Changes

Chapter 15

"Come I want to show you something" Ruth said, already pulling me out of my chair.

"Isn't it a bit rude to leave the table without saying something?" I glanced over at the four adults.

"They don't care" she continued to guide me away from the table. "They're probably talking about what an angel Eric is or something."

I let out a chuckle and followed her upstairs. She stopped before a big dark brown door.

"My dad's study," she gestured.

I put my hand on the doorknob and twisted. My mouth fell open as I stepped into the room.

The first thing I saw was a desk, placed in the middle of the room with a computer and stacks of files on it. Two chairs had been placed in front of the desk, meant for guests, but they had stacks of files on them. In every corner you looked there were piles and piles of documents. A few single pieces of paper were on the floor. But what really stood out, were the walls with bookcases build in them, housing hundreds of books.

"Do you like it?" Ruth asked.

"It's so messy and disorganised in here," I stated with a smile. "It's like I'm inside my head."

"I know right," my friend said with a smile. "I used to come here all the time, to read the books my father has collected throughout his life."

I was still admiring the room when I heard her say, "Let's go."

My eyebrows furrowed.

"You mean this isn't the place you wanted to show me?" I asked in confusion.

"Nope, follow me," she walked to the French doors that leaded to the balcony and stepped outside.

The sun was about to set, colouring the sky with pink, yellow and orange. You could already see a few stars peaking through.

Suddenly, I heard something hitting the floor. I took my eyes off the beautiful view and saw Ruth sitting on the floor, right next to a chair.

"Smooth, Ruth, very smooth," I brought out, barely containing my laughter.

"Shut up," she grunted.

We sat down on the chairs, this time without anyone landing next to them. A few minutes passed without one of us saying anything. We both just looked at the sun going down.

I broke the silence, knowing that the topic would have to come up, eventually.

"You want me to talk about what happened before I came here, don't you?"

"Hannah, you looked as if you had seen a ghost," Ruth said, the concern clear in her voice.

"I might as well have" I muttered.

She shot me a questioning look.

"I found out something, something about my dad." My mind went to the article and the picture.

"You never told me about him," she said carefully.

"Because I thought he was dead."

"Wait, you thought he was dead?"

I nodded my head.

"My mom has always told me that he died in a car accident while driving drunk and that was it. No questions asked. But all the sudden, this man's calling me, saying that he's my father and that he'd like to meet at Micheal's."

Ruth stayed quiet, so I continued.

"I looked him up today. Should've done that earlier, I know. But I guess I was still processing the information. Turns out he owns Micheal's."

"Wait, hold up- how do you know this man's your father? He could be a creep for all you know."

I turned my head to her.

"Because I saw a picture of him, standing in front of his diner. I've seen pictures of my father before, Ruth. I'm positive it's him."

"Wow," she brought out, the shock evident on her face.

Silence reigned over us once again, the only sound coming from a cricket hiding nearby.

"I thought we might be needing this. And after hearing everything you just said, we definitely do," my friend said, bringing out a bottle of vodka from God knows where.

A smile crept onto my lips.

"I didn't know you drank," I commented, taking a swig from the bottle.

"I usually don't, but ever since Eric started bringing his dates to these things, I've had the urge to."

A snort escaped me.

"When are you supposed to meet your dad?" Ruth asked, changing the topic back to my father.

"Tomorrow." All the humour that had been previously in my voice was now gone.

"Are you gonna go?"

"I don't know," I answered, having asked myself that question dozens of times the day before.

We both took another swig from the bottle.

"I could go with you, if you'd like." She looked at me with sympathy.

"I'd really appreciate that. Thank you."

"Of course. We're friends after all." A few minutes passed by of us drinking from the bottle, when Ruth said, "I'm surprised they're not doing it yet."

"You mean Eric and Sarah?"

"So that's her name!" she realised, "Well fuck me, I thought it was Nicky."

"She's a really nice girl," I pointed out, "I have no idea what she's doing with Eric, Sarah's better than that. She always lets me copy her notes during History, you know?"

"Well, it's too late for her. She's already in the clutches of my cousin." Ruth passed me the bottle.

"She'll be remembered then," I raised the vodka into the chilly air, "To Sarah, the girl that helped me with history!"

"To Sarah!" Ruth copied, pretending to also hold a bottle in her hand.

I was taking a long swig when I heard someone clearing their throat behind us.

He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, the amusement clear in his eyes.

"Shit, I think we summoned him."