Do you think Owen is right about Phil's motives or is it just that Owen is a little jealous, too?
“Now, my turn. You were saying that it’s not like something and then you cut off. What were you going to say back there?”I almost said ‘next’ but then remembered that he already admitted that he likes me and Danny said he values honesty over everything so I just took the leap.“I was saying that it’s not like when I saw you at the diner last night. It was instant, the moment I looked at you. It felt different. It just hit me like, whoa. I am attracted to this guy. What about you with me?”I knew what Danny and Courtney had already told me and I knew he admitted earlier that he ‘kinda’ liked me but I wanted to hear him say it, admit it to me.“You hadn’t even seen me yet and I already couldn’t stop watching you. I probably came off like some creep, staring at you but it was an instant attraction for me, too.”He reached back over, his fingers brushing gently against mine. My heart raced as he entwined our fingers together, this sensation so new to me. As he stole a glance in my directi
As that look of worry transformed over into happiness after he spotted me, it felt like my heart was being squeezed. Seeing that worry, that uncertainty on his little face, in his eyes; that was something I had worked so hard to prevent him from experiencing. I was not naive enough to think I could and would protect him from ever being hurt or feeling disappointment or heartache but I would be damned sure it wasn’t ever because of me or my actions.I walked up, meeting the teacher halfway up the sidewalk and took Nate’s hand, thanking her as he waved and told her goodbye. He suddenly stopped, seeing the vehicle for the first time. Where the windows were tinted dark, he couldn’t see Owen yet.“Whoa, Rory! Where’d you get this car? It’s so cool looking!”“It belongs to a friend. He is taking us home cause it was raining and he didn’t want us to get rained on. Isn’t that nice?”“Yep.” We stopped beside the passenger door while I removed his backpack. He was so excited that he was hopping
I wanted to look back, wave, something as Owen pulled out of the driveway and drove away but I didn’t dare. There was a dangerous, quiet rage radiating off of Phil. One I had never even knew he could possess. Until I could have that very important conversation with Phil, I had to be careful how I played this. With him coming home early, seemingly for no other reason than to see who I was with, this just went from playing a game of checkers to a game of chess.Phil knew my weakness. The little boy that he was currently hugging to his side. I remember asking him what happened if I didn’t want to start a relationship with him and he’d said that we would worry about that when and if the time came. When he said it, it never bothered me because I was still willing to give the feelings a chance to blossom and grow. Now, it worried me. The anxiety of the unknown and the differences I had now seen in Phil over the last day being the deciding factors.As I locked eyes with Phil, I planted the b
“Nate has that blank wall in his bedroom. What if we get one of those cork boards to hang up in there. I can hang his art work and schoolwork on it, create like a display that I change every couple weeks or something. What do you think about that?”“If that’s what you want.”“Yeah, it is. I would like that and I think he would, too. Can we get one ordered or possibly stop by the office supply store and see how much one would cost.”“We will stop and get one maybe sometime this weekend.”I clapped my hands together, playing up the excitement and my gratitude. “Thank you! What can I help you with?”“You have that package of ground beef in there. I didn’t know if you were planning tacos, burgers or what but I figured baked potatoes would go with either.”“I had planned taco salads so the baked potatoes will work well. That way we can use the cheese and sour cream for both.”As Phil left the sink area with the potatoes to prep them for the microwave, I stepped in and washed my hands. I ope
I ran the water for Nate’s bath while he picked out the toys he wanted tonight, dropping them one by one in the water. I smiled as I looked around at all of the drawings on the ceramic surface of the tub and the tiled walls.I had bought him bath crayons and bath paints that he loved to use. He would use them to draw and play while I scrubbed his hair. I usually snapped a picture of his ‘gallery’ each week before I cleaned the tub and erased the surface, ready as his next canvas. Tonight, he was sinking boats, though. He blasted each ship with cannons, making the blast and shot sounds as dramatically as he could muster until all of his boats were ‘sunk’.I made him lean his head back to rinse the shampoo out of his hair. Once I had it rinsed out, I wiped his face with the washcloth I had just given him to keep the extra water out of his eyes. He handed it back to me and I dunked it in the water and added body wash and lathered it up and handed it to him as I helped him stand up. He qui
“Sit back down! I am not finished talking to you!”My teeth rattled from the sudden impact of my butt being slammed onto the chair as Phil grabbed my arm and yanked me down. It took a few seconds for my brain to catch up to what happened but when it did, all thoughts of being diplomatic flew out the window as I jerked my arm away, shooting daggers at him. He hadn’t hurt me but the audacity would not be ignored.“What is your damn problem, Phil!? I was getting a bottle of water!”He slammed his hand down on the table and pointed his finger at me. “Don’t cuss me, Aurora! You will respect me in my own house!”“News flash! Respect is earned and right now, I am having a hard time respecting you! What is going on right now? You’re blowing up at me and I don’t have the first idea why?”“Why? You wanna know why? Maybe because the woman I am wanting is letting strange men bring her home!”“That wasn’t a strange man, Phil! That was a classmate.”“That wasn’t just a classmate, Aurora. That was O
