Limitless

Chapter 21

My feet stunk. I kicked off my shoes in the car and instantly regretted it. The car in front of me left his right blinker flashing in my face. That was one of my pet-peeves. I slapped the steering wheel and screamed at him. “TURN IT OFF HOW DO YOU NOT RECOGNIZE THAT IT’S BLINKING?” But that didn’t change anything. He didn’t hear me from my enclosed space of the car. I spotted a Starbucks and immediately my mouth began to water. I slammed on the breaks and skid around the turn and into the drive-thru. 

"Hello welcome to-"

"Just a grande java chip frapp."  I was antsy and didn’t want to wait on anyone for anything. 

"I’m sorry I didn’t catch that."

"GRANDE JAVA CHIP FRAPP THANKS." I sped around to the window, fiddling through my wallet as I did. I stopped and rolled down the window as the drive-thru opened. A guy leaned out and looked at me cooly. 

"Hey little mama, how you doin’?" He winked.

I frowned and handed him a 5 dollar bill. Without taking his eyes off me, he opened the cash register and got my change. He flipped a quarter in his fingers before he passed it to me slyly. He grabbed my drink from a girl behind him and leaned back out the window to pass it to me. 

"I’m Adonte. If you want a little more chocolate with that frappuccino… Feel free to come back and find me." 

I grimaced. “Fuck off, I’m taken.”

But I wasn’t. And even if I almost was taken, I was basically just dumped. I was kicked out. Literally pushed away. I understood how Harry’s past could make him wary about being in a relationship now but I couldn’t understand how he would get so upset that he would just throw me away. I was hurt. Probably more hurt than I should have been. A tear rolled down my cheek as I drove down the dark streets of our town and that’s when I realized - no guy had ever made me cry before. I cried when Josh hit me because of the pain. I cried once in the third grade when Ronny Higgins called me an ugly purple lizard. But I had never cried like this before. Harry Styles made me cry because he told me to go away and I knew I couldn’t because I loved him. 

Was it possible to fall in love with someone so quickly? 

I pulled up into my driveway and finished off the last of my Starbucks. I lifted my bag and threw it onto the ground next to my car. I locked my door and then turned to pick up my bag, but someone was already holding it. 

I looked at my feet, unable to look my father in the eyes. Now that it was time to face him I felt guilty for not speaking to him all week. 

"Louisa, are you alright?"

I nodded. 

"I uh, I made some pizza earlier. I can reheat some if you’re hungry." 

I nodded again and looked up at my father, smiling weakly. 

He stretched out his arm and adjusted his grip on my bag. I took his hand and walked into the house. He heated me up some pizza and watched silently from across the table as I ate. I never understood why we had such a huge table.  We never had anyone over and it was literally just the two of us - that is, when I wasn’t kicked out of the house.  When I finished my pizza, I pulled the money he left me in the school office out of my purse and handed it to him. 

"I didn’t use this. Thanks though."

My dad opened the envelope and fingered through the bills. ”Have you been crying?” He finally asked. 

I frowned, upset with myself that I was too silly not to wipe the mascara from my eyes. Unable to successfully lie at this point, I nodded. ”Just boy trouble dad, it’s nothing really.”