Don't Talk To Daddy

Chapter Seven

Sitting in a small diner, I anxiously tapped my fingers on the table. I was still on edge from what had happened. I couldn't eat, my stomach was still twisting as ideas of what could've happened flew through my mind. I was shaking a little, but I was trying not to gain suspicious glances from others in the diner. Harmony, surprisingly, sat across from me as though nothing had happened, while all I could imagine is what would've happened to her if we hadn't been able to run fast enough. I could picture one of us tripping, bringing the other down with them, and the guys quickly catching up to us...

I almost screamed when Jake tapped my shoulder. I was breathing more heavily than I had thought as reality came over my mind. "What?" I asked frantically.

Jake just shook his head. Leaving a tip on table, he pulled me up out of my chair. Harmony followed as Jake pulled me out of the diner. The thought of leaving the safety of the diner almost caused me to pass out, and Harmony was started to notice my erratic behavior. Stepping onto the concrete of the sidewalk, I thought anything was ready to kill us. Jake pulled me along anyways. Harmony skipped along, holding onto his other hand. Apparently, what had happened this morning didn't bother her much. 

It took me a while but eventually I was able to choke out a few words, "Where are we going?" 

"We're going to go get you calmed down," Jake said without looking at me. 

After a long walk we came up to small apartment complex. Walking up the steps of the old building sent chills down my spine. I didn't have a good sense of the place, but then again I didn't have a good sense of the entire city. Jake pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. We stepped into a dimly lit, small apartment. "Who's apartment is this?" I asked.

"My uncle's. He said we could stay here tonight while he's at his friends." Jake answered.

Harmony looked nervous walking into the small apartment. She was used to our large, cleverly decorated, bright, house. This apartment was the complete opposite. Ushering her inside, I closed the door behind us, taking the key from Jake and locking the door quickly. 

I set Harmony up with some dolls and TV in the small living area, and then Jake took me into the kitchen.

"We need to go find my mom and get out of the city," I blurted out before he could speak.

"No, you're too worked up right now. We'll stay here tonight and then go get your mom tomorrow," He tried to convince me.

"No. We need to go today, I want to go home before someone kills us," I said softly.

"No one is going to kill you," He laughed.

"Someone almost did this morning," I argued. 

"That doesn't matter. Just calm down. Ok?" He tried to ignore my previous statement.

"It does matter. It matters a lot. I almost got us killed," I was upset with myself.

"Trinity, we'll talk about this later, ok? Harmony's right in the other room. Come on, we'll go watch a movie and hopefully we'll be able to get some sleep. We were up late on the train and I'm tired," He said while taking me back into the living room. Because of Harmony, we were forced to watch the only G-rated movie Jake's uncle had, Elmo and friends. At home I would've hated to have to watch this, but this time the boring movie just helped me fall asleep faster. 

I woke up late in the afternoon. Jake was sitting on the floor with Harmony playing --- dolls. I was surprised with how well Harmony and Jake had been getting along while we were in Baltimore. I watched them for a little while, smiling, before making it known to them that I was awake. Keeping the blanket wrapped around me, I moved down onto the floor quietly, "Dolls is a fun game, isn't it?" I joked. 

It took Jake a second to find me in the giant blanket wrapped around me, but then he answered sarcastically, "Yeah, it sure is."

I smiled, "Thank you for doing all of this." I removed the Barbie doll from his hand and muttered, "It's time you get some sleep now." I gave him a quick kiss, which of course Harmony found completely and utterly disgusting, handed off my blanket to him, and then sent him up onto the couch.

I played with Harmony until 6:30 when she started complaining she was hungry. I wasn't quite sure that Jake's uncle had offered us the food in his apartment too, but I had to make something for Harmony to eat. I ended up making pasta (without any sauce of course, because Harmony claims that tomato sauce is blood). I was going to wake up Jake, but I figured I could keep the left overs in the fridge for him to eat later. 

Jake finally woke up when I was putting Harmony to bed on the floor. Jake, of course, quickly got up and moved Harmony onto the couch. I waited until Harmony was asleep before I went into the kitchen where Jake was eating the leftover pasta. 'Who would've thought we're seventeen and in Baltimore trying to find your mom?" He laughed.

"Not me," I admitted, "When I was fourteen and my parents got back together, I thought everything would be perfect."

"Fourteen. Fourteen was a great year. We met that year."

I sighed, "Yeah. Made my life even more perfect, but life was just setting me up to fall."

"What are you talking about? Fifteen was a good time too."

"Yeah, you're right. My last good year." I sighed.

"Last year," He muttered.

"Last year," I echoed him.

"Eleventh Grade," He said.

"Yep," I said, not wanting to repeat him again. "Summer before Senior year and this is what we're stuck doing."

"It's not that bad," He tried to lift my spirit.

"Yeah, right," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"Come on. It's because of your messed up family that's made us closer." I knew what he was referring to.

"I know," I said, letting a small smile escape me.

He smiled back. "I'm still tired, lets go to bed."

"Alright," I said back softly.