Perfect Illusion

Six - "Something Bad's Going To Happen."

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Cara frowns as I grab my purse from the counter marble top. She crosses her arms over her chest and leans against the wall with her hip. "Do you really have to go?"

I look up and meet her eyes. "I should." I bite my lip as I walk across the room to the plug beside the television to grab my phone charger. I fold the wire and tie a small rubber band over it so that the wire would not go all over the place when I put it in my bag. "Yeah. I should. It's only for the weekend though."

I have decided to spend this weekend at my parents' place. I haven't seen them in almost two weeks and I sort of miss them. The short conversations over the phone with my mom and dad are really starting to get on my nerves. I don't know why, but I think something really bad has happened to the company because my parents have been busier than ever. I'm starting to get a little bit worried.

I can still remember my conversation with dad just yesterday. I had tried to call him a few times, but he did not answer. Maybe he was too busy to answer it, or maybe he just didn't want to talk to me. So I called mom instead and told her to pass the phone over to dad. At first she didn't want to, but after a lot of persuading, she finally gave in.

"What's happening over there, dad?" I asked, full of concern. I had been pacing around the living room of the apartment and even Cara was getting annoyed by me. She went back into her room after a while, giving me some time alone to talk to my dad.

He sighed. I heard papers rustling over the phone, his frustration lapping off of him. "I don't think this is a good time to talk about this, Alexandria."

God, I missed his voice. My heart ached for him, knowing that he was having such a bad time handling whatever he was handling.

"I've been trying to call you all week," I said, feeling the same frustration he did. "I don't know why you think that avoiding me would solve everything, dad. Maybe I can help-"

"No." He cut me off, his voice adamant. "You cannot help me here, Alex. But you can help me by returning to your studies and go about being the normal eighteen year old girl you should be."

I knew my dad did not want me tangled up in the whole situation. He was always that way, even before I moved out of the house.

"I know," I ran my fingers through my hair, feeling every fibre. "God, I know. But I'm worried about you. You and mom. You guys have been acting really secretive about this whole thing. I want to know what happened, dad."

A long pause.

"Why not instead, you tell me how was your first week in college?"

I rolled my eyes at his stupid attempt at changing the subject. I guessed the situation must be pretty bad if he wanted to avoid talking about it at all costs.

"College is fine," I blew out a shaky breath. I suppressed the desire to tell him about my class and about Nate. "But don't change the subject. Tell me what happened."

I heard him chuckle. "Aren't you stubborn."

It had been a long time since I heard one of his laughs. I barely heard him laugh throughout my whole eighteen years of existence. He was always quiet, only speaking when he had to.

Silence drifted out.

"Come back home this weekend," My dad finally said, "I'll tell you about it, I promise."

I sighed out of relief. "Okay. I'll come home."

"See you then, Alexandria." I heard him smile over the phone, if that was even possible.