Obscured (The Obscured Series Book 1) (13 page)

He
started the car. “So where are we going?”

We
reviewed each other’s lists and realized we had three places in common. And one
of those was at the top of both of our lists:
Rosali’s
.
The very pizza place we went on our first double date. It couldn’t have been
planned any better than that so we went there first. We spent most of our
afternoon filling out applications and turning them in. All in all we went to
seven places, and the best part was that we both got an interview for
Rosali’s
on the spot. Turns out they were hiring for three
new positions. We scheduled our separate interviews back-to-back the next
afternoon and decided that we would go together.

I
told my mom that night at dinner, and she was thrilled for me. She came
upstairs to help me pick out an outfit, and we decided on a black knee-length
skirt and a button-up royal blue shirt. Mom said it looked professional enough
for a waitressing position.

The
rest of the night and the next day at school passed in a flash. I couldn’t wait
for my interview. I had a ton of confidence that this would pan out to be my
first job.

CHAPTER Eight

Riding
to the interview, my nerves were getting the better of me. I felt like I had a
thousand butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. Eli admitted he was nervous
too. I couldn’t tell though, and I wondered if he said it to make me feel
better.

My
interview was before Eli’s. The manager was a woman named Claire with jet-black
hair and brown eyes. She was nice, but seemed stern when it came to business,
which I completely understood. It was important to be professional in order to
be successful.

We
were both done with our interviews within an hour, and we must have had what
they were looking for— we were offered positions on the spot, starting as soon
as we wanted. While Eli decided to start right away on Monday, I made sure that
I could start after my dad left. Eli was working as a bus boy, while I had been
hired as a server. 

As
we left, we talked excitedly about the prospect of working together. We celebrated
with ice cream at a self-serve frozen yogurt place near my house. Eli paid for
it, and it made me uncomfortable. I didn’t have any money with me so I vowed to
pay him when I got my first check.

My
mom was ecstatic when I told her about my new job. “I knew you could do it,”
she proclaimed, as any proud parent would.

When
Monday rolled around I couldn’t wait for a report from Eli on how it went. I
was ecstatic when he said it went great, and it made me more excited about
working there. I couldn’t wait to start earning tips. I’d never had a job
before so I was nervous about the unknown, but I knew it would be so much
easier working with a really good friend. We could help each other through
things that we didn’t understand, and we would be able to make the time feel
like it was going by faster just by being together.

All
of the previous issues with Eli had seemed to evaporate over the weekend and
things were back to normal between us. Pete, on the other hand, hadn’t shown up
for school.

By
the time Tuesday rolled around, I couldn’t wait to see my dad. Just a few hours
at school and he would be at home waiting for me!

To
my surprise and dismay, Pete was back at school, sitting in his seat in front
of me when I walked into first hour. My shoulders slumped. Neither of us spoke
to each other, and I couldn’t wait for a new seating chart so I could sit as
far away from him as possible.

I
don’t know when I decided it—maybe at that very moment, seeing him sitting
there looking smug—but I knew what I had to do. I had to break up with Pete for
good. Time apart wasn’t enough to make the problems disappear. I knew that deep
down all along, but I couldn’t admit that to myself. Just being near him
disgusted me. I really had wanted things to work so badly and I hated to admit
when I was wrong.

I
planned to do it right after class so when I was done I could leave as soon as
I said it. That way he couldn’t explode in front of other people, and I could
put as much distance between us as possible when hundreds of students flooded
the hallway. It would be easy to slip into the crowd.

Once
again, class seemed as if it was cut short that day. Outside, Pete acted as if
nothing had happened, which made me even more upset.

“About
the other night—”

 “Forget
about it, I forgive you.” He grabbed me and squeezed in an attempt at a hug,
but I pushed off of him. Then, he put his arm around my waist and pulled me
forward to walk.

Could
he be any more arrogant? We were walking together to my next class. I didn’t
want anyone overhearing.

