Something vibrated on the hard surface beside me.
I groaned, my eyelids heavy. Through thin slit eyes, I took a peek at the alarm clock. 7:15. Way too early for any type of meaningful conversation. I shut my eyes, flopping onto my stomach, but my phone vibrated again.
"Seriously?" I muttered, s.n.a.t.c.hing up my cellphone from the nightstand. The name Wild Child appeared on the screen, and I shook my head, answering groggily. "Mariah you better have a d.a.m.n good reason for calling me this early."
"Oh, I do!" Her tone was chipper and confident. "Guess what I"m doing?"
I sat up, raking my fingers through my hair and asking "What?" with a sigh.
"I"m riding with Tiny to Bristle Wave."
My eyes popped open, all tiredness subsiding. "Bristle Wave?" I asked. "What? Why?"
"Well, s.h.i.t, Chloe, all you ever did was brag about it. I looked into it some more and liked what I saw. Even got my dad to rent us a boat." She was so full of herself, like she"d had everything going according to plan. Only, she didn"t. I was there to watch over my dad. The fun had to wait.
"Mariah, I told you I can"t leave from home much this summer."
"Oh, come on. It"s just one night! We have nothing else better to do right now so why not have a few drinks on the boat. I heard there was a club there that everyone loves. Good drinks, good music. Know the name?"
"Brix," I sighed. I knew all about Brix. It was the club all the college students hung out at when school was over and they were back at home. It was a way to get through the night in BW, drown in cheap drinks, and dance the night away. Izzy and I went once, and I hated it. There were a lot of older guys that reminded me of wolves hunting innocent sheep, half-dressed waitresses, and boys that refused to leave you alone until you gave them a dance. "You sure you wanna go there? There are way better clubs in L.A."
"I thought about that, but you should be as close to home as possible, C. Come on I"m not that self-absorbent."
"Yeah," I laughed at that statement. Mariah was one of the most inconsiderate people I knew. She only cared about herself, never thought about how someone else would feel if she took the wrong action.
"Anyway, we have a hotel so you don"t have to worry about us popping up, but I would love it if you came out with me tonight. It"ll be fun, I swear. And the first two rounds of drinks are on me."
I blew out a breath, my bangs flapping with the puff of air. "I will let you know. It really depends on how my dad acts today..." And if Theo decides he wants to hang out.
"Ugh." She smacked her teeth. "Fine. Just let me know. Talk later!" She hung up, and I dropped my phone, staring at the sky-blue wall across from me. I sat there for a moment, realizing I had no plans for the day. I had planned to spend it out on the deck in front of the pool, catching up on a steamy novel by Maya Banks.
"Mr. Knight you have to get in the shower!" Margie"s voice cut through the silence.
"No!"
"Please, Mr. Knight!" she hollered. "It"s been three days."
I frowned towards the doorway and hopped out of bed, rushing to his bedroom. He was standing in the bathroom, Margie blocking the doorway so he couldn"t escape. He tried pushing past her, but she was a strong little woman, holding her ground.
"What"s going on?" I asked her.
"I heard him through the monitor and came to check on him. He"s kinda smelly so I told him he needed a shower. At first he agreed, but now he"s putting up a fight. It"s been three days, Chloe. You would think the man would want to shower."
"Three days, Dad? Seriously?" I stepped behind Margie, looking over her shoulder at him. He was now sitting on the edge of the tub, the shower running in the far corner. "You"re wasting water." I maneuvered under Margie"s arm, going towards him. When I was directly in front of him, I lowered to a squat.
"You"re still here little girl? Stop calling me your dad. I"m not your dad."
"Yes you are." I remained patient. His words didn"t hurt as much. I knew he didn"t mean them. "I"m your daughter, Chloe. I am twenty-two years old. I am your only child, and you smell absolutely horrible right now."
He fought a smile, folding his arms and looking away. The amus.e.m.e.nt was faint on his face. He wanted to laugh. I could see it in his eyes. Dad was still in there somewhere. "I do not," he mumbled.
