~~CAROLINE~~
AJ had went out after the show with his DAD, I know he didn’t want to, but I had convinced him how important it would be. He may never get another chance to do that. I didn’t know the whole story between them. He didn’t talk about it much and when he did it very little. All I knew was that his Dad had left a hole in him that had left him broken and I would never get to know him fully until that was resolved. I closed my eyes as I heard the door shut in the front of the house. He was home, and to be honest I was afraid to know how it went. If it went horrible it would ultimately be my fault, and I wasn’t in the mood to fight about it. We sure had been fighting lately. I was kinda getting sick of it. In the dark I could hear him unzipping his pants and sighing as he pulled off his shirt and shoes. He climbed into bed next to me and yanked the covers away from me. Ass. I turned over to look at him because something was obviously going on with him.
“I don’t understand why you have to have that damn fan on. It’s like a God Damn freezer in this house.”he said loudly out of nowhere. I said nothing and pretended to be asleep. “I know your awake I can see your eyes open.”he said and I noticed he was facing me. I had originally thought he was the opposite way.
“What’s your problem?”I asked quietly not understanding why he was now choosing this to be the time to bring that random fact up. I was naturally hot by nature all the time and needed the air really low, but he knew that and most of the time was okay with it.
“Nothing…forget it.”he said turning away from me pulling the covers up over him to cover his whole body. He was drunk I assumed. This was getting real old, real fast. I jumped as my phone rang next to me. Why would my mother be calling me at one in the morning? “Turn that shit off!”AJ groaned as I picked up the phone and walked out the room.
“What is it mother?”I said sighing as I stood up against the wall. My mother and I didn’t have the best of relationships. I mean we were civil, but she had always been so much more receptive to my brother because he was fucking perfect. Straight A’s blah blah whatever.
“I need you to come back to Orlando honey.”she said in her usual condescending tone. When she said honey, what she really meant was I am calling you because I have to daughter that I hate.
“Why? I’m staying out here.”I said. When I had first told her about moving to LA with AJ she had had a fit and called Leighanne and bitched her out for bringing me into her lifestyle. This was not what she wanted for her little girl. It may be okay for her brother in law’s child, but not for hers.
“Caroline something happened with your Dad.”she said and my heart skipped a beat. My Dad was my heart and soul. They had been divorced for years and my mother had taken everything from him. He was a police officer in the Lake Buena Vista area and was loved by the whole community. He was just all around a great guy. He was there for me when my mother wasn’t. I guess that’s why I was so into AJ reconciling with his father.
“Are you there?”my mom asked. I guess I must have been sitting there in silence for a while.
“What happened mom?”I said sighing as I heard AJ rumbling around in the bathroom looking for something.
“Your Dad was sort of in a shoot out accident.”she said and I swallowed hard. “He didn’t make it.”I hit end on my IPhone and leaned back against the wall. How could this be happening right now? I hadn’t seen my Dad since I moved out here a month ago and I guess I just thought I had the whole rest of my life to see him. My phone rang beside me as my mother called me back. I just couldn’t bare to talk to her. I knew she wasn’t even really that upset, but I was about to lose it. I rubbed the first tear off of my cheek as AJ rounded the corner turning the light on in our bedroom.
“What are you doing?”he asked looking down at me. I didn’t want to look at him. He had been such a douschbag since he walked in. I didn’t even want him to console me. “What’d your mom want? Bitch at you some more for moving with me?”he said squatting down in front of me. His face changed from a cocky smile to a frown as he noticed I wasn’t laughing.
“My Dad died.”I said looking down at the floor. I guess I must have been in shock because I wasn’t in hysterics yet. As I looked up at AJ something was wrong with his eyes. They were very black. Not the eyes I was used to looking into. I guess they were larger than normal. Something was up. I couldn’t even bring myself to say anything else about it. AJ pulled me into a hug and I slowly began to cry as he sat on the floor in the hall holding onto me.
“I gotta get back to Florida.”I said slowly pulling away from him.
“I’ll take care of it.”he said kissing me on the forehead as he stood up and walked into his office. I guess he was going to buy me a plane ticket. I was still to stunned to move as I remembered the last time I had talked to my Dad. AJ had went with me to say goodbye to him before I moved.
****
“Hey Daddy.”I said walking into his office in the police station. He looked up behind me at AJ looking him up and down. He didn’t understand the tattoos or the eyeliner and I knew that’s what he was thinking about.
“Who’s this you got with ya honey?”he asked holding his hand out for AJ to shake.
“I’m AJ sir.”he said smiling as he shook my Dad’s hand.
“He’s in the same group as Leigh’s husband. We met when I went to babysit Baylee…He wants me to move to California with him.”I said looking down at the floor. If he was upset, he would never tell me, but I could tell in his facial expression he was sad.
“And you’re going to take care of my daughter?”he asked looking back up at AJ. Awww.
“The best I can.”AJ said putting his arm around me as I looked up at him. My Dad smiled at him and looked over at me.
“Son can you give me a few minutes with my daughter? There’s a few chairs right outside my office if you wanna hang out ther.”he said looking up at AJ. AJ stepped out of the room and sat in a chair where he could still see inside. I knew he was curious if I my Dad was going to yell. He wasn’t going to. He just wanted to interrogate me.
“Now where did this come from honey?”he said as I sat down in a chair in front of him.
“Dad I just met when I went to babysit and I can’t see another day without him. He has a house here in Orlando, but he’s at the one in California more often since they are recording a new CD and all. I just I can’t let him slip away from me. You have to understand that.”I said looking up at him hopeful he would understand.
“Baby you always did wear your heart on your sleeve. He doesn’t do drugs or anything does he?”he asked and I laughed.
“I don’t think so Dad, look past his exterior, he’s a sweet guy.”I said looking over at him sitting there outside twittling his thumbs around.
“Well baby if your happy that’s all that matters. I’ll just miss you while your gone.”he said and I stood up from t he table to give him a hug. He must have waved AJ in while I was hugging him because the door opened as I let go.
“Take good care of my daughter son. She deserves a good man.”my dad said shaking AJ’s hand again.
“I know she does.’AJ said looking down at me smiling.
****
“We’re going to leave at 9 in the morning tomorrow.”AJ said popping up around the corner.
“We?”I asked. I wasn’t sure if he actually wanted to come.
“Well yea…I wanna be there for you.”he said and I smiled. There was my boyfriend. Now he was acting normal.
Author's Chapter Notes:
This chapter makes me SOOOOOOOOOOOo unbelieveably sad.
