way she could catch Stevie up without having to look at her. "We kissed for the first time three days ago and broke up for a day. I'm not that easy."

Her mom took a sip of her coffee. "Those things happen, kid. I remember when I turned nineteen and got my first fake ID. I'd find a hot guy at the bar and he'd buy me some drinks and-"

"Please stop," Stevie pleaded as she butt between the two to get to the coffee maker. "We don't need to hear our mom's sexual escapades."

"Probably for the best," their mom agreed.

The front door opened and closed again and a sheepish Tom came into the kitchen, hands shoved in the pockets of his wrinkled jeans just as her dad came in from the backdoor. "Yeah, my car won't start."

"Try harder," her mom told him before taking another drink.

Ada glared at her mom, and Tom kicked at the floor with the heel of his shoe.

"Tom!" Peter yelled as he came into the overpopulated kitchen. "When did you get here?"

Peter's excitement about Tom warmed her heart.

"Late last night."

"Rebecca, why don't you loan him your car for the day," her dad suggested.

"Ada needs my car. Hers is in the shop, in case anyone forgot." When her mom's eyes burned into Tom, making it easy for Ada to figure out that her mom was still angry at Tom for what had happened on Saturday.

"Stevie can drive Peter and her to school, and Britt can drop Ada off at the repair shop after school."

Her mom's eyes remained on Tom, staring him down. "Have you ever driven a Subaru, Tom?"

"Not that I can remember. I'm more of a muscle car kind of guy."

Her mother snickered in a less than friendly way before she crossed her arms. "Well, a Subaru isn't a muscle car. It isn't a party car that likes to jump into things without a second thought. It's a car that remains loyal to a single owner and doesn't like to just get passed around from person to person. A Subaru needs to be taken care of and appreciated.

"Anyone who's ever owned a Subaru knows how precious they are and knows that an owner would do anything to keep their car safe. Do you understand what I mean, Tom?"

"I think I do," Tom said. By the expression on Tom's face, he knew her mother wasn't just talking about the car.

Ada continued looking around the room. Her sister was chuckling into her mug while both Peter and her dad looked confused at her mother's sudden infatuation with her car. She understood why Peter hadn't figured it out, but her dad should have.

She could only guess how she herself looked. 'Mortified' didn't begin to describe how she felt in that moment.

"I know you must be used to driving cars that are a little faster, but this is a responsible car that's going to take its sweet ass time, and you need to respect that it has limitations and not push it to go faster than it's used to."

"The thing has a turbo in it," her dad interjected. "I don't think Tom's gunna take it to the racetrack, but it can handle a little speed."

Ada looked up to see her mother's stare remain on Tom. "Pretend it can't."

"Jesus, Rebecca," her dad chimed in, "It's just a fucking car. You'll have it back in a day or two."

"It isn't just a fucking car, Jeff, it's my fucking car. And my car is my baby and if Tom doesn't treat it well, I will rain terror down on his ass."

Ada risked a glance at her father, whose flabbergasted demeanor seemed to change to one of understanding. "I'm too damn tired for metaphors," he admitted before turning to her mom. "Rebecca, Tom knows that if he doesn't take care of... 'the Subaru'." He added in air quotes. "I will hurt him in ways that ain't even been invented yet."

"He's already had a fender bender with it once," her mom reminded everyone. "Who's to say he isn't going to drive it into a brick wall?"

Peter cocked his head and stared up at their mother. "I thought he never drove the Subaru before."

Tom let out a long breath, leaned against the doorway, then corrected himself when he noticed her mother's annoyance by his casual stance. He looked down at Peter, who looked back up at him and realized that it was best to continue with the metaphor rather than allow Peter to find out the truth about their relationship this way. Not that he would have minded.

"I've only had one other car, Rebecca. We were together for a very long time and that car mattered a great deal to me. Unfortunately, that car didn't last me as long as I thought it would, but I know it was time to let it go and I moved on. Now I have a new car and I'm sorry it broke down, but I will do everything in my power to fix it and let it know it can trust me to take care of it.

"Now, may I please borrow your car, because I have to get to work."

Her mom kept her eyes on him for several moments, tapping her fingernail on the mug as she read him like an open book which he very much was. Her eyes then travelled to Ada for just a beat, who silently pleaded with her to accept all of this. Eventually, a sigh of defeat escaped her lips. "Keys are in it."

"Thank you." He turned to Ada. "I have to go get the final issue of the paper, so I probably won't get there until later."

"I could pick it up. I mean, it's the last week, so it's not like I'll be missing anything."

Tom smiled at her. "That'd be great, if you wouldn't mind."

Her mom walked over to her cell phone. "I'll call the school and let them know you're going to miss first period. Stevie, you don't mind the extra stop, do you?"

Stevie looked at Ada and began studying her like their mom studied Tom. Her body tensed as soon as Stevie spoke. "I don't mind. Ada and I have lots to catch up on."

Ada cursed under her breath. There was no way in hell she was ready for that talk. "Yeah... I'm going to walk Tom out."

He waved at them before following Ada down the hall and opened the door for her. He didn't speak until they were on the porch and the door closed behind her. "I don't think your mom likes me very much right now."

"Yeah, well... you broke her daughter's heart, and she didn't get to hit you like my dad did."

Tom let out a sigh and rubbed at his already disheveled hair. His head lowered as he took a moment, yet his eyes remained on hers. "I'm sorry. I know I already said that, but you have no idea. I was trying to protect you, but I did it all wrong and I wished I had just thought shit through and found another way. I just figured there wasn't a chance in hell they'd ever be okay with us being together, and I didn't want to put you in the position-"

Ada kissed him then, desperate to put his mind and heart at ease. She kissed him with all the love she had for him until she felt his stiffened body relax and pull her closer, kissing her back.

With one hand, he held her waist, with the other hand, he held her own, lacing their fingers together. He kissed her until the world around them disappeared, leaving only them. His lips moved against hers with a slowness that took in each moment.

Her body pressed against his, his heart pounding against her body. His mouth deepened the kiss for a moment, the passion finding its way into the gentle kisses, before he kissed her one last time on the lips before placing another on her cheek.

"I wish I didn't have to stop kissing you," he said before placing another small kiss on her neck.

"But you have to go."

"I have to go," he confirmed. He brought their entangled fingers up to his lips and pressed his lips against her hand. "See you in a little while."

Ada smiled, fighting the temptation to kiss him all over again. So instead, she nodded and took a step back and out of his arms, releasing his hand so he could leave. "See you third period."

Tom left the porch and the car door slammed shut behind him just as Stevie opened up the door to the house, followed by Peter. She handed Ada her travel mug, backpack, and phone. "Ready to go?"

She was ready to go, but not ready for the talk she was about to have with her sister.