Pack Secrets || WLW

I Don't Owe You

 I spend the first hour of my shift in a gloomy daze like a teenager going through a breakup, even though I won't admit it to anyone. When Susan slaps me on the back and asks me what's going on, I brush her off and make an excuse about the missing people getting under my skin. It's not a lie. Not completely anyway.

Angela being missing is getting under my skin. Even though I try to hang onto any glimmer of hope, I know something is wrong. Missing people don't turn up when they've been gone this long and, at some point, I'm going to have to accept that I may never see Angela again.

"Um, hi," someone says awkwardly from the stool in front of me. I'd been too lost in thought about Angela and June and Avery to notice the man sit in front of me. If I hadn't been pretending to wipe down the counter for the ninth time in thirty minutes, I would have seen my dad walk in the front door but now I'm left thinking of something to say on the fly.

"I thought you said you've changed," I say, my tone taking on an undercurrent of anger.

His lips pull into a sad smile. "I did." He holds up one finger. "Could I get a Coke?"

I smile in response. "Pepsi okay?"

He nods his head once. "I'm not really here for a soda anyways." He wrings his hands and I can't help but wonder when he became so feeble. The man I used to be so terrified of is so... Small now, hunched over the bar, head low so he doesn't have to look me in the eye. The only thing I remember about him is the brown jacket he's never stopped wearing. I want to ask if it's because it was a gift from my mom before she left but I don't know him like that. Not anymore.

"I figured," I say, cracking a can of Pepsi open and sliding it toward him. "How'd you know I was here anyway?"

His eyes flick to the kitchen and back to me. "Lucky guess?"

I roll my eyes. "Susan told you?"

"You know how it is around here. Word travels."

"Exactly why I'm trying to get the hell out of here," I say, crossing my arms over my chest. I regret the words as soon as I see my dad's reaction.

A physical flinch, complete with tear-filled eyes. He opens his mouth, clamps it closed again.

"Sorry, I didn't mean..." I don't know where to go from there. Sorry I hurt your feelings? After everything he's done to me the apology doesn't seem fitting.

He waves me off. "I know you've always hated Glassboro. Even when you were a kid but hell... I can't help but wonder if you'd have stayed if I'd been better to you."

I lean against the shelf behind me where Susan keeps the more expensive alcohol and shrug a shoulder. "I don't know, Dad. I don't..." Again, I'm left speechless. Probably because I never thought I'd speak to the man in front of me again. I never thought I'd see a day when his breath didn't reek of whiskey and his eyes were clear. But here I am, having a conversation he's probably rehearsed a million times.

He chuckles. "It's okay. I know this is all..." He gestures vaguely around the bar "weird." I agree with him and make a general comment about Glassboro being weird but I can tell my dad's thinking about something else. His mind is elsewhere, his eyes focused on the napkin under his soda can as he folds and unfolds the corner. "Listen, Sawyer. I was wondering..." He looks up at me this time as he speaks. "I was wondering if I could try and fix this." He motions between the two of us.

My mouth opens on its own but I don't speak right away. "Fix this?" I ask, my eyes narrowing with confusion.

He nods fast like he's nervous. "I'd like to right my wrongs with you. Explain my side of things... If you'll allow it."