Just Like Daddy *Sequel to Daddy Did It*

Chapter 8: Coffee and Smiles

I sat at the kitchen island, waiting for Michael to get home from his tutor session with Mary. I had the wills tucked away inside of my desk. Out of sight, out of mind.My fingers tapped on the cold marble surface of the counter top as I tried to think of what to do.

I could:

1. Clean

2. Cook

3. Call Oliver

4. ...

I snapped from my mental list as the front door slammed shut. I stood up from the kitchen Island and walked out of the small kitchen area. Michael plopped unto the couch as kicked off his shoes in one, well practiced motion. He sighed, not even bothering to take off his bag as he sat.

"How was school?" I asked.

Michael looked up at me confused, as if he just noticed my presence. "It was fine." He replied a little too quickly. "We learned some new stuff in Algebra."

"Really? Like what?" I sat down next to him, so that I could hear his quiet voice better.

He shifted in his seat and took off his bag, letting it just drop to the floor. I decided to let the action slide. "Nothing important, just some stupid math stuff."

I leaned forward on the couch, trying to appear interested. "Math is important, Michael. You will use math everyday of your life. Math is every where."

Michael laughed. "You sound like a fortune cookie."

I rolled my eyes at his comment and picked up his shoes. "So what did you learn?" I asked as I walked over to the shoe rack by the door.

"Um... We just learned about exponents and square roots. Nothing special." He stated just barely loud enough for me to hear.

I nodded my head, acknowledging what he said and smiled. "Cool..." I was cut off as my phone started to ring. Michael started to get off the couch, but I quickly called out to him. "Hey, I want to talk about what is bothering you when I get off the phone."

Michael sighed and traveled towards his room. "How do you do that...?" He muttered to himself.

I hit answer on my phone and brought it to my ear. "Hello?" Faint breathing came from the other line and I waited for the response. Seconds ticked by as no one spoke. "Hello? Is anyone there?" I checked the caller ID to find it was an unknown number.

The line went dead and the dial tone rang in my ear. What the hell? I sighed, not wanting to worry about the matter and entered the kitchen. My intention was to start dinner, but my phone started ringing once again.  I checked the caller ID first this time and saw that it was Oliver. He really did call. I hit answer once again and brought the phone to my ear.

"Hey, Alex?" Oliver's smooth voice came from the phone and I couldn't help but smile. "Alex?"

I mentally slapped myself for taking so long to reply. "Hi, Oliver."

Neither of us spoke for a moment, unsure of what to say. Oliver thankfully broke the ice. "So I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime...?"

"You mean like a date?"

Oliver laughed nervously and I could picture him running a hand through his golden, brown locks. "It doesn't have to be a date... Unless you want it to be of course... I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you or anything like that... We could just..." He started rambling.

"Yeah, I'd like to go out with you. Where do you want to go?" I asked, interrupting his nervous words.

"Well we could go out for...um... Coffee?" He asked unsure.

I chuckled at his suggestion. "Sure, coffee sounds great. Where do you want to meet and when?"

"Um... I could pick you up at seven?"

I looked at the clock. "Tonight?"

"Well, as much as I'd like to see you, coffee this late will keep me up all night." He laughed.

My knees shook at the sound that vibrated smoothly through the phone. "Well then. You can pick me up at seven tomorrow, I don't have work."

"Great. Tomorrow it is. Um... Alex?"

"Yeah...?"

"Where do you live?" His voice was quiet.

"Oh, right." I laughed it off and gave him my address. "523 Oak Wood Street."

"I know where that is... I'll see you tomorrow then?"

I nodded then realized he couldn't see me, cue another mental slap. "Yeah. Talk to you then?"

"Bye, Alex." Oliver said with a hint of sadness.

I sighed. "Bye, Oliver." I ended the call and sat my phone down on the counter.

***********

A few hours past and I decided to talk with Michael in the morning instead. We had both ate in silence and Michael retired to his room. Not long after he did I heard his radio come on. He always does this when he doesn't want to discuss what is bothering him and I always just wait until he is ready to talk with me.

I picked up my phone and traveled into my room, ready to retire for the night. Thank God I don't have work tomorrow. I'm too worn out from this week, well more like today in general. Today was an emotionally exhausting day.

I sat down on my bed, not bothering to change out of my work clothes. It didn't take long for me to drift off...

Mother held my hand and smiled as she led my eight year old self up a big hill. She laughed as we ran as fast as we could manage. I was smiling, my hair bouncing freely behind me. We stopped at the top of the hill and the hill turned out to actually be a cliff. We peered over the edge giggling and throwing stones. Mother looked down at me with a bright smile. The smile quickly disappeared as a gun shot rang out. Mother clutched her stomach in pain and blood seeped from between her fingers. She staggered backwards and I tried reaching for her. Our fingers barely brushed each other's as she fell from view. "Mommy!" I screamed and cried. All I heard in response was devilish laughter. My eight year old self turned around to face my father. Father laughed, his features cold. I stared into his black eyes. He raised the gun to point it at me, but I was no longer eight years old. We were no longer by a cliff. We were in our childhood home. I was now sixteen and Michael was clutching my pant leg. Father laughed and pulled the trigger.

"NO!" I shot up out of my bed, stiff as a board. I looked around the room and found no signs of Father. I sighed with relief and dropped back into my bed. "It was just a dream..."

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Hello my lovely readers. I'm so sorry for the delay in this update. I have been dealing with some stuff. My friends father was killed in the line of duty and I have been doing AP Euro work. Sorry again and I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think guys and gals. Your input is always appreciated. Comment and Vote. Follow me and I will follow back.