An entire week went by without any word from Summer.
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She told me she'd be gone for a few days but never told me where she was going or who with. Come to think of it, she didn't really need to tell me those things.
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I went on with my life as usual but there was a void without her. It was hard sleeping not knowing if she was safe. I hated this new feeling. I hated feeling. A part of me wished to go back to the numb person I was before she came into my life. I hated that I cared so much about someone again. She had the power to break every part of me back down to where I was after my mom died. It was a scary feeling. I couldn't label it anything other than anxiety. What else could it be?
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Gio and I had gotten significantly closer after the visit with Gracie. We ate lunch together a few times during the week and I periodically checked in with him and his family. Frankie's parents invited me for dinner with my dad and I dreaded every single second leading up to it.
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"Why not just cancel?"
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"I can't, it's too last minute plus her parents would definitely hate me more."
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"I mean, does it really matter if her parents like you if you don't like her?"
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"It's complicated." Gio and I sat at the bench that we made our new spot. He threw bread at the birds surrounding the tree in front of us but they were frightened by his aggressive tossing and flew away.
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"Well, if you want I can come."
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"That's not a bad idea." I didn't know where exactly we're going tonight, all I knew was Frankie's parents wanted us to meet and eat. Technically, I could lie and say I didn't know that it was a private dinner and invite Gio to make things less awkward.
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"Knowing her family, she's most likely going all out."
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"Yeah, probably."
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"How's the whole Summer situation going?" I didn't tell him about anything pertaining to Summer after our last conversation because I wasn't sure how much I was able to tell him. I didn't know how much I could trust him.
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"It's complicated."
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"I'm sure it is." He pat my back leaving the bench. "I have class, let me know about tonight."
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I nodded waving him off. I checked my phone for any texts but I just got two missed calls from Frankie.
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"Hello?"
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"Tommy, Where are you? I've been calling you all morning."
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"I was with Gio, are you okay why are you calling me so much?"
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"I was trying to reach you but you're not answering your texts either. I should be the one asking if you're okay."
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"I'm fine, Francesca."
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As if she heard the annoyance oozing off of my voice, she immediately switched her tone to a more aggressive one. "My parents are asking if you're still coming to dinner tonight."
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"Do I have a choice?"
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"No."
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"Then, yes I'll be there." I hung up cutting our conversation short. I admit, I was a little on edge and I didn't want to put the blame on Summer because it wasn't her fault I didn't have control over my feelings when it came to her. I clicked on her contact and let my thumb hover over her number before shutting my phone back off. I shook my head subconsciously knowing that it wasn't smart for me to do anything but wait. I feel like that's all I did was wait, my whole felt like a big waiting room. Waiting to feel better, waiting to move on from my mom's death, waiting for my dad to notice my existence or waiting for Summer. The only thing was I was willing to wait for was Summer, forever if I had to. I don't even know what exactly I was waiting for or expecting but whatever it was I'd accept if it meant I could spend another moment with her. I'm glad no one could hear how pathetic I sound.
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Evening came and it was around the time I was supposed to meet with Frankie and her family for dinner. I told Gio to crash the dinner later in the night so I could avoid the unbearable awkwardness that was inevitably going to come. I rode with my dad and his girlfriend to the restaurant and it was silent for the entire twenty minute drive. We didn't talk much but he didn't really make an effort to get to know me and his girlfriend and I didn't get along so she knew not to spark small talk with me.
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Once we arrived we found our section reserved with two guards standing by the booth. This wasn't uncommon when I went out with Frankie's parents because they were well known. Frankie's mom was an actress in an indie film a few years back that did numbers and since then attracted a fanbase. She hasn't been in one since but still is pretty popular especially in a big city like seattle. Her dad was a businessman like mine and they both work together at my dad's company. They buy struggling companies and flip them for profit but they aren't doing it from the kindness in their heart. My dad and Frankie's dad are two of the coldest people I knew and they saw everything as transactional or an opportunity to make money. Another reason why it was so hard to get rid of Frankie, she was tied into my life the day her dad started working for mine.
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We sat down at the leather booth after getting our greetings out.
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"Frankie! You look amazing sweetie." My dad's girlfriend shook her hand while squeezing it.
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"Stop, thank you! You look amazing too and I love your hair."
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"I just got a blowout yesterday."
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They started talking about irrelevant things and I tuned the entire conversation out until I heard my name.
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"Tommy!" I saw Gio waving behind the guard who was pushing him away from the room. I got up and ran to the door. "Wait, he's with me."
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The guard didn't say anything he just looked back at my dad. He shook his head disappointedly and looked back over at Frankie's mom. "He's my guest not my dads."
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He moved out of the way after a further explanation and Gio released a breath. "Holy shit dude why do you have body guards here?"
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"They aren't mine, it's Frank's parents bodyguard."
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"Why have I never seen them before? Are they famous or something?"
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"Something like that. Just come sit down, and don't say anything criminalizing about me."
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We sat back at the booth and I could see the look of rage coming from my dad but I chose to ignore it. "Who is this young man?"
