by A. L. Martin
“Again, I’m sorry. Here, let me clean this up for you. Go get some sleep. I’ve got this.” She smiled, reaching for my plate and empty glass.
“Thank you, Valerie.”
I opened my door, closing it part-way, then curled up underneath my comforter. I rolled over to the left, facing the wall and window. I laid there for a few minutes, thinking about how hot Hunter looked yesterday. My eye lids were trying to close, but my brain wasn’t ready for me to go to sleep.
I kept hearing a buzzing sound coming from somewhere in my room. It finally hit me that it was my phone vibrating on my nightstand. I reached behind me, trying to grab my phone, but ended up knocking it further out of my reach.
I rolled over, raising up on my right forearm as I reached for my phone, which managed to scoot across my nightstand, almost knocking it off the other side. I looked at the time on my phone, falling back on my pillow in disbelief that I’d only been asleep for a little over an hour. Right away, I knew this day was doomed to be crap. I swiped my screen unlocked to see my messages. I had a few from Gavin, asking me if I was okay and that he missed me at my locker this morning. I sent him a text back that I didn’t sleep good last night, and I would explain more tomorrow at school.
There was no going back to sleep, so I decided to get up and take a nice hot bubble bath since I didn’t have to be anywhere right away.
I went downstairs to look for Valerie after I got done getting dressed after my nice hot bath. I peeked in my Dad’s office to see if she was in there cleaning it before he got home from work later. The only thing I found in there was his big mahogany desk that held his computer with two monitors. Behind the desk were shelves filled with priceless pieces of art and not one single picture of me or my sister. The walls had paintings on them, but again, no pictures of us. I stepped back away from his office, wondering if he even loved me and Jules. I had serious doubts about his love for us, but I knew he would deny my hunches or tell me I was being ridiculous. I walked back toward the entry way, glancing at the walls, noticing there were still no pictures of me or Jules. Once I got next to the stairs, I glanced up toward the top of the stairs, looking at the walls. The walls showed no signs of Dad having any kids. I thought about all the pictures on Hunter’s living room wall, and I felt jealous. Jealous that his dad was proud to show off pictures of him throughout the years.
“Londyn, what are you doing?” Valerie asked, walking out of the living room.
“I never noticed before that Dad has absolutely no pictures of me or Jules on any of the walls in the house. He doesn’t even have a picture of us on his desk.
“I’ve wondered that myself. I’m sure he loves you both.”
I turned to look at Valerie, not saying anything. I didn’t agree or disagree with her. I didn’t know if he loves us or not. He treated us like a product in a business.
Chapter 13
Valerie went to pick up Jules from school, since I was supposed to be home sick. I stayed in my room in case Dad happened to come home before Valerie got back from picking up Jules. I was about to start on homework that was due tomorrow when Jules cracked my door open to see how I was doing.
“Did you get any sleep this morning?” she asked, sliding stuff over to sit down on my bed.
“I got an hour. Gavin decided to blow up my phone, and I couldn’t go back to sleep after I texted him back. How was your day?”
“Pretty good. Asher and I had lunch together today. I really like him, Londyn.”
“I hope he continues to treat you well. Hey, Jules, can I ask you something?” I glanced up at her from my notebook.
“Sure.”
“I was looking for Valerie earlier today, and I happened to notice something that I’d never noticed before. I was wondering if you’ve ever noticed it too.”
“Noticed what?” She tilted her had slightly to the left.
“There are no pictures of us throughout the house. Have you ever noticed that?”
Her eyes narrowed for a few seconds, then widened a little bit. “Now that you mention it, there are not pictures of us around the house. Mom has pictures of us all over the place at her house. I’m surprised she doesn’t put them on the porch around the front door. I’m kinda curious as to why Dad doesn’t have our pictures up.”
“Don’t say anything to him about it. You know he would never tell us the truth. He would try to play it off that we are being ridiculous or something.” I rolled my eyes.
