Compositions of Us

16 · The Effect of Pain Relievers

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16 · The Effect of Pain Relievers

As if the atmosphere became concentrated with tension, I immediately broke my attention from Joshua to my dad. My dad was standing there, wearing that favorite black coat of his. Those blue eyes were embedded with curiosity and urgency as he observed us. Joshua soon created a more defined space from me, and I caught how his Adam's apple bobbed up then down.

Ridding away the sudden awkwardness, I stepped forward and not really cared for the impassive tone in my voice. "What are you doing here, Dad?" 

He fixed his gaze on me and replied, "I came to see if you were doing okay."

Assuming that he was referring to the Trevor incident on Monday, I answered bluntly, "I'm fine." 

"Olivia," my dad urged.

Releasing a sigh, I glanced over at Joshua who was carefully minding his own business. I knew that Joshua was well aware of my feelings towards my dad. The thing was, I didn't want to introduce my dad to Joshua. The idea seemed pointless since my dad never cared about who I associated with to begin with. 

Once Joshua's green eyes slowly locked onto mine, I gave in. "This... this is my dad. Dad, this is my friend, Joshua." 

Joshua reintroduced himself to my dad in respect as they two shook hands. I couldn't decipher what was going on in my dad's head, but the grin he gave Joshua was quite questionable. The good things was that Joshua was smart enough to know that it was a sign to leave us in private.  

When my locker buddy indicated that he would be leaving, I assured him, "Tomorrow. After school. I can do it." 

There was an evident sense of perplexity radiating off my dad from our word exchange, but Joshua nodded once more before walking off.  

Once it was the two of us, my dad hastily returned his attention back to me. "Is Joshua your —" 

I interrupted, "Just a friend, Dad. He's harmless." 

"What do you two plan on doing after school?" 

"He asked me to help him with something. It's really not a big deal." 

"I see," he decided to back off with his speculations about Joshua and apologized, "I'm sorry that I didn't come on Monday." 

"That's fine," I blankly replied. 

"This Trevor, he didn't hurt you, right?" 

"He's suspended from school, so he can't really bother us anymore." 

Extending his arm out in response, my dad shifted closer to me. Blinking my eyes, I figured he wanted to put his hand on my shoulder, but I couldn't move a muscle. In the end, my dad awkwardly placed his arm back down to his side. 

He then clarified, "It's not the fact Trevor won't be bothering you anymore. I'm worried about your well being." 

"Really, Dad?" I didn't stop myself from being sarcastic about it. "Do you want to tell me who called you to come here?" 

His blue eyes widened from shock. "What?" 

Allowing my lips to drop to a frown, I pointed out, "You and I both know that you won't ever come see me unless someone asks you to. You're always too busy to make time on your own. Who was it? Was it Mom?" 

Despite the snarky tone, a part of me hoped that my dad would say otherwise.  

To tell me that it was nobody — just him.