Pretty as a Car Crash
Chapter Seventeen
Home Alone
banner by heartofthevampire @ the Quizilla! Forums
Dinner was interesting. After Mom threw a few snippy questions at me and reprimanded me for my short responses, Dad managed to shut her up with the simple “If you don’t want the answer, don’t ask the question”. During Mother’s brooding silence, Natasha, Danielle, Dad, and I talked about the everyday things that we used to talk about during dinner such as “How has college been?” “Are you still interested in your major?” “How’s it been at the coffee shop?” This reminded me that I needed to call Tiffany and explain my situation, assuming that she hadn’t already learned what’s been going on from channels three, five, nine, and twelve news stations. It was nice talking with Nat and Dan, finding out that Natasha’s new obsession is ballet and Danielle’s the bass guitar. I hadn’t eaten much, but no one seemed to notice. After dessert, I returned to my room and lay down, falling asleep quickly.
As my eyes adjust to the light, I sit up. Afternoon sun is spilling into my room from the window a few feet away. I stretch, yawning and feeling my dry throat and mouth protest. I get up, the cold floor feeling great against my warm feet. As I walk to the kitchen, the house is silent and I assume the rest of my family is asleep. The cold tile of the kitchen feels even better than the wooden floors and I momentarily wonder why I’m so hot as I pull the clear pitcher of cherry Kool-Aid out of the refrigerator. As I pour myself a glass, I read the note left for me by Dad on the counter.
Good Morning, Jessica
I hope you slept well. We’re out running some errands and plan on visiting Aunt Racheal; left at 11:30.
We wont be home until 6 or so. Call me once you’ve woken up a bit. I had to argue with your mother to let you stay home.
Love you,
Dad
I turn, pressing my back to the counter, and look at the microwave clock as I sip the cool, red liquid. It’s already 12:05. Quickly doing the mental math, I come to the surprising conclusion that I had been sleeping for fifteen hours.
All that emotional distress yesterday is probably what tired me out. I mentally smile at the thought of having the house to my self for seven hours.
“No prying questions, no people to deal with, no annoyed looks from Mom…” I mumble, finishing the Kool-Aid and putting the glass in the sink. “I wonder if she’s been grumpy like this since the accident or if something else has been bothering her.” I crumple up the note and throw it in the recycling basket under the sink, grabbing the phone off the hook as I exit the kitchen on my way to my room. Gently pressing the buttons, I dial my father’s cell phone number, placing the phone to my ear and listening to it ring.
“Hello?” His gravelly voice says from the other end.
“Hi. You told me to call you once I woke up.” I amble up the stairs, in no hurry to get to my room and unpack my things.
“How are you feeling, darling? You sound better than last night.”
“I’m feeling good, especially since I slept for fifteen hours.”
He chuckles and I can hear the smile in his voice when he says, “You should feel rested after all that sleep.”
I smile and nod adding a “yeah” for good measure. “Say hi to Aunt Racheal for me.” I add, a mental image of my mother’s sister flashing in my mind’s eye.
“Of course. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.” Dad says quickly. I can hear the beep of scanned items in the background.
“Okay. Love you, bye.” Once he says good-bye, I hang up the phone and sigh. I had stopped walking so I could concentrate better on what he was saying. Although I had just gotten fifteen hours of sleep, I still felt tired.
All that sleep is what made you tired. Get some exercise.
I finish walking down the hall and go to my bed room. The black suitcases seem out of place in a room filled with so much color and go to them, eager to do some busy work and keep my mind off other matters.
Half way through the first bag, my cellular device starts ringing. Checking the caller ID, I quickly answer it, happy to be hearing from Mar-mar.
“Hey Maria. How have you been?” I speak into the receiver as I balance the phone between my left ear and shoulder so that I can fold yet another t-shirt.
“Hi Jessica. I should be asking you that. You’re the one that’s been in the hospital!” She chuckles at the joke, but I flinch, hoping that we wouldn’t talk about any of the things that have happened in the past few days. “I’ve been good, though. Except, people keep on trying to get me to talk to them about what went on between you and Chrissie. Even Mrs. Toll was quizzing me, yeah.”
