- Taylor's POV -
---------
I unlocked the side door and let myself into the house. I heard the TV—Dad’s probably watching a game or something stupid—and dishes clinking in the kitchen. The boys were playing video games in Mom’s room, which had a TV as well. At least they’re happy.
I changed into some more comfortable exercise clothes and then hopped on the computer. I should exercise more, I thought. Actually, I should just exercise. I should exercise. I wonder…
The morning had been strange, full of phantom pains in unexplainable places.
When I felt the sting on my arm, I thought, I figured it was just a bug. After all, horse flies do hurt pretty bad. But then when it felt like I bit my cheek, I knew something was up. Horseflies cannot fly into someone’s mouth—I shivered—and sting them. That’s ridiculous. I hadn’t been talking or moving my mouth at all when it happened, so it wasn’t me. But what was it?
What was it anyway?
After the pain I had rushed to the bathroom to investigate the inside of my mouth. It was bleeding. It hurt. I was confused and slightly annoyed. Focusing on work had provided a bit of distraction, until I felt a wave of emotion again. This time I felt even more confused, but to a deeper level than I had earlier, and seemingly for different reasons. I was confused as to why I was confused.
It was, all in all, a confusing experience.
All this with Mom and Dad, and being struck by lightning, and feeling weird emotions at random times, had my head spinning.
I snapped my fingers. I meant to help Mom with dinner! Dangit. It smelled like she was making pasta for dinner. Emilie was tottering around the kitchen on her little legs. She picked up a toy and threw it every once and a while, but Mom didn’t seem to care.
“Hey Mom,” I said, munching on a crouton off the salad on the counter. “How was your day?”
“It was good.” Mom sighed. She turned to face me as she stirred the pasta. “Pretty uneventful. Mac came home and went straight to the TV, which was good because it meant no fight when he got home. Tonight might be a different matter.”
“I sure hope not,” I said forcefully. “If he so much as touches you again I swear I will—“
“Hush!” Mom nodded toward the living room, not too far away. “He’s still your father, sweetheart.”
“No man who abuses his wife and my mother deserves to claim that right,” I said. I violently ate another crouton.
There was momentary silence as Mom stirred the pasta. I contemplated telling her about the strange happenings of the past few days. I knew it would just stress her out even more, though, so I decided against it. More stress was the last thing she needed. Plus, it wasn’t too big of a deal. Pfft, getting struck by lightning? No biggie. Right.
“Can I help with dinner?” I finally asked.
“You can set the table and get out the salad dressing.” Mom gave me a hug as I walked by. "Thanks, Taylor. You’re such a big help.”
“I’d move a mountain for you, Mom,” I said in return. And I meant it.
Dinner was a quiet affair. Most of it was in silence, with the boys cutting up every once and a while, and Emilie making cute 2 year old noises. Dad scrolled through his Facebook feed on his phone and didn’t pry into my social life. I was thankful. He didn’t offer to help clean up, so the rest of us were left to it. Nothing new there. Mom made the twins help, though they didn’t want to. It took less time than usual with their participation.
After cleaning up, they begged her to let them play more video games, but she insisted they had to do their homework. Elijah and Isaac sighed and rolled their eyes in sync. They didn’t push their luck with her.
“Hey, I’m gonna put Emilie to bed real quick and then go out to coffee with some girls,” Mom said as the boys left the kitchen. “Is that alright?”
I glanced at the clock. It was only a little after 7 pm. “Mom, you don’t have to ask my permission,” I reminded her. “You’re the authority here. But we should be fine. Don’t worry. But I’m curious; who are you going out with?”
“Some girls from work.” Mom worked at a law firm, filing papers and doing secretary work. I knew she was smart—she’d become pregnant with me in her first year of college. Dropping out to have me was her decision, but I knew she missed out on a great deal. She had been attending one of the best law schools in the U.S. Maybe if they get a divorce, she’ll go back to school and finish up her degree. She could be an amazing lawyer, I know she could, I found myself thinking. I still need to search for a better paying job…
My mom continued “They know about my…situation.” She picked up Emilie and kissed her already sleepy head. “They invited me to come and talk about it and maybe figure something out.”
“That’s good.” I nodded. Her coworkers were good women and would probably give her some solid advice. “I’m gonna go check and see if I have anything to finish up for school. You have fun, okay?” I gave her a hug.
She squeezed me, smiling with tired eyes. “I will. I’ll be back later tonight.” She carried Emilie to her room to put her to bed.
I checked my homework and saw that I had a Programming test the next day. I decided to study. Pouring over my notes, I lost track of the time until my cell phone rang. A look at the caller ID showed an unfamiliar number. I frowned. Who could this be, calling me at 9:07 pm?
“Hello?” I answered the phone.
“Hi, is this Taylor?” a deep male voice asked.
I blinked. “Yes,” I said slowly. “Who is this?”
“It’s Henry,” the voice said happily. “I know, I’m creepy, but I asked around and found your number. I have to admit I was a little embarrassed to ask you personally.”
I blushed, suddenly. Even though he couldn’t see my face, I felt flustered. “Well, you got a hold of me. Do you need anything?”
“Well…” Henry sounded a bit apprehensive. “I just wanted to know if you’d be interested in hanging out sometime. Maybe we could grab some coffee…?”
“Uh…sure,” I said a little too fast. My voice cracked. Is he asking me out? I think he’s asking me out. I just got asked out, on a date…! “Uh, yes. That sounds cool. You wanna meet at my Starbucks? It’s the one off Red Oak Road.”
“Wait, you own a Starbucks?”
“Oh, no.” I laughed. “I work there.”
“Ohh.” Henry laughed with me. “Gotcha. Are you free tomorrow afternoon?”
“Sure.”
“2 work for you?”
“Sure again.”
“Cool. I guess I’ll see you then.”
“Yep.” I tried to sound like I did this kind of thing all the time. “Bye!”
“Bye!”
I slowly pulled the phone away from my ear and leaned back in my swivel chair. Did I…Did I just… My head spun. I just…
Heart beating rapidly, I pulled up Jamie’s number on my phone and called her.
“What’s up?” her chipper voice answered.
“I think I just accepted an invite for a date,” I rushed. “I just got off the phone with Henry…”
I told her about the phone call, my thoughts scatterbrained.
“That’s so awesome!” Jamie sounded excited. “You’re finally getting a boyfriend!”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” I said. “But I mean he did kind of ask me out to coffee, so…”
My best friend squealed a little. “Yes! This is so cool! Promise you’ll keep me updated!”
“I will,” I promised. “I’m kind of still in shock from the past few days, honestly. It’s been pretty crazy.”
“I bet,” Jamie agreed. “I bet you are.”
---------
(psychic links can be confusing amirite)
(so can boys)
(no further comment)
No comments:
Post a Comment