Like Father Like Son

Study date

After a long day of school, I was so happy to be at the studio. I just wanted to clear my mind, and this was the perfect place to do it. Once we got inside, dad left me to find the others. I went straight to the drum set to drum out my frustration.

It felt good sitting at the drum set. I got lost in the sound as I played. That is, until my phone rang.
"This better not be Daisy" I mumbled as I placed the sticks down. I pulled out my phone and didn't recognize the number, but answered anyway.
"Hello?"
"Hey Parker. It's Cody. Daisy gave me your number"
"Oh hey Cody. What's up?"
"I realized I had some studying to do tonight, and I remembered you saying you needed to as well. Want to study together?"
"That sounds like a good idea. Where do you want to meet?"
"I'll come to you. Just send over the address"
Cody hung up before I could say any more. I really didn't want him coming to the studio, so I sent him my address and planned to meet him there.

I went to go find dad so I could let him know I was leaving. I found him in the office with the others.
"Hey dad, I'm going home to study" I said as I stuck my head through the doorway.
"Need a ride?" He asked as he looked over at me.
"Nah, it's a short walk. I'll be fine" I said.
"Stay safe" dad said as he looked back at what he was working on.
"See you guys later" I walked out and headed outside.

I felt confident as I walked home. At first I was nervous to run into anyone, but then I remembered how much I loved being out here by myself. It was peaceful. I even started wishing it was a longer walk. I debated on taking a detour to make it longer, but I realized I had to get there before Cody.

Once I got home I went straight to my room to get things ready. I cleared off my desk and placed my bag next to it. I realized Cody needed somewhere to sit as well, so I went to dad's office to borrow a chair. He wouldn't mind, and I'll just put it back after. I placed his chair next to mine at my desk and made sure everything was neat. Now I just had to wait for him to arrive.

As I sat on the couch waiting on Cody, I began to worry he wouldn't show. Then the doorbell rang. I sprung up onto my feet and rushed to the door. Realized how nervous I was, I took a moment to breathe before letting him in. I opened the door and saw Cody standing there, his bag hanging from his left shoulder.
"Hey, come in" I said, trying to sound welcoming.
"Thanks. Your parents home?" He asked.
"My dad's at work" I explained as I lead him up the stairs
"What about your mom?" He asked, causing me to stop. I know he didn't know, but I hated being asked about her.
"Not sure, never knew her" I said softly.
"Oh man, I'm sorry. I didn't know" Cody said.
"Don't worry about it" I forced myself to smile at him before leading him towards my room.

"What's in there?" Cody asked as we passed dad's office.
"That's my dad's office. He's in there a lot when he's not at work" I explained.
"Why don't we study in here then?" Cody suggested.
"Uh, my dad doesn't really like anything in there being disturbed. Let's just go to my desk" I said. Cody just shrugged and followed me into my room.

We sat down together at my desk, Cody letting his bag fall onto the ground.
"So, where should we start?" I asked as I pulled my bag into my lap. Cody leaned over to look at the contents of his own bag.
"You in history?" He asked as he pulled out his textbook.
"Yeah, my class is currently doing a project, so I'm catching up with what I miss. Right now it's Watergate" I said as I pulled out my own textbook. I placed my bag back on the ground and looked over at Cody. He already looked bored to be here.
"Sounds good. My class already learned all that but I'll help you out" he said.

We went over notes for a while and I noticed Cody looking more and more like he didn't want to be here.
"Are you okay?" I asked. Cody looked up from our notes and sighed.
"Oh yeah. Hey Parker, can I get some water?" He asked.
"Of course" I said as I stood up. "I'll be right back"
I headed out of my room and down the hall towards the stairs. When I passed by dad's office, I closed the door and locked it. For some reason I just couldn't trust Cody after the way he looked into it. I then headed down the stairs and towards the kitchen to grab his water.

I heard footsteps flying down the stairs while I was reaching into the fridge for the bottle of water.
"Cody?" I called out as I stepped back. I heard the front door quickly open and slam shut. I closed the fridge and placed the water on the counter before investigating. I headed up the stairs and did feel some relief to see dad's office still closed.

I walked into my room and saw Cody was gone. Not only that, but my closet door was open. When I walked inside to see why, I realized my guitar was missing. I shook out the thought of Cody stealing it, maybe I just forgot it at the studio. As I stood there thinking, I noticed something odd from the corner of my eye.

I walked over to my dresser and saw all my pictures knocked over. I noticed all of the top drawers weren't closed all the way. I felt panic as I slowly opened the most important. My box with my necklace was gone. Part of me wanted to scream, part of me wanted to cry. Part of me wanted to chase him down, but he drove and I had no idea where he was going.

Maybe I was being paranoid. I decided to text Eric to see if my guitar was with him.
"Hey Bass, did I leave my guitar at the studio?" I wrote. I paced in my room as I waited for a response.
"No, you took it home last time you brought it" Eric wrote back. I threw my phone in frustration. It landed next to my bed, hitting the floor hard. I didn't care, I was too frustrated. All I knew was Cody would be in big trouble if I ran into him at school.

I thought about how frustrated I was. It was starting to feel like the whole school was turning against me, but maybe that's just because things felt bad. I knew if I wanted out, I had to do well these last few weeks and graduate. Then things would start looking better. I threw myself down onto the chair at my desk and got to work studying. It was hard to focus with Cody in the back of my mind. I had no idea if he took anything else, but I was afraid to look. I did the best I could to focus on my studying for now. 

"Parker! I'm home!" Dad called out after I heard the front door open. I walked out of my room and greeted him from the top of the stairs. 
"Hey dad" I said softly as I made my way down.
"Everything okay?" He asked with a hint of concern in his voice. I'm sure he's been worrying about me a lot lately.
"Uh, so I had a friend over to study..." I started as I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Daisy?" Dad asked. I knew he'd be unhappy to hear anyone else was over, but I had to tell him. 
"No, his name is Cody. You might've seen him before" I said nervously.
"Is he still here?" Dad asked in an almost whisper, eyeing the top of the stairs.
"No, he left. With my guitar and necklace Eric gave me, and who knows what else" I said sadly. I was afraid to look at dad, I didn't want to see the anger in his eyes.
"Oh buddy, what happened?" He asked softly. I looked up at him and saw the sadness in his eyes.
"I don't know dad, he asked for water so I left him in my room and went to get him some, and then he took off. When I went to my room I noticed they were missing" I held back my tears as I spoke. "I'm sorry dad, I shouldn't have even let him in. But I thought I could trust him, he was always kind and caring at school"
"We all make mistakes bud. I trust that you really thought better of him before letting him in. I'm sorry things have been going bad lately"
"I just can't wait to get out of school. Things will get better then" I mumbled. Dad suddenly pulled him into his arms and held me close. 
"Yes Parker, but for now you gotta stay strong and work hard" He whispered. I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, trying to relax. I was so lucky to have a supportive father like him, even if some days it felt like just the two of us against the world.