Part of the Plan (Book 2 in the 'part of' series)

Chapter 12 phone calls and stress

Chapter 12 Phone Calls and Stress

"Aiden are you alright? Dad's off his rocker with anger and he keeps mumbling stuff. What happened?" I had to be quick. I wanted to be calm and collected but as soon as I heard his voice the questions just spewed out of my mouth. I flinched slightly at my own voice, It did not sound as though I was clueless to anything which had happened like I hoped it would be.

"I don't know why he would be angry or anything. Other than what you already know." He sounded like he was being honest. Aiden was an awful liar. I could tell that he was being careful how he worded things. "Other than the fact that I had a break-in last night." My eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

I was silent for a few moments due to my shock before I exclaimed."What?!" I stopped for a few moments as I waited to see if father was still raging, he was."What happened? Where are you? Why didn't you come and see us?" I started to fret as I fired questions. I had to admit that I was a little hurt by the fact that I was just finding out about this. It must have been well over eight hours ago. It was a very serious situation, I felt like I should have been informed.

"Harlow, calm down."Somehow his words got me even more worked up. How could he expect me to calm down after telling me something like that?"I'm alright, i'm with

some friends who came over to see if I was alright. They got worried and came to see me." There was a lot wrong with that sentence. I didn't know that Aiden had close friends. I also wasn't sure why they would know something is wrong. He phoned them instead of us. I had to bury the jealousy in the pit of my stomach.

"Some friends? You have friends who you're actually comfortable going to?" There was a moment of silence, I hoped that he didn't notice the bitterness mixed in with the teasing."I'm not knocking it, it's just odd for you." He may have been the more popular one. Though he never really had a best friend of sorts.For example, I had Emi who I feel very comfortable with, I would have a sleepover with her and not worry about anything bigger than a simple prank. Aiden had told me he had never really had a sleepover because he didn't feel comfortable with anyone.

"I know it is. I told you that I'd made some friends last time I visited."I could hear that he was a little nervous. Thinking back to the conversation, I do remember that he had made some friends. He didn't tell me much about them or where they lived though. I didn't even know their names."I don't know what's happening. I'm sure father won't do too much harm. I know he's angry about my views but he can't really change it. He's just out for the money." I scoffed lightly and rolled my eyes.

"Yes, but he-" I wanted to tell him that he had a point, he wouldn't do anything rash but his behaviour was starting to scare me. I was interrupted by the sound of smashing downstairs. I jumped and looked out the gap in my door. "Look I have to go, I'll talk to you later." I quickly hung up and moved so that I was hanging over the bannister, trying to get a look at what was going on.

I sneaked down the stairs in hopes that father wouldn't be able to hear me. He had moved into the living room so I didn't really have to crouch. I could go closer to the door and eavesdrop on the conversation. "I can't believe they did this." I heard my father seething. His voice was a lot quieter now.

"What happened?" I heard my mother say calmly. Honestly I thought that my mother was an angel sent from heaven. I didn't know how she could put up with his anger. I guess that they'd gotten closer and used to each other over the years that they had been together.

"It's nothing." My father snapped lightly. "My boss just told me something, he did something I don't agree with." I could hear the springs on the settee as he sat down. "It was a very important decision and he didn't ask for any advice or permission." He wasn't admitting something. He was quiet, he wouldn't word things like this.

"Dear, he's your boss. I'm assuming he's not the kind of person to ask that of his employees." Her tone was caring and considerate. She didn't tell him that he was being silly or that he didn't need to be consulted by his boss. My father grumbled a few times and slouched further into his seat. He took a drink and then rubbed his eyes.

"I know. He isn't." He spoke shortly. His nerves were being pulled and threatening to snap. His anger did not show the most in shouting, he hadn't lost it quite yet. "It's frustrating. I really don't like this boss." That was something unusual. He usually sang their praises. My eyebrows furrowed as I stepped back a little bit. Emi's father also worked for them, she didn't say anything about the boss being mean or unfair. She even went on to talk about the events we could go to together, surely she had met them.

"Well if it's affecting you so badly you could always-" Mam started to say but I had left before I could hear what she was going to suggest. I looked around the passage, not knowing what I was going to do, before I headed back upstairs slowly and flopped on my bed. I had work which I could probably do but I didn't feel up to it.

I have to ask Emi about the boss tomorrow. It was nearly the end of the school week so I had to do it soon. I rolled over onto my back and looked at the ceiling, searching for answers in the paint which was chipping off. I was aware of where I stood in the situation and I was going to stand my ground, no matter what.