Blurred Lines

Chapter Ten

The following days were mundane, mostly consisting of Dad doing patrols and me at the restaurant. We both woke up early, had scrambled eggs and buttered toast while watching the morning news. Then we would roll our cars out of the driveway and head off to work. Since I worked the morning shift at the restaurant, most of my afternoons were free. I spent my days hanging out with Bri, cleaning the house, or laying out by the pool. In the evenings, Dad and I alternated in cooking dinner and dishes. Later on, we resorted to either watching a movie or lounging by the pool, sometimes dipping our toes into the star speckled water. We burned the tiki torches that surrounded the pool, providing a sense of comfort and adventure to our laughter filled nights.

On Friday night, I pulled into the driveway after hanging out with Bri and some other friends from high school. The tiki torches were lit, illuminating the smiling faces of my dad, Mr. Mike, and his wife Carol. I could see the beer bottles loosely gripped in Dad and Mr. Mike's hands, but without even looking, I could already guess that Carol had chosen a bottle of water for tonight.

"Blair, come on back!" Dad waved, standing up to pull over another chair into the circle.

"Hi Blair," Carol greeted with a warm smile and a hug. She was a plump woman with short hair, and always gave the kind of hug that had the power to warm somebody up in the middle of a snowstorm. "You're back already? What time is it?"

Mr. Mike gave me a hug while she checked her watch and clicked her tongue. "Mike, we have to go. The babysitter is going to be waiting."

He looked at the clock on his phone and agreed, downing the rest of his beer. "Thanks for having us John." He shook Dad's hand and went in for a one-armed hug. "I'll see you at the office on Monday."

"Yeah, thanks for having us." Carol hugged Dad. "Maybe next week you could come over our place? Mike just finished building a little stone fireplace that you could check out."

"I'll have to check the schedule, but I'm sure that will work. Sounds fun." Dad smiled and took a swig of his beer.

"Carol," Mike started out seriously. "Just so you know, John doesn't like cauliflower pizza so we'd have to order out."

"You're such a big baby, Mike." Carol rolled her eyes, and gathered up her water bottle and the keys. "But we can order out if John comes."

We began to walk them to their car and Mr. Mike turned around to us, mouthing, "You have to come." Dad laughed as Mr. Mike gave him a thumbs up and shot me a wink before sliding into the passenger seat.

We waved as they drove away and Dad chuckled, shaking his head. "I swear, that man is a mess. If Carol wasn't around to whip him into shape, he probably wouldn't be able to tell his rights from his lefts."

I laughed and we walked back up to the pool area to extinguish the torches. As I lined the chairs back up in their normal places, Dad asked about my night. We cleaned everything up and went inside.

He leaned against the counter, finishing his beer as I grabbed a glass of water. "Are you up for some hiking tomorrow?"

"Sure, where are you thinking?"

Dad shrugged and tapped his fingers against the glass. "Maybe the trail that leads to the waterfalls? I can't remember the name of it. It's a longer hike, but it has a pretty view."
"Oh yeah, Spring Lane trails." I finished my water and put the cup in the dishwasher. "I'm good for that. What time do you want to go?"

"Maybe we could leave at around 7:00 AM and try to walk before the sun starts to get brutally hot."

"Sounds good. I'm going to go to bed." I checked to make sure the front door was locked and Dad checked the back before we both went upstairs to go to bed.

***

The alarm entered my dreams like a blaring siren, jolting me out of sleep. The sun hung in the sky behind some wispy clouds, illuminating the sky but not yet heating up the world like a fried egg.

I groaned and rolled over to turn the alarm off, slowly getting out of bed to get dressed. By the time I was brushing my teeth, Dad was already downstairs filling up water bottles.

"Good morning, princess." He grinned. "You look beautiful today."

I peered at him under my heavy eyelids and caught a look at the ratty bun sitting on top of my head in the reflection of the microwave. Scowling at him, I muttered, "Shut up."

His phone rang and before he answered, he asked if I could make him some eggs for breakfast. He stuck the water bottles in the fridge before bounding up the stairs to answer the call.

I put together a breakfast of oranges and scrambled eggs. As the eggs were finishing, I took them off the heat and put them on the other side of the stove so I could go tell Dad that breakfast was ready.

As I neared the top of the stairs, I could hear him in his room. His voice had an edge to it.

"No, I can hear what you're saying. I just don't understand." There was some clicking and as I silently scooched over towards his door, I caught a glimpse of him on his computer.

A person cleared their throat on the other end of the phone. "John, I'm sorry." It was Mr. Mike. His voice came through hesitant and unsure on the speaker phone. "Should I have not called you? I thought you wanted to know so I called as soon as I received word."

"No," Dad rushed. "Thank you for telling me."

"Are you okay?" Mr. Mike's voice was low.

"Yeah." Dad huffed. "Just frustrated. How come it feels like justice won't be served?"

"It's not like he's free though, John. He's being let out on good behavior, but he is on probation." He tried to be reassuring, but by Dad's silence, I could tell it wasn't working.

I wondered who they were talking about, and why Dad cared enough. How did Mr. Mike know this information and Dad didn't?

My leg cramped and I shifted, causing the floor to squeak a little bit.

"I have to go. Thank you again for telling me." Dad stood up.

"Of course, man. I'm sorry." The call ended and I quickly straightened, recovering quick enough so that when Dad came though the door, I looked like I had just come up the stairs.

"I was just coming to tell you that breakfast is ready." I smiled. "Did you want a snack or anything for later? I think I'm going to pack myself an energy bar and some fruit."

"Sure, that'd be great. Thank you." He gave a tight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'll be downstairs in a minute, okay?"

I nodded and went down to scoop the eggs onto two plates. My mind was in overdrive, a million questions buzzing around. A sneaky thought crept to the forefront above the rest because of Dad's disappointment. It sounded like this was a personal call, despite how Mr. Mike was Dad's coworker.

Shaking my head, I tried to convince myself that I was jumping to conclusions and that I was crazy for thinking something like that. I tried to think of other questions like where this person was being let out. Based on the rest of their conversation, I was guessing they were being let out of jail, but maybe it was a mental institution or some other kind of facility. Why was Dad upset about this information? What was he expecting? Why didn't Dad feel like justice would be served? Who did Mr. Mike get this information from?

But the main question that burned through my head revolved around the man that remained a bitter taste in my mouth ever since he ruined my life. Could the person they were talking about possibly be Dave Harvey? Who were they talking about?

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I hope everyone is doing well! What did you think of this chapter?

What is your favorite thing to do on the weekends with either your family or friends? I love being outside, either hiking or just hanging out :)

- Payton