Finding Olivia

Chapter 14

My mom and dad were asleep when I arrived home. I half expected my dad to still be awake, pacing the halls, waiting for my arrival. I let myself in and went straight up to my room to go to bed, leaving my suitcase in the trunk of my car.

★★★

It was morning now, late morning.

Dad never let me sleep in.

I stepped out of my room and looked around, expecting him to come running at me, with a shaking fist, cursing me for sleeping in.

But nothing happened.

I quietly descended the steps, looking for him.

I tiptoed into the family room and saw my mom sitting there, drinking a cup of coffee, and watching a news show.

She never watched TV or drank coffee when he was around.

"Dad's gone," I stated.

"Some church thing," she smiled pleasantly and patted the spot next to her on the striped couch. Whenever he was gone, she became a whole new person, more vibrant and alive. "He won't be back until late tonight, we'll probably be asleep. There's some breakfast left over if you'd like some or we could go out and get lunch."

I smiled brightly. My dad would never let us eat out, so on the rare occasions that he was gone, my mom would treat me to lunch out.

"Lunch would be great," I beamed.

"Good," she patted my knee, "and I can't wait to hear all about school without your dad around."

"I'll go shower and get dressed," I stood. "Where do you want to go for lunch?"

We always had to drive out of town so that one of dad's church members didn't see us.

"I'm not sure yet," she sipped her coffee. "We'll think of something while we drive." Her eyes widened and zeroed in on my arm. "Is that a tattoo?"

"Oh," I looked down, "yeah."

"I like it," she smiled. "But you better not let your father see it. You know how he is."

"Yeah, I know," I grumbled with a dramatic sigh, rubbing my still sleepy eyes.

I went outside, and carried my suitcase in, before getting ready.

Since I was home, I dressed in a worn pair of jeans, and a sweatshirt. Avery would have a conniption if she knew, but I wasn't trying to impress anyone.

"Ready!" I called as I bound down the steps.

She grabbed her keys and I followed her out to the garage.

I slid into the beige leather seat of her Lexus sedan. Even though it was a few years old, it was in pristine condition, and still smelled new.

We were quiet during the ride, enjoying the peace.

"How does that place look?" My mom pointed to a restaurant after driving for almost an hour.

"Looks good to me. I'm not picky," I shrugged.

She glanced at me, a smile curving her lips. "I'm really happy you're home, Olivia. I know you were just here," she swallowed, "and you'd probably rather be at school, but I want you to know that I love when you're home. I hate that we don't get to spend much time together."

I took her hand in answer.

★★★

"This is so yummy," I took a bite of a sweet potato fry before slurping on my second glass of sweat tea. I'd added a ton of sugar packets to it. No one up North knew how to make it sweet enough.