Finding The 10

33 - Ten

Frankie's POV

The plush softness of the pillows and blankets encase me as I lay staring at the wall. I have barely left this bedroom since I arrived at my father's house and he has let me be.

Dad checks on me every morning before he heads to work and again when he comes home. He always sighs and tries to coax me out from my self pity party but it doesn't help.

I feel like an idiot.

I ran away from Eli all over a stupid fight. I said some of the most horrible things to him and all because I was upset about Colt.

I wanted to talk to Eli about everything and I wanted him to kiss me and tell me everything is alright. But instead I got sucker punched in the jaw by some skank in too much make up. And for some stupid reason which I still don't fully understand, I blamed it all on Eli. Why do I act this way?

A knock comes from the other side of the bedroom door but I dont answer it. Instead I pull the blankets over my head and pretend to sleep. Maybe if I pretend hard enough sleep will eventually come for real.

"Frankie? Are you awake?" My dad's muffled voice says through the door but I roll over and face the other way.

The door opens at that point but I stay buried underneath the mass of blankets.

"Frankie, it's such a nice day today I thought we could go for lunch at this nice little bistro that just opened up in town."

The bed dips and I know he must be sitting at the foot of the bed waiting for my reply.

"Frankie? Let's go grab some lunch. Your brother said he would come too since he isn't working today."

"I'm not hungry." I mutter.

"Frankie, come out from under there. You have done nothing but sulk since you got here."

Slowly the blankets start getting pulled from on top of me and instead of holding onto them, I let them be lifted off of me. Dad stops pulling them as soon as he can see my face.

"If I didnt know any better I'd say you only came to see me so you could hide away from Eli." He says with a mock scowl on his face.

I stay silent.

"I know I'm just your dad and you probably don't want to talk to me about your love life but I'm here if you ever need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about." I say defensively.

"We both know that's not true. Something obviously happened between you two because every time I mention his name your eyes widen. Not to mention he has tried calling you every single day and you won't answer his calls."

I sit up slowly and hug my knees to my chest.

"Not every single day. He didn't try to call me yesterday. Or the day before that."

"That's probably because you won't answer his calls anyway. He probably got sick of trying."

I bite my bottom lip to stop myself from crying because my dad is right. Eli stopped calling because he is tired of trying. I feel like the worst kind of person.

"You need to get up and get out of this room. I'm sick of seeing you like this."

I stare at my dad but just shrug at his words. I don't feel like I deserve the warmth of the sun right now. Darkness is what I deserve for pushing Eli away like I have been. And now it's probably too late.

Suddenly my dad stands and stares down at me crossing his arms against his chest. The same move he would always pull when I was a child and did something naughty.

"Francesca Angelina Marcello, you will get up from this bed right now and do something productive. You have wasted weeks in your self pity spiral and it's time to break free. Besides, you have some mail in the kitchen."

After the initial shock of having my father yell at me for the first time since I moved out 5 years ago, I follow him into the kitchen. The mail that came for me was a simple black invitation to Marco and Beth's wedding. I smiled when I saw it but my thoughts quickly turned to Eli. He would be there for sure.

A million things ran through my mind at that point. Maybe I shouldn't go. After the argument we had and me avoiding him for so long Eli probably doesn't want me anywhere near him.

Then again, I have to go. It's my cousin's wedding day and he has gone above and beyond since I moved to the city. He gave me a job without even thinking and always acted more like a big brother than a cousin.

I touch the embossed paper gently and bite my inner cheek. I can feel eyes burying themselves into my back and when I turn I see my father nursing a coffee and watching me.

"Are you going?" He asks simply, taking a sip from his cup.

His hazel eyes dont leave me for a second as I look from the invitation to him and back again.

"I don't know if I should."

His right eyebrow raises at my answer and I know I will have to explain myself now.

"Eli and I, kind of..." I struggle to find the right word.

"Hooked up?" He interjects for me. I smile at his choice of words but continue.

"Yeah. And then we had a massive argument. So I left and now I don't know what to do."

"What was the argument about?"

"It started all because a drunk girl he used to see came around unannounced. It escalated from there."

"That wasn't what I asked, Frankie. What was it about?"

I think for a few moments and try to bring myself to say the words. I already know what it was about.

"It was my fault." I slide onto the kitchen bench and let my legs hang over the edge as dad waits for me to elaborate. "I was wrong about yet another guy and was upset. I lashed out at Eli when all I really wanted was for him to just hold me and tell me everything is going to be alright. I sabotaged myself and now it's over before it even begun."

Dad takes another gulp of his coffee and nods softly. He then smiles slightly and speaks wisely.

"There is still time. You can still talk to him and make it right."

"No. I dont think I can. I think it's over now." I look down to my feet knowing that I'm right. It's over for Eli and I.

"It's not over until the fat lady sings and I haven't even heard her warm up yet." He says with a wink before heading outside to the patio to enjoy his coffee in the sunshine.

I giggle at his analogy but still feel shakey about the whole thing.

I hear my phone chime from my bedroom and hop off the counter to retrieve it.

The chime was a message from Eli. I smile wide as I open it but then stand confused as I read the text over and over again.

There are no words or pictures. Just a number.

One simple number.

10.