Beneath the Shadows

5. Lingering thoughts

"Oliver..." I repeat as I try to break free.

"Just wait a moment, give me a minute," he says while stroking my head with one hand and holding onto me with the other arm.

I wait for a moment, but when he still doesn't let go, I try again with more force. "Enough, Oliver."

He releases me briefly, only to grab my arm with his hand. "Wait, give me a chance to apologize and for us to rebuild our relationship."

"I have to go back, I'm running late..." I tell him, attempting to distance myself, but he holds onto my arm, preventing me from leaving. "Oliver, let me go now, I have to leave."

We turn towards the sound of a car door being closed. I see Noah standing next to his fancy car, facing us. I turn back to Oliver and move my arm, and he finally lets me go.

"See you tomorrow at school," he says as I make my way toward the garage exit. I don't stop and continue walking toward the elevator.

-------

"I'm home," I say, closing the door behind me and placing the keys on the cabinet next to the door.

My father shifts his gaze from the TV to me as he sits on the couch. We look at each other for a moment, and I try to gather my thoughts to figure out what to tell him, something that is not a lie but also doesn't make him feel bad or worried.

"I'll warm up dinner while you put away your things," he says, turning off the TV and getting up. As he heads toward the kitchen area, I go to my room. I quickly  put away the things I brought with me, change my clothes, and take off my swimsuit before going to the kitchen

"Dad, I'm sorry," I tell him as I sit at the counter and he places the plate in front of me.

"You could have at least called," he says, sighing and lowering his gaze to the counter before raising it back to me. "I wish I could tell you that I trust you and that you're old enough not to have to tell me where you are every minute... Not..." he sighs and moves to sit on the chair next to me.

"I really intended to come home on time."

"Okay, I don't want to know where you were or with whom... just let me know if there are any problems, please. I don't want surprises like last year. Whatever it is, whatever you do, if you don't tell me, I can't protect you," he says, placing a hand on my head and caressing it. "Don't lie to me anymore, please... I would have let you go to the beach without any issues."

Keiko rushes out of my room and rubs against our legs.

"Hey, little hurricane," Dad picks her up and cuddles her. "Take a shower, princess. You're full of sand in your hair," he says, then gets up and leaves.

As I finish dinner, I try to call Isa, but she still doesn't answer, so I text her to get in touch soon and I'm starting to worry.

"Mh... someone didn't show up for dinner tonight," my brother says, entering the kitchen, and I roll my eyes. "Uh-oh, we're off to a great start for the school year."

"Benji, are you here just to annoy me?"

"Yep," he says, filling a glass with water and leaning against the counter in front of me, smiling. "No, seriously, where were you?" he asks.

"I was at the beach with Isa, the soccer team, and a couple of other girls," I tell him, getting up with my plate in hand to go to the sink.

"I saw you coming back with Oliver," Benji says. "Are you back together?"

"We were never together," I reply, washing my plate and cutlery.

"Of coooourse, not even when you exchanged messages through the whiteboards from the windows?" he teases.

"No, we weren't together," I repeat.

"I thought you guys were really cute, but  now I just think you were really stupid, and it was pretty sad if you weren't together."

"But shut up..." I say, drying my hands. "It's not like you've had that much company in this past year to feel in the right position to judge my relationships."

"Ah! So, there is a relationship!" he points his finger at me and raises his voice.

"Shhh! Are you crazy? Why are you shouting?" I glance towards the hallway to make sure our dad isn't around. "Don't put certain ideas in Dad's head, and no, there is and was no relationship between me and Olver," I tell him.

"Mh... as you wish," he looks at me with a smile.

"By the way... the hoodie you wore the other day... can I borrow it? I really like it, and I think it would go well with a pair of shorts," I say, smiling and trying to be as unsuspecting as possible.

"Nope," he says, turning around and heading toward his room. "You can't take anything from my closet." I roll my eyes and go to my room to change into gym clothes before heading to the gym.

I enter and find Noah at the punching bag. I greet him, sit down on the floor next to him, and start wrapping my hand. He stops punching and sits next to me to catch his breath.

"I don't know what you heard or saw earlier..." I start speaking while keeping my gaze on the tape on my hands.

"I didn't see or hear anything," he immediately says, and I nod. We remain silent for a moment, and then he takes my right wrist and brings my hand closer to him.

"You should learn to wrap the tape properly," he says, looking at my hand, then removes all the tape and reapplies it.

"You were in a suit and tie... earlier, I mean... in the garage," I clear my throat as I watch his hands work around mine. "Were you working even on a Sunday?" I ask, and he shakes his head.

"I had an appointment," he says, and I look up at him. Oh...

"I see, how did it go?"

"Mh... it's done," he tells me and lets go of my hands. I look at him as he raises his gaze to me and smiles. He has a beautiful smile, and even his dark eyes seem to smile when he does.

"Thank you," I say, getting up to go to the punching bag. I throw punches, and he holds the bag until I stop, breathless, and I lie down on the floor. We take some time to chat about music and shared interest for another hour before saying goodbye.

As I head back home, I wonder what kind of girl Noah went out with. Maybe a model... after all, Noah is a handsome guy and well-off, so it's plausible. I look at myself in the elevator mirror: my hair partially tied up in a messy bun, with strands escaping in all directions, my cheeks and nose sunburned from the day at the beach, a wrinkled shirt, and old leggings.

DING.

I step out of the elevator and enter my house.

"Hey, what's with the long face?" Benji says from the couch after I put my things down and sigh.

"Mh?" I turn towards him.

"Everything okay, sis?" he asks.

"Yeah, forget it," I say, then go to my room and close the door. While waiting for the bathtub to fill, I send a message to Isa.

-Hey, everything okay? Get in touch; otherwise, I'll start worrying.-

-I met someone, a guy...- I reread the last message and then delete it. It's better not to say anything. In reality, I don't know what happened tonight. I don't want to get involved with a guy at this moment; I need to focus on school and getting into university. But it should be noted that Noah doesn't seem like a guy who would lead me astray... I just shouldn't think about it anymore.

I step into the shower, trying to relax and not think about Isa, Noah, or even Oliver.