“Groceries.” I finish in a hushed voice.
“Mhmm.” Jameson answers. “I will say, my men are supposed to report if there’s any movement around the house, so I apologize for not alerting you. We’ll get better at that moving forward.”
“No…I…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped to—”
“Thinking your father who’s on the run has stopped by to see his child? Nah, that’s pretty normal to be on guard. You did the right thing by calling me.”
I feel that familiar wave of guilt wash over me. I should’ve called them a long time ago. “Yeah…”
“This could be a lot to handle for anyone. You do have someone to talk to though, right? I want to make sure you’re getting the support you need.”
I feel my breath picking up, my heart starting to beat fast all over again.
Do I have someone to talk to about this?
Well…no.
I can’t talk to Gwen or anyone at work about what’s been going on with my dad because well, it’s illegal what I did. And I can’t talk to the one person I want to talk to the most, which is Elijah, because I lied tohim. The one person I should never have lied to. I’m in too deep and I’m drowning.
Just like my stupid, awful dream.
I’m alone.
“Um, yeah. Absolutely I do.” I lie. I run my hand through my hair and think of any way to get off this call. “Anyway, I probably should run. I’ve got some errands to do.”
“Yeah. Of course. And remember, don’t hesitate to call if you hear from him.”
“Yeah, sounds good. Bye.” I hang up the phone and throw my cell phone on the couch.
I’ll be running without my phone today.
***
“No, I asked for two margaritapizzas, notmargaritas.” The old gentleman snarked.
“Shit—I mean,sorry.”I cringe, picking the salt-rimmed drinks off the table.
His eyebrows raise over his dark rimmed glasses as he looks from his shocked family back to me. “Excuse me? Can we speak to your manager?”
“I am the manager.” I try to give my best polite smile.
The man’s eyes scan me from head to toe. “You’re just a boy.”
I huff, trying to keep my cool. “How about this? Your dinner is on me tonight. I can get those pizzas on the way right now.”
He nods his head, still looking me over, as I make my way back over to the bar, dropping off the drinks.
“We’re up two margaritas.” I huff, punching in the pizzas on the screen.
“Two? Yay! Can I have them after work?” Claire bounces on her toes, as she fills up a Coke with the soda gun.
“No,” I say, sliding the drink over to Gabe who sets it aside for hopefully another order. I groan, stuffing my head in my hands. This is the third mistake I’ve made tonight. “This used to be so much easier. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me tonight.”
“You got a lot on your mind?” Gabe asks, topping off a beer before sliding it over to Claire so she can run it to her table.
“Don’t I always?” I laugh pathetically.
“You know what you need?” Gabe points at me. “A night of fun.”
