Something Worth Fighting For

Chapter Four: The Goodbye Kiss

It was the first Wednesday of November; Natalia had gotten up early as usual. She went down for breakfast only to be stunned.

Sitting at the table were her mother, father, and Dallas. She noticed that he didn’t say anything as she came in. She greeted her parents before getting herself a bowl of cereal, Natalia was confused as to why they were all sitting at the table. It looked as though they had been discussing something before she had arrived.

Natalia rapidly ate her cereal. After putting her bowl in the sink, she turned to her father. “I’m ready to go.” She informed him. That was when her mother spoke up. “Honey, your father won’t be taking you to school for the next little while.” Her mother told her. Natalia noticed how Dallas didn't look up at this. Natalia was at a loss to understand. “How am I getting to school then?” She asked. As Natalia’s mind reached the answer, her mother told her exactly what she had been dreading. “Dallas will be dropping you off and picking you up from school. His schedule for class is similar to yours, and he goes the same way. And next term he will be going to the training camp he signed up for. So it all worked out rather perfectly.” Her mother told her cheerfully.

“But I thought Dad was okay dropping me off.” Natalia complained. There is no way I’m getting stuck with Dallas, absolutely no way, she thought stubbornly. “I was, Lia. It’s just that I have a lot of work to get done, so I’ll be leaving much earlier. I don’t want you to get sick because you don’t sleep enough.” He told his daughter. Dallas had been careful not to look at her or speak up.

“What about Derek? He could drop me off.” Natalia asked hopefully. “He already said he can’t. It was his idea that Dallas drop you off. Don’t look so down sweet heart, you’ll be fine.” Her mother told her, mistaking the murderous look on Natalia’s face.

Stupid, stupid brother, Natalia thought as she dejectedly got into Dallas’ car. Dallas apparently drove a very nice car. It was an Audi A5…it was strange that Natalia hadn’t noticed it until now. Natalia sat silently throughout the ride, not bothering to speak. She wouldn’t even look at him. Dallas didn’t try to make any small talk as he drove to her school.

Once they were in the school parking lot, Natalia got her things together and reached for the door. Oddly, it wouldn’t open. Natalia saw the automatic lock deep within the door. She groaned in dismay. There was no way she could pull the lock up and open the door. There also wasn’t any switch to open the lock from her side.

She turned to face Dallas. “Why are you doing this to me?” She asked him in a bitter tone. “You can’t just leave me, not without a good bye kiss.” He told her. He had a grin planted on his face. “You’re a jerk, do you know that?” She shot at him. “Yea? Too bad name calling won’t open the door.” Dallas retorted. “So this is why you’re driving me to school? So you can annoy me to death?” Natalia told him, unhappily. “No, actually I thought I was doing your parents a favour…and of course annoying you to death is just a bonus.” He told her, with a smirk.

“I’m not going to kiss you.” Natalia told him stubbornly. “Okay, then you can be late for class.” Dallas told her smartly. “You wouldn’t!” Natalia said to him. Natalia looked at the clock on the dash board. She had fifteen minutes to class. Surely, he wouldn’t make her late for school, would he? As if to answer her question, Dallas turned off the engine of the car. He’s serious! Thought an alarmed Natalia.

“I don’t care if I’m late, I’m still not going to kiss you.” Natalia bluffed. She was hoping that he would let her go in time. “Alright, suit yourself.” Dallas said. He took the keys out of the ignition and put them in his pocket. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned in to the seat and closed his eyes. Natalia was furious with him. This was not part of the deal. He was supposed to pick and drop, not hold her hostage in the car and make her late.