“I’m being careful. If he wants to play games, I can play. I do agree, though. I’m glad he is showing me this side of him now.”“So, you told me how you ended up with Phil in the first place but I didn’t think until afterwards to ask you where your dad is?” He must have saw me cringe because he quickly followed up with, “You don’t have to answer that. I was just wondering.”“No, it’s okay. It is bound to come up at some point so I might as well tell you everything. Then, you can decide right now if you want to run for the hills.”“Aurora, I will not run.”“Yeah, we’ll see.”I opened up and told him everything. From not knowing who my dad was to what led to my mother’s death and the call to Phil in the first place. Owen just listened, asking a question here and there but I never saw any judgment or looks of disgust on his face.“So, that’s me. Ready to run now?”He gave me a smile but this one was more subdued. The kind of smile you give to someone when you feel sorry for them.“No, I’m
He grinned as he answered with a wink. “Neither am I. Don’t get me wrong. I plan to go to college but my dreams are different than theirs. I want a good steady job that allows me to have more time with my family. I want several kids and the house with the big back yard. Barbecues on the weekends. Coaching my sons teams along the way.”I couldn’t help but smile wider as he talked about it. At least it sounded like he had his plans and that they could possibly include me down the road. I wasn’t so naive to think that Owen being the first crush I had ever had that he would be my happily ever after but it does happen. At least, I would stop stressing so much about our social differences. It sounded like the life he had lived would have been very lonely if it hadn’t been for his Nonna. I felt it was her raising him that shaped how he feels about family and having one.“Aurora, my parents have high expectations of me. I do my best to try to honor them but I decided last year that I could onl
While getting dressed, Nate mentioned being thirsty so I had him sitting down at the kitchen table drinking some orange juice before he brushed his teeth. I walked back down the hallway to the bathroom while he was sitting there swinging his little legs. I wanted to get my teeth brushed and check my appearance again before leaving the house.I brushed, flossed and swished mouthwash before dabbing my mouth with the bath towel I had draped over the shower rod. I was feeling that I could be getting closer to my first kiss and I wanted to make sure I was ready for that and the only thing I could think of that could ever ruin a first kiss, especially if it were from Owen would be if I had questionable breath when I received it. I had already thought to throw a pack of minty chewing gum in my bag last night, you know, just in case.As I stood looking in the mirror one last time, I undid the first button but still wasn’t satisfied. Undoing the second button looked better but when I took that
As I opened my door again, I could already smell coffee brewing. When I entered the kitchen, Phil was getting up to rinse his plate and cup. Sherry wasn’t anywhere to be seen so I knew she had left, probably to go to her own house for a shower and change of clothes before school.“You’ve already ate?” I asked him, already knowing the answer.“Yeah, I just fried a couple pieces of bologna with a couple scrambled eggs and toast. I’m gonna head in early since I left early yesterday.”“Okay, I will pack your lunch pail. It’ll just take a minute.”“No need. I am going to get lunch out with the guys today.”“Oh, okay. What about this afternoon? Me wanting to stay after class for the Yearbook Committee?”“Yeah, go ahead and stay. I will take my usual early day today since I am making up this morning for yesterday. Do you need me to pick you up?”“No, I’m catching a ride. All four of us involved with the history project due Friday are going to meet at the diner to work out all the details bef
“Aurora! Oh my God! What are you doing here?”“What am I doing here? I live here! What are you doing here?”“You’re his son’s sister, aren’t you?”“If you are talking about Phil and I’m assuming you are since you are walking barefoot down the hallway and didn’t spend the night with me, then yes! I am his son’s sister.”“Oh, sorry. He mentioned his son having an older sister that also lived with him but he never really mentioned how old you were but then again, I just realized I didn’t ask. When he said his son was four, I just assumed you would be like ten!”“You never answered my question! What are you doing sneaking through the house in the wee hours of the morning?”She looked down and shuffled her feet, unable to look me in the eye when Phil suddenly came down the hall, wearing just his jeans.“What does it look like, Aurora? She spent the night with me.” He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her in an intimate embrace.I know I had to have a look of surprise on my fac
