My Only Exception

Chapter #7 The Problem

Amanda's POV

I woke up the next morning in a great mood. Throwing my robe on over my pajamas I joined my parents, Josh and Petey in the kitchen for some pancakes.

"Did you sleep better last night Amanda?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, I slept pretty well. Best I have so far here." I admitted.

"Well I hope that since I patched that huge hole in the wall in your closet that you continue to sleep well." Dad said.

I smiled at him. Last night I slept well because of a different reason, but I hoped the patched wall helped too.

Once I finished my breakfast I went to my room and grabbed clothes to put on after I showered. As I was grabbing a shirt from the closet something fell from the top shelf onto the floor.

I picked up the object. It was a newspaper. From 3 years ago. My eyes widened in horror as I read the headline.

"Accident in Chemical Factory Kills Workers."

"Dad!!!" I yelled.

About an hour later, I was showered, dressed, and in the living room with my family. My dad had called Mr. Dawes and asked him to come over. When he arrived my dad showed him the paper.

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Dad questioned angrily.

"It was 3 years ago." Mr. Dawes replied nonchalantly.

"What about pollution, what if harmful chemicals are still in the environment?" Dad interrogated.

"No, no we checked the soil and nearby water supply, there was no contamination whatsoever." Mr. Dawes assured.

"I still think it's something that you should've told us about!" Dad accused.
"Perhaps I should've. But I can assure you, there is nothing to worry about. Nothing harmful remained here. Good day." Mr. Dawes explained before leaving.

My dad rubbed the bridge of his nose, annoyed. Then we all heard a knock on the door. Mom left to answer it.

"Amanda, Ray is here to see you!" Mom called, coming back into the kitchen, Ray right behind her.

I smiled and hugged him hello. "Hi!" I greeted shyly.

"Hey!" He replied smiling. Damn that smile.

We were about to head up to my room when I noticed Ray looking at something. Following his gaze I saw that he was staring at the 3 year old newspaper, rather hard too. I nudged him lightly and he came back to reality. He then followed me upstairs to my room.

Ray's POV

Damn! The newspaper! Now they all knew about the accident at the plant! I tried not to let how much it bothered me appear on my face. The last thing I wanted to do was make Amanda worried or suspicious.

We were up in her room sitting on the floor. It still looked the same as it did when it was my room....

"Ray can I ask you something?" Amanda questioned suddenly.

"Yeah, what is it?" I answered.

"How long have you lived here?" She asked.

I knew where this question was coming from. The newspaper...

"2 years. I moved here a year after the plant accident." I responded.

Amanda breathed in a sigh of relief. I smiled at the thought of her being worried about me being hurt in the accident.