“I’m not going to bring it up to him. He would probably try and say you put me up to it, then proceed to lecture at you for putting crazy ideas into my head. Some crazy shit like that.”
“Thanks, Jules. You can come in here and do your homework with me if you want. I can move my stuff over for you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” I smiled.
She hopped off my bed and was out the door within a few seconds to go get her stuff. I barely had anything moved by the time she was back with her book bag. She went down to get us some drinks and a few things to snack on while we did our homework together.
She returned with glasses of sweet tea, cheese, crackers, and red grapes. I scooted over toward the far-side of the bed so she would have plenty of room. She handed me my phone I didn’t know why because it wasn’t like Hunter was blowing up my phone like he promised. I gave my phone a little toss toward my feet so I wouldn’t be tempted to pick it up in anticipation of him texting me, only to be disappointed.
“I take it Hunter hasn’t texted you today,” Jules said, not taking her eyes off her laptop.
“No.”
“Maybe he’s been busy.”
I didn’t say anything, but shrugged my shoulders.
We didn’t speak while we worked on our homework. I welcomed the silence since it meant I didn’t have to answer questions as to why Hunter hadn’t got a hold of me yet. He probably got smart and realized he didn’t want to deal with this screwed up mess. Honestly, I wouldn’t blame him for running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. Who’d want to put up with my controlling asshole father looking down on you? I don’t know why my dad thought he had the right to judge people based on money. If you didn’t have money, then you weren’t good enough to be breathing the same air as him. Someone needed to put my dad in his place, once and for all.
I happened to look at the time on my laptop and realized Dad was due home in less than an hour. You’d think a daughter would be happy to see her dad after he’d been at work all day. Not me! I’d be happy if he stayed there 24/7. I had a pretty good feeling Jules felt the same way about him too. Being lectured at all the time gets tiresome and downright annoying. He never asked us about our days or anything. It was lectures from the time he walked in the door, until he went into his office or bed for the night. We prayed for those rare, glorious nights where he had to work late and did not get home until after we had gone to bed.
“Dad’s going to be home soon,” Jules said icily.
I could tell she wasn’t looking forward to him coming home either. I reminded her that we just had to make it to Friday, and then we would be back at Mom’s house. We went back to our homework, hoping this was going to be one of those nights where he had to stay over at work.
Much to our disappointment, we heard his car door close an hour later. We both sank down in my bed, dreading what the rest of the evening had in store for us. We looked at each other without saying a word, but knew exactly what the other one was thinking. We would stay up here as long as humanly possible.
“Girls, time for dinner,” Valerie said, through my closed door.
“Here we go…” Jules said, pushing the books out of the way.
I didn’t want to say anything, but she had it a little better than I did for the time being. She wasn’t the “Demon Child” that broke up with Dad’s version of the ideal boyfriend. I felt bad for her, in a few months when I leave for college, Dad wouldn’t have me to lecture and bitch at and would take it out on Jules. I ha
d to think of a way to get her out of her for good. I didn’t want to leave her here alone.
I sighed, opening the door to go downstairs to eat dinner, and face whatever lecture he had prepared for me to hear. Jules followed close behind me to the kitchen. We walked into the kitchen side-by-side, inhaling simultaneously at the wonderful aroma that was coming from the oven,
“Valerie, what smells so good?” Jules asked, walking past the island and grabbing the silverware that was laid out on the counter.
“I fixed a pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes, and vegetables.” She smiled.
“It really smells wonderful.” I walked behind the island, getting glasses.
“How was school today, Jules?” Dad asked, walking into the kitchen. I had my back to him, rolling my eyes at the wall. I could tell this was going to be another silent treatment as part of my punishment for breaking up with Lucas. Dad went over to get his plate off the table, then proceeded to walk around me as if I wasn’t even there. He got his food and walked out of the kitchen. I tiptoed over to the doorway, placing my hand on the frame while I peeked around the corner to make sure he was going to his office to eat his dinner. When the door was closed behind him, I stood up and walked back into the kitchen to join Jules and Valerie, who was getting ready to leave for the night. Valerie looked at me, trying to hide the pity in her eyes. I know him not acknowledging me should bother me, but it didn’t.