"Yes, very badly. I think it"s best if you listen to Margie and jump in the shower. Wash your man parts. We won"t look. We promise."
His head turned, eyes meeting mine. I put a genuine smile on, but he only stared at me. "Fine," he grumbled, uncrossing his arms. "But you two have to get the h.e.l.l out. I need privacy."
"Do you know which is the soap and which is the shampoo?" Margie asked, removing her guard.
"Yes. I can read!" he snipped.
I stood, going towards Margie and bobbing my head, gesturing for her to give him some s.p.a.ce. "I"ll stay in the room," I told her. I shut the bathroom door behind me, and she sighed. She still had on a lavender nightgown, half of her hair still in rollers. She looked exhausted. "You should go catch a few more hours of sleep. I think I can take over for a while."
"Oh my goodness," she sighed. "Are you sure? This is my job-it"s what I get paid for-"
"I know," I said, interrupting her. "But everyone deserves a little break here and there." I shrugged. "I can handle it."
She capped my shoulders with her hands, her gratefulness on full display. "You are a lifesaver." Releasing my shoulders, she turned for the door and said, "Let me know when you need me. I swear I"ll only sleep for one hour."
I waved a hand. "Don"t worry about it, Margie. It"s all good."
She gave me one more thankful smile and then walked out of the bedroom. I heard her door shut behind her and when it did, I looked at the TV. He was watching the news today. Walking towards the bathroom door, I knocked softly. "Dad, you okay?"
"Fine."
"Let me know when you need me."
"I won"t."
I laughed, twisting on my heels and then climbing on top of his bed. Crossing my legs Indian-style, I grabbed his remote and flipped through the channels. I ended up on the cooking channel and immediately thought of Theo. Just the mere thought of him made my belly thrash with tiny b.u.t.terflies. There was a swarm of them, fluttering around, proving just how much I, indeed, cared for him.
Just let it be. Just let it be? I was still unsure. I mean, it would have been wrong to never tell my best friend, but then again, some things just... happened.
The right thing to do would have been to inform her, but I loved her too much to create such drama in her life. I cared for her, and she was still a little unstable about her mother pa.s.sing away. Knowing that her father had slept with me only six weeks after her death would cause all h.e.l.l to break loose.
But I liked Theo... a lot.
And I also loved Izzy. She was like a sister to me. I could talk to her about any and everything-everything but this anyway. Maybe it was best to make the sacrifice, forget about Theo and avoid him so I could keep my friendship with her on the right track.
I sighed, and seconds later, Dad walked out of the bathroom with a blue, cotton robe on. He glanced my way uncomfortably, walking to his closet. "How"d it go in there?" I asked, fighting a laugh.
He grumbled something beneath his breath, cracking the closet door behind him. Almost ten minutes later, he walked back out. I expected comfortable clothes, but instead he had on a pair of khaki shorts with an argyle shirt that matched his socks. His leather shoes were tied tight, and in his hand was a navy-blue flat cap.
"Dad..." I climbed off the bed, brows furrowed. "What"s happening here?" I pointed between us, doing a small, sarcastic spin action with my finger.
"I want to go golfing today." He walked towards the window and looked out, observing the neighborhood. "It"s a nice day."
"How are you feeling?"
He shrugged. "Not too forgetful. Still have my good swing."
"Did you take your meds?"
"Yeah," he huffed. "Nurse practically shoved them down my throat."
"Oh." I placed a hand on my hip. "Well, okay. But I"m going to drive you. Margie told me the doctor said you couldn"t get behind the wheel."
"Man," he frowned, head shaking, "that woman tells you everything, huh?"
"That"s a good thing. The keys are hidden, so don"t go trying to look for them."
"Women," he mumbled as I trotted out of the door.
I laughed, walking down the hallway and entering my bedroom. I took a five-minute shower and then got dressed in a pair of shorts and a blue polo and gathered all my hair into a low ponytail. Placing the black baseball cap over my head, I s.n.a.t.c.hed up my keys, my cellphone, and my wallet, and then walked back to Dad"s room. I was surprised he was still in there. I guess he really was feeling himself today. Good.
