Chapter Thirteen.
Once all of Evan's friends leave, it's just me and him. I should probably leave too, but there really isn't any point. Van's mad at me, my mom's crazy, and Van's dad, Richard is a douche-hole. Home is the last place I want to be.
"What time do you have to be home?" Evan asks me.
I shrug my shoulders, cuddling up to him on the couch. "I could stay, if you want?"
Evan pretends to be focusing on the TV playing on his dresser, but it's obvious that his thoughts are starting to drift into the gutter. "Do you want to stay?"
"Well, I don't want to go home, so unless you want me to sleep on a bench in the park; yes, I want to stay," I giggle.
"I have a class in the morning at eight, in case you wake up and I'm gone," he tells me.
I nod along. "Can I borrow a t-shirt?"
Evan rolls off of the bed and walks over to his dresser, shuffling around in one of the drawers.
I stand up and walk closer to him as he hands me a gray t-shirt and I leave the room to go to the bathroom. I've been waiting all night to snoop through his bathroom.
After putting on the t-shirt, I begin looking through his cabinets, starting with the one below the sink. There's nothing but rolls of toilet paper, soap, shampoo, and towels. I peek through the drawers and jackpot. There's a brand new box of condoms. He had to have bought it recently because it's practically in perfect condition. He had to have gotten them after he met me.
I take the hair tie out of my hair and run my fingers through it a couple of times. Then I use a little bit of his toothpaste on my finger to brush over my teeth. I quickly dry my hands and walk back to his bedroom.
Evan is in the middle of pulling his shirt off. "You don't mind if I sleep in my boxers, do you?"
I shake my head and try not to stare as he pulls of his jeans. I walk closer to the bed, staying on the opposite side that he's on. I drop my clothes on the floor and begin to unmake the bed.
I sent a text to my mom earlier, telling her that I'm staying at Lia's house, but she never texted me back. Her phone must be dead.
I still have to get a better phone since my iPhone, well... drowned when Van pushed me in the pool a couple of weeks ago. I'm now using one of my old cell phones that I kept. I think it's from when I was in ninth grade. It's just a normal flip phone, no touch screen, no speaker. It's main functions are calling and texting. Oh, and how could I forget the crack down the small screen from when I dropped it by the bonfire at our Back to School Bash my freshman year too.
I set my cell phone on the nightstand on my side and crawl in the bed and lay next to Evan, facing him.
"Abby, what would you say if I asked you to meet my parents?" Evan asks.
"Meeting the parents? That's kind of a big step, don't you think? Are you sure?" I question, full of a million more thoughts.
Evan chuckles. "That's not exactly the reaction I was hoping for."
"I'm sorry, it's just, what if they don't like me? Sometimes when I'm nervous, I say really stupid things," I tell him.
"I'm aware of that," he smiles. "So, is that a yes? They're having a party on New Years in about two weeks."
I think for a couple of seconds. If I don't say yes, then that looks sketchy, but if I do say yes, I'm causing problems for myself. Unwanted problems.
"I guess I'll have to meet them sooner, or later," I smile.
Evan kisses me, happy that I said yes, but he kind of sprung that on me, how was I going to say no?
What's really messed up is that my parents don't even know I'm with Evan, but he's told his parents all about me. I guess Van was right the other night, I really do suck as a girlfriend...
I wake up in morning to my cell phone vibrating against Evan's nightstand. It take's a couple seconds to pick up my phone and answer it.
"Hello?" I answer, crashing my head back into the pillows.
"Hey, pumpkin," my dad's voice says.
I quickly sit up and prepare to hide Evan, but then I remember that I'm on the phone and he can't see him. Why would my dad be at Evan's in the first place? I have a serious problem with waking up confused.
"Hi, dad," I reply.
"Are you okay? You sound confused," he notes.
"I'm fine, I just woke up," I explain. "So what's going on?"
"Well, I was wondering if we could meet for lunch to catch up. Its been a while and we have a few things to talk about, say, twelve thirty?"
"Yeah, that's sounds good. Where at?"
"I'll make reservations at the Red Olive," he tells me.
"Okay, sounds great, see you then. Bye."
"Bye," he replies, as we both get off the phone.
I quietly get out of the bed and put my clothes back on, leaving Evan's t-shirt on my side of the bed. I tiptoe out of his bedroom and quickly slip on my shoes and grab my keys. I feel bad for skipping out on him, but the awkward morning after—nothing happens—is probably more awkward than when something does happen.
When I walk through the door of my house, it's dead silent. It's only about seven forty-five, nobody should be awake at this hour. This gives me the perfect time to sneak up to my room, but not without hitting just about every creek on the stairs on my way up.
I head straight for my bathroom to take a shower, but before I reach the bathroom door, I stop and stare at the fort that's still up. Let's just hope it doesn't rain anytime soon, otherwise it's going to come crashing down and my room will get soaked. I can't bring myself to take it down yet. On the occasional night this past week, I slept all curled up inside of the fort. My biggest game is pretending that all of the bullshit in my life stops right when I close the blanket that poses as the door of the fort.
