Fluorescent Adolescent (On Hold)

Chapter 3

I bolted upright out of my sleep. Sweat matted my hair and tears in my eyes. Panic still gripped my chest and my breathing was ragged. I tried to take deep breaths to calm myself, but images of the nightmare still racked my brain.

I reached over and checked the time on my phone. 5:54am. I groaned and lay back down.

For hours it seemed that I tossed and turned but I couldn't go back to sleep. Some time during my restlessness I heard my mum leave for work. In the end I decided to get up and go downstairs. The sun was up and the light shining through the living room blinds revealed tiny dust particles flying through the air.

I sat on the sofa thinking about yesterday, being at Eric's with Amelia, then I remembered that he had given me his number. I ran back upstairs and grabbed my handbag and riffled through it's contents until I came across the small folded piece of lined paper. I unfolded it to reveal the eleven number.

I grabbed my phone from my bedside table and added the number. I smiled as I thought of him and my heart raced. He had saved my life and carried me back to his house, he cooked me breakfast and he has been so kind.

Suddenly all of the emotions I have been holding in over the past two days came spilling out. I cried hard shaking sobs. I even cried when I had run out of tears and just layed on my bed whimpering. I longed for someone to hold me and curled up into a ball. I started to feel lonely in my big empty house. It was just me and my mum, she was an only child and her parents died before I was born. Dad left when I was about two never to been seen or heard from again.

After about an hour of weeping I managed to collect myself and stagger off to the bathroom where I blew my nose and washed my face. I examined myself in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot and I looked exhausted. My skin was dry and my lips were too. After brushing my teeth and hair I went back downstairs to the kitchen and got myself a drink of water. As I finished my glass I heard the phone ring. I ran to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Ruby?" a deep gruff voice asked.

"Yes, who's this?" I asked politely.

"Ruby, this is your father... Lucien."

I stood there shocked. My lips moving but no sound was coming out. The air had been forced out of my lungs. I didn't speak for at least ten seconds before I heard that voice again.

"How are you?" he continued. I was dumbfounded, I was unsure whether or not to believe this mysterious person. Although he asked me a simple question, I found myself struggling to answer it.

"I-I'm fine, t-thank you." I stuttered slowly.

"Listen, I understand if you'd want nothing to do with me but I'm back in town and I'd like the get to know you. I feel absolutely dreadful that I had to leave you and your mum. I never wanted to." He pleaded with me. "I had no choice but to leave. I can't explain to you why but you will know soon enough. The last time I saw you you were only knee-high. I want to be involved in your life again, I don't like that I've missed out on so much already.. thirteen years is way too much time to spend apart."

I had no words to say to him still.

"I'll talk to my mum. Call later. Um.. Yeah.. Bye?" It sounded like a question but my uncertainty got the better of me. Lucien chuckled briefly.

"Okay, will do. Thanks love. Bye." he said before ending to call

What. The. Fuck?! I stared at the phone for a few moments trying to absorb what had just happened. I just had a phone conversation with my father, who I hadn't seen or heard of for thirteen years.