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"This is my friend Gio from school, he'll be joining us tonight."
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"Nice to meet you Gio, I'm Elena, Francesca's mom."
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"Nice to meet you. I swear I've seen you before."
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She chuckled lightly and nodded her head gloating at the fat she got recognised. "Yes, you probably have seen me in a commercial or a movie-"
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"No, I think I saw you fall at whole foods last week now that I think of it. " I coughed up my water trying to supress my laugh. Frankie looked irritated and so did the rest of the table.
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I knew it was a good idea having him here. I think I would've died of boredom if it was just Frankie and our parents.
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"So how are you and Francesca?" My dad interjected.
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"We're good." I scratched my neck looking at anything but him.
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"Define good."
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"Don't be shy Thomas, we're all family now." Frankie's mom added.
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"There's nothing more to say." I replied dryly hoping we'd move on.
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"We're great." She took my hand and intertwined our fingers together. "I'm thinking about where we'll move after graduation."
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We?
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Move?
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"Well have you two talked about marriage?"
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"Marriage?"
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"Marriage?"
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Gio and I shouted in unison in complete shock.
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"Is that so crazy of an idea? We're both about to finish school and we've been together for a year."
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"We were together, we aren't together anymore"
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She nudged my arm piercing my side and I winced at the sharp pain.
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"You two remind me of how I was when I met my husband. He didn't notice me at first, he even had a girlfriend for years before we got together."
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"What changed your mind about her." I asked her dad.
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"She was just always there for me when I needed her."
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I slowly nodded thinking about what he said. "So what made you choose her and not your ex?"
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He turned his head over to his wife smiling at him awaiting his response. "You only meet a woman with a heart of gold one time in your life, it's a silly question to ask because the answer is simple."
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"What's the answer?" I furrowed my brows frustrated at the way he spoke. He frequently spoke in riddles and wanted people to discover the answer for themselves.
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"I just knew."
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What a bullshit cliche answer. She loved it though, by the way she was swooning at his response I could tell she deeply admired him.
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The waiters brought out the appetizers and main dishes along with personalized cocktails. I felt my mouth salivating at the sight of the lamb chops and calamari. I was starving.
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Just as I was about to dig in, my back pocket buzzed. I sighed reaching for my phone.
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"No phones." My dad said holding his hand out for me to give it to me.
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The caller ID flashed Summers name in bright white letters. I almost jumped out of my seat to answer but Frankie snatched it out of my hand to see who was calling.
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"Summer? As in your therapist, Summer?"
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Fuck.
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"Why is your therapist calling you at this hour? No, actually why is she calling you at all?" She was fuming and I had no clue what to say.
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"Whatever it is, it can be handled after dinner." My dad moved his hand over to Frankie who was still watching my phone buzz. I looked over at Gio who was on his second lamb chop, not paying attention to anything that was happening.
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She gave the phone to my dad without looking away from me once. She was livid. I'd have to think of something to tell her.
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We ate in thick silence for majority of the dinner minus the occasional questions about school, my dad's business and marriage which was brought up multiple times in the night.
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Once we checked out we all walked to our vehicles and had a long goodbye. I took this opportunity to walk away and call Summer back.
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The phone rang for a while and I was praying it wasn't too late and that she'd pick up.
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Then I heard her soothing voice on the other end of the phone and felt immediate relief.
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"Hey sorry for calling earlier, it was an accident."
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I dropped my shoulders and the smile on my face slowly faded.
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"That's okay I'm at dinner with my dad."
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"I hope I didn't interrupt anything."
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"No you didn't, I'm actually leaving now." I look back to see my dad and his girlfriend were still talking to Frankie and her parents.
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"Did you enjoy yourself?"
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"Yeah, I mean as much as I can around my dad. You know how he is."
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"Yeah." Quietness consumed us.
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"Are you okay?" I broke our silent streak.
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"I am, are you?"
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"Are you sure you're okay?"
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"Yes, I promise."
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"You sound different."
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"Different in what way?"
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I took a minute trying to figure her out.
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"You sound sad, like you've been crying." She didn't speak for another minute so I spoke again. "Where are you?"
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"I'm fine, I don't even know why I called."
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"Summer, where are you? Are you safe?"
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"Yes I'm fine, I'm safe. I promise. I just-. I don't know. I don't know what I was thinking calling you. I'm just confused right now."
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"Do you need me to come over?"
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"No! I'm okay, I'm not home anyway."
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"Tell me what's going on Summer, please." I grew frustrated not knowing what was wrong or how to help her.
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"It's Jason." She spoke quietly indicating he might be close enough to hear her if she spoke too loud.
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"Did he hurt you?"
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"No, it's not that." She took another pause and I felt the hesitation.
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"You can tell me, it's okay." I softened my voice a little hoping she'd feel more comfortable in confiding in me.
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"He's been with someone else." She spoke in almost a whisper. "He slept with another woman."25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyADrfazvA
and then Add to home screen.