The Weaker Sex (Unedited)

Chapter 10

I'd waited until after Jean-Louise had gone to bed to go downstairs and talk to my mom and Mallory about dad. He hadn't been around while I was gone, but somehow he knew I was returning. I knew he still had contact with the twins, so it was likely that they had told him. My mom rubbed her face telling me he'd only come over to antagonize me. He hadn't really said anything when I'd left with Jean-Louise. He only complained about how rude I had become. I rolled my eyes, leaning back on the couch. He was joking, right?

The next few days were spent out of the house. It was safer if we were on the move, so; my mom and I treated Jean-Louise to the Californian experience. We hit the beaches, the amusement parks and all the landmarks her heart desired. Even I hadn't been to all these places and I'd grown up here! Every night however, I'd see my dad's ugly little blue hybrid passing by the house. The things I should've done to that car a long time ago. I wished with all my might that it snowed in SoCal and that I had Clayton Kershaw's arm so I could blow out one of his windows with a snowball.

I moved away from the window after indulging in my Dodger fantasy and sat with my sisters and Jean-Louise on the sofa. TJ had been texting her all day, but there was no word on rumors going around about me. According to TJ, Tobias was being tightlipped about it and told everyone he hardly thought anything of me. It was irritating me to no end that he didn't even have an opinion about me! I was fun to have an opinion about. Was I too normal for him? I'd called him a jerk to his face, walked out like a crazy person because I didn't know the whole story, and he had no opinion about me.

He'd told me he liked me, but now he had no opinion about me? He couldn't do that! I kept those thoughts to myself for the rest of the trip, though I did take the frustration out on the rags I packed back into my suitcase. At the airport, my sisters nonchalantly admitted that they were going to miss me. I smiled teasingly and pulled them into hugs, quietly whispering to each of them to take care of mom and for all that was good, keep dad the hell away. They only nodded, knowing very well that he wasn't afraid of a little paper that none of them were willing to enforce. I moved onto my mom silently begging her to be strong while I was away. She cupped my face with little tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She told me how proud she was that I'd managed to get out of the city and do well in my first semester.

I thanked her with one last hug and kiss on the cheek. The last boarding call for our flight was called over the intercom cutting our goodbyes short. Jean-Louise thanked my mom for all her hospitality and extended hers should they ever decide to visit me in Virginia. They waved to us one last time as we crossed over to our designated gate. We boarded the plane taking our seats as the flight attendant reminded everyone to turn off their phones before takeoff. Jean-Louise suddenly dropped her phone on my lap with a big grin lighting up her face. I looked down at the screen feeling my face heat up to at least 130 degrees. The golden message had finally come though. Tobias had asked TJ about me wondering when I could be returning to Virginia.

Did that mean he had finally formed an opinion of me? Jean-Louise quickly dispatched a message to TJ to tell Tobias that we were on the plane and would be landing in a few hours. He immediately replied that he was going to let Tobias know and added a little winking face. I blushed, trying to cover my face with my hair as Jean-Louise squealed. I was living the romance novel life! The attractive, popular guy liked the quiet, school-oriented girl who didn't fall for his dashing good looks. Wait, that meant I was the romance novel girl... I disgusted myself sometimes.

Well, you only lived one. I relished in silly little fantasies the whole way over, imagining him waiting at the airport with a bouquet of red carnations in his hand. Or, I imagined him waiting at the Wells' with plans for a romantic dinner. My feelings of hope intensified as we landed back on Virginian soil. A little hop formed in my step as we collected our bags and hailed a cab. I nonchalantly looked around not seeing a single sign of Tobias. Well, there was always the second fantasy. The 20-minute drive caused my tummy to flip over and over. Great, my heart went from palpitating like Van Halen's drummer to my stomach tumbling around like Cirque du Soleil.