Chapter:16
Fucking prick.
"I'm sorry sweetie, I really am. If it means anything though, Dad and I are really proud of you for overcoming the hurdles. You could have handled this all a lot worse and we think you're doing great. It will all be over before you know it. You'll move on and forget it ever happened."
I shook my head, appeasing her, knowing that my eighteenth birthday was over a year and a half away. Forced abstinence was a living hell and seemed like an eternity to me.
"Thanks, mom."
I swam laps, aggressively parting the warm water as if it were as thick as oil, heaving all of my frustrations - general and sexual- into the strokes. Afterward, I showered, read another chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird and finished my geometry homework.
It was almost nine thirty, and knowing I had a few minutes to kill, I swept a dust cloth over my dresser top before running the vacuum over my bedroom carpet almost ritualistically. Once the machine was neatly tucked away, I grabbed a cigarette and stepped out onto the wooden deck into the misty night.
The overhang kept me dry while I flicked the motion sensor light off, walking around the corner to where I could see Bella's lit window. She had it cracked open halfway, the night breeze blowing her thin curtains around in a delicate swirl.
Leaning against the house, I lit the cigarette, sighing in disgust for myself and my disgraceful actions which, as deplorable as they were, I had absolutely no intention of discontinuing. I waited.
For a while there was no visible movement. "Where are you, beautiful?" I sunk to the floor of the deck, shimming all the way over where I could see inside her room better. I thought briefly about buying a pair of binoculars at Newton's, but that would be taking it a tad too far. I was a sex starved hormonal kid, not a psycho.
I could see the glow of her computer screen flicker off as she stood and walked to the closet. Her shirt lifted up and she stood there in her beige bra looking almost naked in the distance. After several outfit changes, she admired herself in the long mirror after choosing what I assumed to be the winning outfit for the next school day.
"Come on…take it off for me, please?' I whined. Finally, her bra unclasped and to my delight and surprise, she turned to the window. Bella gazed out for a moment or two, while I instinctively shrunk back against the wall. I knew she wouldn't be able to see me in the darkness, but still, I felt the need to hide in the shadows.
Once she disappeared, a minute or so passed and then the room went dark. I retreated to my bed, perversely easing away the frustration of my day, my unfortunate situation, my whole sad life.
Did you ever see a light inside your mind?
Did you ever stop to look what it makes you blind?
You should feel the love from my skin to my bones, it's a feeling that's making me high...
There is something and it makes me smile, I think I like you.
There is something burning in my mind, yeah, I think I like you.
~Blackbox Revelation- I Think I Like You~
~ Bella ~
In the morning, I woke with a happy grin. I slipped on a pale blue baby doll dress, leggings and ballet flats with a sweater. I poured a mug of coffee and sat at the kitchen table next to Charlie. He was immersed in the meticulous cleaning of a telescopic camera lens. A scary pair of heavy black binoculars sat next to him, and I picked them up, walking over to the front window. I could see clear into Alice's kitchen, what she was eating, even the tiny words on her cereal box. Turning to the right, I couldn't make out much of my neighbor's house through the thick trees and the drizzle, except the driveway where a gray BMW and a white Jaguar sat parked.
"Whoa, you could do some serious stalking with this, Dad."
"I am a PI, honey, that's what they are for. With serious stalking comes a serious price. You break 'em, you buy 'em," he chided, sipping his coffee. I placed the binoculars back on the table carefully, and sat, opening the wrapper of a strawberry Pop Tart.
"Hey, how's your mom's store doing?" My father intentionally avoided all indirect talk of my mother. He would ask how her car was, what job she was currently working, what crazy new piece of artwork she had created, but never a direct inquisition on how she was. I suppose he had too much pride for that.
"It's good. Really good, actually. You'd be surprised at what a savvy business owner she is. She runs a tight ship over there, and last I spoke with her she had plans on opening a second store. And from a financial standpoint, it's doing well. She dyed her hair back to brown too," I added, just in case deep down he was wondering. "She thinks we look like twins."
He grunted, sliding the lens back into its leather case, clearly amused by the latter statement. "Hey, I'm leaving for Seattle tonight for a few days, but I was thinking we'd go out to dinner Sunday, for a belated birthday celebration. What do you say?"
He had already sent a birthday card to California two weeks ago with a really great beaded bookmark and a gift certificate to a big chain bookstore. I was actually itching to get into Port Angeles to pick up some more books, because I couldn't realistically pack everything I had.
"Oh, that would be cool, I guess. Will Maggie be coming too?" I asked tentatively, feeling him out. He looked directly at me, obviously confused.
"You want…Maggie to join us?" he asked incredulously, surprised at the mention of her name.
"Why not, Dad?" I said. "Don't you think it was about time I met the woman you're spending all your weekends with?" I smirked, raising my eyebrows at him.
"Well, I wasn't sure if… "
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