A Hope and a Chance(22)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I turned around to see my father walking to the refrigerator. “Hey, sweetie. Did you finish cleaning up already?”

I pretended to yawn so he would think my watery eyes were caused from that instead of tears. “Yeah, I just finished. I was thinking about swimming, but I can’t stop yawning. I think I’m just going to call it an early night.”

“Well give me a hug. We’re probably going to head out before you wake up tomorrow.” He reached over and pulled me into his chest. “Promise to behave yourself while we’re gone. If you need anything you just call. I won’t be too far.”

“Please tell Buffy that dinner was amazing,” I proclaimed.

“I will. She really likes you, Hope. You being around is good for us.” My father stated, before he headed back upstairs with a tall glass of milk.

I turned off all of the lights and followed behind him. All I wanted to do was bury my head in my pillow and forget how I’d made things ten times worse than they already were with Chance. He hated me, and now I wondered how we were going to coexist without him wanting to cringe each time we were close.

When I got to my room, sulking, I noticed my cell phone blinking. There were three missed calls from Rylee. I called her back as soon as my body hit my bed.

“Hey Ry, Did you call me?” That question was almost something I feared asking her. She was such a trouble maker.

“Yes. I have some amazing news.”

“What is it?” In the back of my mind I was hoping she somehow inherited a house that we could live in together.

“Kyle is taking me to the beach to meet his family. Isn’t that awesome?”

“Yeah, I guess.” I was jealous that she was so happy, while I continued to live with someone that loathed me so much. “Did you tell your parents about it?”

“Hell no! Are you kidding me right now? They would flip out if they even knew I was dating him.”

“You’re crazy, Rylee. How are you going to get away for an entire weekend without them knowing?”

“Well, that’s why I called my best friend. I figured you could cover for me.”

“Oh!” I should have considered that before questioning her. Of course she’d want to use me as an excuse.

“So will you?”

“I guess. I mean my dad is going away for the weekend anyway.” I went to tell her about Chance, but she cut in before I could.

“Yay! I can’t wait to tell Kyle. Thanks, Hope. I owe you big time. Bye!”

Before I could even reply to her goodbye I noticed she’d hung up. Talk about feeling worthless. Even my own best friend would rather do something else than hang out with me.

At least I hadn’t pissed her off so bad that she wished I was dead, which I had with Chance. In the morning I was supposed to go to the hardware store to look at paint colors. Instead of Chance going with me, like I’d wanted, he would probably tell me to ‘go to hell’.

I located some pajamas then headed into the bathroom. Luckily this place came with great benefits. The large soaking tub had been calling my name for over a week and tonight was as good as any to put it to use.

The window that sat against the back of the house didn’t have curtains. The neighbors behind us were way too far for someone to see inside, but the pool house wasn’t. I climbed over toward the edge of the corner tub and looked down. Chance had turned out all of his lights. He probably went out, or to bed. Both would be my fault.

I considered trying to hang towels over the windows, but there wasn’t anyone outside that could see me. The water in the tub started to get warm so I poured in some bubbles and started to take off my clothes. I located a hair tie and got my hair high above my head, then slowly stepped in the hot-soapy water. At first it burned, so I had to stand there until I could cool it down. Finally, it was perfect. I sat down and closed my eyes, trying to forget all about tonight, and Chance Avery.

I’d never experienced this kind of animosity about another human being, until now. I know I’d been a total dick to Hope for weeks, but she didn’t have to go there. She didn’t have to escalate it to that level. Hope had no clue how hard my life had been in the past year. I was lucky to not be in jail. The pool house was fine with me, and I kind of liked it. I didn’t need a big fancy house to make me happy. I needed my family, my sister, who was all I had left in the world.

I knew I had to get out of that house before more was said that I wouldn’t be able to take back. My father had been such a nasty bastard, and for a second I felt like I’d sounded exactly like him. The thought made me cringe. I’d gone into the pool house long enough to grab my smokes. When I came back outside I turned off the lights in case she got a hair up her ass and tried to speak to me. Hopefully she would think I was sleeping.

I was standing outside my place leaning against the wall when I happened to see a light upstairs come on. It was pitch black outside and the brightness caught my eye immediately. Within a moment’s time I saw her looking out. For a second I thought she saw me too, but she just kept moving around.

My mouth dropped when I saw her disappear and come back with nothing on. I took another drag on my cigarette and watched her standing there topless. I couldn’t see past her waist, but the top was fine enough for me. She wasn’t doing anything erotic, just standing there. Finally she ducked down and disappeared. I had hoped she’d make another appearance, but after ten minutes I gave up and went back inside.

Was she taunting me again? Was this some sort of game she was playing with my mind? I wished I could say that it wasn’t getting to me, but it was. I needed to blow off some steam; to get out of here for a few hours and unwind.

I grabbed my keys off the counter and headed out.

There was nothing more relaxing than being on my bike. It was loud and prevented me from hearing people talking about me or yelling at me. I was free when I was on it. I drove all around those long dark roads, until finally I ended up a few towns over at a local dive bar.

The front lot was filled with motorcycles and people outside smoking cigarettes. I removed my helmet and immediately lit up. The music wasn’t what I normally listen to. They were playing country, and as I entered inside I noticed people line dancing in the center. I headed straight to the bar and ordered a beer.

I never turned around to watch the people dancing. I didn’t talk to anyone, including the bartender, unless it was for another drink.

After I had ordered my third beverage, a woman approached me. “I haven’t seen you around, honey. Are you just passing through?”