Chaotic (Imperfect Perfection) (13 page)

“Glad to hear, sweetie. Maybe you
and I can go to an appointment together and we can talk to the therapist about
your sessions as long as he thinks that’s all right. Have you heard from your
mother much?” That seemed to always be a sore subject with my dad. He had taken
the divorce pretty roughly and the two of them didn’t have much communication.
I think that’s one of the reasons it took so long for me to end up here.

“Once, but I think it was pretty
much to scold me more than anything.”

“For what?” He asked sharply. I
answered with a shrug of my shoulders because I really didn’t feel like
explaining to dad the reasoning behind my mother’s call. She only thought of
herself and that situation hadn’t been any different.

 “That’s just ridiculous, I’m sorry
Della. I just assumed she would have been there for you since that situation
was more of a woman’s expertise. I should have fought harder for you, but I
just thought you would better off with her since you were getting into your
teenage years. I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you, but that’s going to
change.”

“It’s okay, dad, really. I know you
were busy with the promotion and everything; it was a lot to handle. I’m sure I
would have just added to the stress.”

“That’s not an excuse, Della.
You’re my daughter, and now you’ve gone and grown up on me and I couldn’t be
prouder. You’ve really come a long way.”

We spent the rest of the early
morning fishing and catching up. As I suspected, Grams packed muffins, fresh
fruit, and extra thermoses’ of coffee for us. We pulled to the dock just as the
sun was centering over the lake and dad helped me out of the boat.

“There is one more thing. I know
your mother and I agreed that it would be best to take away your car and credit
cards, but I have a bargain for you. What do you say to handling half the
payments on a new car? It’s not as fancy as the one Gerald got for you, but
it’ll get you from point A to point B.” He tossed a set of keys at me, and my
mouth gaped open.

 “No way, really?” I let out a
squeal and stood on my tiptoes to wrap him in a tight hug. “I think I can
handle that. Thanks, dad.”

 Getting a car, no matter if it was
the junkiest thing on four wheels, seemed like I was getting a little chunk of
my freedom back. I was proud of myself for having come so far in such little
time and knowing that dad was too, made it all the better.

The semester seemed to be going by
in a blur. Between visiting with my dad, working, and school, time was whizzing
by. I think I had made it through a lot and now I was just enjoying life. The
highs and the lows.

“What is with you today?” Callie
snapped her fingers, pulling me out of my daze and I dropped the apple that I
had been holding for the past ten minutes.

“Sorry, late night,” I replied,
avoiding Zoey’s eyes that were looking at me suspiciously. This time it wasn’t
my past that haunted my dreams; instead it was two boys running through my
head. Nash had been steering clear of me lately, but dropping hints here and
there that he and Mariah were going to be over soon.

I really wasn’t sure how I felt
about that or him. I don’t know if I should feel guilty if he broke up with her,
and I didn’t want to jump into a relationship with him. I had tried to explain
to everyone that Justin and I weren’t seeing other people, but we weren’t
really official, and all that got me was some very strange looks.

Justin had described what was going
on between us perfectly. We were having fun. I loved going to work; he always
made it interesting. We had gone on a few more dates, always something
different, and we took turns picking. Nothing was ever really serious with Justin.

“Oh yeah, I was out partying all
night, Zoey, I’ll make sure to call you next time.” I rolled my eyes at her
pursed lips and picked up my fork to stab a piece of lettuce.

“Speaking of parties, there’s one
this weekend,” Callie said in a sing song voice. “We totally have to go
together. Drew invited me.” Her eyes went all gooey at mentioning her
boyfriend, basically the love of her life.

If soul mates existed, those two
were definitely each others. It was almost sickening, but it was cute, and I was
happy for her. “It’s at his frat house, which I know isn’t really your scene,
Zoey, but I figured a party would be fun. What do you two think?”

Without looking at each other, Zoey
and I simultaneously answered with a quick no, and Callie let out a groan. “Oh
come on, we’re in college. Why don’t you two actually act like it? We’re
supposed to be going to parties every night, coming to class hung over, and
talking about the epic time we had.” 

