In The Dark-3
1718 Words
Green Day- Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Excuse me while I make cookies)
I hate it when someone is right. I'm usually the one who has my wits together and I don't like it when others give me advice. It lets me know that they can see it. They can see that something is making me weak and I can't stand when that happens. I haven't considered myself weak in a really long time. Yet here I am, sitting in this empty cafe waiting for my so-called father.
I wanted to rush out when I saw him driving up in a brand new Jaguar. He parked it right in front and got out like he owned the world. He pisses me off. What the hell can he possibly say to me? I can tell you the answer is nothing if his goal is to ignite some kind of violent reaction. I want to hit him and he hadn't even walked in yet.
"You came," he said when he reached me.
"You're fifteen minutes late," I shot at him looking out the window at the glossy new car he's driving around in. He didn't have a job when my mom was alive.
"Is that your bug outside?"
"What do want?" I asked. He pulled out a journal and what looks like a file.
"I know that you don't want to see me. I get that. I didn't come here to tell you that I've been a shitty father or to apologize. The truth is..." he stopped sitting back not taking his eyes off of me. "I'm not your father, Aleethea. You and I are not even of the same species. I made your mother a promise and I've kept it. You are no longer my problem. All of this is the information you're going to be needing to get through the next three weeks of your life. If you survive, call the number inside the cover of the journal. If you care about your friends. Leave them. Your kind has a reputation and it's not a very good one,"
"What?" I asked sitting back.
"Good luck, kid. You're going to need it," he stood up leaving me dumbfounded. I watched, unable to say anything, as he got in his fancy-ass car and drove away.
"What. The. Actual. f**k?" I asked myself.
The information hadn't even processed yet and he left me here. I didn't know what to say, how to react, what questions I should have asked. He's not my father? The same species? No longer his problem? What the hell did he mean if I made it through the next three weeks of my life? I didn't even get the chance to tell him to go f**k himself. I didn't realize I had been crying until the woman at the cash register came over putting another cup of hot chocolate in front of me and three giant chocolate chip cookies.
"On the house, love. That was rough. You dodged a bullet there," she said lightly rubbing my back. She has a thick British accent and it reminds me a lot of my mom. I cleared my throat.
"You heard that?" I asked and she nodded.
"That man is a snob. You're better off with knowing that's not where you come from. I wouldn't want to come from a bloody wanker like him. Look over your notes. No one will ever bother you here,"
I thanked her and looked down at the journal. I pushed it aside and opened the file instead. On the top, written in script, is my name. I looked around taking a deep breath. I don't want to do this here, out in the open. I already feel like I'm about to lose my s**t and I wouldn't be able to keep it in if it's something like my mom wasn't my real mom. I shut it and started to gather everything. The woman at the register smiled at me and came over to hand me a little paper bag for my cookies.
"I didn't get your name," I said.
"My name is Leetha. Like Lisa but with a lisp,"
"That is a really cool name and it's funny because my name is Aleethea," she smiled pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear.
Under different circumstances, I would have lashed out or stepped away but she had experienced a big change alongside me and I can't ignore the bond we had formed from this event. I don't fully trust her but the fact that she had taken the time to show me kindness in this situation, means a lot. Most people would have pretended like nothing happened.
"That is a beautiful name," she said.
"Thank you for everything," I said gathering my things.
I waved at her awkwardly when I got to my car. I put everything in the passenger seat and then placed my bag on top of them so they wouldn't fly off. I drove back to Kam's parent's house to see her arguing with Howard.
I parked across the street and waited for them to get done. It's unusual to for them to fight. They have the kind of relationship that is almost unreal. They never fight, they never disliked things from one another. It's a little alarming really. How attached they are to one another. So, in my judgemental and realistic opinion. This argument is really healthy for the two of them.
Howard walked away from her waving her off as she shouted for him to go back to her. His eyes met mine and he shook his and then rolled his eyes like saying good luck. He climbed into his Tahoe and drove off as fast as he could. I gathered my things putting them in my bag and got out after shutting the soft top. I locked it and crossed the street where my dramatic best friend had let herself fall to the floor sobbing.
"Hey," I greeted my friend, looking over at her super nosey neighbor everyone hates. She had watched and probably listened to the whole thing. "We should go inside. I have cookies,"
"Okay," she said letting me help her up. No one loves cookies more than this girl right here.
"What happened?" I asked going over to the fridge to serve her a glass of milk. She sat at the dinner table wiping her face making cute little sobbing noises.
"We broke up," she stated trying to put on a brave face. I looked over to the living room to see her mom and three of her brothers looking at me expectantly like they wanted me to get more information out of her.
"Why?" I asked placing the glass in front of her. I pulled out the cookies. Her eyes quickly shot to them when she saw how big they were.
"Well, he lied to me. I don't care if he doesn't go pro you know? When I asked him if he was going to start taking school more seriously he was like," she straightened up putting her right arm out to sway about and the left one on her hip. She does this when she's about to imitate just about anyone. " Nah, Ima drop out and work for my old man. I think Ima play for minor leagues. Maybe, they can cover me until I can get drafted for real," she even deepened her voice.
"What did you say?" I asked. She took half a cookie and shoved the whole half in her mouth before she started crying again. I took a seat knowing this was going to take a while.
"I told him that maybe that wasn't a good idea. I told him that he should stay in school and continue on the engineering path. He has four semesters left. Three if he's completely committed. They're already paid for,"
"Did you call him an i***t before you told him it wasn't a good idea?" she looked away giving her shoulders a little shrug.
"No," she said softly.
"How many times have I told you that starting a sentence with 'you're an i***t' or 'are you an i***t' is never a good idea?"
"I didn't mean to," she said crossing her arms. "I mean he was like super calm. Like working in an auto shop was better than trying to be better even if he didn't make it major you know? He's already put in all the work in this engineering program. It's not the end of the world,"
"I know," I said letting her drink half the glass of milk in one go. "It probably seems like the end of the world to him though. He worked so hard to get where he is only to find out his best wasn't enough. He wants to feel useful again. Let him have the summer. Do what you guys have planned and when registration opens up again sit down and talk to him like an adult. You're both under a lot of stress right now,"
"You're right, Lee," she said nodding. She looked me over and then sat back. "You were crying. Did that f**k, Axel do something to you?"
"No," I said. "I met with my dad,"
"Oh, my God. What happened?" I looked up at her feeling my throat close up.
"He's not my real dad. He said he wasn't going to apologize for anything because he didn't have to. He basically called me trash and told me he had put up with me because of a promise he had made my mom," she covered her mouth with both hands. In an instant, her mom and three brothers were at my side.
"f**k that guy. You're more of a Juarez anyway," Kyle said handing me a jolly rancher.
"Thanks," I said taking it.
"What else happened?" Kam asked.
"That's it. Before I could even react he got up and left. He just left me there,"
"Perro," Esmer said shaking her head.
"It's better this way," I said. "I don't have to worry about it or think about him anymore. I can act like both my parents died a long time ago,"
"You have us, mija. Never forget that," Esmer said wrapping her arms around me.
"Gracias," I said rubbing her arms.
- Writer
