Back to You (28 page)

“
Okay, cool. I won’t
forget. Later.”
I flick my phone up as I
pull up to my father’s house. Even though he said I could just walk
in any time I come over, I still ring the door bell. To me it just
doesn’t feel right walking into someone’s house when you’ve just
recently met them, even if they are family.

“
Hey Abby.” Sarah says as
she opens the door. “Welcome to mi casa.” I step in. “Hi Sarah, I
didn’t know you spoke Spanish.” I tease.

“
Oh please, I mastered in
Spanish. Okay, maybe just the curse words. But still, it’s pretty
obvious that ‘mi’ is my and ‘casa’ is house.” We sit in the living
room, on the loveseat. “Maybe, to those who actually pay attention
during class.” I reply sarcastically.

“
Hey, I pay attention in
class. I can’t help it if my teacher is hot and I forget everything
and anyone around me. Sheesh, you try participating when this
handsome creature, that is standing in front of you oozes sex
appeal. You’ll understand.” I shake my head in disbelief at her
dramatic take on Mr. Ramirez. He is pretty sexy, so I understand
where she is coming from.

“
Hello Abby, great to see
you.” Jaclyn saunters into the room with coffee in hand. She sits
in the recliner on the other side of the room. “Hi, it’s great to
be here.” I say politely.

“
Would you like anything
to drink?” I shake my head and smile. “I’m good, thanks.” Then I
remember why I’m here.

“
Is dad around?” I ask
looking from Sarah to my step mother then back at Sarah
again.

“
Yeah, he’s outside.” She
points to the opposite side. Assuming he’s in the backyard, I make
my way out of the living room.

I go out the back door and
don’t see anything until I hear a hose running by the driveway. I
head towards the sound. As I open the gate, I see him standing in
the driveway, washing his car.
A sweet
ride, I might add.
He looks up when he
hears the gate close and locks. “Hey, I was told you were out
here.”

“
And here you found me.”
He smiles as he washes the car with soapy water.
He likes to get down and dirty, who’d have
thought.
I walk around and examine the
vehicle. “This is a bad ass car.” I admit, checking out the rims
and tires. Brady taught me a lot about cars and the maintenance
that goes with it. I inspect it thoroughly and notice how new the
car looks, or maybe it’s just being washed that makes it look that
way. “By the way, mom says you found me a place in New York?” He
stands up and throws the sponge in the bucket of water.

“
Yeah, I will give you all
of that information later. Want to give me a hand here?” I take the
sponge and start washing the other side of the car. “Do you know
much about cars?” He asks fascinated by my enthusiasm to wash the
car.

“
Brady had taught me some
about cars and I used to watch Lucas’s brother wash his truck all
the time.” He seems pleased and goes back to scrubbing. “Do you
know what type of car this is?” He gestures to the one in front of
me. I smile and stand up rinsing the dirt off the sponge and then
start to wash the tires.

“
It’s a Honda Civic LX.”
He beams, happy with my answer.

“
Yes, you’re right. It’s a
2010, with only 22,000 miles on it. And it’s yours.” Taken by
surprise, I look up at him puzzled.

“
Mine?”

“
Yes, I bought it for you,
as a graduation gift. And I figure since you’re moving to New York
you need a good car with low miles on it.”

“
What’s wrong with my
Mustang?” I love my black Mustang. I got it for my sixteenth
birthday from my mom. It’s less than two years old, well for me
anyway. It’s actually an eighty nine model.
Maybe it is time for a new car. Shelby was good to me. But
it’s time to let her go.
Yeah, I named my
car Shelby, even though she’s not a Shelby Mustang. After I watched
Gone in Sixty Seconds, I was in love with that car. I told myself
when I got my own car I would name it Shelby. Coincidence? I think
not. I stand up and assess the situation.

“
So let me get this
straight, you got me a place to stay and got me a new car? Or old
car, but a new old car as a graduation present?”

“
Is it too much?” He asks
eyeing me casually.

“
Is it?” I ask in
disbelief.

“
No, it’s not a problem. I
have connections. I got a good deal on this car and the apartment
is actually an old client that moved there a few years ago. They
are moving to Denver so when they mentioned that they were leaving
but couldn’t break their lease, we got to talking and they said you
could take over the rent for them until you decide future
plans.”