“Valerie, it’s okay, really,” I said, looking over my shoulder at her as I got my food.
She stood there looking at me, not saying a word. There was nothing anyone could say.
Our dad was a major asshole.
“Well, I’m going to head home. I will see you girls in the morning. How about I make some muffins for breakfast?” She lifted my chin up with her thumb before giving me a hug goodnight.
“Yes!” Jules bellowed behind us.
Valerie left a few minutes later, locking the door behind her. Jules and I went back up to my room to eat dinner and finish what little homework we had left. I kept looking down at my phone toward the end of the bed, wanting to text Hunter.
“Londyn, you’ve only eaten a few bites of your food. What’s wrong?”
“Hunter promised me he would get a hold of me today. I don’t think he’s going to keep that promise.” I sighed, moving my fork through the food on my plate.
“Maybe he’s been busy today. Are you going to text him?” She took a bite of potatoes.
“I want to, but no.”
“I think he will text you in a few days. He might need a few days to take it all in. I wouldn’t give up on him so soon. Please eat a little more.”
I took a few more bites of tenderloin, potatoes, and veggies. I knew Jules was probably right about me jumping to conclusions. I just wanted him to text me or something so I knew he still wanted to be with me.
We stayed up in my room for a few hours before we took our plates and glasses back down to the kitchen. Jules went down the stairs first, leaning over the side to see if Dad’s office door was closed. If it wasn’t, she was going to take my stuff from me and send me back up to my room. She knew I wasn’t in the mood to be around Dad after what he did yesterday. She turned around, giving me the okay that his door was closed. We continued to tiptoe down the stairs and across the hall to the kitchen. Once we had our dishes in the sink, we made a mad dash back up the stairs to my room before he had a chance to come out of his office.
The next morning. I woke up and immediately looked in my vanity mirror to see whether the strange girl from yesterday had disappeared or if she decided to stick around for another day. I looked a little more like myself than I did yesterday. I got up and went into my bathroom to get ready for school. I wanted to get there a little earlier, so I could talk to Gavin about why I wasn’t at school yesterday. For my outfit, I picked a pair of dark brown leggings and a rust color, long tunic-like, plaid shirt with a pair of Vans. I put my hair up in a quick bun, with strands of hair, framing my face, and opted for a more natural look with my makeup. I opened the door and the smell of Valerie’s white chocolate raspberry muffins filled my room. I closed my eyes, inhaling the aroma that was lingering in the hall. I closed my door part way behind me, and headed down to the kitchen for a muffin before Jules and I left for school.
“Good morning, Valerie. Muffins smell delicious.” I walked around the island, grabbing a glass out of the drainer to pour myself some juice. “Sorry about the dishes from last night.”
“Don’t worry about the dishes. It didn’t take me long at all to wash them. Do you want me to send a couple muffins with you for Gavin and Sam or, they can wait till after school to come over for one, too,” she said, handing me a plate for my muffin.
“Let me text them and see what they want to do.” I smiled, getting a big muffin out of the basket. I was about to take the first bite of my muffin, when my phone chimed with a message.
“They asked if you could save them some for after school today.” I smiled.
“I should have plenty. I have another batch in the oven right now.”
“Great! I will have them come over after school. Thanks, Valerie.”
“Anytime, Sweetie.”
I finished my muffin, while Jules came in to grab one to take with us in the car. She had her hair curled, makeup flawless, wearing ripped jeans, ankle boots, and peach colored knit tunic.
