Phantom [h.s]

Seventeen

"Give me the hammer, Jane."

I sigh and reach for the tool, handing it to my father who stands dangerously on a stepladder facing the hallway wall. Normally, I wouldn't say standing on a three foot step ladder is dangerous, but with my dad, you never know.

I watch him squint one eye shut and carefully begin to hammer the iron nail into the wall with upmost precision. I sit on the floor, my chin resting in my palms.

I'm still grounded. It's been a week.

I have only driven my car to and from school. Literally, the only two places I've been the entire week is school and home, with the occasional stop at the only McDonald's in town for fries and a shake.

I know I sound like a whiny teenager, but that's what I am, and I don't care. I just want my car back so I can get out of this musty old house and away from my borderline annoying parents.

I'm such a ray of sunshine, aren't I?

"Alright, hand me the photo of us in front of the Empire State."

I wrinkle my nose. "I hate that picture."

"You hate all the pictures. Hand it to me, please."

I sigh dramatically and hand him the framed photo, where he carefully sets it on the nail. He leans back slightly, squinting and straightening the frame out.

"Perfect," he says, grinning. He beams down at me. "You're lucky you have a father that is so good with home dv©cor."

"So lucky," I say in a monotone.

He ignores my sarcasm, taking another nail from his pocket and stepping off the ladder to move it to the side.

"Can I just have my car keys?" I groan. "It's been a week. And I didn't even do anything wrong."

He snorts. "How about ditching school early and not coming home until midnight? We still don't know where you went, even."

"I told you, I went for a drive. I needed to...clear my head."

"You could have done that after school, and come home before dinner."

"I said I was sorry, alright? Can I please just-"

I'm cut off by the sound of my father hammering the nail, but an odd noise echoes around us-a sharp bang.

We both stare at the wall.