Summer Paradise

Chapter Five | One of Those Days

Chapter Five | One of Those Days

       "Are you sure you're ready to go to work?" My mom asks me for the fifth time today. 

        I sigh. "Yes, mom. For the fifth time, yes, I'm sure I can work." She's being paranoid even if I healed up a couple days ago. To prove my point, I walk up to her and put her hand on my forehead. "See? I'm fine."

        She drops her hand and says with uncertainty, "Fine, but if something bad happens, it's not my fault."

        "Nothing's gonna happen, mom," I laugh. "I'll go ahead, okay?"

        She nods her head. "I'll go drop Joe off at work."

        I grab my bag and put it over my shoulder and leave the house. Walking to Dean's house, my phone buzzes. I take it out and read the message:

       From: John Hayes

       Claire, hi. Let's have lunch later, okay? I need to tell you something.

        I stop walking and just stare at his text. He needs to tell me something. Is that code for we need to talk? It seems like it. Crap, we've been together for a total of three weeks. Not even a month yet! I take deep breaths and let it out. What if I'm just over reacting again? Like that time with Hazel, it was all a misunderstanding. 

        Holding my breath, I reply. 

       To: John Hayes

       Is everything okay? 

       From: John Hayes

       Uh, yeah. Everything's great.

        I sigh in relief. Everything's okay. Nothing to worry about then. I continue to walk to Dean's house and knock on the front door. A couple minutes of no response, I knock again, this time louder. Again, no response. Where is he? I bang on the door and someone opens it.

        Haley, Dean's mom, opens the door. I immediately drop my hand and smile as if I didn't just bang on the door. "Mrs. Matthews, good morning."

        "Hey, Claire," she says with a smile. "Are you looking for Dean?"

        I nod. "Is he here?"

        She shakes her head. "He didn't tell you? He went ahead."

        Confused, I ask, "Why?" He never goes ahead. In fact, he's never an early bird which is why I can't believe he just left me to walk to work alone. This is the first time all summer. 

        Haley shrugs. "I'm not sure, honey. He wasn't in a good mood when he left."

        "What happened?"

        "He didn't tell me. Could you check up on him later? I'm getting worried."

        I slowly nod. Even he didn't tell his mom he's in a bad mood. After a while of just standing there, I say, "I'm gonna go. Bye!" I give a polite smile and turn around. 

        "Bye, Claire! Take care," Haley calls when I reach the sidewalk. I hear her front door close and I focus on the road ahead of me.

        I put on my sunglasses and use my umbrella against the blinding the sun. As I walk to the boutique, I can't help but wonder what's going on with Dean. He wasn't like this last night or the whole day yesterday, for the matter. Did something happen yesterday? I try to remember everything that happened yesterday. Nothing.