9 PM...
"Thanks for tonight," Eleanor says as Fred stops his car in front of her house. He insisted to drove her back after their study date at his place.
"No problem," Fred says. He then turns his vision to face Eleanor's eyes.
"It was cool hanging out with you," Fred adds. "We should do it again sometimes."
Eleanor smiles. She agreed that it was cool hanging out together with Fred, since she found him to be a fun person. Not only does he cracks funny jokes, yet he's also a helpful shoulder.
"Yeah," Eleanor says. "Well, goodnight."
Eleanor opens the car door and hops out of the car. She turns around to face Fred one last time, with him smiling from inside the car, before riding off to leave the neighbourhood.
9:23 PM...
At Joey's house...
Joey arrives at his house. To his surprise, he sees his dad's car already parked in front of their house, signaling that he's home.
"Weird. He told me he still has some work to do," Joey says to himself.
His dad was suppose to be on the road heading to the hospital by now, but instead he went home without even telling him. Curious about what his dad is up to, Joey walks up to the front door. Instead of knocking, he pulls out the house key from his pocket. Inserting the key, he turns the knob slowly, opening the door to his house. He didn't want to make much noises, since he wanted to find out what was going on. Upon walking inside the house, he could hear some weird sounds coming from the living room. His heart wanted to drop after hearing the sounds, which is very similar to the sound of kissing. His fear starts to rise as the sound gets louder as he gets closer to the living room.
"Damn it, Will."
The voice of a woman rings through Joey's ears, making his negative thoughts starts to get crazier when she called his father's name. At the same time, fury starts to rise, making him feel emotional. Without anymore thinking, he barges in to the living room, to see whatever is going on.
"JOEY!"
"What the hell is this, Dad?"
Joey stood with his eyes shocked at the sight of his dad making out with a woman on the couch. His dad's eyes stared at Joey with both fear yet anger. It's obvious that he got mad since his son caught him cheating while his wife is still sick at the hospital.
"You know, I should go," the woman as she fears that she'll eventually get into trouble with Joey's present. She quickly ran out of the house and slams the door, leaving Joey and his dad in the living room.
"Joey, I..."
"So this was the work you needed to do? What the hell was that, Dad?" Joey shouts at his dad who is still in silence.
"Son, I..."
"Mom is sick at the hospital and you're busy making out with a girl half your age? Where the hell is your brain, Dad?" Joey shouts again, furious at his dad.
Feeling intimidated by his son, Joey's dad stood up to face his son. Their eyes meet with Joey looking full of fury at the middle-aged man.
"I might be wrong to cheat on your mother. But you, Son...you actually had the guts to shout at me like that," his dad says. His voice was low yet deep.
"You're nothing but a piece of trash," Joey says, his voice sounds low but full of rage. He then raises his arm and punches his dad on the face.
Joey's dad almost fell, but held his face out of pain. He didn't know his son had massive power in his punch. More likely, he also didn't expect his son to have the guts to punch him.
"I want you to get out of here now," Joey says, again his voice sounds low but filled with fury.
"You can't kick me out, especially with your mother still in the hospital," his dad says.
"Then why did you cheat on her instead of taking care of her in the hospital?" Joey shouts at his dad again, fury boiling in his blood.
His dad sighs. The man knew he couldn't justify what he did, but he also wasn't happy with his son shouting at his face.
"Some day, you'll understand, Son. A man has his needs, and takes actions for a reason," his dad says. He then walks out of the living room and exits the house, leaving Joey to stood alone in the living.
Furious, Joey sits on the couch with his hands holding his head. He is frustrated at what just happened. He is furious how his dad could be so heartless to cheat on his mother who is sick at the hospital, at a state where she needed him the most. At this point, Joey felt like the world is against him. Slowly he felt tears slide down his eyes, breaking his heart. At this point, Joey felt at his lowest point in life.
10:20 PM...
At Taylor and Eleanor's house...
"It was so fun," Eleanor says as she continues to brush her long brown hair. She was in the middle of telling Taylor about her study date with Fred, which turned out better than her expectations.
"Well, good for you," Taylor answers in a dull tone while sitting on her bed. Even after hours of conversations she had with Lillian, it still wasn't able to help her fix her foul mood, even after realizing that Lillian was right at most topics.
As she continues to watch Eleanor brush her long hair, she suddenly hears her phone's notificafion. She picks up her phone from the bed and reads the message, only to be surprised by the message.
"Umm...El, I'm gonna go out first for a moment," Taylor says, her voice sounds a bit nervous.
"This late? I doubt Mom and Dad will let you," Eleanor states as she turns around to face her twin sister.
"That's why, I need your help to not tell them. If they happen to find out, just tell them Lillian picked me up for a sleep-over or something," Taylor states. She gets up from the bed and quickly grabs her blue cardigan.
"Ok, just stay safe, Tay," Eleanor says in a chill tone.
"I will," Taylor says in a rush as she puts on her cardigan and quickly runs out of the door. She didn't bother to change her clothes and decided to just go with her pajamas. The only thing on her mind right now is to meet the person who sent the message, which is none other than Joey Carlson.
To be continue...