Chapter Three 4 страница. “Leah, please,” I don’t want to hear this crap anymore

“Leah, please,” I don’t want to hear this crap anymore. “No more, okay?”

She sighs in defeat. “Fine. Will you still be here when I get back?”

“I’m going to try to leave within the hour. This way I’ll have some time alone before my dad and stepmom get home from work. No point in them watching me clean the shit out of my room.”

She comes over to give me a hug. “Be careful driving. Call me if you need to.”

“I will. You, too. Enjoy your weekend. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” I wink at her.

“It will definitely be a great weekend if I follow that rule.” We both laugh. “See you Sunday.”

“See ya.”

It takes me less than an hour to get a shower, pack my stuff, and eat breakfast. Right before leaving my apartment, I call my dad at work to let him know my plans. Erin and Julia either aren’t here or are still sleeping, so I leave them a note on our message board by the door, before walking out to my car.

About half way through my two hour ride, my cell phone rings. Leah’s name appears on the display, so I answer using the hands free device my dad insisted on being in the car I purchased two months ago. “Hey. You miss me already or did I forget something?”

“Of course I miss you, but that’s not why I’m calling,” she says. “Where are you?”

“I’m just about to get off of the New Jersey Turnpike. What’s up?”

“Don’t kill me for telling you this, but I thought you’d want to know.”

“Know what?”

“Someone just stopped by to see you and was awfully disappointed to hear that you weren’t here.” Something tells me I don’t need to ask to know who she is talking about.

“Rocco?”

“The one and only,” she announces.

“Did I forget to give him a copy of the lab or something?”

“Oh my God, Alyssa! You still think this is about some assignment?”

“Give me the damn phone,” Julia is saying in the background. “Alyssa, get your head out of your ass. Rocco Matthews is totally into you, big time!” Julia’s voice is now screaming through my speakers. “You should have seen the look on his face when Erin told him you went home for the weekend.”

“Gotta go,” I’m saying. “My phone is breaking up. I’ll talk to you guys later.”

“Alyssa Adler, don’t you dare hang up on…” I hit the END button on the display and blast my favorite CD, ignoring my friends as they try to call me back.

Before long, my car is parked outside of my house. Suddenly, my nerves have me second guessing the decision to come home so soon. It gets even worse once I’m inside the house. Instead of going upstairs to clean out my room, I drop my bag at the bottom of the stairs and decide to hang out on the patio in the backyard with my favorite book. The weather is a little cool, but it’s so calming out here that it doesn’t bother me. I make it to the middle of the fifth chapter when I hear my stepmom calling my name from inside the house. She comes out to sit with me when she sees where I am.

“Welcome home,” she says giving me a warm hug. Jill is the sweetest person I’ve ever met. Since she started dating my dad about 5 years ago, we have gotten along great. She never had children of her own and my mom left us when I was about three years old. We’ve been more friends than anything. Jill didn’t pretend to be my mom even after they got married which was just fine with me. After over a decade without one, I wasn’t looking forward to anyone to fill the role.

“Thanks. It’s good to be home.” Now that she’s here, it really does feel good to be here.

“We’ve been worried about you. I’m really sorry about what happened.” I only nod and look away out into the yard. “Do you want to talk about it?” She isn’t trying to be a meddling parent. She really just wants to help.

“Not really. It happened. We’re done. I’ve been pretty upset, but I’m working on it.”

She acknowledges me with a nod, then adds, “One day, he’s going to realize what a horrible mistake he made. You may not think so right now, but it’s a good thing this happened before…” She stops talking because she didn’t mean to say that.

I’m assuming they knew what he was planning on doing. “I know that he was going to propose at the party next week.” The sympathy in her eyes is unmistakable. “Jeff showed up at my apartment last night.”

“Oh my. What happened?”

“Long story short, we fought. I said goodbye.”

“Good for you.” She brushes her long blond hair out of her face. The light breeze seems to be picking up since I first came out here. “Do you mind coming with me? I want to show you something.” Finding my spot is never a problem, but I slide the bookmark into place before following Jill inside.

