Mr. Halloway's Pet

Chapter Twenty Three

When I wake up, Drea is gone. I'm not even sure if she'd stayed the night, but she was here when I'd fallen asleep.

My legs are tangled in in the comforter, almost killing me in my attempts to crawl out of bed.

After nearly face planting, I catch a whiff of breakfast and feel my body wake up in an instant. 

Familiar aromas ignite a series of growls from my stomach, and that's the only encouragement I need to shake the sleepiness from my muscles with a couple of stretches. Though I can still feel pins and needles in my left foot, I still shuffle out of the room.

As I get closer to the kitchen, dads humming grows louder and the knot of worry in my chest melts away, leaving room for a tad bit of peace.

The kitchen table already has our plates and silverware, so I fetch the syrup and napkins to complete our set-up. He hasn't noticed my intrusion, continuing his rhythmic song with his back turned to me.

However, I set the syrup down a little too hard and he spins around faster than I can blink.

"Oh, good morning, sweetheart." His voice stops harmonizing to greet me. "How'd ya sleep?"

A cute, decorative apron hangs from his neck but remains untied.

He wipes his hands on the front before removing and hanging it on a hook next to the cabinets.

I almost laugh at the question, recalling his panicked expression as he woke me from my night terrors, "I think you may have an idea."

I pull a chair from the dining room table and perch on the edge as he turns the stover burners off, seemingly finishing up whatever he was doing prior to me joining him.

"I think I may," he raises an eyebrow at me, "is there anything you have to tell me?"

This question catches me off guard, as if I've done something wrong. I feel like a child being berated all over again. What a good way to dive into conversation, starting off hot.

"Ummm, not that I can think of." Is my response, despite the familiar weight of deception holding my heart down. It's not necessarily a lie, I don't have to tell him anything.

"Paige, I've been meaning to talk to you about this. I wanted you to bring it up so it would be more comfortable for the both of us, but I can see that's not going to happen. I had my suspicions, but now that it's been confirmed, I can't let it slide." He sighs, pulling the chair across from me and taking a seat.

His words have my heart racing, with my mind first flitting to mom, then to Ethan. At this point, there's many ways this conversation could go.

"What is it?" I ask with a shaky voice, hoping I don't look as petrified as I feel. It doesn't matter how I present myself anyhow, he can read me like an open book.

"I'm not sure what's going on between you and that teacher in Fort, and you can spare me the details, but I can't let it continue." His words are steady and sure. I'm not sure how he found out, but he did. He's a very hard man to keep secrets from.

Momentarily, I think about what he'd said; how he'd suspected it but couldn't say anything until it was confirmed. I try to think of any way I could've slipped up that would be a confirmation of the relationship.

My heart beats loud in my ears as I struggle with any words to back myself up. I ponder denying it, but by the look on his face, there's no convincing him otherwise.

"I..." my defense dies before it can leave my mouth, "Okay."

My fingers fold in on each other, giving me something to intensely study as a means to avoid his eyes.