Love Lines

12: Keep Your Opinions...

That was the other thing; I had no clue what time it was. If it was Sunday, my father would be getting up extra early, no matter the amount of sleeping powder or spell or whatever it is Hades did to keep him asleep. It was hardwired into him what time to get up on Sunday in order to get to church. Then, sometimes, he would play a short round of golf. Other times, he just hit up the bakery before coming home.

If he checked on me and discovered I was gone, we'd all have problems. The man had a panic button and he wasn't afraid to use it. If it was any other Sunday, he would leave me alone and let me sleep as much as I wanted. But if he wanted to play golf after lunch, he got me started on waking up before he left for church. Father/daughter bonding time.

So original, right?

I put aside what would if he discovered me gone so early and took a glimpse around Union's room. It was, oddly enough, how I expected a teenage boy's room to be. In fact, it looked just like Schylar's.

With obvious furniture differences.

Clothes were everywhere, the bed was unmade, and there was a cordless game controller sitting on the nightstand next to several empty bottles of Code Red Mountain Dew.

"You know, they say that stuff gives you kidney stones."

Union scratched his head nervously, obviously seeing his room as I currently saw it.

A pig sty.

"I'm sorry about the mess." He randomly started picking up things that were closest to him. "Normally, today is the day I devote to cleaning."

I tried to hide my smile by covering up my mouth as I watched him dart around the room to collect the dirty clothes. But like Schylar's, underneath the layer of clothes were dirty dishes and a familiar rank smell drifted over to my nose after he picked up a dirty towel.

"Union?"

"Yeah?" He stopped and whirled to look at me. He had a rather comical since, bent at the waist and the mound of clothes he was holding were threatening to fall out of his grip.

"You can stop. You're only making it worse."

"I am?"

I nodded, the smile I was hiding bloomed across my face. "Yeah but it's ok. Your room is exactly like Schy's so it's alright. I'm used to it."

The fact that my father allowed me up to my best friend's room was something I had to fight with him constantly over. He kept telling me no matter the platonic feelings between Schylar and I, he was still a teenage boy. And I was still a teenage girl and in my father's mind, I had no business being in his room unsupervised. In the end, both of us agreed it could happen as long as the door stayed open. My father didn't factor in the fact that Schy's mother would eventually get tired of the noise level and tell us to close the door. Unlike my father, she trusted her son wouldn't try anything and if he did, that I would slap some sense into him.

Parents.

"But..."

"Seriously. It's ok. I can't stay anyway. My dad will worry if he wakes up and..."

"It's only four."

"Four what?"

"Four a.m." He smiled. "You know, in the morning. I don't think even your dad gets up this early."

He was right. My father didn't usually get up until at least six on Sunday but still. I wasn't exactly comfortable with being in his room and I didn't want to offend. I was easily distracted by the time frame, however, since it felt like I'd been away more than a few hours.