Chapter 4

I woke up the next morning to hear dad talking on the phone. 

"I'm not going to force her into doing something she doesn't want to do," his tone carried frustration and anger. "Johanna, I'm not going to say it again. That decision is up to Crystal. No, I only think that you're-"

I shut the door, knowing that what was being said wasn't my conversation to hear. I was cautious in opening the door to my room a few minutes later. I refused to listen to any more conversation involving my mother. 

Dad was flipping through a folder of papers when I entered the kitchen. He watched me for a moment as I moved around the room. "How much of that did you hear?"

My hands stilled for only a second above my breakfast, but it was enough for him to notice. "What do you mean?"

My father sighed in response as he moved to stand next to me. "Honey, I know you heard some of what I was saying. I heard you shut your door."

"What was she saying?" It was hard for me to stop my hands from shaking as I carried my bowl to the table. "Something about wanting to get to know me, I assume?"

"She's hoping you'll change your mind," was all he said in response.

Silence hung in the air, becoming uncomfortable the longer we went without talking. My thoughts were all mixed together as I attempted to sort through them, trying to find a solution. I didn't have to turn my head to know dad was watching. "I'm going to be late."

"You don't have to go today, Crystal. You can take a day off if you'd like."

But I shook my head. "I want to see Jake. And I could use a distraction."

Jake was waiting for me at the classroom door when I arrived. He studied me before speaking. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I don't want to talk about it," I muttered. 

"That bad, huh?" He followed me into class, but stopped when he saw where I was looking. 

Ysabelle was sitting in the seat next to Jake's. She had a notebook open to a clean sheet and was tapping a pencil on the desktop. I bit my lip in anticipation of where I should sit. Knowing it would be rude of me to ask her to move, but not wanting to sit in the back alone, I looked at Jake.

I could see in his eyes that he didn't want to ask her to move either. He smiled at me before nodding his head towards the back of the room. As we took two empty seats in the back, he turned to me. "Do you want to do something tonight?"

"Like what?"

Jake shrugged. "We can figure something out. I'm assuming you've never been to the zoo here?"

I shook my head. "That sounds fun. What time?"

Jake smiled before pulling out a pen and notebook. "Is six okay?"

"That's fine," I sent a quick text to my father, letting him know about my plans for tonight. He readily approved, though he wanted to meet Jake before we left. The time seemed to drag again. After what felt like an eternity, lunchtime arrived and I met Jake at the cafeteria.

"Hi," I greeted with a faint smile.

Jake's eyes filled with concern as he followed me to a line. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem quieter today."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I didn't get much sleep last night." I picked up a tray and grabbed a slice of pizza and a small bag of carrots, along with a side of ranch and a water bottle. 

Jake nodded before choosing his own lunch. "What do you do for fun?"

I paused to look at him. "What?" His sudden question had caught me off guard, though I supposed that was a good thing. It would keep me distracted and away from the topic of my mother. 

He smiled at me. "What do you enjoy? I don't know anything about you." Before I could answer, he gave the cashier a twenty, which was more than enough for his lunch. "That's for both lunches." As the cashier gave him the change, Jake grinned at my surprised expression. 

I followed him to a near empty table. "You didn't have to do that, Jake."

He changed the subject back to the earlier topic. "You never answered my question, Crystal. What do you like to do?"

I huffed as I opened my carrots. "Reading, mostly. Sometimes I write, too."

"You enjoy writing? As in books?" Jake asked with a smirk. "What do you write about?"

At his expression, I couldn't help but smile. "Fiction." A blush crept up my face as I muttered, "Sometimes fanfiction."

Jake was openly laughing now. "Wow."

I frowned. "Why are you laughing?"

"I'm sorry," he coughed, trying to cover up his ongoing laughter. "I just did not peg you as the writing type."

I shook my head at him, though I was slightly smiling as well. "I'm trying to get back into it, actually. It's been a while since I last did it." A moment of silence passed between us. "But what about you?" I glanced at him. "What do you do for fun?"

"Football," he deadpanned.

Now I was the one laughing. "I definitely pegged you as a jock. I should have known it would be something sports related."

At my grin, he smiled. "How are you so sure I'm not lying? For all you know, I could secretly be taking theater classes."

I replaced the cap on my water bottle and shook my head. "Doubtful. I can't see you as an artsy kind of guy."

"Well then, Mrs. Crystal," he snickered. "Maybe you should get your eyes checked."

I grinned in response before we dumped our lunches and headed to class as the bell rang. 

I looked in the mirror one last time before leaving my room. My hair was pulled into a high ponytail to keep it from blowing in my face all night. I had chosen to wear a green dress shirt with silver sparkles. With blue jeans on and black and pink Skechers on my feet, I was ready to go. 

At six o'clock exactly, there was a knock on the door. I slid my wrist through the loop on my red wallet and grabbed my phone before heading downstairs. Dad had already opened the door to invite Jake in.

"Hey, Jake," I greeted with a smile. "I'd like you to meet my dad, Johnathan."

Jake politely shook his hand with a friendly smile. "Hello, sir. It's good to meet you."

Dad spoke with him for a minute, asking where we were going and what time we would be back. "Have fun, kiddo. Be safe."

I gave him a smile as we walked down the driveway. Jake eyed me as we neared his car. "You ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Reviews

[Vertigo Cat1111]

Awww, they going to the zoooooo together. Another great chapter... another chapter where Crystals mom gives me bad vibes /: hmmm...