“
I don’t know what to say.
Are you sure it’s no trouble?” He puts the sponge down and moves to
sit beside me.

“
You are my daughter. It’s
time I start acting like a father to you. I’ll help you anyway I
can.”

“
Thank you. I’m
flabbergasted and quite speechless to say the least.” His smile is
genuine. “Well, you don’t get it yet. I want to take it into the
mechanics and get everything checked out first. Then, once it’s
waxed and polished, it is all yours. You can still drive your
Mustang for now.”

We finish washing the car. To say I am
dumbfounded would be an understatement of the year. But I can’t
hide my excitement, as I work side by side with my father, cleaning
and waxing my graduation present.

Chapter 27

Prom night is finally upon us. I can't
believe how fast it’s crept up. After having dinner with my father,
he comes home with me, to see me off to the prom. It’s his
daughter’s last high school dance and he wants to be a part of it.
That’s what he says.

“
Oh honey, you’re gonna do
great. It’s going to be a fun night.” My mother stands in the hall
by the bathroom door. “You’re going to kill him, sweetie. He’ll be
begging to come back when he sees you.” I brush my hair and look at
her reflection in the mirror. “Mom, I’m the one that would do the
begging. Or groveling. I just don’t feel confident right now.” I
hold my stomach for a moment.

“Are you okay?” She bends over and rubs my
back. “Do you need some medicine?” I shake my head no. “I just need
to lie down for a minute.”

“
No time for that dear.”
Sarah’s voice echoes and I look up to see her standing in the
doorway smiling. “Hey Sarah.”

“
Are you okay? You need a
punch to the gut to feel better?” I laugh and straighten up,
brushing my hair again. “I think you’re just nervous. You should be
fine once the night starts.” My dad walks in and looks from me to
Sarah to my mom. “What are we doing in the bathroom?”

“
We’re having a party,
duh! And you’re totally ruining it.” We all laugh. “Well, I’m
leaving then.” He turns and heads out the door. My mother follows
suit. Sarah sets her bag down on the floor. “Okay, I’m going to be
doing your make up and hair. By the way, that dress is smokin’ hot.
When Lucas sees you, he’s going to flip.” She starts brushing my
hair, and blow dries it. “I hope so.” I reply. “I’m not even sure
if he’s really going. He won’t return my calls or texts. God Sarah,
I fucked up.”

She stops mid stroke and turns me around to
face her. “Abby, you need to stop. All this ‘pity me, I fucked up’
shit is making you look pathetic. What’s done is done. Now you just
need to fix it. Show him that you love him and will do anything to
work it out.”

“
How did you get so wise?
I’m glad you’re here. How’s it going at dads?” I ask. She turns me
back around and continues with my hair.

“
It’s going well. I love
Christopher; he’s such a cool kid. And Jaclyn is really nice. She
gives me my space. Not that I need a lot. I’m really glad you and
dad are getting along. Thanks for you know, being cool.” I smile at
her in the mirror.

After she fixes my hair in a bun, she moves
onto my make up. I feel like I’m at a salon getting all fixed up by
a professional. Sarah is good at applying my make up. She doesn’t
overdo it. Thank God. I’d hate to look like a clown at my prom.
Once she finishes my face she says, “Okay done. Now the last thing
is the dress.”

“
Oh you look beautiful
Abby.” Brooke’s voice appears from the hall. She walks into the
bathroom, mouth open in astonishment.

“
This aint nothing yet.
She’s got the dress to put on yet. Once that’s on, then she’s going
to look like Cinderella.” Feeling truly blessed to have my sister
and my best friend together and helping me look my best for prom,
my eyes start to water. “Oh shit, not the water works. You’ll ruin
your face.” Sarah hands me a Kleenex and I dab it on my eyes
gently. “Sorry, I’m just emotional right now. I must be due for my
period.”

Brooke holds my hand and smiles. “No
sweetie, you’re just emotional because it’s going to be a great
night. Whether or not Lucas is there, you’re going to have fun with
me.” I look behind her for Brady but don’t see him anywhere. “Is
Brady coming with us?”