“Your dad asked if you wanted to go out to eat or if you’d rather we stayed in.” She’s heading up the stairs.

“Think he’d mind if we stay in? I’ve been craving something on the grill.”

“I thought you might say that.” She looks at me over her shoulder. “I grabbed some steaks on the way home.” We stop outside my bedroom door. “We thought that you might need a change. I hope you like it.”

She pushes open my door and I’m completely speechless. The bright blue walls are now a light sage. My old, plain blue comforter has been replaced with a white, fluffy new one and is covered with sage and white pillows. My two dressers were cleared of any picture or other reminder of my former boyfriend. What is there is a picture of me with my aunt and uncle who passed away nine months ago in a car accident. I smile as I look into the eyes of the two people who always treated me like the child they never had.

“I love it! Thank you so much!”

“All of your stuff was put away. We didn’t go through it, it’s none of our business what to keep or get rid of. Your dad thought maybe you’d want to do it later.” Jill seems a little more relaxed.

“This was so nice of you guys. You really didn’t have to.”

She smiled. “Your dad didn’t want you to be uncomfortable in your own home.”

“My dad is the best,” I say and she agrees.

“I’m going to start dinner.”

“I’ll help,” I follow her back downstairs.

“You are more than welcome to come and talk to me, but no helping. I’m making dinner for you tonight.” When we get to the kitchen, she ties on her apron over her work clothes while I climb up on the stool that overlooks the counter she will be working at. “How are Leah and the girls?” she asks. “They need to come for a visit again. We had so much fun the last time they were here.” I tell Jill all about how everyone’s semester is going, how their boyfriends are doing, and how Cell Bio is getting a little better. Why it’s getting better isn’t a subject we discuss. We were laughing and having such a good time that we didn’t notice my dad was home until he called my name coming through the door.

“Lyss?”

“In the kitchen, Dad.” Hopping off the stool, I run over and throw my arms around his waist as soon as he comes around the corner. “Thank you for my new room! I absolutely love it!”

“I’m so glad you like it.” Since he’s so much taller than me, he kisses the top of my head. My dad and I have always been very close and I’m so grateful for that. “But I’m even happier you decided to come home. I’ve missed you, Kiddo.”

“Me too.” I squeeze him one more time before he goes over to say hello to Jill. Seeing the two of them together always makes me happy. It’s nice to know that even after all we’ve been through, my dad was able to find his soul mate. There may be hope for me, yet.

We spent the rest of the night talking, laughing, and relaxing on the patio while my dad kept a fire burning in the fire pit. It’s not until after my parents had gone to bed that my mind drifted to what had been troubling me over the last month, as well as the things I tried to block out. Being friends with Jeff for years before he stepped in to chase off the jerk who was harassing me. Our first date when he took me to dinner down the shore before spending hours on the boardwalk. When he kissed me for the first time as we stood with our feet in the ocean. The times he would watch ‘chick flicks’ because he said he’d do anything as long as it meant he could spend time with me. How when we made love, he would make me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. That night I walked in on him in his room and the pain that flooded my chest. How he never noticed me standing there as he destroyed our future together. Then he tells me to get over it so he can propose to me. Did he really expect me to just say yes?

Instead of going to sleep, I start my laptop and decide to reactivate my Facebook account. The first thing that needs to be done is to change my relationship status. Leah and I would make fun of people who did this, but it’s my way of admitting in public that it’s over. There is no more hiding. Facebook is the easiest way for me to keep in touch with some of the little family I have left and friends I don’t see very often. It’s only spiting them to keep it deactivated. It doesn’t take long before the notifications of people commenting on the change start to pop up. There is no way I’m reading any of them right now. As my laptop powers down, my cell phone buzzes with a text from Leah. I’m proud of you.

The rest of the weekend flew by just as expected. My dad kept us so busy there was no time to get any of my homework done, so I headed back to school right after breakfast Sunday morning. I could only hope that a great weekend at home would transfer to a great week at school.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30