I grabbed her stuff along with mine, since she had her muffin and drink in her hands. WE looked down the hall, and to our surprise saw Dad’s office door closed. I stood there for a minute staring at his closed door in disbelief that he couldn’t come out of his hole to say good morning to either of us. I knew he wouldn’t have said it to me, but he could have at least acknowledged Jules. I felt a tug on my shirt, and Jules telling me we needed to get to school. I took one more look down the hall before turning to head out the door.
I opened the passenger door for Jules, then put our bags in the backseat. I glanced at my phone for a second, long enough to see there were no texts from Hunter again.
Jules reached over, touching my arm, not saying a word. More was said in that sweet gesture than if she had sat there, trying to tell me everything was going to be all right.
I could see Gavin leaning up against the corner of our lockers, waiting for me like he does every day. He had on jeans, a black polo, and boat shoes. He smiled when he spotted me walking down the hall toward him and my locker.
“You look great today,” Gavin said giving me a big hug.
“Thanks. Sorry I wasn’t here yesterday. I got absolutely no sleep Sunday night. Dad decided to be a dick to Hunter, making him leave the minute we got there.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me? What the hell got into him?”
“He even told Hunter that Lucas and I were getting back together! I couldn’t believe he did that shit to me. He embarrassed me in front of Hunter, acting like a complete royal snob. His “You are beneath me because you don’t have money” bullshit! Seeing how he truly is now; I have to question why Mom didn’t leave him sooner than she did. He’s such an asshole!”
“Wow. You had a rough couple of days. Has he talked to you since that happened or is he giving you the silent treatment until you do what he says? Can’t you go live with your Mom?”
“No. He would only make things more difficult for her. I might switch colleges and move in with her. He even chose the college. I told him I would think about it, and next thing I know, I’ve been enrolled in the fall.” I rolled my eyes.
“I thought you wanted to go there though?” Gavin’s eyes narrowed.
“I was going to check out other colleges, but he took it upon himself to forge my application, without me knowing. When is my life going to be my life?”
“He is a bit of a control freak. What are you going to do?”
“I honestly don’t know. I don’t want to text Hunter, but then again, I need to know if he doesn’t want to be with my anymore.” I slammed my locker door shut.
“Oh, is someone having a bad day already?”
I let out an exasperated sigh before turning around to face whatever else Jayde had planned to say to me. “I’m not in the mood for your shit today, Jayde. What the hell do you want?”
“By how upset you are, I take it Hunter dumped you?” She smiled.
“NO! He didn’t dump me. I have been meaning to tell you something, Jayde. I’m glad you came up to me this morning. I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a few days now. Thank you for taking Lucas off my hands. You two truly do make a great couple. You both are self-absorbed, egocentric assholes. So, you see, you both are perfect for one another. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get to class before I’m late.” I raised an eyebrow, smiling as I turned to walk down the hall.
Gavin chuckled, a few steps behind me. I paused in order for him to catch up with me, elbowing him slightly in his side, trying to get him to stop laughing so much. I couldn’t get mad at him. When I turned to my right, peeking over my shoulder back at her, I wanted to laugh too. She was standing there in the same spot, her fingers typing away on her phone. I assumed she was texting Sam about what I just said to her. Little did she know, Sam wasn’t wanting to listen to her shit anymore either.
The rest of the morning went by without any more drama, but I knew it wouldn’t last long. I was positive Jayde would try to start back up during lunch. I just hoped Lucas would keep her occupied long enough so she wouldn’t have time to start crap. Gavin was in his usual spot outside the cafeteria, waiting for me. I would have skipped lunch today if Gavin hadn’t showed up at school. I loved Sam with all my heart, but she wasn’t good at confrontations. She wasn’t as quick as me and Gavin with the comebacks, giving the person attacking her more ammunition. Gavin and I had to jump in numerous time to save her. Jayde even jumped in a few times, but mostly let the other person rip poor Sam apart.
“I take it he still hasn’t texted you yet?” Gavin asked, putting his phone in his pocket.
