Crush

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Oliver

I pushed the front door of the house closed behind me and leaned against it for a second. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, glad to be in my home. It was much cooler in here than it was outside. The summer sun had been relentless in showering us with scorching heat and hot sun rays all day.

Pushing myself to a standing position, I dropped my bag at my feet. Kicking off my shoes, I took another deep breath and realised I couldn't smell anything cooking, which meant I would have to start dinner again today. Not that I minded. I actually enjoyed cooking. And with it being just me and Dad, I didn't have to do a lot.

Walking slowly along the soft carpeted hallway, I let the stress of the school day roll off me, working the muscles in my back to help loosen them even more. The shower after practice had helped, but I still felt stiff and aching.

I love playing basketball and was thrilled to be made captain of our school team. But lately, it was like Coach was determined to work us to a pulp in the final days of the school year. It was definitely something I could do without.

Sauntering along the hallway, I smiled as I took in the photos that lined the walls - photos of me and my brother at different ages and in different poses, photos of my dad with us, photos of my mum with us. Memories flickered through my mind as I walked, almost like I was literally walking along memory lane.

The door at the end of the hallway stood ajar and I could hear my dad talking from inside. I popped my head around the door to find my dad sitting at his desk, leaning back in the chair, phone in one ear and his opposite hand enthusiastically gesturing with his words.

His blue eyes lifted to meet mine behind his glasses, and he offered me a wide smile.

"Jill, can I call you back?" Dad said into the phone to his assistant. "Oliver's just come home." Dad looked at me again, with a smile still on his face. "Sure, will do, Jill. Speak to you later."

Dad put his phone down, then leaned forward in his chair to rest his forearms on his desk. "Oliver! How's it going? How was school?"

I grinned as I opened the door wider, crossing the threshold into his office.
Walking on the soft carpet across the room, I flopped down on one of the comfy chairs he had placed under the window and stretched out my legs, while propping my elbows on the arm rests.

"Coach worked us to the bone today," I answered with a sigh, leaning my head back to look at the ceiling. There was a weird stain on the ceiling that showed through the layers of paint. Wonder if Dad had ever noticed that?

Dad chuckled. "You're his star player. He doesn't want to lose you next year. You helped the team win most of the games last season. Of course he's going to push you harder."

"No need to push so hard, though," I grumbled. "It's nearly the end of the school year. No one cares." Dad just laughed. Dad laughed a lot more easily these days. The light in his eyes was back, too.

I dropped my head to look at him. He was sitting at his desk, body turned in the chair so that he could look at me, sunlight from the late afternoon sun streaming through the window behind his desk to light up his fair hair. He wore a shirt and tie, coupled with pyjama bottoms and socked feet. Since everyone on his Zoom calls would only ever see the top half of his body on his laptop camera, he never really dressed up his bottom half. The only time he did that was when he had to leave the house.

"How's your day been?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "It's been okay, I guess. Nothing much has happened." He let out a sigh. "Not sure what you wanted for dinner, Ollie," Dad said, looking down guiltily. That was his way of saying that he hadn't thought of dinner at all. He had probably buried himself in his work all day again.