He looked at me, clear frustration in his eyes, before picking up the phone and holding it to his ear. I watched him listen to whoever was on the line, just as his face darkened.
“Okay,” he said, hanging up the phone.
“You have to go,” I said, already knowing the answer.
He nodded.
I pushed up to a sitting position.
“You can just stay here,” he said.
I thought about it, but there was something about staying here when Elio wasn’t here that just…
I shook my head. “No, can you drive me home?”
I avoided his eyes. I wasn’t mad, really. I was just feeling vulnerable, and I needed Elio with me, and that wasn’t happening.
He didn’t say anything right away. When he did speak, his voice was filled with regret that I didn’t want to think about too much. “I’ll take you home.”
21
ISA
I walkedthrough the dark and empty house.
I didn’t know where Dad went off to. I was just thankful he was still out. Probably playing poker with his buddies and complaining about how he couldn’t find a husband for me because of Valentino and blah, blah,blah.
My heart felt heavy, and I didn’t know what to make of it.
I didn’t want to be in this house anymore. I didn’t want to have Elio drop me off by the tree out of view from all the windows.
I didn’t want to see my father anymore.
Perhaps I should have done what I wanted and stayed at Elio’s house. But it hadn’t felt right to be there, knowing he wasn’t.
So I had him drive me home, and now, I just felt like I was being drowned from the inside out, and there was no help in sight.
I walked up to my room, and it was dark.
Everything was how I had left it, which was why I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone until I flipped on the light and turned around. I let out a scream as my heart went into overdrive, as mymind tried to process the huge figure sitting on my recliner sofa near my window.
“Tino? What the hell are you doing, sitting in my room in the dark? Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack.”
He looked up and met my eyes, his expression grave. I shifted nervously on my feet when he didn't answer me, not knowing what the look on his face meant.
“Tino?”
He leaned back against the recliner and looked out the window. “I think the question should be, where were you?”
“What?” My heart picked up speed once more, but this time for a completely different reason.
“Where did you go? Who were you with?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I’m tired. Can we talk about this next time?”
Like never.
“No, we can’t talk about this next time. Do you know what time it is?” he asked. I looked over at the clock sitting on my dresser. Past midnight. Where had the time gone?
