This Alien Soul

Chapter 2

Red bikini hidden under a loose coverup dress, I carried my beach bag on one arm and my flip flops in the other. I attempted to tip toe down the stairs without stepping on the creaky boards. Luckily, I had memorized the ones to skip over the years.

I was hoping to make it out the door without alerting my dad. He was busy, holed up in his study on the first floor. If he caught me before I made it out, it was likely I wouldn't be going to the lake at all today.

Knowing from past escape attempts that the last step squeaked with the slightest pressure, I took the extra effort to skip that step. I was turning to caution Kelly to do the same, only to witness as she slipped, three steps from the bottom, and landed on her ass with a loud umph'.

For a moment there was absolute silence. Kelly looked up at me with wide eyes, and we both silently prayed that by some miracle my dad hadn't heard. Maybe we had gotten lucky and he was wearing his noise canceling head phones. Or he could be so busy with his work that he didn't care to leave the office to investigate - not likely.

"Amber, is that you?" I should have known, I was never lucky.

'Sorry', Kelly mouthed at me as I rolled my eyes in annoyance. The girl didn't know how to be silent to save her life. I considered making a run for it. But knew that would just result in a grounding waiting for me when I returned..

"Yes, it's me." I huffed, as I offered a hand to help Kelly up. "Kelly and I were just heading out for a little while."

"You know you can't go anywhere today!" Dad called out, steel and annoyance in his voice. We could hear the scrapping of his chair against the hard wood, signalling he was on his way.

"Shit, I'm sorry." Kelly muttered squeezing my hand. "I'll stay with you."

"No, it's fine." It wasn't her fault my dad was a doctor and anal about sticking strictly to my treatment schedule. Any other time of the month and they wouldn't care what I was up to. But not today. "Maybe I can convince him just this once."

Kelly shot me a disbelieving look. She had been my best friend since elementary school and was as close to me as a sister. As a result, she knew exactly how my dad could be. He had my best interest at heart, but it could be really inconvenient and had resulted in me missing out more than once over the years.

Dr. Timothy Starkey came charging down the hallway, clearly on a mission. A worry line creased his forehead, marring his otherwise impeccable appearance. Even though he was spending the day out of the office and not seeing patients, he still wore his starched black slacks and a button down polo shirt that couldn't be comfortable while sitting at a computer all day doing paperwork. His dark hair was slicked back in a comb over style that was only now starting to gray slightly by his ears. Though this only contributed more to his sophisticated appearance.

"Hello Dr. Starkey." Kelly actually blushed as she did a little finger wave my fathers way. She had never bothered to hide that fact that she found my father "wickedly handsome". I threw a quick elbow into her side, with a muttered 'quit it'.

"Kelly." Dad acknowledged her briefly, before turning burning blue eyes my way. "What is this about you leaving? You know you have your treatment today."

"It's the last day of summer, can't it wait." I hated the whinny desperation in my voice, making me sound like I was ten rather than my eighteen years of age,  but it couldn't be helped.

"You're already a day late Amber." Dad glanced down at his watch. Sometimes he acted like being a minute late with my medication would result in my death. "And I've already set it up in the living room. Your mother started up your favorite Netflix series for you. Kelly is welcome to stay, but your treatment can't wait."