I didn’t say yes yet.
But you didn’t say no either. Would it be okay, or do you have to work?
I don’t have to work.
I smile that she still hasn’t said no.
Okay, good, so one thing less to worry about.
I’ve got to study.
Call me later, if you want.
I pull up the text to my father right away.
What should I do for a first date?
The sound of thunder fills the room, and I look up in time to see the lightning follow another couple of booms. The sound of rain hitting the window fills the room, and my leg starts moving up and down when I see the little gray bubble with the three dots come up. It stays like that for more than two minutes before my phone rings. I press the green button, and then my father’s face fills the screen.
“Hey,” he says, smiling at me, and I see my mother is there. “What does she like to do?” my father asks me, and all I can do is shake my head, shrugging.
“I have no idea.” I look at both of them. “That is why I’m asking you.”
“Well, at least you know she likes you if she had sex with you,” my mother observes, and all I can do is close my eyes. Also, she is not wrong.
“Okay, well, I’m not having sex with her.” Yet, I leave out because no one should be talking about sex with their mother. But then again, no one is my mother.
“And why not?” She throws her hands up. “I fell in love with your father because of all the sex we had.”
“And the fish,” my father chimes in. “She really started to love me when I gifted her Elsa, the fish.”
My mother gasps. “I broke up with you because of that fucking thing. Who gives a woman a fish?”
She shakes her head.
“You loved that fish,” my father says as my phone pings with Avery’s name.
I sit up as thunderclaps fill the room, along with the flash of lightning. “I have to go. It’s Avery.” I don’t even wait for my father to say anything.
Her face fills the screen, and I can see she’s in a dark room. “Daddy,” she whines, her voice soft, and I swear I can see tears streaked on her face. My whole body goes numb and stiff at the same time.
I toss my laptop to the side and run to the door before she even says another word. “We have no lights.” I run around the fucking house, looking for my fucking keys and finally finding them in my bedroom.
“Where is Mommy?” I ask her and she jumps when thunder claps again.
“She went to check—” she says. “I’m scared.” My whole body goes cold. I run out of the house, the wind and rain hitting me, and I have to shield my eyes.
“Hey, look at me,” I tell her as I get in my car and pull out of the driveway, the wipers going as fast as they can to clear the rain off my windshield, but it’s coming down too hard. The bright white line of lightning flashes in front of me while Avery cries softly. “I’ll be right there,” I soothe her as I try to go as fast as I can safely. “Look at me, baby girl. I’m going to be right there,” I tell her, and then
the line goes dead.
“Avery!” I yell her name, and when I call her back, it tells me the person is unavailable. I pull up in front of her house and run out faster than I’ve ever run. I swing open the door, and the heat hits me right away. “Fuck,” I hiss as I take two steps at a time until I get to her door and knock fast and hard.
“Addison!” I shout her name, “Avery!”
The sound of the door unlocking somehow makes me feel a touch better. She opens the door, and I pull her to me. “Stefano,” she says. “You’re soaking wet.” She laughs at me, my heart beating even faster. “What are you doing here?”
“Avery called me,” I explain, walking in and feeling the heat run through me. “Avery,” I say her name, and she comes running to me as I squat down. “Where is your iPad?”
“On the bed, there is a red light in the middle,” she tells me. “I was scared.”
“She called you?” Addison asks me. “But why?”
“I was scared,” Avery repeats softly.
“You ready to go?” I ask Avery and then look over at Addison. “Come home with me?” I don’t even know if I’m asking her or telling her.
“We’re fine here,” she says. “The lights will be back on soon.”
“I have the room, and it’s getting really hot in here.” She can’t deny it’s an oven in here. The windows are open, and towels are on the floor to soak up whatever water they can. “Come with me.”