“No,
umm… it’s over, I’m done with this. I can’t handle wondering if you’re going to
blow your lid at the drop of a hat. I will not be with someone that is going to
tell me who I can and cannot hang out with. That’s my decision.” It was simple,
to the point. I felt good telling him exactly how I felt. I was proud of myself
for formulating the words and having them come out exactly how I wanted. Now I
just had to wait for the outburst.

“You’ll
be sorry!” He grunted through his teeth before stomping off.

It
wasn’t what I expected, but I was glad that it was his only reaction. I knew
that his threat wasn’t something to worry about and he would get over it…
eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later. He was more of a short fuse than
a grudge-holder as far as I could tell anyway. I saw Eli walking towards me
with a concerned look on his face. He must have seen everything. At least I
wouldn’t have to tell him what happened and relive it any more than I had to. I
would already have to do that with Bailey.

He
wrapped his arm around me as we walked, and it was comforting to know that I
had the support of a close friend. I felt safe with his arm around me.

After
school, Eli rushed me home. I knew my dad would be waiting. I couldn’t wait to
introduce him to Eli. I wanted him to know the one person that had kept me sane
through the new school process. My rock.

I
ran through the door leaving Eli in the dust; he followed far too slowly
behind. Dad was in the living room, and he stood up when he saw me. He was
looking a little tired and I noticed the dark circles under his blue eyes. It
also appeared that he recently got his arrow-straight, light brown hair cut. He
never kept his hair short, so a hair cut meant that his hair flowed down his
head to the base of his neck. As soon as I saw him I jumped into his arms and
gave him the biggest hug I could, which he returned by picking me up in the
air. Eli wandered into the room and cleared his throat. Dad put me down
quickly, laughing.

“Well,
who’s this Abby?” he asked smiling.

I
leaned into the crook of dad’s arm and rested my head on his chest. “This is
Eli, he’s my best friend.” I smiled at Eli. I had never confided to him that he
was in fact my best friend before now, and I could see a surprised look sweep
across his face. He almost seemed proud to be introduced with that title but he
recovered quickly. “Eli, this is my dad, Sam.”

“Hey,
nice to meet you, sir.” Eli was the first to speak.

“Good
to meet you, too. Glad to hear someone is taking good care of my baby,” he said
with his hand outstretched for a handshake.

“Dad...”
I said as I shoved him playfully.

It
was so comforting to have him there. I wanted him to see every aspect of my new
life in Arizona, and to have a part in it all. Then when he went home he could
picture everything I talked about, and it might just feel more like he was
there instead hundreds of miles away.

“Well,
it was nice to meet you sir, but I should probably be getting home. You two
probably want to catch up. See you Abby,” Eli said, turning to leave.

“Bye,
Eli. See you tomorrow!”

I
heard the door shut behind him quietly.

“So,
Abbs
I was thinking we could go out to dinner tonight
just the two of us and catch up. What do you think?”

“Sure,
what about mom?”

“Well,
I already discussed it with her and she will be working late tonight anyway.”

Again?
I thought.
What could
possibly be keeping her working late so much?
It seemed like that was the
story every night anymore. I couldn’t imagine it would make my dad too happy to
have me home alone at night so often, so I didn’t mention it. 

“Well,
that works out great then! Where should we go?”

“You’re
the one that lives here, you tell me.”

“Right,”
I giggled. “I have an idea. How does pizza sound?”

“Sounds
great.”

“I
have some homework I need to do before we go. I will be back down in a little
while. Will you be okay? You can come upstairs with me, but I won’t be much
company, not as much as the TV would.”

“I’ll
be fine honey, get your work done, I won’t have you getting bad grades just
because I came to visit. Besides, the TV and I need to catch up too,” he said
playfully and plopped down on the couch with the remote in his hand.

It
made me smile to have his playful banter back in the house. “Okay,” I said
cheerfully.

