One Step at a Time

Chapter 16

Sadie POV

Rainbows danced across the carpet of the room I had woken up in. My eyes glanced at the window to see the crystal lined curtains. I was in Aedon's room. I vaguely remember crashing on her bed last night. The party had used so much of my social reservoir that I was exhausted. Plus it was way past my usual 10:30 bedtime.

I snuggled closer into my pillow, craving the comfort of a bed. As I did so, memories of last night flooded my brain. Oh god. I shot up in the bed. My hands covered the flush of my cheeks. I can't believe I tried to spoon Simon. The thought made my ears burn. Of all people, it had to be him.

"What's wrong?" Aedon's voice came from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see her still asleep. Or at least half asleep. She was facing my back, her eyes still closed.

I shook my head, hoping it would toss the thought of Simon out and away. "Nothing." My gaze scattered around the room in search of my phone. It was on Aedon's desk, along with my bag. I swung my feet of the bed and made my way over. Opening my phone, I expected there to be a lot of messages from my mom. There wasn't a single one. I guess it was a good sign. Her and dad must've had a nice time. But something felt off to me.

"Hey, I'm gonna go home for a bit. I'll be back by lunch." Aedon gave a muffled groan for a response. I was already in the car and out of her neighborhood when I thought to call Matteo. He was supposed to start driving this morning.

The phone rang for a second before I was welcomed with a loud "SADIE JANE" over the car stereo. "Hey, Mattie."

"What's up? I just got out of the city. Only 12 more hours until my first stop."

"That sounds horrible," I grimaced at the thought. I had never been that fond of road trips. Being in a car for more than two hours would be the end of me. "Are you staying somewhere safe?" Motels made me even more uncomfortable.

"Yes, actually." His tone became very matter of fact. "I called up Aunt Hillary and told her about the surprise. She was more than willing to find room for me in some hotels along the way."

"Matteo. You better not ruin anything there."

"Now why would I do that? Besides, I only called because I'm not old enough to get a room. I'm paying for it. Dad would die if I told him I accepted it for free." It's true. As much as my dad worried about money, he would never take a hand out from anyone. It was something he instilled into both me and Matteo. Probably rooted in his upbringing.

Dad never really talked about his childhood before he met Mom. There are some things, like Christmas traditions and stories about our Aunt Anna to tease her. He's mentioned that Grandma Sadie had to work a lot to support her family. I knew he hadn't been well off either. Once when Matteo had thrown a tantrum about some video game, my mom pulled us a side to tell us that we should be grateful for what we had. That my dad when he was our age had to worry about having food on the table, not some game. Dad always got uncomfortable if you asked him. And if Mom told us, it usually started a fight between them. There was no good way to go about it.

"Okay, Mattie." My worries began to overflow as I reminded him, "You drive safe. And don't wait to get gas at the last second. Oh but don't stop just anywhere-" The sound of Matteo's laughter cut me off. My mouth opened to continue, but he beat me to it.

"It'll be fine, MOM." I didn't even use her tone, if anything I sounded more like my dad. Matteo hung up before I could say anything else. "Bye. Love ya!"

"Love you, too." I said to myself. Turning the steering wheel onto my street, I couldn't help but still think about my dad. I really felt like I didn't know him at all. He was only dad to me. Even though work took up his entire life, he hardly spoke about it. He was an astrophysicist with a degree in computer engineering. And he grew up in Houston, but I've never seen the house he grew up in. The glimpses into his childhood were given to me by the picture frames in my Grandma Sadie's walls. Dad never let anyone in, only my mom. Which doesn't seem to be going well anymore.