Miss Pen

Chapter Six

I was excited.

By the end of the day, I would have my car back. After an almost forty minute drive to work with my father that morning, I appreciated traveling by myself a lot more.

"Were your mother and I too loud last night?" He spoke, about twenty minutes into the traffic.

I almost hadn't heard him due to Counting Stars playing on the radio. Stations needed to calm down with that song. It's not like it was still brand new.

"What?" I mindlessly asked, taking a moment to process what he had said.

"You know," He shrugged. "could you hear what we were doing?"

A deep scowl formed on my face when I looked at him. Who the hell asks their child if they heard them having sex? I felt like people went out of their way to make me uncomfortable lately.

"No," I replied through gritted teeth. "I didn't. And even if I had, I would've stabbed my eardrums so I wouldn't have been able to hear anything else."

"Alright, alright." His dark eyebrows rose. "I was just making sure so things didn't get awkward between the three of us."

After he said that, I fully turned my head to look at the crazy man.

"I'm pretty sure they just got awkward."

"Eh, maybe." He shrugged.

"Eh, it's true." I imitated him.

"I was just making sure!"

"Well, next time, don't. It's weird."

My head focused back towards my window to continue watching the city pass by. Only ten more minutes and I would be free of anything else my father had to say.

"Thanks for the ride." I said, opening my car door once we stopped in front of my office. "I'll see you tonight."

"Why?"

Confused by what he meant, I paused for a moment. Why did he ask, why?

"Um, because I live with you?" My eyebrows scrunched together.

"No shit." My father's eyes rolled. "I'm trying to say that you need a life."

"I have a life, thank you."

"No, you don't." He argued back.

"If I didn't have a life, would I even be standing here right now?"

"What? No, but-"

"Bye!" I grinned and stepped out the car, waving from my now closed door.

Whatever he had to say, it needed to wait until later - or never. I was tired of people telling me what I needed to do with my life. In case they hadn't noticed; it was mine, not theirs.

When I entered the building, the trip on the elevator to the fifth floor was too fast. It wasn't enough time to brace myself from Carlita who was waiting for me to step from behind the silver metal.

"Aubrey!"

I cringed from the loudness of her voice, suddenly right in front of my face. Without saying anything to the wide eyed woman, I stepped past her and prepared to walk around and continue to my cubicle.

"Please don't be mad, Aubrey. I wasn't expecting you to call last night."

"Yeah? Well, I did, and you should learn to expect the unexpected."

"Look, I'm sorry for yelling and not helping you. It will hurt me if you were mad."

Carlita's head hung low, and she was full on pouting after her apology. I looked down at her for a few seconds, feeling my anger crumble. I still didn't want to admit it, but I liked having her around - only sometimes, though. It was hard for me to believe that she still wanted to be my friend, even if I showed her that I didn't want one.