Seth
I lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling. The sun shined through the curtains, telling me it was at least eleven. I rolled over, not wanting to face the day. I checked the clock. Ten thirty. I was close.
I stumbled out of bed and decided to commence with my first plan. Face my father.
I didn’t know much about what my dad did for a living now. Back when I was younger, he was a construction manager for a major company, so I figured I’d start there. I walked around town and went in the only construction building complex I could find.
It took me ten minutes to reach the construction site where the secretary said he was. The site was a mess. There wasn’t much of a building yet, just dirt being pushed from one side to the other. I spotted him near a shed discussing plans.
I walked toward him and took a deep breath. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, he turned around. He did a double take when he saw me but didn’t look all that surprised to see me. Instead he seemed angry. He turned back around and continued working. Frustrated, I turned around to head back but then hesitated. Even though the look on his face told me that I was wasting my time, I knew I couldn’t leave again without at least trying to get some answers. Even if he didn’t care or didn’t want to face it, it would make things right in my mind. After so many years, I had given up on him and accepted that he wanted nothing to do with me; I had detached from the emotions I had for him. Now, all I cared about was the answers.
I walked up to him, getting closer this time. I wanted to make sure he could hear me.
“John,” I said. He didn’t turn around, but I saw his shoulders tense. “I’m not here to ruin your life, if that’s what you think. I need answers. I’m staying at the Beach Motel. I’m not going anywhere until you talk to me.”
I stepped back and waited for him to turn around or say something. Instead someone called out his name near a trailer, and he walked away without acknowledging me at all. I could feel myself getting angry. My dad had always avoided conflict as much as possible, and would run away from his problems instead of dealing with them. It was clear that, to him, I was definitely more of a problem than a son.
“I’ll be back tomorrow!” I called out, even though I was pretty sure he was out of hearing range. It was clear that time had not changed anything between us.
I walked back to my hotel room feeling defeated. I fell onto my bed and went back to staring at my ceiling. I sighed, closing my eyes, and tried to think of something else.
I let my mind wander to the girl on the beach, the lifeguard. She was different.
I always had been the mastermind when it came to girls. They were predictable and, in some ways, easy to figure out. She stumped me, though. I found that fascinating somehow, which was odd because I liked being a step ahead. Not knowing was something I usually hated.
However, I didn’t know her that well. She might not be that impossible to figure out. I shook my head, scolding myself. She didn’t deserve to be treated as a challenge, but I was running out of things to do in this town.