I Should've Kept Everything Secret

~Silent Treatment

Willow’s POV

           His smile seemed to falter and when I turned my head to see the Lieutenant Colonel close the door, when I turned my head back, his smile was on his face again.

           “Oh, good. You’re already here, Zach. We’re bringing this young lady home,” Lieutenant Colonel Knight said to Zach.

           “Okay,” he said.

           I was confused, but decided not to ask.

           We left the school and went to Lieutenant Colonel Knight’s car. I sat in the back while Zach sat in the passenger’s seat

           I left the office and Lieutenant Colonel Knight was right behind me. I saw Zach leaning on the wall next to the door. Has he been standing there ever since we got here? I wondered.

           “Hey, you’re back,” he said. He smiled faintly.

           “Yeah. The Lieutenant Colonel’s giving me a ride home.”

at. Itold them my address and they pulled out of the school and onto the road.Five minutes later, I saw my house.

           “Hey, your home is not far from mine,” Zach stated. “You should come over sometime.”

           I smiled slightly. “Sure,” I said, knowing that I actually wouldn’t.He was probably just saying that to be polite.

           “Thank you for the ride, sir.” I thanked the Lieutenant Colonel before I left.

           He smiled. “You’re welcome, Willow. Remember that the spot is always available for you, no matter what.”

           I nodded my head and thanked him again. I opened the door, got out, and slammed it shut. I went to my home and unlocked the door. Before I went in, I waved at Zach and Lieutenant Colonel Knight. Zach waved back and then the car drove away. I went inside and closed the door.

Lieutenant Colonel’s POV

           “She’s pretty, isn’t she?” I asked Zach. His face was facing the window. We had already driven away from Willow’s home and heading towards ours.

           “Yeah,” I heard him say, his face still glued to the window.

           “I tried recruiting her,” I said. I instantly knew that I shouldn’t have said that.

           “Not everyone wants to be a part of the Army slash Navy JROTC,” Zach snapped.

           That ended any other future conversation in the car. When we arrived at our house, he stormed in. I saw my daughter, Stephanie, in the kitchen doing her homework. She had y black hair and a pair of chocolate brown eyes. Her height however was neither inherited from me or her mother. She was of average height for a fourteen year old.

           “Hi, Steph,” I said as I kissed her forehead.

           “Hey, Dad,” she replied, and then went back to doing her homework.

           “Where’s your mother?” I asked as I sat down next to her.

           “She’s upstairs, putting Natalie to sleep,” she answered, not even bothering to look up this time.

           I got up and went upstairs. Zach’s room was closed and all I saw was light underneath the door. I gently knocked on Natalie’s door and slowly turned the doorknob. I opened the door and saw Natalie tucked in her bed, reading a picture book with her mother, Julie.

           She had blonde hair and green eyes that sparkled every time you looked in them. She was a petite woman, while I was a giant. When we stood side by side, she was a head and more shorter than me.

           “Daddy!” Natalie shouted. She had Julie’s blonde hair and green eyes and was only seven. Hopefully, she would grow taller than her mother. She flung the covers off herself and threw herself at me. I caught her in my arms. I hugged her tightly and kissed Julie’s cheek.

           “No point in getting Natalie back to bed,” Julie said after she greeted me.

           I grinned and put Natalie on top of my shoulders. She automatically gripped my hair with her small fingers. I winced but continued to smile. I walked out of the room and went back downstairs. Julie trailed behind us. As we walked into the kitchen, Steph saw us. When she saw us, she started to laugh. I put Natalie down and helped make dinner with Julie.

           Dinner was quiet. Zach had just toyed with his food throughout the entire meal. Everyone else remained silent, knowing that something was wrong between him and I, again. After we finished eating, Julie cornered me.

           “All right, what’s going on between you and Zach? What did you argue about this time?”

           I sighed deeply. Julie knew me like the back of her hand. “Remember that girl I told you about yesterday? The one that was an astounding gun thrower? I finally found out her name. It’s Willow.”

           “Just Willow?” She asked. Her face showed amusement.

           “Yes. She wouldn’t tell me her full name. So anyway, she came to my office this morning, roaming around the school. I asked her if she wanted to join and stuff like that. All she did was shake her head no to all my questions.”

           “What does this have to do with Zach?’ Julie asked, now confused.

           “I’m getting there. So then I told Willow to meet me after school. I asked her to reconsider one last time, but she refused. This time however she almost started to cry when she said no. I offered her a ride home and when we left my office, there was Zach. I suspect that he was with her when she came to my office. We dropped Willow home, which isn’t that far, only a few blocks, and as we drove home, I accidentally told Zach about Willow’s interview. He got angry with me, yelled a bit, and then gave me the silent treatment.”

           I looked at Julie and saw that she was in deep thought. “Perhaps I’ll talk to Zach about this, later,” she said.

           “I don’t think you’re going to get much from him,” I said angrily and stormed away.