I snorted and dropped my fork. “Oh,
I’m sure we could have an epic time, Callie. I just don’t want to get into any
trouble and those kinds of parties almost always equal trouble. I’m sure Zoey
would be more than happy to go with you though.”

Zoey glared at me and gave Callie a
sharp shake of her head. “No way, I’m not going to a party at Drew’s. You’ll
ditch me as soon as we get there, and I’ll have to be beating all the gross,
pervy guys off with a stick.”

“Please, pretty please with
cherries on top. You wouldn’t want me to go alone, would you?” She was clearly
ignoring the very important fact that Zoey had pointed out. She would be there
with Drew, but I guess I saw her point. Callie stuck her bottom lip out into a
pout and looked between the both of us.

Zoey snorted and muttered something
about Callie being delusional, and I elbowed her in the side. “Fine, how ‘bout
this: We’ll all get ready at home and go over there together. Zoey and I will
stay for a little while and then leave you with Drew when we’re ready to go.
But just a little bit.”

“That sounds perfect,” Callie
squealed while clapping her hands together. “O-M-G, I can’t wait!”

I smiled at her enthusiasm even
though I definitely couldn’t muster much of that up right now. Zoey stiffened
next to me, letting out a groan, and I looked over her shoulder to see Nash
approaching our table. A groan that matched hers escaped my lips, and I turned
around, hoping he would just get the hint and go away.

“Hey, could I talk to you for a
sec?” I felt his large hand land on my shoulder, and it took everything in me
not to shiver at the tingles his simple touch extracted.

 Great, no such luck. I slowly
turned around, trying to avoid those big brown eyes. “I don’t think we have
anything to talk about, Nash.” I glanced towards his usual table and saw Mariah
glaring back at us. “And I don’t think your girlfriend appreciates you being
over here.”

“She’ll get over it,” he said with
a shrug of his shoulders and pulled on my hand. “It’ll just take a minute.” I
let him walk me out of the café with, of course, questioning looks from Zoey
and Callie. I was sure I would be getting grilled later on.

“What do you want, Nash?” I yanked
my hand away from his as soon as we were out in the hallway and leaned against
the wall.

“I just wanted to apologize.” He
ran a hand roughly through his short hair. “Every time we’re together, it’s
like my brain decides to shut off. It’s just…you seriously mess with my head,
Della. You always have, and you don’t even know how much.” I waited silently as
he paused, and I could see his strong jaw tic. “I’m breaking up with Mariah, I
just thought I should let you know.”

“Nash, if that’s really what you
want to do, then go for it. Please don’t let me effect your decision in any
way. I told you I was fine with just being friends, and I meant it. So if
you’re breaking up with Mariah just because of me, maybe you should rethink
things.”

He huffed out a breath, looking
over my shoulder at Mariah who was still glaring our way. She had to know
something was up. I was surprised she wasn’t over here demanding Nash not talk
to me.

 “Things between us have been tense
for awhile, so while this kind of has to do with you, I’m not saying it all
does. But Della, you need to realize that you coming back, shifted my
perspective on things. I’m not saying I’m ready or you’ll be ready to jump
right into a relationship, but I just thought you should know.” His brown eyes
turned soft as he reached out to squeeze my hand. “We’ll get together soon,
yeah?”

I answered with a nod of my head,
not even bothering to bring up Justin once again, and turned on my heel with a
heavy feeling of guilt on my chest when I met Mariah’s eyes that looked
defeated. She must have had some kind of clue of what was going on, but I had a
feeling she wouldn’t let Nash end things without some kind of fight. She was a
tough girl, I would give her that.

                                                                                  
*******

“Well, don’t you look as cute as a
button, Della.” I gulped thickly, but managed a small smile when I realized who
was seated at my newest table. Grams and Grandpa. I could feel my grandpa’s
scowl without even looking and I tried to tug on the short piece of material
that was basically covering my chest.

“Thanks, Grams, I can’t believe you
two are here. You should have told me you were coming.” So maybe I could have
called in sick or something. I swallowed over the lump in my throat. “Are you
two out having a date night?” I looked between her and Grandpa and smiled at
the love you could feel between the two of them even after all the years they
had been together.

