That Abercrombie Model

SEVEN

The unpleasantness I felt yesterday returns. "Dad." I lean on the door and cross my arms. It hits me that I never told my parents that I moved. "How did you know this place?"

He looks at me sheepishly. He points at the necklace. My face goes rigid. The necklace has a tracker in it, I recall. They put it there when I started having sleepwalking fits at thirteen, to protect me. Right now this is not protecting, it's a menacing and outright invasion.

"You can't use that anymore. I'm an adult, right?" I say with annoyance at his omission.

He does not react as I expected, he scratches his ear, a sign he is flustered. "Aren't you going to let me in?" I want to close the door on him. Why is he ignoring my questions?

I move away from the door and let him enter. He takes the whole place in before settling down into an armchair.

I sit across from him, waiting for him to talk. He evades my gaze completely. Me and my father hardly have any arguments, this is as foreign to me as it is for him. "I'm sorry for the things I said." He says catching me off guard, I lean forward in my chair. "I didn't mean any of it. You know I'm a traditional guy, I value marriage so much, like look at me and your mother. I assumed your marriage would- I don't know- be as long lasting as ours. I didn't consider the possibilities." He rakes his fingers through his hair.

I am so relieved to hear him say that, I get up from my seat and hug him. He hugs me back with as much force. "I understand." I am overcome by the moment that without noticing, tears have started running down my face. I try to wipe them away but my dad beats me to it. A smile forms on my lips despite the tears.

"What is it, Lizzie?" He asks in the soft tone he reserves for me, his baby girl, as he wipes my tears with his handkerchief.

I vent out everything that happened with Glen to him. I feel a lot better for having told him and the murderous look he assumes when I am done is quite satisfactory. "That good-for-nothing boy." He says sternly. I know he won't do anything about it, cause as he said, he is a very conventional man, but if I feel good to have dad on my side. He faces me with an even softer complexion, "I'm so sorry you had to go through this. I wish- " He is at a loss for words. All he can do is hug me tighter and mutter sweet words of comfort as any father would do for a daughter in distress.

After a few minutes, he has to go back to work. I escort him to the door. He kisses my forehead and I whisper in his ear, "I appreciate your coming, dad."

"Anytime, big girl." He says while flexing his muscles, to enunciate strength. "You should call your mother. I like this new place by the way."

I'm all smiles when I close the door. The shower that follows might be the happiest shower I have ever taken. After getting dressed, a lot of energy is coursing through my veins. With the summer vacations approaching, exams are too. I plop on my bed buoyantly. As a third year student, my exam will be evaluated based on concept actualization, basically, making my own design and presenting it. I open Digital Fashion Pro and get to work rendering the sketches I made for my finals. After three hours of successful designing, I fall face first into the pillow. I am tired and hungry.

I go to the kitchen to find something to eat. I find some leftover rice, and strips of chicken. Digging further into the fridge produces some tortillas. Burrito, my mind immediately sums up. I grab some hot sauce, mayo and in the process. I throw everything together and heat the burrito in the microwave; not the best course of action, but my stomach doesn't care right now.

I go for a walk after eating and return later to find Jade at home, she looks so engrossed in her large pile of papers, I avoid disturbing her. I go to bed instead. The next morning, I go for the last class of the semester before we get a week off to prepare our prototypes. I take a seat in the middle row, closest to the windows. With the onslaught of heat descending onto the city as summer sets in, I need as much fresh air as possible to stay awake in the Evolution of Fashion class.