He grinned as he answered with a wink. “Neither am I. Don’t get me wrong. I plan to go to college but my dreams are different than theirs. I want a good steady job that allows me to have more time with my family. I want several kids and the house with the big back yard. Barbecues on the weekends. Coaching my sons teams along the way.”I couldn’t help but smile wider as he talked about it. At least it sounded like he had his plans and that they could possibly include me down the road. I wasn’t so naive to think that Owen being the first crush I had ever had that he would be my happily ever after but it does happen. At least, I would stop stressing so much about our social differences. It sounded like the life he had lived would have been very lonely if it hadn’t been for his Nonna. I felt it was her raising him that shaped how he feels about family and having one.“Aurora, my parents have high expectations of me. I do my best to try to honor them but I decided last year that I could onl
“I’m being careful. If he wants to play games, I can play. I do agree, though. I’m glad he is showing me this side of him now.”“So, you told me how you ended up with Phil in the first place but I didn’t think until afterwards to ask you where your dad is?” He must have saw me cringe because he quickly followed up with, “You don’t have to answer that. I was just wondering.”“No, it’s okay. It is bound to come up at some point so I might as well tell you everything. Then, you can decide right now if you want to run for the hills.”“Aurora, I will not run.”“Yeah, we’ll see.”I opened up and told him everything. From not knowing who my dad was to what led to my mother’s death and the call to Phil in the first place. Owen just listened, asking a question here and there but I never saw any judgment or looks of disgust on his face.“So, that’s me. Ready to run now?”He gave me a smile but this one was more subdued. The kind of smile you give to someone when you feel sorry for them.“No, I’m
“Sit back down! I am not finished talking to you!”My teeth rattled from the sudden impact of my butt being slammed onto the chair as Phil grabbed my arm and yanked me down. It took a few seconds for my brain to catch up to what happened but when it did, all thoughts of being diplomatic flew out the window as I jerked my arm away, shooting daggers at him. He hadn’t hurt me but the audacity would not be ignored.“What is your damn problem, Phil!? I was getting a bottle of water!”He slammed his hand down on the table and pointed his finger at me. “Don’t cuss me, Aurora! You will respect me in my own house!”“News flash! Respect is earned and right now, I am having a hard time respecting you! What is going on right now? You’re blowing up at me and I don’t have the first idea why?”“Why? You wanna know why? Maybe because the woman I am wanting is letting strange men bring her home!”“That wasn’t a strange man, Phil! That was a classmate.”“That wasn’t just a classmate, Aurora. That was O
I ran the water for Nate’s bath while he picked out the toys he wanted tonight, dropping them one by one in the water. I smiled as I looked around at all of the drawings on the ceramic surface of the tub and the tiled walls.I had bought him bath crayons and bath paints that he loved to use. He would use them to draw and play while I scrubbed his hair. I usually snapped a picture of his ‘gallery’ each week before I cleaned the tub and erased the surface, ready as his next canvas. Tonight, he was sinking boats, though. He blasted each ship with cannons, making the blast and shot sounds as dramatically as he could muster until all of his boats were ‘sunk’.I made him lean his head back to rinse the shampoo out of his hair. Once I had it rinsed out, I wiped his face with the washcloth I had just given him to keep the extra water out of his eyes. He handed it back to me and I dunked it in the water and added body wash and lathered it up and handed it to him as I helped him stand up. He qui
“Nate has that blank wall in his bedroom. What if we get one of those cork boards to hang up in there. I can hang his art work and schoolwork on it, create like a display that I change every couple weeks or something. What do you think about that?”“If that’s what you want.”“Yeah, it is. I would like that and I think he would, too. Can we get one ordered or possibly stop by the office supply store and see how much one would cost.”“We will stop and get one maybe sometime this weekend.”I clapped my hands together, playing up the excitement and my gratitude. “Thank you! What can I help you with?”“You have that package of ground beef in there. I didn’t know if you were planning tacos, burgers or what but I figured baked potatoes would go with either.”“I had planned taco salads so the baked potatoes will work well. That way we can use the cheese and sour cream for both.”As Phil left the sink area with the potatoes to prep them for the microwave, I stepped in and washed my hands. I ope
I wanted to look back, wave, something as Owen pulled out of the driveway and drove away but I didn’t dare. There was a dangerous, quiet rage radiating off of Phil. One I had never even knew he could possess. Until I could have that very important conversation with Phil, I had to be careful how I played this. With him coming home early, seemingly for no other reason than to see who I was with, this just went from playing a game of checkers to a game of chess.Phil knew my weakness. The little boy that he was currently hugging to his side. I remember asking him what happened if I didn’t want to start a relationship with him and he’d said that we would worry about that when and if the time came. When he said it, it never bothered me because I was still willing to give the feelings a chance to blossom and grow. Now, it worried me. The anxiety of the unknown and the differences I had now seen in Phil over the last day being the deciding factors.As I locked eyes with Phil, I planted the b