You're My Moon

Chapter 12

"Hello?"

"Faye? Faye, where are you? Are you okay?"

I sigh, "I'm fine, Dad.

"Come to the station. Right now."

My heart falls into my stomach, and I'm barely able to reply. "Okay." I hang up and put my phone down. Climbing down the ladder, I hear Rosie and Brice arguing.

"What do you mean I didn't handle the last game well? I scored 3 touchdowns and we won 7 to nothing."

"Well it would have been 8 to nothing if you would have passed the ball to Ryan instead of trying to score a touchdown in the third quarter. You're too arrogant." Brice looks at Rosie like she's speaking an alien language and puts his hands on his hips. "Rosie, you are something else."

"I know," she says flinging her hair over her shoulder. Then, just noticing me, she asks, "Well?"

I shrug, "I don't know. He seemed more worried than mad. I'll just have to see when I get to the station."

Brice chuckles and walks toward me, "If he plans to kill you, ask him if he can wait until after homecoming." Hearing him talk about homecoming makes me anxious. Sure, I'm excited, but this whole relationship thing is new to me. I don't know exactly what do to. Argh! What's wrong with me? I like him, he likes me. Why can't I be confident?
Smiling weakly up at him, I manage to say, "I'm excited for homecoming." He gently moves a piece of my hair behind my ear and smiles back at me, "Me too." Then suddenly, he turns around and shoots fingers guns at Rosie. "Alright Red, let's go back to school and let Faye go to the station." Rosie mockingly does finger guns back, winks, gives me a hug, and gets in Brice's car.

Driving to the police station alone wasn't as anxiety ridden as I thought it was going to be. Though, the closer I get, the worse it gets. I begin thinking of all the ways he could punish me, and all the things he could yell at me. As I pull up to the grey, stone building, I take a deep breath and try to relax.
Once I walk through the automatic doors, I realize I don't know where I'm going. Crap, why didn't I ask him where to meet him?

"Miss?" Whipping around, I'm greeted by a large black man in a deputy's uniform. "Are you Sheriff Bradshaw's daughter?" He asks, a hint of a southern accent in his voice. "Yes- uh, Sir." Chuckling, he turns on his heals and tells me to follow him. I have to hurry to keep up with his long strides. We walk up a few steps and down a short hallway, to a door that reads, Sheriff Bradshaw.
I thank the deputy, take a deep breath and open the door. Sitting at a desk in the middle of the room is my dad. His greying head of what used to be blond hair all messy and his reading glasses balanced on his nose. He looks up at me and his eyes immediately widen. After jumping out of his desk chair, he comes over to me and wraps me in a hug. Stunned, I don't hug him back right away. He pulls away from me and grips my shoulders. "Where have you been?" I take a deep breath and decide it's better to tell the truth. "Rosie and I skipped school."

"Where did you go?"

"She took me to her old tree house. In Blackstone National Park." Suddenly, he does something that surprises me; He chuckles. "What?" I ask, completely confused. "You skipped school to go to a tree house in the woods. Did you do anything illegal?" I snort, "No! We literally just sat there and talked and looked at old pictures until-" I stop myself. Do I tell him Brice showed up? "Until?" Tell the truth Faye. "Brice showed up. He wanted to talk to me. Apologize. But I swear we didn't do anything illegal or bad. You can ask Rosie." He puts his hands up. "Faye, I believe you. I'm actually glad that boy apologized to you. It shows he cares a lot about you. I know I wouldn't have had the guts to do that when I was high school. But really, I was going to have to get out my shotgun and-"

"Dad!"

"I'm kidding, Muffin," he goes back to his desk and sits down. "I need to meet this boy. Is he free tonight?" I can't help but laugh at his choice of words. "Are you planning on asking him out, Dad?" He looks at me clueless, obviously not getting the joke. "Anyways, I want you to invite him over for dinner." My heart jumps into my throat. My dad has never wanted to meet the boy I liked. Maybe that's why I'm suddenly so nervous.

~

Brice's truck pulls up at my house at 5:33; the ridiculous time my dad wanted him to show up. I know he's trying to test him, and I'm sure it will be like that all night.
Brice turns off the ignition, grabs something out of the passenger seat, and jumps out. When he comes around the truck towards me, I see he's holding flowers. I raise an eyebrow at him, "Flowers?"

He smirks. "Yeah, I figured your dad would like daisies. You think he will?" I put my hands on my hips. "Actually, he's more of a rose guy. I guess I'll have to take these." I take the daisies from him and he smiles, "I guess that's okay." He's dressed somewhat casually. He's dressed in a stripped pullover sweatshirt and jeans. Part of me is worried he should have dressed nicer for my dad, but the other part of me is glad he isn't trying too hard.
Brice's eyes twinkle as he bites his lip and grins. He takes my hand in his and we walk up the front steps. "I'm nervous," I tell him. He chuckles, "You're nervous? I'm about to go in here and be judged by the sheriff!" I squeeze his hand. "You'll be fine, Brice."

~

My dad made spaghetti with meatballs, Caesar salad, and French bread. He has it all set up nicely on our small round dinning table when Brice and I walk in. If I didn't know any better, I'd think my dad was the one trying to impress.
"This looks amazing Sheriff," Brice exclaims, already turning on the charm. My dad thanks him, and I wonder what's going on inside his head. What is his immediate impression? "So Brice, how long have you lived in Cliffspoint?" We all sit down at the table; Dad to my left and Brice to my right. "Well, pretty much my whole life. I moved here when I was three, so I don't really remember life before Cliffspoint." Dad and I make our plates, but I notice Brice hasn't touched anything. I nudge him under the table with my foot. He looks at me and raises his eyebrows. My eyes flicker from him to the food. He nods knowingly and slowly reaches to grab the salad tongs.
"Where were you born?" My dad asks once Brice has a full plate of food. "Manhattan."

"Wait, really?" I ask surprised. New York is not what I expected. The right corner of Brice's mouth turns up slightly. "Yep. That's where my dad met my mom. Mom says it was love at first sight," he pauses, but quickly resumes talking. "But you wouldn't know it by the way they are now." Brice takes a bite of salad and I notice my dad analyzing him. I'm suddenly worried. Did he say something wrong? "Brice," Dad starts, but quickly shuts his mouth. "Yes, Sheriff?" Dad clears his throat, "Pass the spaghetti, please." I furrow my brow. Something tells me that's not what he was going to say, and I think Brice notices too. My dad looks at me, and for second he seems sad-- or, maybe I'm imagining things.

We finish dinner, talking here and there. Dad asks Brice questions about football and his family, mainly his little brother. When Brice talks about his family, he almost seems like a different person. His arrogant front washes away and he's just Brice. The Brice Rosie knew, the Brice I want to know.
Dinner comes to an end, and a warm fuzzy feeling settles in my chest. I watch Brice as we clear the table, and I realize how badly I wanted Brice and my dad to get along. Besides Rosie, they're all I have. I almost need them to like each other. As Brice and my dad wash dishes side by side, I smile and hope this won't be the last time I see them laughing together at something silly my dad says.

~.~

chapter 12 is here!! Sorry for taking so long my loves! Hope y'all enjoy!!