Something Ends, Another Begins

As much as I hated to admit it, Dad's and Ruby's wedding was absolutely amazing. The room where the ceremony took place was huge and elegant and something you would expect to see in a movie. Of course, I've never been to a wedding before (I was only two years old when my parents got married and, by what I've been told, I was really sick so I wasn't at their wedding) so, I had nothing to compare this wedding to. However, everything seemed to be flawless: Ruby's dress, my dad's tux, the reception, the food, everything. I didn't even look bad myself in my bridesmaid dress (which was peach-colored, strapless, form-fitting, and set just above the knees).

At the reception, after Dad and Ruby had their first dance as husband and wife, Dad decided to have a little father-daughter dance with me. As we danced, he whispered in my ear how proud he was of me, how happy he was that I came to the wedding, and that he loved me very much. And, yes, I did get a little teary eyed. Don't judge.

After the father-daughter dance, things got a little less emotional and more cheerful and fun. Dad and Ruby were back on the dance floor while "Sexy and I Know It" played on the radio and I sat back at my table, laughing my ass off as I watched Dad and Ruby attempt to dance.

"Hello," I heard a deep voice say as I was stuffing a piece of shrimp in my mouth. I quickly wiped my mouth and turned to see a really cute guy with short dark hair and hazel eyes looking at me and smiling.

"Hi," I said, smiling widely as I felt my cheeks get hot. This cute guy chose the moment when I'm stuffing my face to say hi to me.

"You're David's daughter, right? I'm Eli. My dad works with your dad and they play golf together." Eli extended his hand out toward me and I shook it.

"Oh, that's cool. I'm Ali."

"That's a pretty name," he said, giving me a charming smile and making me blush even more. It felt really weird to feel all flirty with a guy who wasn't Josh.

"So," Eli said, "I've never seen you around before. Do you live in New Jersey?"

"No, I live in New York. I'm just visiting for the wedding."

"Oh, nice. Do you go to college over there?"

"No, I don't. I'm actually a senior in high school."

Eli's eyebrows raised in shock. "Are you serious? You look like you could be at least a freshman in college. And I don't mean that in a bad way."

I smiled and shook my head. "It's okay. No one has actually ever told me I look older than seventeen. Are you in college?"

Eli nodded proudly. "Yeah, I'm in my second year."

After a few more minutes of small talk about school and home, Eli said to me, "So, let me guess, you have a boyfriend waiting at home?"

I took a sharp intake of breath as I answered, "No, I don't. I'm single."

Eli smiled and moved a little closer to me. "You're kidding, right? I can't imagine a gorgeous girl like you being single."

I avoided eye contact as I replied, "Um, thank you. You're very sweet."

"Well, I do try." Eli chuckled. He looked out at the dance floor and turned back to me. "Do you wanna dance?" he asked.

I nodded happily in response and watched him as he stood up and extended his hand to me. I grabbed his hand and he led me to the dance floor. We danced until the reception was practically over and the entire room was clearing out. I knew that Dad and Ruby were just about ready to leave for their honeymoon, so I told Eli I had to go. But, before I had the chance to leave, he gave me his cell number and told me to "call him anytime". I agreed and entered his number into my cell phone.

By the end of my trip to New Jersey, I had accepted Dad and Ruby's relationship and I actually kind of flirted with this complete stranger. It was like I was a different person.

***

Because of "hazardous" weather, all flights to New York were cancelled that following Monday, which was when I was supposed to be going home. Thankfully, Dad gave me a spare key to his and Ruby's place, so I wasn't stuck sleeping at the airport. Of course, Mom got a little paranoid and kept calling to ask me if I was okay alone.

Right before I went to sleep Monday night, I got a call from Christie.

"Hey, Chris," I answered.

"Hey, Ali. Are you okay? You didn't come to school today."

"Yeah, all the flights to New York were cancelled today. So, I have to wait until tomorrow morning. Thankfully, I got a spot on the earliest flight."

"Oh, okay, I just got a little worried." There was something about Christie's tone of voice that seemed off and weird.

"Why do I get the feeling there's a specific reason you called me, Chris?"

I heard a sigh on the other line of the phone. "Okay, I'll tell you. Cam made me promise not to tell you, but I think I should."

"Tell me what? What happened?" I quickly sat up from the bed, getting a little freaked out.

There was a long pause from Christie, so I waited patiently for her to continue. "Cam got into a bad fight today at school and got suspended for a week."

"Are you serious? With who?" I asked, shocked.

"That new, creepy guy. His name is Tom, I think. But, anyway, Cam and I were just talking by his locker in the morning before the first bell rang and this Tom guy bumps into Cam hard, on purpose and started telling him stuff about their dads or something. Then, Tom says something to Cam like, 'If you don't take responsibility for what you did to my dad, I'll just have to cause that precious little Ali of yours some hurt to make you wake up.' After that, Cam snapped and punched the guy right in his jaw. Things got pretty out of control quickly in the hallway before the principal came storming by and calling them both to the office. Both Cam and the other guy looked pretty bad and bruised up, but I think the other guy looked worse than Cam."

"Oh my God," I mumbled as I ran a hand through my hair.

"Do you even know who that guy is? Or what he's even talking about?" Christie asked.

"Yeah, I think I have an idea," I answered. "Listen, Chris, thanks for telling me. I'll try to see Cam and talk to him about it tomorrow, okay? I'll see you soon. Good night."

"Okay," Christie replied, sounding a little relieved. "Good night!" She exclaimed and we both hung up.