I laugh lightly thinking of elderly, almost decrepit, Mrs. Toll trying to squeeze information out Maria. “Well, she is a bit of a gossip.” I reply, still smiling.
“You know it!” Maria enthuses, laughing. “What are you up to this fine Sunday?”
“Unpacking, sitting in an empty home, unpacking. You know, the usu.” I pick out a pair of faded jeans I hadn’t seen for a while and hold them against my sweatpants covered legs, wondering if they still fit. I throw them on the floor with the other clothes I wan to try on.
“Sounds entertaining. Although, I thought your mom was having you stay at the house so that she could keep an eye on you…” Mar-mar trails off becoming quiet.
“Last night she was drilling the heck out of me and Dad talked her into letting me stay home by myself.” I reply, taking another shirt out of my suitcase. I unfold it, snapping it once in the air. A piece of white paper lands on the ground, grabbing my attention. I dimly listen to Maria chat about the people attempting to get information out of her as I unfold the note.
It’s written in blocky, male handwriting, making me wary of who had written it.
Jessica,
You don’t fully understand the circumstances. Please allow me to elaborate. When you feel like talking, give me a call.
I’ll be watching,
Ashton (612-774-8383)
My eyes widen automatically and my hands start to shake a bit. How did he get this note into my suitcase? Did dad see him while he and the twins were packing? When did he put it here?
“Maria?” I interrupt her rant about Mr. Edwards’ essay expectations, my voice shaky.
“What’s the matter?” She sounds concerned and that’s the last thing I want. I don’t want to cause her anymore worrying.
After taking a moment to steady my voice I ask “Was either Peter or Ashton at the dorm when my Dad came to pack my things?” I wait, wondering what her expression looked like.
“No, why? Are they there now?”
“No, no. I was just wondering.” I bluff, hopeful that she leaves it at that.
“Okay…Are you still unpacking?” I can tell that she’s curious and I'm thankful that she lets it be.
“Yeah. Can I call you back later? I still have quite a ways to go.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure, Hun. Have a good day.”
“Thanks. I will and you too.” With that, I hang up my line and put down the phone.
banner by heartofthevampire @ the Quizilla! Forums
Dinner was interesting. After Mom threw a few snippy questions at me and reprimanded me for my short responses, Dad managed to shut her up with the simple “If you don’t want the answer, don’t ask the question”. During Mother’s brooding silence, Natasha, Danielle, Dad, and I talked about the everyday things that we used to talk about during dinner such as “How has college been?” “Are you still interested in your major?” “How’s it been at the coffee shop?” This reminded me that I needed to call Tiffany and explain my situation, assuming that she hadn’t already learned what’s been going on from channels three, five, nine, and twelve news stations. It was nice talking with Nat and Dan, finding out that Natasha’s new obsession is ballet and Danielle’s the bass guitar. I hadn’t eaten much, but no one seemed to notice. After dessert, I returned to my room and lay down, falling asleep quickly.
As my eyes adjust to the light, I sit up. Afternoon sun is spilling into my room from the window a few feet away. I stretch, yawning and feeling my dry throat and mouth protest. I get up, the cold floor feeling great against my warm feet. As I walk to the kitchen, the house is silent and I assume the rest of my family is asleep. The cold tile of the kitchen feels even better than the wooden floors and I momentarily wonder why I’m so hot as I pull the clear pitcher of cherry Kool-Aid out of the refrigerator. As I pour myself a glass, I read the note left for me by Dad on the counter.
Good Morning, Jessica
I hope you slept well. We’re out running some errands and plan on visiting Aunt Racheal; left at 11:30.
We wont be home until 6 or so. Call me once you’ve woken up a bit. I had to argue with your mother to let you stay home.
Love you,
Dad
I turn, pressing my back to the counter, and look at the microwave clock as I sip the cool, red liquid. It’s already 12:05. Quickly doing the mental math, I come to the surprising conclusion that I had been sleeping for fifteen hours.
All that emotional distress yesterday is probably what tired me out. I mentally smile at the thought of having the house to my self for seven hours.