“We sure are, your Grandpa had to
practically drag me out of the house, but after he informed me that we were
coming to visit you, I was more than happy to come along. Of course, we wanted
to see our favorite waitress.” I grinned as she clapped her hands together, and
I poised my pen to take their order.

“Della, you have an order up. Get
that sexy ass back here,” Justin’s voice called from the pass through window as
I was finished taking their order.

I’m sure my cheeks were a nice
bright shade of red as I turned around to scowl at him. He gave me a confused
look before shrugging his shoulders and heading back into the kitchen. I was
used to Justin by now, and it was sort of the way it just was between the two
of us. Grandpa, on the other hand, was scowling at the window Justin had just
occupied. I turned to grab my order, hoping to get out of this awkward
situation, but Grandpa placed a hand on my elbow.

“Della, is that boy giving you
trouble? Because that is sexual harassment. Maybe I should have a talk with
your manager. I all ready don’t approve of the uniform they require here. What
kind of establishment is this?” He crossed his arms tightly over his chest and
glared at Grams and I.

“Its fine Grandpa, trust me. That’s
just Justin. He’s my…well we’re sort of...,” I squirmed in my spot, avoiding
his eyes. Grams gave me a reassuring smile; at least I always had her on my
side. “dating,” I finished quietly.

“Sort of dating, Della? What does
that even mean? And with the likes of
him
? Maybe you haven’t progressed
as much as we thought. I knew you should have been living with us so we could
keep a better eye on you. In fact-”

“Now, Harold,” Grams interrupted
calmly. “I’m sure if Della is seeing this boy, then he’s perfectly nice. Della’s
mature enough to choose who she dates.” I did a silent cheer in my head for at
least having Grams on my side. I knew she was always my favorite. “But I think
we should meet this boy, if that’s all right with you.” Wait, what? Never mind
Grams, you’re no longer my favorite.

I bit my tongue before I could
argue the fact that I was a big girl and could make my own dating decisions,
with or without their approval. But I swallowed over the nerves in my stomach
and decided just to give in. No reason to ruin their night by arguing.

“Okay, I’ll see if he’s not too
busy, and maybe he can come out to meet you guys. I’m going to go put your
order in, and it should be right up.”

I walked away and put in the order,
reluctantly turning towards the kitchen once I was done. It wasn’t that I was
ashamed that I was dating Justin or whatever we were doing. Grandpa was just
stuck in his ways and would think he was trouble with his tattoos and
piercings. I mean, he tended to be a little trouble, but all in all, he was fun
to be around and a nice guy when he wanted to be.

“What’s going on, princess? Caught
up on your work, so we can have a little quickie in the storage room?” He threw
down his towel and began removing his apron quickly.

The other guys laughed loudly as
Justin gripped my hips, pushing me towards the back. “Very funny,” I replied,
pushing on his chest. I knew he was just teasing, mostly anyway. We hadn’t made
it much past the heavy make out sessions, and I think I was actually a little
afraid to go any further.

“Nope, sorry, not tonight. I was
hoping you would come out front with me for a sec. I have someone I need you to
meet, two someones actually.”

“Anything for you,” he followed
closely behind me, and I swatted at his hand that was guiding me forward by
pushing my ass along. “Please don’t be a jackass.”

I stopped at the table, and Grams
and Grandpa immediately looked up at the two of us. Grams eyes lit up when she
saw Justin up close. It was hard not to feel that way when you saw him for the
first time. Past the tattoos and piercings, Justin was really beautiful.

His messy brown hair, that was so
dark it was almost black, was pushed back, revealing his sculpted cheekbones
and the two dimples that rested in each of them. Even his nose was perfect in
the way that it was just the right size for his face and had a tiny little bump
right at the bridge. He was clean shaven tonight, but I loved when he had just
a little stubble running over his face.

“Justin, these are my grandparents.
They wanted to meet you. I told them we were…dating.” He cleared his throat,
standing up straighter and stuck his hand out to Grandpa. “Nice to meet you,
sir. Della talks about the two of you all the time.”