When Christian drops me off at my house, I kiss him goodbye and tell him I'll meet him at Jordan's football game before going inside my house. I can smell my mom cooking some kind of pasta and tomato sauce when I step inside and close the door behind me, alerting her to my arrival. She pokes her head around the corner, and smiles at me.

"Hi sweetheart, was that Christian who just dropped you off?" she asks, as I walk into the kitchen.

"Um, y-yeah," I mutter weakly.

"Was Peter's mom not home? You didn't have to call Christian, I would have been more than happy to pick you up, honey," she says, as she moves back to the stove top to stir the sauce. "So, what kind of fun did you boys get into?"

"What?" I gasp.

"You and Peter . . ." my mom mutters, while frowning at my odd reaction. I blush, and mentally smack myself because of course she didn't mean Christian and I. "Did you have fun? You haven't spent the night there in awhile."

I feel the familiar vise-like grip of guilt wrap around my neck, and I can't bring myself to meet her kind eyes as I prepare myself to lie to her face. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out and I'm just left mute, the lie sitting on my tongue. But I can't do it. Lying to my mom through text messages is different from lying directly to her face, and she just looks so happy and interested in what I have to say that it breaks my heart and words begin to tumble out of my mouth.

"I wasn't at Peter's last night," I say. "I was-I was with Christian . . ."

Silence follows my words, and I can't tell if my mom is mad or disappointed or shocked by my response. She doesn't say anything, and her face gives nothing away. Sweat beings to bead along my upper lip, and just when I'm about to beg her to yell at me and do something, she speaks.

"Why didn't you tell me this last night, Beau? I didn't realize that I taught you it was okay to lie to your mother . . ." she trails off, disappointment reflecting back at me through her eyes and voice. I bite my bottom lip, and open my mouth to say anything to my defense, but she silences me by raising her hand. I clamp my mouth shut, and she says, "You're grounded for a week. Go to your room, I'm very disappointed in you."

Her words break my heart, and I bite my tongue to keep my tears at bay, which immediately begin to pour down my cheeks the moment I'm in my room with the door closed behind me. I throw myself onto my bed and sniffle back my sobs, before pulling my phone out of my back pocket and calling the one person I'm most sorry for using.

"Hello?"

"Peter!" I cry. "My mom grounded me!"

"Shit! What? Why?" Peter demands.

I sniffle, and gasp between breathes, "Because I-I lied to her about something."

"Damn Beau . . . What did you lie about? It must be serious."

I wipe my face and gasp, "I-I told her I was spending last night at your house when really I was with Christian."

The other line is silent for a moment, before Peter yells, "What in the actual hell!? Why did you throw my name under the bus and what in God's name where you thinking sleeping over at Christian's house!? Wait! Beau, please don't tell me....you had sex."

I bite my bottom lip and rub my face, and quietly mutter, "Not exactly . . ."

"What is that supposed to mean?"  Peter demands.

I continue to chew on my bottom lip, as I reply, "Um well, we sorta had . . . oral sex, to be exact...."

"Seriously?" Peter asks, shock evident in his tone.

"Yes."

"Holy shit, Beau. What were you thinking?"

"I love him," I reply.

"And I love pickles but you don't see me shoving those down my throat," Peter says.

I gasp, "Peter! That's disgusting!"

"What? And sucking a dick isn't?"

I roll my eyes. "Shut up! You have no idea what you're talking about. And besides, how would you know anything, you've never even been kissed!" I yell, and as soon as the words are out, I regret them wholeheartedly. "Oh my god," I whisper. "I'm so sor—-"

"Save it!" Peter snaps, before cutting the call.

Beep! Beep! Beeep!

Tears immediately begin to sting my eyes, and I throw my phone onto my bed before burying my face into my pillow with a sob. How could I say that? Peter never admits it, but I know he's sensitive about his single lifestyle, and for me to throw that into his face . . . I'm a horrible friend.

Thirty minutes later, my mom calls me downstairs for dinner. It's a quiet and awkward affair, since neither of us has ever been in this position before. My mom has never once had the need to ground me, and not once have I ever disappointed her. It makes me feel sick, just thinking about how much I've disappointed her. This is never something I want to feel again . . .

Silence stretches on around us for what feels like hours, eventually though, she breaks the silence. "I know Jordan has his first football game of the season, and I know it's also Halloween but I can't decide if I should let you participate in either. You betrayed my trust, Beau, so you can't expect me to reward you for that but . . . But on the other hand, I know you'll never do it again." She sighs, before saying, "You can go to the game, but you have to come home straight after. I don't know if you'll be trick-or-treating this year . . ."

I nod, and push my food around on my plate without saying a word. I deserve this . . .

+  +  +

My mom doesn't let me call Christian for a ride, since she's just as disappointed in him as she is with me. And the whole way to the school, she keeps telling me that she's thinking about telling his parents and I desperately hope she doesn't. Christian has had enough trouble to last him a lifetime, and I don't want his parents seeing me as a bad influence who will corrupt their son, who has worked so hard to better himself over the last few years. I can't do that to Christian, and I also can't say anything to change my mom's mind . . . It's bad all around.

When we pull up to the school, she turns to me before allowing me out of the car, and asks, "Honey, I love you so much and I trust you more than anything, but if you ever lie to me again...." She trails off, there's no need for her to finish her sentence. She sighs, and quietly mutters, "Now please, tell me the truth. Did you sleep with Christian? I know you're getting older and it's going to happen, I just want you to be safe."

My face is burning, and I twist my fingers together as I quietly mutter, "I'm still a virgin, mom...."

She glances at me and sighs, "Damn, so something did happen...." My blush deepens, and my mom smiles weakly at me before reaching out to caress my cheek. "Promise me you'll be safe, Beau."

I nod. "I promise," I whisper.

She smiles weakly and nods, before softly muttering, "Okay, have fun at the game, and tell Jordan I said, 'Good luck'."

I nod and smile feebly as I reply, "I will, I'll see you after the game. I love you!" I say before getting out of the car, and waving goodbye. My mom waves back, and then she's slowly driving away.

Word count: 1,310