“No prying questions, no people to deal with, no annoyed looks from Mom…” I mumble, finishing the Kool-Aid and putting the glass in the sink. “I wonder if she’s been grumpy like this since the accident or if something else has been bothering her.” I crumple up the note and throw it in the recycling basket under the sink, grabbing the phone off the hook as I exit the kitchen on my way to my room. Gently pressing the buttons, I dial my father’s cell phone number, placing the phone to my ear and listening to it ring.
“Hello?” His gravelly voice says from the other end.
“Hi. You told me to call you once I woke up.” I amble up the stairs, in no hurry to get to my room and unpack my things.
“How are you feeling, darling? You sound better than last night.”
“I’m feeling good, especially since I slept for fifteen hours.”
He chuckles and I can hear the smile in his voice when he says, “You should feel rested after all that sleep.”
I smile and nod adding a “yeah” for good measure. “Say hi to Aunt Racheal for me.” I add, a mental image of my mother’s sister flashing in my mind’s eye.
“Of course. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.” Dad says quickly. I can hear the beep of scanned items in the background.
“Okay. Love you, bye.” Once he says good-bye, I hang up the phone and sigh. I had stopped walking so I could concentrate better on what he was saying. Although I had just gotten fifteen hours of sleep, I still felt tired.
All that sleep is what made you tired. Get some exercise.
I finish walking down the hall and go to my bed room. The black suitcases seem out of place in a room filled with so much color and go to them, eager to do some busy work and keep my mind off other matters.
Half way through the first bag, my cellular device starts ringing. Checking the caller ID, I quickly answer it, happy to be hearing from Mar-mar.
“Hey Maria. How have you been?” I speak into the receiver as I balance the phone between my left ear and shoulder so that I can fold yet another t-shirt.
“Hi Jessica. I should be asking you that. You’re the one that’s been in the hospital!” She chuckles at the joke, but I flinch, hoping that we wouldn’t talk about any of the things that have happened in the past few days. “I’ve been good, though. Except, people keep on trying to get me to talk to them about what went on between you and Chrissie. Even Mrs. Toll was quizzing me, yeah.”
I laugh lightly thinking of elderly, almost decrepit, Mrs. Toll trying to squeeze information out Maria. “Well, she is a bit of a gossip.” I reply, still smiling.
“You know it!” Maria enthuses, laughing. “What are you up to this fine Sunday?”
“Unpacking, sitting in an empty home, unpacking. You know, the usu.” I pick out a pair of faded jeans I hadn’t seen for a while and hold them against my sweatpants covered legs, wondering if they still fit. I throw them on the floor with the other clothes I wan to try on.
“Sounds entertaining. Although, I thought your mom was having you stay at the house so that she could keep an eye on you…” Mar-mar trails off becoming quiet.
“Last night she was drilling the heck out of me and Dad talked her into letting me stay home by myself.” I reply, taking another shirt out of my suitcase. I unfold it, snapping it once in the air. A piece of white paper lands on the ground, grabbing my attention. I dimly listen to Maria chat about the people attempting to get information out of her as I unfold the note.
It’s written in blocky, male handwriting, making me wary of who had written it.
Jessica,
You don’t fully understand the circumstances. Please allow me to elaborate. When you feel like talking, give me a call.
I’ll be watching,
Ashton (612-774-8383)
My eyes widen automatically and my hands start to shake a bit. How did he get this note into my suitcase? Did dad see him while he and the twins were packing? When did he put it here?
“Maria?” I interrupt her rant about Mr. Edwards’ essay expectations, my voice shaky.
“What’s the matter?” She sounds concerned and that’s the last thing I want. I don’t want to cause her anymore worrying.
After taking a moment to steady my voice I ask “Was either Peter or Ashton at the dorm when my Dad came to pack my things?” I wait, wondering what her expression looked like.
“No, why? Are they there now?”
“No, no. I was just wondering.” I bluff, hopeful that she leaves it at that.
“Okay…Are you still unpacking?” I can tell that she’s curious and I'm thankful that she lets it be.
“Yeah. Can I call you back later? I still have quite a ways to go.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure, Hun. Have a good day.”
“Thanks. I will and you too.” With that, I hang up my line and put down the phone.
♠ ♠ ♠
Enjoy! =]