Whenever I get out of the shower and walk back into my room, I see a hand peeking out of the fort. I didn't know that he was in here. Did he sleep in my room all night?
I go into my closet and slip on a pair of faded blue jeans and start shuffling through my shirts hanging up on hangers. Cute shirts, t-shirts, blouses, that's-what-she-said shirts, and then I stop on a Batman t-shirt, bringing a huge smile to my face. Last year for Christmas, Van got me a bunch of gag-gifts, it's what we do every year. We never actually get something that the other would like. If you shop for yourself, it makes it easier, so that's what we do.
I yank the shirt off of it's hanger and pull it over my head. The sleeves rest just passed my elbows and a yellow bat is centered on the middle of the black t-shirt. Maybe wearing it will help me get back on his good side. If he could just understand that since I have a boyfriend there are boundaries and his crosses them too often.
I walk out of my closet, drying my hair with the towel and get on my knees in front of the fort. Pulling back the Dora blanket, I peek my head in and see Van sleeping all sprawled out in the comforter from my bed. I leave the towel on the floor, crawl in and lay beside him.
"Van," I whisper, running a hand through his hair, making it stick up. "Wake up," I tell him. "Come on, I doubt my floor is comfy..."
A soft groan escapes from his mouth as he rolls over, away from me.
"Your mom mentioned that you spent the night at Lia'," Van starts. "Last night, I bumped into her and Kyle, she told me to tell you that she says hi."
"Wh—"
He knows that I wasn't actually staying at Lia's house.
"You stayed at his place?" he adds.
"Yeah," I reply, quietly.
"So did I win?"
"Win what?"
"The bet."
"No."
Van rolls over and stares at me, as if he's trying to tell if I'm lying. "Seriously? He didn't try anything?"
I shake my head against the pillow. "If you win, I'll tell you."
"And I'm supposed to believe you?" he throws at me.
"I expect you to do the same."
"I'm not the one trying to keep secrets, Abby. Besides, wasn't it you that said we wouldn't lie to each other anymore?" He reminds me.
"You were mad at me, I didn't want to make it worse."
"I still am and it is worse. I slept in here all night waiting for you because I didn't know where you actually were. I figured that you were with Evan, since you told your mom that you were staying at Lia's, but you could've told me so I wouldn't spend half the night freaking out," he explains.
"Don't you have your own room now?"
"I don't have a mattress to sleep on."
"You could've slept on my bed," I offer.
"Are we really arguing about this? This is not okay, we have bigger things to talk about," Van points out.
I take a deep breath. "Don't be mad at me anymore, Van, it's killing me."
"Good, I'm glad its killing you. Now you know how I felt at lunch yesterday, or last night when I bumped into Lia and Kyle at dinner. You're half the reason why I'm always in these humiliating situations," he says. "You can probably imagine how stupid I looked when I thought you were staying at Lia's and there she was, out with Kyle."
"I'm sorry, Van," I assure him, sincerely, noticing him glance at my shirt.
"I know, but even Batman can't fix our problems," he says, tugging my shirt. "Am I really that easy?"
"No, do you know how hard it was to put this on?" I joke.
"So take it off."
I roll my eyes. "Are we okay again?"
"If I told you that shirt was sexy, would you hold it against me?"
I laugh. "I take that as a yes?"
"If you go mattress shopping with me, all will be forgiven."
"I'm supposed to go to lunch with my dad later. You can come with me and then we can go mattress hunting afterwards," I say.
"Or you could take Evan and introduce him to daddy," Van suggests.
I pick up one of the pillows near me and hit him on the head. "I'm making an effort here, could you maybe meet me halfway, Van?"
"Okay, okay, that was a low-blow, excuse my arrogance," he smirks. "But when are you going to introduce him to your parents?"
I shrug. "Well, right now my mom thinks that me and you are together."
"So does Dex, he thinks that we're conspiring against him," Van informs me.
I laugh. "What?"
"That's what he said seventh period in History yesterday."
"That doesn't even make sense..."
"It's Dex, nothing makes sense with him," he points out.
I nod along, agreeing. "So are you going with me?"
"Nah, I don't want to impose on father-daughter time," he teases.
"Van, you wouldn't be imposing, I'm inviting you."
"You're dad won't mind?"
"When does he ever mind when you're involved? Besides, you have to give me a chance to make up for my lack of sensitivity."
Van chuckles. "Why cant we ever stay mad at each other?"
"Every person has a weakness; you being mad at me, is mine."
When Van and I walk through the door of the Red Olive, my dad is already at one of the tables waiting. He sees me and waves Van and I over to the booth that he's sitting in. I slide into the booth seat across from him and Van slides in next, blocking me in.
"You look good, Pumpkin," my dad tells me. "Vance, it's good to see you, I didn't know Abby was bringing you," my dad smiles. "How are you doing... with everything?"
Why do I sense something hidden in that question?
"Good, Sir, and you?" Van responds, politely.
"Pretty good, considering the situation that I'm in," he jokes. "I'm glad to see that you're still watching out for Abby though."
