Bobs Burgers: A Tina Tale

Chapter 9: Understanding

My hands shook as the water flowed down my back. I turned off the water, pressing my head against the tile. I wish I could have pressed my head hard enough I could have forgotten everything. I took a towel and wrapped it around myself, letting my hair drip wet. I looked into the mirror to see  that the emotions I had been going through had taken a toll on me. There was a knock on the door, I was guessing it was going to be Louise. I held the towel close against my chest, as I walked toward the door. When I opened the door, there stood Zeke.

I closed the door in his face, and begun to walk away. He caught the door, and let himself in, giving me a stern look when I turned to him.

"Go home Zeke." I said this, holding my towel closer to myself.

"You've got things backwards T. We need to talk about it." He locked the door behind himself.

"Am I allowed to put clothes on, or do I have to stand here?" My expression hadn't changed. I wanted him to leave. I wanted to be alone, so I could be numb. He waved his hand at me, and turned around. The towel dropped to the floor, and he started fidgeting. The room was quiet, other than the sound of me changing into a t shirt and sweat pants. I put my hair up into a wet, messy bun.

"You can turn around." I sat down on the couch, pulling my knees in toward my chest. 

"Can I sit or should I stand?"

"You might as well stand, you never stayed around long anyway." My voice stayed flat.

Please leave.

"That's not fair." He sat down on the other end of the couch.

"And watching you curl up with Tammy was fair? Or was everything a big joke?" I looked straight ahead, I didn't want to look at him. I had held it together this long since getting back to the apartment.

"Now wait a second T, you don't even know the whole story on that. Tammy is pregnant. 7 months pregnant with Jimmy Jr.'s kid. He walked out on her. She asked if she could lean on me at the tree lighting. That's absolutely all that happened."

"Then why did she hold you so close?" My eyes narrowed down to my toes, which were scrunched up to the edge of the couch.

"Because she's an idiot who forgot her coat." I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to meet his gaze.

"You've been through a lot. I know that. You know that." He reached his hand closer to me, I could see it from the corner of my eye. He scooted closer to me on the couch, taking my hand. "Please look at me, at least." He said in a begging tone.

"I can't." I held his hand tightly. "I could have just talked to you, this whole time." My hand trembled as I held his hand more tightly. "Instead I ran."

"And yelled at me." He tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "Does this mean no more talk about leaving Wonder Wharf?"

"I was serious about that. I am done with this town." I finally looked him in his eyes. He was close enough I could smell his deodorant. I could see the tired look in his blue eyes. "I know Teddy has a few contacts looking for good workers in Virginia and Pennsylvania." Zeke removed his from mine as I spoke. "I need a fresh start. I can't even look at the pier and not feel sick."

He stood up, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Things will get back to normal though, right?  You wouldn't have to leave if you gave it time." He was getting agitated. 

"I am just doing what the therapist said I should do. Before any of this happened I had already been feeling unfulfilled. I need to do something with my life. I'm a college drop out in a dead end job, in a dead end place." I could feel my nerves starting to prickle up. He was getting heated.

"So, what? It's that easy, T-Bird? You just can get up and leave your family, Teddy, your friends? They've been through a lot watching you go through all of this. Standing through all your break downs, trying to pick you back up."

"I'm aware what they have been through with me. It's not like I am leaving forever. I'll be back. this was I can heal some and not be faced with what happened over and over again."

"How long? Weeks, months, years? How long will I have to wait for you again?" He was practically yelling at me.

"How long will I have to wait for you again?" It rang in my head. Was it a slip. and he just was upset? Before I could get a word out, we both turned as my door unlocked. In came Gene and Louise, both looking exasperated. 

"Jeez, Tina, what the hell woman? We heard yelling." Gene slid in front of Zeke. "What did you do to my sister!' Zeke rolled his eyes, and seemed to decompress at Gene's antics.

"You alright, Tina?" Louise walked over to me, looking concerned. "Are you going to stay here?"

"Yeah, for now." Zeke interrupted, "Until she leaves for another job in another state." He grit his teeth. "I gotta' get going. I am meeting Logan for a meeting. I'll see you Tina." It felt like a very definitive goodbye. 

"I meant the apartment.." Louise watched Zeke leave, and faced me.

"Woah, so this is the place! La-bachelorette!" Gene poked around my apartment. "Do you have any food?" I waved him over to the fridge. "How did you and Zeke end up here without jackets? it's like 30 degrees out!"

"You're really thinking about leaving Tina?" Louise redirected the conversation. 

"I am just considering all the options. I have to get myself into a better head space. I am doing what the therapist told me too."

"And you told this too, Zeke?"

"He asked! Was I supposed to lie?"

"You know he's stood by you through a lot. You might want to try and be more considerate of his feelings?"

"What feelings?"

Gene and Louise looked at each other as Gene snacked on some crackers I had in a cabinet. 

"Poor Zeke." Gene said with his mouthful.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. I need to start getting things ready to go back to work."

"That's right, your first day back is tomorrow." Louise interjected. "I don't know if Teddy told you, but your going to work nights for a little while. It's the easier shift, and you won't be near the pier. It's just simple ride maintenance."

The night shift might be easier, but I hate it. It jacks up my sleep schedule, and I find I am working more closely with Zeke, who I just can't deal with right now. It was too much for me to absorb, and too much on my plate.

I ended up spending most of the night tossing and turning. I played some game on my phone for a while, walked around, watched some TV, and snacked. I laid back down and spent most of the morning and afternoon laying in bed, updating my parents on how I was feeling and texting Louise. 

"How long will I have to wait for you again?"
"How long will I have to wait for you again?"

It rang in my head, but wasn't nothing was clicking. It was bothering me, and leaving a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked over at the clock, which read 5:30 pm. 

It was time to get ready to go to work.