Above & Beyond ✔

11. One (not so) Fine day

I couldn't sleep anymore. It was just too freaking bright in my bedroom, and the beige curtain didn't help block the glow of the morning sun. I wished my mom had ever considered installing window blinds. Her obsession with curtains was just bizarre.

I dragged a pillow to cover my face and ordered my brain to shut. Five minutes later, I was still wide awake. I tossed my pillow to the side and grabbed my phone from the nightstand to check the time, but got distracted by a notification. A message from Brad.

Brad: Are you up for a drink or two on Friday night? No noisy nightclub this time 🙂

This was the third time this week Brad sent me a text. It didn't take a genius to understand where this would go, but I was still indecisive about when and how to tell him I wasn't interested without hurting his feelings.

I had to agree with Lea about Brad. He was a cool guy, and I would probably enjoy going out with him, but at the moment, I wasn't into a serious relationship with anyone. I had only one more year and I didn't need any guy weighing down my decisions about my future after graduation. Even if I decided to go on a date, I would go with something casual. Brad was definitely not the person for it.

After sending him my reply, I propped myself up and headed to the door. It was still too early, but a few cups of coffee wouldn't hurt. Once I opened the door, muffled voices came from downstairs. For a second, I thought it was the TV, that Mom or Dad must have fallen asleep in the living room with the TV on. But then I realized it was Mom and Dad talking.

A small voice in my head told me something was going on. They didn't sound like a couple having an easy chat over morning coffee. There was tension and coldness which gave me shivers. Not wanting to attract their attention, I left the door open and tip-toed along the railing on the second floor's corridor.

"It's no longer my concern," Mom said.

"Please, Jane. I know I caused this, but will you give us some time to talk this through? Let me fix this."

"Don't waste your time; there is nothing left to fix." Mom's voice was as sharp as a butcher knife. "I'm done trying, James."

Feeling my feet wobble, I carefully sat on the top staircase, holding tightly to the banister as if I would fall off the stairs if I didn't. From where I was sitting, I could see Dad in his grey suit standing by the kitchen door, a carry-on suitcase next to his feet. His gaze was fixed on something or someone in front of him. It was probably Mom.

He heaved a sigh and dropped his head. "Are you going to tell her?"

"Jenny will hear this after the exams. She has enough on her plate right now."

"She will hate me," he croaked, rubbing his hand over his face.

"She will get over it. She doesn't need to know everything."

"I don't know about that."

The silence took over for several seconds, prompting me to hold my breath as if they could hear my breath from a distance. Then I heard mom's voice. "You should go. You're already late."

My dad nodded, pulling his bag handle. "I still want to talk about this when I'm back next week."

"I see no reason. My decision is final. Have a safe trip, James." With that, heavy footsteps echoed across the room and the faucet was being turned on.

I had no idea what was going on. They were clearly having a disagreement, a serious one, but why did they act like happy parents last night? And I'd seen them fighting before, only not like this. I was hoping Dad ditched his trip and stayed for Mom because this was more important than his ridiculously excessive work demands.