I
couldn’t have been happier to settle back into the routine of having my dad
around. I wished we could go back to that completely and not just once in a
while during visits. However, I wasn’t going to hold my breath and wait for
that to happen.

I
took my dad to
Rosali’s
. I hadn’t told him I got a
job there yet, so I was excited to show him where I would be working rather
than just telling him. Then he could put a mental picture with the place
further down the road whenever he thought of me working. Plus, Eli was working
that night too. It turned out that dad loved the pizza as much as I did. He was
so proud that I had my first job. I was slightly embarrassed at his flood of
compliments.

When
we finished eating, we finally saw Eli for the first time since we had arrived.
He came to our table to clear our plates, but that was the last we saw of him
before we left.

At
home, we talked until almost midnight. Again, mom was home around 9 p.m. and
she went straight to bed. I could see the awkwardness on both mom and dad’s
faces. They didn’t quite know how to talk to each other anymore, and it showed.

For
the first time since we moved, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and
I slept more soundly than I had in a long time. I even had a good dream where I
was on the beach with mom and dad for the day. We built sand castles and played
tag, and my parents were happy as they always used to be. I could only think of
one reason for the sudden turn around: my dad. He was the sudden burst of
sunshine that was brought to my world, and sadly it wouldn’t last very long.

I
got up early so I could have breakfast with my dad before I went to school. It
was oddly familiar walking downstairs and hearing my parents talk over the
sounds of clanking silverware and glasses. It was comforting to know that my
whole family was under one roof, at least for the next week.

“What
are you planning on doing today, dad?” I asked, chewing my pancakes. I ignored
the dirty looks coming from mom.

“Well,
I thought about going shopping. I need to buy some new clothes. I haven’t found
the time to go lately, and then I will probably come back here and find a game
on TV.”

“Keep
busy while I’m gone, I would hate for you to be bored.”

“A
little boredom might be nice,” he said with a smile.

I
could hear a car honk outside. “I should get going, that’s Eli.”

I
kissed my both my parents before I ran out the door.

My
day went more slowly than I could have ever imagined, and I knew it was only
because I couldn’t wait to see my dad again. I was disappointed when I got home
from school to find him not there. While I didn’t want him to sit around all
day bored without me there, I really was looking forward to him being there
when I got home. It was a double-edged sword. I decided I should go upstairs to
do the little homework I had anyway. I just hoped he would be home by the time
I was finished. I threw in my ear buds and listened to music while I worked. In
what felt like minutes I was done. I ran downstairs to see if dad arrived, but
to my disappointment, he was still gone. I wondered what could be keeping him.
When the front door opened I darted right over to see who it was. I was shot
down again when it was my mom’s voice I heard flooding the entry way and
echoing through the house.

“Hello...”
she called.

“Hey
mom,” I answered with a sigh, rounding the corner and into her view.

“Well,
isn’t that just the greeting I was looking for,” she teased. “What’s got you so
blue?”

“Dad
isn’t here, I thought you we’re him coming through the door,” I admitted.

“Oh,
well I guess I’m just chopped liver!” she teased some more.

“Mo-o-m,”
I whined.

“I
know, I know. I was just kidding. I’m sure he will be back soon. Besides, I
want to talk to you about something, with him gone for the moment it will give
us a chance to do that.”

I
followed her into the kitchen and sat at a bar stool while she leafed through
the mail. I couldn’t sit still as I waited for her to broach the subject.

“What
do you need to talk to me about?” I asked, suspicious and impatient.

“Remember
when I asked you how you felt about me going on a date the other night?”

“Yes...”
I answered hesitantly.

“And
remember how you said you would be fine with that as long as I was happy?”

“Yes...”
I answered again not liking where the conversation was headed.

“Well,
I have a date tonight,” she said excitedly.

I
could tell she wanted me to be excited with her but I couldn’t be. It was
selfish of her to think that this week of all times was the right time to go on
a date.