"Ready?"
He looked up, standing. "Was ready almost thirty minutes ago, baby girl."
Yep. This was Dad. The one that called me "baby girl". The one that actually knew who I was. I smiled as I followed him down the staircase, and after we ate a light breakfast-yogurt, walnuts, and bananas-we were in the car, on our way to the golf club.
While Dad golfed and I was practically his caddy, slugging heavy clubs around the green fields, I"d received a few text messages from Izzy.
Izzy: I"m bored.
Izzy: Chloe?
Izzy: Is papa Knight ok?
Izzy: CHLOEEEE!!!!
I sighed before responding. Such an impatient being she was.
Me: Papa Knight is fine. At Bayroots with him now.
Izzy: The golf club?
Me: Yep.
Izzy: I feel so bad for you right now.
Tell me about it.
I looked up, watching as Dad steadied the club in his hand, the golf ball ready to be struck. He drew back twice, steadied his hand again, and then jerked back once more before completing his swing. The metal club hit the ball with a loud thwack, and we both watched it soar, landing on a patch of gra.s.s only a few yards away from the planted flag.
Someone let out a deep whistle from a few feet away, and when I turned to look, I was unfortunate to see Riley, my ex from high school, and his obnoxious dad. Oh, G.o.d.
"You have one h.e.l.l of an arm on you!" Mr. Hunt yelled to my dad, walking in his direction. Of course, that left Riley to come my way as Mr. Hunt continued talking, leaving me stuck in an awkward situation. I couldn"t leave because Dad needed me, but on the other hand, if I had left, it would have spared me from Riley"s ignorance.
"Well, d.a.m.n," Riley said, eyes running up and down my legs. "You still have those softball player legs on you." I thinned my eyes, picking up the bag of clubs and following after Dad and Mr. Hunt. Riley caught up to me, a smirk on his lips. "It"s been so long, huh, Chloe? You go to USC, right?"
"Yep."
"s.h.i.t, you know we trashed them during the championships. f.u.c.king murdered their a.s.ses."
"Good for you," I sarcastically noted.
"So what"s up?" he asked, running his fingers through his thick bed of curly reddish-brown hair. He"d grown it out, and he had developed more acne too. Weird. I always thought acne was supposed to disappear the older you got, not worsen.
"What do you mean?"
"What are you in town for? USC"s only like a few minutes away right."
"An hour and a half actually." I tried not to roll my eyes. "And I came for my dad."
"Yeah, figured it was something. I remember you saying you would never come back once you left."
"Yeah, well..." I shrugged, dropping the bag as Dad came to a halt. "s.h.i.t happens. Sometimes you need to surround yourself around family."
He scoffed. "Bulls.h.i.t. Only reason I"m here is "cause my uncle Joe died. Funeral was yesterday."
"Oh." I pressed my lips, turning the screen of my phone back one.
Me: OMG. You won"t believe who just showed up.
Izzy: Who?!?
Me: Riley Hunt.
Izzy: Ew. Wtf? I thought you were going to say someone hot.
Me: He won"t stop staring at my legs.
I looked up, and his eyes were focused on my thighs, yet again. Normally, it was the b.u.t.t or the b.o.o.bs, but since I had neither on full display, it was the legs. Ugh, he was so f.u.c.king weird.
"You know I"m in town until tomorrow afternoon. We should hang out tonight or something."
"What makes you think I want to do that?"
"I don"t know. You"re obviously bored as f.u.c.k if you"re hanging around Bayroots and watching your dad play golf." He laughed hard, proud of his inside joke.
This time, I didn"t prevent my eye roll. He was a complete jacka.s.s. I turned my back to him and looked towards my dad again. He was still watching Mr. Hunt talk. He seemed a little confused.
"Know what I mean?" Riley asked, moving forward and licking his lips. "Have fun together... alone. Just like old times."
Ew. I cringed and moved away, feeling bile building up in the back of my throat. Dad turned to look at me, and I took advantage of the opportunity, walking ahead with the clubs and getting far away from my really unappealing ex-boyfriend.
"Everything okay?" I asked.