UNEXPECTED | UNEDITED

07 | Choice

The next two days went on rather normally, Carly caught up on her sleep and started to get back into a normal sleep schedule once again. She had a few days off at the diner which allowed her to get some stuff done at the house. Carly tried to keep herself busy as she struggled to make a decision. She still hadn't told her dad about Milver or his eagerness to see her. Her dad was not really overprotective but she wasn't sure how he would react to the news of his teenage daughter seeing a guy his closest friend despised.

Ron was like an uncle to her growing up. She reminded herself as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. She hadn't talked to Jason that much since that other morning. A part of her was worried that he thought she was a whore or too easy by the way she reacted to his touches. But realistically, he was just giving her space.

Carly wasn't going to lie. The idea of being with him was rather tempting. He was super attractive with, from what she had seen, a stable job and mind. Maybe they would date for a while, she'd get to know his daughter then maybe he would ask her to move in. Not that anything was wrong with that but being nineteen, Carly wanted to get out into the world. Plus it wasn't that far away and it would be relatively safe. Jason was a cop and seemed like a gentleman. It helped that Jason was a great kisser too. Carly's thoughts were interrupted when she heard the front door open and her fathers' footsteps into the kitchen.

"Hey, honey." Victor greeted Carly with a shoulder gaze as he passed her to the fridge before pulling out a beer. Carly raised an eyebrow. Her dad didn't drink much especially after seeing what it did to her mother and his ex-wife. When he noticed her looking, he just shrugged as he passed by her once again. "It was a long day at work."

"Dinner will be done in a few minutes," Carly said after him soon after she heard the sound of his boots hitting the wood floor in the living room and the TV click on. The two used to be super close but the last few months had basically driven them apart.

Carly strained the noodles before carrying them to the table along with the sauce. A bowl of olives and a half loaf garlic bread sat on it as well. It was one of Victor's favorite meals and Carly figured it would help his mood. She opened the front door and yelled out for Adam and Sarah who yelled back saying they were coming.

When Carly got back to the dining room, where she had found her dad there already. His plate was already made as he waited for his children to take a seat at the table. Carly was the first of the children to sit, the other two pushing through the doorway and into the bathroom to wash up.

"I was wondering if I could go out later this week." She said, reaching for the sauce. Her dad looked up from his food to look at her. A quizzical look on his face before it evened out.

"Does this have something to do with that cop?" Victor asked her, twirling noodles around his fork but not taking a bite. Before Carly could respond to her father continued. "I talked to Ron yesterday." So Ron had tattled on her but about what? The two had sat in plain sight the entire time at the diner and it wasn't like he knew what had happened in Jason's patrol car.

Unsure of where this was going Carly just answered with a simple "Yes." but she decided that wasn't a good place to leave her answer so she continued. "It's nothing serious."

"Nothing serious?" He asked, now even more confused. "What about your shifts at the diner? What about your siblings?" By this time, Adam and Sarah had sat at the table quietly and made their own plates. The only sounds besides the conversation were the sound of their forks scraping against their plates.

"It's only one night, dad. I can go on one of my days off."

"When you're supposed to be at home doing housework?"

"That's all I do. I never go out." Carly said softly, she knew her father wouldn't really like that sound of that and by the look on his face. He didn't.

"What else do you want, Carly?" Victor asked Carly, his fingers tightening around his fork.

"Nothing." She tried to lighten his reaction by ending the conversation. "I can go while Adam and Sarah are at school."

Her father was silent for a few moments. The silence was filled with a thick tension between Carly and her father. Victor still hadn't taken a bite of his dinner as he folded his hands in front of his face. He just looked at Carly. When he did speak up it was Carly was hoping not to hear.

"I don't know. I don't like it." He told her honestly. "What about them?" Carly looked at her siblings across the table who looked uneasy about being brought into this conversation.

"What do you mean, what about them? It's not like I'm marrying the guy.."

"Don't you think it's a little weird Carly?" Victor stood up, "Don't you think it's a little weird that this man just shows up not even a week ago and already wants you to go on a date with you? I'm not stupid Carly. It seems like you are a little biased though, aren't you? Or is that hickey from someone else?" He pointed to the side of her neck where Jason's lips had been previously; it had been fading and Carly hadn't thought to cover it up after her shower. She brought a hand up to cover it.

Carly didn't know how to react to his question. Was he insinuating that she was a whore? Did her own father think she was a whore? She had never given him a reason to think that. She hadn't even asked to go on a date before. Maybe she was getting herself a little too deep too fast. It was the first time that she had received male attention. Maybe that clouded her judgment but she just wanted to feel wanted and Jason made her feel that way. She was used to her mother making remarks about her but the way her dad looked at Carly made her sick. The disappointment was written all over his face.

"It's not- He's not- I know that you're not stupid but it's not like that." Tears threatened to leave her eyes as she tried to fix the situation. Victor left the dining area before going to where he had taken off his boots. He looked down at the ground for a second before he looked up at her coldly.

"I don't care what you do Carly. It's your choice. You don't know who he really is." Her father said as he pulled on his boots, "Just remember that your actions have consequences." And with that, he laced them up, put on his coat, and headed out the front door slamming it on his way out. The room was again filled with silence only to hear her dad's truck start and leave the driveway.

Carly wiped the tears that left her eyes before she remembered Adam and Sarah who just stared at her. They looked almost as confused and upset as Carly did. Embarrassed, Carly excused herself and headed up to her bedroom where without thinking she scrolled through her contact list and pressed the call. 

EDITED 6/29/2020