Van looks at me. "Keeping up with Abby is like babysitting a three year old," he teases, nudging his elbow into my arm.
"Abby can take care of herself, thank you very much," I say, sticking up for myself. Both Van and my dad get a laugh out of my comment.
"So from what I understand, you guys are roommates now," my dad changes the subject.
"I'm in Darren's old room since he moved out and all," Van says.
"Wait, how did you know that?" I ask my dad.
My dad looks from Van to me, thinking about his reply. "I talked to Darren a couple nights ago," he explains. "He was telling me about your mom and Richard getting married," he says. For some reason he sounds uncertain about what he's saying. "I found a place in town, closer to you so that you can come and stay over whenever you want."
"You did?" I question excitedly. "That's great, dad, but couldn't I just move in with you, at least until the end of the school year?"
"It's not that close Abby," my dad states. "It's about a thirty minute drive. Besides, I think you should stay with your mom, help her through this disaster that she's creating for herself," he chuckles.
"You want me to stay with mom? You told me that whenever you found a place that I could move in with you, if I wanted to," I remind him.
"I thought you were just bluffing?" Van interrupts.
"That was Monday night, after the way that this last week has gone, it might do me some good to stay with my dad," I tell him.
It gets silent for a couple seconds, until finally the waiter comes to take our order. Maybe bringing Van along with me wasn't such a good idea.
My dad takes a drink from his glass of water. "You can come and see me whenever you'd like, you and Van both. I just think that it's best if you stay with your mom, it'll cause less trouble, he says.
"Oh, so now I'm trouble?" I ask.
"That's not what he's saying," Van cuts in.
I cross my arms over my chest and stare at Van "And I suppose you know what he's trying to say?"
"Abby, I'll make you a deal," My dad says, not giving Van a chance to respond. "If you work with your mom through her mid-life crisis, I'll get you an apartment at the end of the school year. I'm not trying to bribe you, but that way you and your mom are happy."
After all this, he still cares about whether or not my mom is happy? Is that really what this is about? My mom's happiness? I would've thought that he would've given up on that when she slept with his best friend.
"Why do you care if mom is happy? She cheated on you, or did you forget?" I demand.
My dad takes a deep breath. "Abby, I love your mother, despite our problems. I knew before I married her that she always had a... thing for Rich."
"Sounds familiar..." Van mumbles, but I don't quite catch what he says.
I think about my dad's offer for a few seconds. It's only about five more months, right? What harm could that do? I think I can get through that. My own place would be a dream right now.
"Okay, I'll do it, but only if it's a two bedroom apartment, so that Van can have his own room. You know, for when he pursues his career stalking me," I say, looking at Van.
A smile breaks across Van's lips. "Or we could just share a room," he teases. My dad clears his throat and looks at us, reminding Van that he's still at the table. "With bunk-beds, of course," Van quickly says, dropping his hands in his lap.
"Hands above the table, Vance," my dad jokes.
I hold back laughter as Van's cheeks turn beet-red. "Is it a deal?"
My dad smiles. "It's a deal, but you two have to behave, is that clear?"
"Crystal."
When we're finished with lunch, my dad walks with us to the parking lot. That lunch went surprisingly well.
"Vance, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Abby for just a second," my dad says nicely, holding out his hand to Van.
"No problem, Sir. Thanks again for lunch," Van responds, shaking hands with my dad. "I'll be in the truck, Abbs."
As Van walks away, I turn to my dad and wait for him to say whatever he has to say.
"You should give him a chance, Abby," my dad tells me.
"Who? Van? We're just—"
"Friends, I know, but any guy that takes time out of his day to go to lunch with a girl and her old, overprotective dad deserves to be with my daughter, in my book at least," my dad says.
"Dad, it's no—"
"Nothing, I get it, but Abby, he likes you, a lot. I've heard about the guy you're seeing and until I meet him, nobody's better for you than Vance," he says.
"Who told you about Evan?"
"Uhm, Darren," he quickly says.
Remind me to kill Darren. He's the only family member that has met Evan and he can't even keep his mouth shut? Do I ever get to be the barer of news that happens in my life?
Instead of continuing this argument, I just decide to let my dad win. "I should probably go, Van's waiting for me," I remind him, leaning in for a hug.
My dad kisses my cheek and we say our goodbyes. "Just don't keep him waiting too long, Abby," my dad whispers.
When I walk back to Van's truck, I see him inspecting the black mark I left on his car when I door-dinged him a couple weeks ago.
"I'll buy you some touch up paint," I assure Van.
Van waves his hand at me, telling me no. "Don't worry about it. I kind of like it, I think it adds character."
I laugh. "Come on, lets go get you a mattress."
Van opens the passenger door and waits for me to get in before he closes it.
"I'm pretty sure that I want a race car bed," Van tells me while we drive down the road.
"Or you could get a nice little princess bed, with a canopy, Van-essa," I tease.
"I wonder if they have a Batman bed, I'd buy that..."
I glance down at the Batman shirt that I'm still wearing and smile. I could get used to this...
***
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