Anything Goes on a Friday Night (6 page)

I scrunched my nose. I didn’t want Nancy taking me anywhere. I didn’t know her and was slightly creeped out that my dad was even staying with her. I turned to leave the tiny kitchen but stopped when I saw a short, curvy woman with wet, dark hair standing at the coffee pot with her back to me. I hadn’t even heard her come in.

She looked over her shoulder before I could sneak out. “You must be Elena. I’m Nancy. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you and your brother!”

I blinked a few times without responding.

“Oh, honey, you don’t have to say anything. I was just saying it was nice to meet the famous Elena.”

I smiled a little. “Oh.”

“So, I see that you read the note from your dad. If you’re not up for it, we can just stay here. It’s up to you.” She held her coffee cup with both hands as she took a sip.

Maybe getting out would be good. Nancy seemed nice enough. But most of all, I needed clothes and other things. “Sure. We can go.”

She smiled. “Good. Go get cleaned up, and we’ll leave in an hour. Sound good?”

I nodded and went to the bathroom to get ready. After my shower, I had to put on the clothes I’d worn yesterday, because that’s all I’d come with. It was a painful reminder of what yesterday did to me. Friday nights were supposed to be fun, but all they were becoming were nightmares.

I came out into the living room, pulling my hair into a wet ponytail, to find Nancy folding the blanket on the couch. I didn’t know what to say, so I just stood there waiting for her to finish. She smiled when she saw me.

“I…I, umm, didn’t have anything else to wear,” I admitted sadly.

“No worries, Elena. Your dad told me what happened, and I’m going to take you shopping for the things you need. I made you a bagel, and there’s bottled water in the fridge. You don’t mind eating on the way to the mall, do you?”

I shook my head and smiled. “Not at all. Thank you.” I went to the kitchen and found the bagel with cream cheese spread. I grabbed it and a water from the fridge.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

I HAD TO ADMIT.
The day had been fun. I had things to wear and all of the toiletries and cosmetics I needed. Nancy was nice. Like
really
nice. I could see why Dad was friends with her. I looked at my freshly manicured nails and laughed. It was the first time in my entire life that I had done anything except bite my nails. Nancy was a pro at being girly.

“Your dad wants us to swing by his office for pizza. Are you okay with that?”

“Of course.” And I really was. I was eager to fix my relationship with Dad and to hear his side of the story, if he felt comfortable telling me. After seeing how Mom was treating me, I wondered what pushed Dad to leave her. Maybe there was more to their perfect love story. Maybe it wasn’t so perfect after all. I wondered how much they had kept hidden from me and my brother.

When we got to my dad’s work, I followed Nancy in, carrying the large pepperoni pizza. I tried not to cringe when Dad hugged Nancy, but it was weird. They were friends.
Friends do that. Right?
I set the pizza down on Dad’s desk, trying hard not to feel out of place, and sat down in his swivel chair while Nancy answered his questions about our day.

I was starving, so I helped myself to a piece of pizza and listened to them talk. When they were done, he smiled at me.

“You had fun?”

“I did. It was a lot of fun. Thanks for buying me things, Dad. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course, Sweetie. Anything for you.” He bent down to kiss the top of my head and then looked at Nancy. “Hey, can I talk to you for a second in the hall?”

“Sure,” she answered, grabbed a piece of pizza from the box, and followed Dad out.

I moved the chair back and forth, looking at my texts from Channing, wondering how to tell him what had happened last night. He was freaking out, and this would only make him freak out more.

I was just about to text him when I caught a glimpse of a small blue box peeking from Dad’s suit jacket hanging over his small leather couch. I looked toward the hall and could hear them talking, and there were no signs of their conversation being over anytime soon. I stood and walked over to the couch. I reached to get the box but pulled back.

What am I doing?

You’re being stupid. Walk away.

I bit my bottom lip as I reached for it again.

What if it was…no. No way! He wouldn’t. Or would he?

I looked over my shoulder and then reached into his pocket, putting my fingers around the box. I opened it quickly.

An engagement ring?

Why don’t you just rip out my heart and stomp all over it, Dad?

I turned when I heard footsteps enter the office. Caught red-handed. I stood there looking from the ring to Dad and Nancy.

Nancy’s eyes widened at the sight of the rock, and she looked at Dad.

“Steve?”

Dad stood there staring at me with a blank stare.

Say something, dammit!

“Elena, I—”

“You what? When did you plan on telling me? What a dick move, Dad!”

“You don’t understand,” he said, flustered.

“Don’t understand? How in the hell am I supposed to understand this? This is so selfish of you!”

“Elena, please calm down. I was going to tell you when I felt the timing was right. You weren’t supposed to see that! Neither of you were! Not yet!”

A grin spread across Nancy’s face, and I wanted to throat-punch her. I set the ring on the couch and ran out of the room. I didn’t have the strength to put up a fight. I didn’t know how to respond.

It was apparent that Dad had cheated on Mom. He fell in love with another woman. I could blame his job for keeping him away all the time, but that would be a cop-out. I blamed him. Mom literally lost it, and he was entertaining another woman. Twenty years of marriage down the damn drain.

