Untouchable [ on going ]

[11 | Liars ]

Where was I the past few weeks?

The hospital.

U n t o u c h a b l e

[11 | Liars ]

"What are you wearing?"

I frowned, glancing at my outfit. It was a dress I had to squeeze into and with the plunging neckline and short hemline- it wasn't a dress most fathers would want to see their teenage daughters in. "A dress," I answered as I went through the contents of my purse, checking to see if I had everything I needed for the night.

"That's not a dress, that's a-that's a shirt!" I turned to look at my dad, noticing his brows were furrowed, a deep frown sporting on his mouth.

"It's a dress, according to Forever21," I replied with a shrug. His eye twitched in annoyance, obviously not amused.

"Ha," he barked. "Too bad you're not twenty-one. Go change."

"I'll wear something over it," I said, heading towards my room. I didn't think he'd be home tonight again. Nor that he'd care about what I was wearing. Even though we've been living together for the past few years, it felt like he was never there ever since Lily died. I suppose it was his way of coping, which meant that he was healing slowly if something like this bothered him.

Walking downstairs with a sheer cardigan over the dress, I saw Dad standing in front of the doorway, laughing rather awkwardly. Confused as to why he was standing there, I cleared my throat and Dad turned his attention towards me before opening the door wider.

"Penny, your...friend is here to pick you up?" Dad said, but it sounded more like an accusing question as he eyed me curiously as I put on my winter jacket. Because Cole showing up in a tux was probably not what he was expecting. He was probably expecting Gavin to come pick me up. Not that I expected him to be here too anyway.

I paused midway of zipping the jacket. I thought that it was Maddy that was going to pick me up, not him. Everything was suddenly awkward are the memory of the almost-kiss replayed in my mind vividly. I haven't seen him since it happened-no one has, apparently. Seeing him in my doorstep in a tux with a standoff-ish smile was really...odd. Cole placed his hands in his suit pocket and the corners of his lips tugged higher.

"Yeah, Cole's my friend," I answered with a nod and headed out the door, returning the smile. Perhaps if the little encounter we had was ignored and never spoke of again, things wouldn't be uncomfortable. "We're heading to the runway and I'm meeting Gavin there later."

My dad looked confused. "Runway?"

I nodded. "School activity," I answered, realizing that I've never really told him about it. Well, it wasn't as if he asked anyway. When he didn't respond, I added: "Do you want to come see it?"

Dad shook his head. "Thanks, kiddo, but I'm kind of tired," he admitted with a shrug. Then with a sigh, he added: "Your mother said to call her. Please do it as soon as possible. I'd rather not deal with her any more than I have to."

I had to bit my cheek to keep my frown from appearing. Scared that he'd see through my lie, I headed out the door and waited before I wasn't facing him anymore to say: "Of course."

"You will call her." His voice was stern.

"Sure."

"Goodnight, Sir," Cole said before he placed a hand on my back and lead me to his car. He opened the passenger door, helped me in before closing it and getting on the driver's side.