open
easily in my hands as I step outside and head for one of the large flower pots.
It's November now and the temperatures were staying steady around the
mid-sixties, but I know next month they'll begin to drop. Some of the flowers
will be done blooming and I'll miss their bright beauty in the backyard.
I figure
Noah won't mind if I pluck a few, so I grab two large orange flowers and lift
them to my nose and inhale their delicate fragrance. Their scent reminds me of
summer and sunshine. With a satisfied smile on my face, I head back inside and
grab a glass and fill it with water. Then I put the pretty blooms in the glass
and set it in the middle of the table. Now I have something pretty to look at
while I work on the dreaded assignment.
I must have
fallen asleep because I hear a loud bang and my entire body jerks, causing me
to fall off the kitchen chair. I'd been dreaming about the robbery and the
gunfire still echoes in my ears. My butt hurts from my fall and I sit there on
the floor and look around sleepily before I catch sight of Noah.
“You okay?”
He is standing by the garage door, his expression one of surprise as he stares
at me.
I realize it
must have been the sound of the garage door slamming shut that had woken me up.
Slowly, I rise to my feet and rub my aching rear end. “Yeah. You startled me,”
I say as I move back to my chair and gingerly sit down.
Noah enters
the kitchen. “I'd say, were you sleeping?” he asks as he walks over and his
eyes take in my school work scattered across the table.
“Must've
been, considering I normally don't dive to the floor when I'm fully conscious,”
I say dryly.
“I didn't
know if you'd be here or not.”
I sigh and
meet his eyes. “We made a deal. I'll honor it,” I say grudgingly.
He nods.
“I'll make us dinner while you do your homework.”
“I can
help.”
“Homework,
Blayre.”
“Yes,
Daddy,” I say as I shoot him an annoyed look.
Noah's expression
suddenly looks tortured. “Never, ever call me that again.”
“Then don't
act like one,” I muse.
He shakes
his head and walks away to wash up before making our dinner. When he comes
back, we work in contented silence. While he moves around the kitchen, I focus
my attention on doing my homework. You'd think that he'd be a distraction but
he's not. If anything, I manage to concentrate better. Maybe it's because I'm
aware I'm not alone in the house or maybe it's the fact that he is the
one pushing me to do my homework. I don't know.
Either way,
I accomplished more than I had in the last week before we settle down to eat at
the table after I cleared my papers from it.
As we eat, I
expect Noah to dive in to the conversation I'd promised to have with him but
instead he keeps it light and we talk about random stuff, like the fact that
the holidays are coming up—which I am absolutely dreading—but I don't tell him
that. We discuss the weather and how relieved I am that I won't have to deal
with snow. It's just little things that fill our conversation and it's easy to
eat and chat at the same time.
When we're
finished, I help Noah clean up. He then pours us two glasses of lemonade and
grabs his cigarettes after asking if I mind. I shake my head and we head out to
the patio to sit at the table. My nerves are suddenly on edge. The moment is
here where I have to answer his questions and try to get him to understand that
whatever good he saw in me was clearly a figment of his imagination.
Noah lights
up a cigarette and takes a drag before focusing his attention on me. “Are you
willing to share anything with me on your own or do I have to drag it out of
you with numerous questions?”
“Numerous
questions it is.” If I had it my way, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.
He looks
disappointed but nods as he flicks some ash off his cigarette. “Why Cole?”
I'd been
expecting him to dive right into the whole 'cutting' thing so I am caught off
guard. I think over his question for a long
easily in my hands as I step outside and head for one of the large flower pots.
It's November now and the temperatures were staying steady around the
mid-sixties, but I know next month they'll begin to drop. Some of the flowers
will be done blooming and I'll miss their bright beauty in the backyard.
I figure
Noah won't mind if I pluck a few, so I grab two large orange flowers and lift
them to my nose and inhale their delicate fragrance. Their scent reminds me of
summer and sunshine. With a satisfied smile on my face, I head back inside and
grab a glass and fill it with water. Then I put the pretty blooms in the glass
and set it in the middle of the table. Now I have something pretty to look at
while I work on the dreaded assignment.
I must have
fallen asleep because I hear a loud bang and my entire body jerks, causing me
to fall off the kitchen chair. I'd been dreaming about the robbery and the
gunfire still echoes in my ears. My butt hurts from my fall and I sit there on
the floor and look around sleepily before I catch sight of Noah.
“You okay?”
He is standing by the garage door, his expression one of surprise as he stares
at me.
I realize it
must have been the sound of the garage door slamming shut that had woken me up.
Slowly, I rise to my feet and rub my aching rear end. “Yeah. You startled me,”
I say as I move back to my chair and gingerly sit down.
Noah enters
the kitchen. “I'd say, were you sleeping?” he asks as he walks over and his
eyes take in my school work scattered across the table.
“Must've
been, considering I normally don't dive to the floor when I'm fully conscious,”
I say dryly.
“I didn't
know if you'd be here or not.”
I sigh and
meet his eyes. “We made a deal. I'll honor it,” I say grudgingly.
He nods.
“I'll make us dinner while you do your homework.”
“I can
help.”
“Homework,
Blayre.”
“Yes,
Daddy,” I say as I shoot him an annoyed look.
Noah's expression
suddenly looks tortured. “Never, ever call me that again.”
“Then don't
act like one,” I muse.
He shakes
his head and walks away to wash up before making our dinner. When he comes
back, we work in contented silence. While he moves around the kitchen, I focus
my attention on doing my homework. You'd think that he'd be a distraction but
he's not. If anything, I manage to concentrate better. Maybe it's because I'm
aware I'm not alone in the house or maybe it's the fact that he is the
one pushing me to do my homework. I don't know.
Either way,
I accomplished more than I had in the last week before we settle down to eat at
the table after I cleared my papers from it.
As we eat, I
expect Noah to dive in to the conversation I'd promised to have with him but
instead he keeps it light and we talk about random stuff, like the fact that
the holidays are coming up—which I am absolutely dreading—but I don't tell him
that. We discuss the weather and how relieved I am that I won't have to deal
with snow. It's just little things that fill our conversation and it's easy to
eat and chat at the same time.
When we're
finished, I help Noah clean up. He then pours us two glasses of lemonade and
grabs his cigarettes after asking if I mind. I shake my head and we head out to
the patio to sit at the table. My nerves are suddenly on edge. The moment is
here where I have to answer his questions and try to get him to understand that
whatever good he saw in me was clearly a figment of his imagination.
Noah lights
up a cigarette and takes a drag before focusing his attention on me. “Are you
willing to share anything with me on your own or do I have to drag it out of
you with numerous questions?”
“Numerous
questions it is.” If I had it my way, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.
He looks
disappointed but nods as he flicks some ash off his cigarette. “Why Cole?”
I'd been
expecting him to dive right into the whole 'cutting' thing so I am caught off
guard. I think over his question for a long
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