I had to find somewhere to go. I needed to leave. I was sure I could stay with Channing or Katie, but they were so happy that I was finally coming around that I didn’t want to depress them by showing them I was now worse off than I had started. I wished I had my car, so I could at least go for a drive and clear my head.

I ran outside, and Dad followed after me.

“Elena!”

I closed my eyes and kept my back to him. “Let me leave. I need to be anywhere but around you and
her
right now.”

“Where are you going?”

“A friend’s. Just please, Dad. Let me leave.”

I heard his footsteps depart, and then a door shut. I looked over my shoulder and saw that he had gone inside. I stared blankly at my phone and tried to make sense of everything but couldn’t. Who did this kind of shit to their kids? I was startled when my phone started ringing. Channing’s picture flashed across my screen. It was like he read my mind.

I accepted the call but remained silent, waiting for him to say something.

“Ellie?”

“Hey.” My voice came out strained.

“What’s going on? No one has heard from you!”

“Mom kicked me out,” I put my back against the brick wall and closed my eyes. “I’m at my dad’s office,” I scoffed.

“Wait, what?”

I laughed coldly. “Long story short, things are really stupid right now.”

“But are you okay?”

“Define okay.”

“So, you’re not?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, Channing! I don’t know anything anymore!”

“I’m so confused right now.”

“You are? Think about me! My whole world is falling apart! I feel so out of control! I’m trying to be strong for you, Katie, and the rest of our friends. I know you guys want to see me happy, but I’m struggling, Channing.” The tears finally started.

“Elena, you need to calm down. I’ll come get you.”

“No! I don’t want you to keep seeing me upset! This isn’t the girl you fell in love with. I’m a basket case, and it’s not fair to you.” I was bawling uncontrollably.

“You’re talking bullshit! Of course I want to be there for you. I want to fix this for you, and it’s killing me that I can’t! Please, tell me where you are, and I’ll come pick you up.”

“Really?” I sniffed.

“Duh! Where are you?”

I gave him the address to my dad’s office, and he said he was headed this way. I didn’t feel like I owed it to Dad to tell him where I was going, but I did anyway. If I hadn’t, he would have had every cop in Texas hunting me down.

Me: Dad, I’m going out with Channing. I’ll be back later.

Dad: Be safe. And please don’t hate me.

I waited, sitting on the front steps of my dad’s office for Channing to arrive. My mind was spiraling with emotions, and I had no idea how to process anything that was going on. I was so confused and hurt. I looked at my phone while I waited, scrolling through my contacts. I wanted to call my brother, but would he even answer? Kyle was busy with more important things than his little sister’s problems. I was sure that by now he knew, and if it bothered him or if he thought about me, he would’ve called already. I let out a heavy sigh and scrolled past his name. I was just about to dial Grandpa’s number when I heard the roar of Channing’s truck. I jumped to my feet, put my phone in my pocket, and took off toward him.

I got in, scooted to the middle, and sighed contentedly when his arm made its way protectively around my shoulders. He held me in a sideways hug and kissed my cheek. I felt safe with him. I trusted him more than anyone right now, and even though my home life was in shambles, he gave me stability.

I sat back, so I could look at him. “Thank you, Channing. Seriously, thank you so much for coming to my rescue. I don’t even know what to think anymore. Things are so crazy, and I’m so sorry that—”

He chuckled and put his finger to my lips. “Shhh, Ellie. I’m here, and there’s no place I’d rather be. You don’t have to thank me or apologize.”

I smiled at Channing and then looked to my right. I saw Dad and Nancy talking through the window. “He doesn’t even care, Channing. Mom either. Right now it’s all about themselves, no matter who they affect. Not even their daughter.”

“What does Kyle say about all of this?” Channing put the truck in drive and headed down the vacant street. Kerrville was smaller than Fredericksburg, so by 8:00 everything was closed.

I scoffed. “Kyle hasn’t spoken to me since he moved out over a year ago. I guess he doesn’t care, or if he does, he sure as hell hasn’t said anything.”

Channing laced his fingers with mine and gave my hand a squeeze. “I miss you being happy, Ellie. But I want you to know that I get it. I understand and am here for you when you need me.”

I looked at him and squeezed his hand back. “I know, and you have no idea how much I appreciate that. I’m trying really hard not to be dramatic and depressed all the time, but I don’t know how to deal with this. Everything has been without warning, and it would’ve just been nice to at least have signs. Fighting, Dad talking about another woman, something.”

“Yeah, it’s so strange. Your parents always seemed so happy.”

“Channing?”

“Yeah?”

I wiped my eyes. “My mom kicked me out of the house. We had a fight, several fights, and she left me a note. I couldn’t even go in to get my stuff. I have to move in with my dad, and I don’t know what to do. Now Dad is probably marrying this Nancy chick, and everything is so… So screwed up. I just can’t handle my life. I have no idea what else I can take. It’s too much, and I feel like I can’t breathe.”

We drove around town for a while, him just listening to me ramble on about all of the bullshit and letting me cry on his shoulder.
God, I loved him.
I was sipping on my Route 44 Coke from Sonic when Channing parked at the old ball field by our favorite park. He took a drink of his Coke, set it in the cup holder, and then looked at me.

“So, what happens now?”

“What do you mean?”