“
No, he’s meeting us
there. I thought you could use a friend so I told him I would ride
with you.” She looks sympathetic for some reason but she still
smiles. “Any word on whether or not Lucas is coming tonight?” She
looks down, almost sad then looks me in the eye. “I’m sorry
sweetie, he’s not coming. That’s another reason why I wanted to
come with you. I’m sorry Abby.” She pats my hand. “Oh,” is all I
can say. A part of me wants to forget the whole dance and stay in
bed all night, but after all my sister has done, and with Brooke
being here with me, it wouldn’t be right. I just sigh in defeat and
accept the fact that it may be over between us.

“
Abby, you’re going to be
fine. We’ll get through this.” Brooke follows me and sits on my
bed.

“
I want to kill that
bastard. I thought he would have gotten over his shit by now. God,
guys are such pricks.” Yeah, my sister is right about
that.

“
Sarah, I’m fine. Let’s
just get my dress on and get this dance thing started.” I say as I
take the dress off the hanger. After carefully getting myself into
the dress, everyone “oohs” and “ahhs” at the sight of
me.

“
How does it fit?” Brooke
asks.

“
Perfect.” I smile,
smoothing out the material. I feel like Cinderella, only without a
prince to whisk me away to paradise. “Oh my goodness, shoes!” I
slap my forehead, forgetful and try to hide my pain. I completely
forgot about shoes. Since the dress is pretty long, I could wear
slippers and it wouldn’t matter.

“
Gotcha covered babe.”
Brooke runs out of the room and comes back a minute later with some
silver and black strap high heels. I put them on my feet. “Oh
Brooke, you really didn’t have to. I could have worn my ballet
flats or Hello Kitty slippers and no one would notice. The dress is
pretty long.” She waves her hand back and forth to silence me,
shaking her head. “Nonsense. I’m not going to let my best friend
wear the hottest dress to prom and not have the perfect shoes to go
with them.”

“
Thank you. You’re the
best!” I hug her and head into the bathroom to check myself out in
the mirror. I almost don’t recognize my reflection. My makeup, my
hair and my dress, it’s all too perfect for words. I put on my
diamond earrings, which I got for my birthday a year from my mother
along with a nice bracelet.

“
Oh Abby, you look
stunning.” I smile at my dad and turn around to face him. “I don’t
know if I can do this.”

“
You can. Just have fun
with your friends.” I try to smile but it turns into a frown. I
solemnly walk out to the living room where my mother is sitting on
the sofa. She sees me and darts out of the chair. She grabs my
shoulders and looks me up and down, assessing me.

“
Wow, what a
transformation. You look beyond gorgeous! Lucas is going to –“ I
shake my head, cutting her off. She drops her arms to her sides.
“Oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” No, but I have to be
for tonight at least. I plaster a fake small, smile and nod. I am
holding back the tears; afraid I’d break down and ruin all the hard
work Sarah did. I turn to Brooke. “My dad got me a new car.” She
raises her brows in excitement. “Really?” I shake my
head.

“
Yes, well that will be
given to you for graduation. So don’t get any ideas ladies.” My dad
puts his hand on my back. “I need pictures. Go and stand over there
and pose for me.” I stand over by the front door and try feigning a
sexy pose. It puts me in a better mood. Then Brooke joins me. Her
dress is red and short, showing off her long legs. Her hair is
curled and up in a pony tail. She looks glamorous. We pose together
for a few more pictures. “Beautiful. You both are stunning.” My dad
puts the camera down and puts his hands on my shoulders. “You’re
going to have a fabulous time. Promise me you’ll try.”

“
I promise.” And I mean
it. I feel like Cinderella so I will go and play the part, at least
for a little while.

“
What are you going to do
tonight?” I ask Sarah.

“
Oh the usual, stir up
some trouble.” I give her a skeptical look.

“
Just kidding. I’m going
to stay the night with Haley. But knowing us, we’ll probably stir
up trouble anyway.” I give her a hug and whisper, “thank you,” in
her ear. She pulls back and looks in my eyes. “Have fun. Forget
Lucas. You deserve to have a night of fun. You can deal with him
later.” I hug my mother tightly. “Have a great night baby. Should I
expect you home tonight?”