Can't Run From You

Chapter 40

I looked at my father in complete shock. My mom was doing the same. My father gave me a small smile trying to comfort me a bit. My mom was standing there in front of us, staring at us. It felt like that moment before they blow the gun. You're waiting for something to happen. You're waiting for the shot. You're holding your breath, hoping and praying there's not a bullet in the gun. Hoping and praying, you don't fall on your face. And then just like that, within a split second the gun blows.

"What do you mean you're..." My mom was staring at me still, but now she had tears in her face. The same look you give a stranger on her face.

"Mom, I."

"Thea go down stairs, I need to talk to your father." I was confused. We are in my room, but I went down stairs. My mother wouldn't look at me as I walked by. I turned around to face them before I walked out. My father gave me a sympathetic look as I walked out. I don't know what is happening. I don't know what they're thinking. I don't know anything.

I walked down to the living room and sat on the couch. I stared at the coffee table. There's a little chip in the corner where I busted my chin open when I was little. I wondered if my mother would ever be able to look at me the way she did when she picked me up and told me it would be okay. My chest tightened and the lump in my throat was growing. I could hear my mother yelling upstairs. It didn't sound angry it sounded disappointed, hurt, maybe a little anger. My father would respond but he would respond calmly, so I couldn't make out what he was saying.

"How could this have happened?"

"No, I will not calm down this is wrong and you know it."

"Maybe it's just a faze."

"That girl is not coming here again."

Tears were falling freely down my face now. What have I done? I put my hands over my ears and tried to drown them out. Tried to stop the weight of the words from crushing me. Tried to stop myself from breaking down. I wanted Eli. I wanted her here with me now. I wanted her to hold me and tell me it would be okay, and that we can get through this. I felt my chest constricting from my sobs. My mom will never look at me the same.

I sat on the couch for a good 30 minutes. Waiting. Breaking down. Crying. Trying, begging, silently pleading that my mom would just come down and say she loves me and that it's okay. I waited another 10 minutes listening to the sounds that were coming from my room. A few minutes later I heard a door slam. Next thing I heard was footsteps coming down the stairs. With tears still falling down my face I saw my father coming down the stairs. When he saw me he said,

"Hey honey." His voice was soft and kind. It made me cry even harder.

"Dad I'm sorry." I cried. He sat down on the couch next to me and wrapped his arms around me. I turned and cried more into his chest.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"I love you dad."

"I'll always love you Thea. No matter what."

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The door I heard slam was to my parent's bedroom. My mother stayed in their room for the rest of the night, and didn't come out. My dad and I stayed on the couch for a good while. When I asked how he knew he said

"You remember that movie blockers?"

"You mean that movie with John Cena?" I chuckled

"Yeah well that guy had it right. Dads know their daughters." I just laughed a little. My dad was something else, and I loved him for it.

"Dad how are you so okay?"

"Because I know that if Eli makes you happy, then there's no reason for me to try and take that away from you. I don't agree with it completely, but that doesn't stop you from being my daughter." I looked into his eyes and cried some more. His response was to hug me.

It started getting kind of late so my dad said that I should probably go to bed. I nodded my head and started up the stairs. When I got to the first couple of steps I turned around and said

"I love you dad." He gave a tired smile and I walked up to my room. When I got to the top of the stairs I stared at my mom's door. I debated on whether or not I should go in. I didn't know what would happen if I walked in, so I decided against it. I went into my room and grabbed some clothes to take a shower. I was grabbing my clothes when I remembered my phone. I walked over to the bed where I had left it. When I checked it, I had a lot of missed calls from Molly, Eli, and even Lucy. I was scrolling through all the notifications when I saw Will's name in the mix. I sat on my bed and prepared myself. I opened the text; it said,

Hey I'm sorry I showed up out of nowhere. I just needed to talk to someone and your parents have always been really helpful.

I don't know why but I text him back.

It's okay. I'm sorry about your dad. Are you okay? He text back immediately.

Yeah no it's okay. Your parents helped me a lot.

Do you want to talk about it? I asked.

He just called to check in or whatever. It doesn't matter.

I'm sorry Will.

No, it's okay I'll be okay. I feel a lot better now. I'm glad he is okay. It actually did make me feel a bit better.

That's good

Are you okay?

Not really.

What's wrong? I debated on whether or not I should tell him, but against my better judgement I did.

I told my parents about me and Eli.

Oh

I'm sorry you, don't want to hear about it.

No, no. It's okay. I'm sorry about how I reacted before. I shouldn't have said those things. I was upset, but I had no right to say those things. Will was a great guy, and he was still one of my best friends. I started crying again.

It's okay Will. I just don't know if it was the right thing to do. My mom won't even look at me.

Thea, she loves you. Just give her time. I know it will be okay.

Thank you Will, and I'm so sorry for everything

I'm sorry too. I'm going to get some rest. I have morning practice even on Saturdays lol. Goodnight Thea

Goodnight Will.

I put my phone down and went to take a shower. I let the hot water wash over me. I tried to stop thinking. To stop dwelling. It didn't work. When I got out of the shower I knew I needed to call Eli. I couldn't explain it, but I was terrified to tell her. I walked out of the bathroom and into my room. I sat on my bed and looked through the texts from Eli. They were all just her asking where I was, why I called, and Molly told her what I said, then she was asking where I was again. I had about 15 messages and 5 or 6 missed calls. I laid on my back, faced the ceiling and dialed Eli's number. She answered on the first ring.

"Babe where have you been I've been texting and calling you for like 2 hours?"

"I'm sorry." I was crying again.

"Thea what happened?" Eli's voice was heavy with concern.

"I told them."

"Told who what?"

"I told my parents about us." Eli was quiet through the phone.

"Are you okay?"

"My mom wouldn't even look at me." I cried.

"I'll be there in 10 minutes."

"Wait no..." Eli had already hung up before I even said anything. I stared up at the ceiling. I'm really glad she's coming.