The Boy Who Pushed Me Off The Roof

Chapter Ten

"Wow, you seem chipper today," My mother commented, spreading cream cheese on a ill shaped bagel.
"I just have a healthy glow. Today's going to be a good day." She laughed, and handed my dad a bowl of fruit salad with the bagel on the side.
"Sweetheart, usually a healthy glow refers to pregnancy. Now, I know that in my studies I have found children tend to drop hints about their life in day to day conversation to seem ironic, or to pretend they are on a television show. From what you just said, I can infer you are hinting at being pregnant. Are you with child, young lady?"

"What," I furrowed my eyebrows. "Dad, all I meant is that I used a face mask last night. Also, I made up with Theo."
"YOU MADE OUT WITH THEO?!" My father bellowed.
Little Luke came waddling out of the bathroom in his footie pajamas. "What da-does made out mean?"
"Nothing sweetheart, and that is not what she said Robert. She and her boyfriend had a misunderstanding, that's all. And really? You're okay with her being pregnant, but not okay with her kissing boys? Let's go get dressed, Luke," My mother defended.
"The pregnancy thing was a joke. It's not funny when it could happen!"  He called after her.
"He isn't my boyfriend! Dad?" My dad was currently typing his next parenting book.
"I want to meet this kid." He didn't look pleased.
I took in a deep breath. "Don't worry about him. Please?" My dad relaxed.
"I know, if there's anyone I can trust in a relationship, it's you. But we'll have to do some haggling with your mom to prolong the pre-marriage relationships. Also, why are you wearing jeans? That doesn't seem like the Charlotte I know." I giggled and sat next to him, grabbing his fork and stabbing it into a chunk of cantaloupe.
"My friend did some haggling herself. Dad? I have a question, and I need you to promise to consider it." He gave me a head nod. And I popped the fruit in my mouth before continuing. " So I really want something to pass on to Luke when I leave, but I honestly have nothing. And he is too young right now, but he really needs a pet for when I leave with Sonja. Can I please, pretty please, get a kitten? I'll take care of it until august and by then, it will be house trained and Luke will also be well versed in taking care of a cat." My dad nodded his head slowly.
"That sounds like a good idea, but the moment that you slip up with that kitten...Well honestly, I would probably take care of it. But that is no way to treat your father. You can pick one up after school." I felt a huge grin creep onto my face, and I kissed his cheek.
"Thank you, dad! You might regret this, but you already said yes, so too late." I grabbed my bag and rushed out the door before he could protest, grabbing Luke's sleepy hand on my way out.
"Okay, kid. I convinced dad. And we are getting a kitten!" I skidded to a halt, and tried to figure out how this was going to work. I needed to get to the auto shop in fifteen minutes but I don't have a car. So I turned around and went back inside.
"Daddy?"
"There's that voice that asks for things again! Nope, too many things asked for this morning. Ask your mom."
"Don't worry, honey. I'll give you a ride to the car shop, but you're going to have to ask that boy to give you and your brother a ride to school. I've got a client in fifteen minutes." I felt nervous but kept pace with my striding mother anyway. As soon as I got in the car, my nerves went ballistic. What's going to happen between me and Theo, today? Is he going to kiss me? Ask me out? What if he thinks that I'm not actually worth it, and he just wants to stay friends? I was thinking odd thoughts like that up until we pulled to a stop in front of Johnny's shop.
"Sissy, we are-" Luke yawned loudly as I unbuckled him. "We are up really early." A stray sleepy tear fell down his face. I sighed and leaned back.
"Oh I know, kid. Just remember when you look back on this traumatizing event, that it wasn't Charlie's fault." My mom laughed and handed me my insurance paperwork, before shooing us both out of the car.
"If the insurance doesn't cover all of it, here's a couple of bills. If it's more than that, tell the mechanic that I am a lawyer." My mom handed me three hundred dollars and I sighed. That's a lot of money. You can buy a lot of kittens with three hundred dollars.
Mom doesn't particularly like cats, that's why I went to my dad to ask. It'll be a fun conversation when I bring the lucky feline home.
"Okay, thanks for the ride!" I turned away, but heard her squeal.
"What? What is it?" My mom grinned in response to my panic.
"Is that Theo?" I looked up, and sure enough, he was closing his truck door. I drew in a sharp breath, and mumbled a measly 'yes' in response.
"Oh my goodness. Score! Catch him while you can!" She replied, before driving off, honking her horn when Theo passed her car.
"Wow! Is that your mom?" He asked, kneeling down to say hi to my little brother.
"Yeah, she's really infatuated with you." I was embarrassed, as seen by my bright red cheeks.
"That's cool, is she single?" I gasped and punched Theodore on the shoulder.
"No! And she's my mom!" I exclaimed.
He chuckled and stood straight. "Listen, I'm really sorry for that misunderstanding. It was a stupid situation." I nodded. His hands suddenly met my hips, pulling me toward him. Theo maintained eye contact, and my heart doubled beat production.
"I'm really sorry too." I managed to choke out, however I let out a breathy gasp at the end, Theo heard it and grinned in satisfaction. "So are you going to keep wooing me?" I asked, sheepishly.
"With every ounce of my being." He leaned in and as much as I wanted to jump on him and do what my father thought I said earlier, we had an audience.
I cleared my throat. "Can you give Luke and me a ride to school? My mom can pick him up from school, I just don't have a car right now." He grinned that adorable side smirk, and I found it hard not to kiss it.
"Yeah, of course." I smiled my gratitude, and grabbed Luke's hand. We made it inside Johnny's garage intact and he was sitting behind a dusty white monitor, his face propped up on his hand. Once he caught my eyes, he gave a tired half smirk and stood.
"Hey guys! I have news. So your car will be fine, however the parts I need are shipping. They should be in the day after tomorrow, and it'll take about two hours of installment. However that isn't always the case, so I think I should call you when I get it done. Also I ran your insurance, and it'll cover all of it. We just need to review some documents. I took pictures of all the damage if that helps your court case." His accent was very thick and kinda threw me off. Not that it was a bad thing. I liked it very much. Too bad my insurance wouldn't let me not pay my deductible, even if it's vandalism!
"That sounds good! And it definitely should. Also you seem wheel tired." I joked and went to sit down in his one client chair. His deep chuckle made me smile.
"Is this your kid? He sure is a cutie." I smiled and shook my head.
"Of course not. She would have had to been ten to conceive Luke, and eleven to have him." Theodore's judgy face was on, and he took my little brother to show him different parts. He pointed out nearly everything on a shelf and had Luke repeat each one.
"Wow, you know what? You're pretty good at that, you know where in a car those things go?" Johnny asked, just as detective Donaldson entered the shop.
"Been doing it since I was his age." Theo replied, gesturing to Luke, who was now standing beneath my lifted car.
"Hey, kiddos. Long time no see." Donaldson drawled and I smiled.
Wow three different american accents in the room. Jerseyan, Georgian , and Californian.
"Hang on, I'd like to offer the prickly pear a job. Do you want to take it? It'll pay better than minimum wage. I can offer fourteen bucks an hour. How does that sound?" Theo looked surprised.
"Wow. I mean it couldn't hurt. Sure, why not." Because you get jealous of him whenever I'm in the vicinity of the jerseyan. I just smiled.
"Okay, you got it kid. You start monday at five p.m." Theo grinned and showed Luke something to do with a car axle.
"So you had a break in..." Donaldson brought our attention back to him.