Graceful Deception

Chapter 12

I know, it took forever but this is a massive chapter. I was gonna break it into two but then i couldn't figure out where to cut it off so I just left it haha.

Enjoy!!!!

Chapter 12

“So in hindsight, I’m wondering if maybe I should’ve left a note. What do you think?” I asked the cab driver who sat silently while I regaled him with my tale of woe, minus names and specifics, beginning with the phone call from my sister two days ago which had led to me agreeing to Robert’s scheme and me hopping on a plane to New York early that morning. Funny how when I’d agreed to the plan, I’d assumed Robert would be with me on this little adventure.

Instead, he’d left me a voicemail saying he’d meet me at the studio in New York before giving me the reference number for my flight which was a one way ticket until I recorded his stupid song. Someone was smarter than he looked.

“I mean, there’s a chance they won’t even notice I’m gone, right?” I continued lamely, not even needing to see the way the cabbie rolled his eyes in the rear view mirror to know how ridiculous that thought had been. “Okay, they’ll notice, but what’s the big deal? We had four days off anyway. It’s not like I’m getting a full body tattoo or a facial piercing. I’m just...taking a little break. Is that a crime?”

“Don’t you have a contract, girl?” the cabbie said in a thick Jamaican accent, weaving in and out of traffic, his hand hovering over the horn the whole time even though he never pressed it. “Damn fines,” he muttered, giving the middle finger to one of the signs letting him know that any horn honking was punishable by a $350 penalty.

I shrugged. “Yeah, I have a contract but it doesn’t say I have to constantly be at my father’s side.” My gaze shifted to look out the window, not really seeing the passing scenery. “Besides, this is important,” I said more softly, thinking about my sister and what she’d so recently been through.

“If it’s so important than it’s probably worth your father’s anger,” the cabbie said, nodding his head in confirmation. “That being said, you still should’ve told him you were leaving, girl. Your father will be worried about you.”

I shrugged, not wanting to get into the whole ‘my father only cares about me when there’s money involved’ thing. As long as I was back in time for our next performance, I got the feeling my father really wouldn’t give a shit that I’d flown across the country.

I winced, catching sight of the meter. “You know what? This is fine,” I said, digging into the pocket of my worn out jeans for the last of my cash. “I’ll just walk from here.”

The cabbie frowned into the mirror, slowing down slightly but not stopping. “The address you gave me is twenty blocks from here.”

“I’ll take the subway the rest of the way.”

He nodded, pulling over. I handed him my money but before he took it, he turned to me and gave me a stern look. “Promise me you’ll call your father?”

I raised a brow, tempted to roll my eyes but this man was one of few nice cabbies in New York so I decided to pretend I was a different girl. Someone who wasn’t a bitch. “Okay, I promise,” I said demurely, crossing my fingers behind my back as I handed him his fare. What can I say? Honesty just wasn’t my thing.

It took me about twenty more minutes to get to my house, nostalgia plaguing me the whole way. I missed New York. I missed the bustle and the crowds, the subway and the smell of bagels. I even missed the crazy homeless people who yelled at passersby about the end of the world.