Chapter 21
Adeline
When I heard his raised voice seeping through the opened window, I decided to go outside to investigate it. I caught the last of Gideon’s conversation, and from the looks of it, it was not a nice one. Gideon’s hair was mussed as if he ran his hand through it a thousand times out of frustration, whoever he was speaking to just completely ruined everything. Not only that, but Gideon seems angry…at me.
We pack our bags in silence. The awkward tension threatening to pull me under like the oceans waves outside. Gideon’s tense. His shoulders are stiff and he hasn’t said a word to me. Max sits at my heels as I move from drawer to drawer collecting what little things I brought. Everything fits into my ratty backpack and I’m ready in just a few minutes.
“Why don’t you take Max out to the truck while I lock up?” He doesn’t even look at me, but I nod to him anyway. I walk with Max out to the big truck, the whole time thinking of what went wrong. What did I do to make him like this? Maybe he saw what I was feeling. Maybe he thinks I’ll get too attached. The sad part is I’m afraid he’s right.
“What’s his problem boy?” Max grumbles besides me. We wait only a few minutes for Gideon to get into the truck. I watch with sadness as we reverse down the driveway, leaving behind the only piece of paradise I’ve ever known. I feel as I’m leaving my heart behind. The car ride is long and silent. You could cut the tension in the cab with a knife. The only time we stop is to let Max out to use the bathroom.
Gideon spends the whole ride giving me the silent treatment. His silence makes me feel as if I made a mistake. Crossing the line from friends to lovers had to of been a bad idea, if that’s what’s causing his sour attitude. I thought things were going good, but now I’m left with all of this confusion.
When we pull into the driveway to my house my heart sinks. I don’t want to be here. I want to be back at the beach, with the sand caked in my hair and sun burning me to a crisp. I want fluffy blankets and Gideon as my safety net. I don’t want to walk into my bedroom and remember my life is nothing but trash. I don’t want to walk into that house and be reminded I’m never going to get out. A part of me wishes I never saw that other side. The grass was greener, but this brown is all I’ll ever know.
“I’ll call you.” Gideon states, but I don’t believe him. I try desperately to contain the sting of the tears threatening to escape. I nod in response, give Max a kiss on the head and hop down from the truck. I don’t turn around as he backs down the driveway. I just continue forward with my shitty backpack to my shitty house.
The windows and doors are completely open. All the curtains seem to have been removed and the house reeks of the most putrid odor.
“Where the hell have you been?” I stop in the kitchen doorway and come face to face with my mother. She looks as if she’s lost ten pounds in the one week I’ve been gone. Her hair is going crazy and her eyes are sunken in with dark bags underneath.
“I was at Tim’s.” I lie. She looks at me as if she doesn’t believe me, when she’s never questioned me before.
“That’s not what Todd said. He told me you went off with your new boyfriend.”
“How would he know? He’s never met Tim, and I don’t have a boyfriend.” Technically it’s not a lie.
“Are you lying?” she asks. I look at her as if she’s grown ten heads. Is this woman serious?
“Does it matter? Why the sudden interest in my life?” I go into the fridge to search for a bottle of water and come up empty handed.
“I don’t need any strangers knowing anything about us Adeline, it’s bad enough with all the rumors I don’t need you starting more.” What the hell?
“What the hell does that mean?” she steps towards me with a boney finger pushing into my chest.
“All I’m saying Adeline, is that when you say you’re with Tim, you better be with Tim.” Looking into her rabid eyes I can see she’s completely wired out. Her new hubby must be supplying her with all she needs to get high. She looks panicked and paranoid. For a second it makes me worried. What the hell is with everyone today?
“Fine.” I leave it at that. I walk away before things get even weirder. When I’m finally in the comfort of my own room I can breathe. Everything looks to be in place. The booby traps I set are still in place, not that I have anything valuable in here to steal anyway.
It’s already past eight o’clock, and after the day I’ve had I feel utterly exhausted. I’m still a little sore from earlier. Thinking back on everything now it all seems like it happened years ago. I can’t say that it didn’t hurt like hell to have Gideon completely switch gears on me. Getting the silent treatment after handing over every single piece of my heart and body, made my heart ache and my eyes sting.
All these years I’ve never let someone get as close to me as Gideon did. I knew better than to trust someone I barely know. I’ve seen my mother’s feelings get crushed over and over again by guy after guy, and yet I went and did the same exact thing. Something about Gideon seemed different…trustworthy. He said he’d call, but even I know that was a bold faced lie.
All these thoughts run rampant through my mind as I try to fall asleep. I analyze every word, every smile every movement. After a while I finally manage to fall asleep with the image of Gideon’s smiling face floating through my mind.