Chapter 14

School ended and I headed outside with a real smile on my face. To my left was Mason, talking about the new movie he really wanted to see called Ready Player One. It really sounded interesting. To my right, were Isiah and Kevin talking about some meme. 

 I spotted James and he was looking straight at me and then I saw his gaze move to my left. Uh oh. James struck me as the type of parent who would interrogate the boys I was interested in. We said our goodbyes and I hopped into the car. He had a smile on his face like usual but something about it was different. He put the car in drive and headed out of the parking lot. 

“How was your day?” He glanced at me through the corner of his eye while I answered. My mind went back to Mason and I felt my cheeks heat up a little. 

“I had a really good day today.” James looked happy. That was the first time I said anything more than great or good to that question. 

“Does it have something to do with your friend?” I felt the blush spread over my entire face, but I couldn’t help but nod. 

“He’s really nice,” I explained, “He was the one who showed me around the first day. And he wanted to be my partner for our English project. Is it okay if he comes over tomorrow so we can work on it?” 

His face was mainly serious, acting like an overprotective father, but I could see the hint of a smile that he was trying to hold back. 

“I guess that would be alright,” he said, “but you should stay in the living room.” That’s when my defenses went up and I got a little offended. 

“Hey! Are you insinuating that something would happen in my room? Do you really think I’m that kind of girl?” Immediately James’ face fell. 

“No! No, Sera. I trust you and I know you’re not like that. It’s him I don’t trust. I don’t know him and you just met him. I just want you to be safe. I’m sorry.” Still slightly offended, I nodded and told him that it was okay. I couldn’t blame him for asking that of me, he had a good point. 

When we got home, I skipped the snack to go study in my room, but I knew that I would be getting another piece of that cheesecake later on.

 Right after I finished studying, James knocked on my door to let me know that dinner was ready. I opened the door and walked out closing it behind me. With a quick glance at James, I could tell he still felt bad for earlier. In a quick decision, I gently wrapped my hand around his arm and gently tugged so he would stop. He turned around, a very confused look on his face, but there was a hint of concern, something I still wasn’t used to seeing. 

“James, I just wanted to let you know that I’m not upset about earlier. I understand what you said. So… yeah.” The smile that resulted was brilliant. 

“Thank you, Sera.” I watched him as he moved his hand to lightly rest on my head and ruffled my hair. I knew what was coming so I forced myself to stay relaxed. I haven’t known him for long, but I could trust that he wouldn’t hurt me. Not like my dad. No, James was what a parent should be like. 

He turned around and continued walking, a new skip in his step. I couldn’t help but smile. Quickly fixing my hair, I followed after him. 

Later that night, all three of us settled down to watch a movie. Unfortunately for me, they decided to watch a horror movie. Of course, I was too nervous to disagree. The entire movie was watched from behind my hands and near the end, I just hid in James’ shoulder. 

When the movie ended, I headed straight up to my room. It was time for me to go to bed, but I knew it wouldn’t happen, I was beyond scared. I stared at my ceiling for hours and after what seemed like days, it was two in the morning. 

Deciding that I didn’t want to lie around any longer, I got up and headed down to the kitchen. I opened the fridge, the light bright enough to make the whole room glow, and decided to grab a glass of chocolate milk and the slice of cheesecake I still hadn’t gotten. I sat down at the island and dug into the delicious cheesecake. 

Suddenly, I heard footsteps and my heart immediately stopped. What could it be? The monster from the movie couldn’t possibly be real. Could it? What if it was? What if… what if it was my dad? Did he find me? Suddenly, I was back in my old home, my father standing before me with his hand drawn back ready to make a blow. The footsteps got closer and with it, my heartbeat sped up. Then they stopped in front of the door and it opened. 

And there stood James, looking at me with concern. He had on a regular t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. I nearly could have passed out with relief. I let out the breath I was holding and then realized that I was shaking badly. And then the tears came. 

James’ eyes widened and he took two giant steps to stand in front of me. Reaching forward his hands wrapped around my wrists and I tensed but let him. 

“Sera, what’s wrong?” 

All I could do was shake my head. His grip on my wrists loosened and his arms wrapped around me. Holding me close he pushed my head into his chest. I wrapped my arms around him as well and he started to rock us back and forth gently. 

“Sera. Can you tell me what’s wrong?” he asked in a gentle voice, but I still couldn’t answer him. I didn’t want him to know. “Was it the movie? Did I scare you? I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have watched a horror movie.” 

I couldn’t let him think it was his fault, I shook my head no as much as I could in my position. We stood there silent for another minute before I found myself speaking, my tears not any slower. 

“Y-you...I th-thought… y-you…” James pulled back, forcing me to look in his eyes, also brushing away some of my tears. 

“Hey, hey,” he said, “you don’t have to tell me.” I understood his words but kept going anyway. 

“I thought… y-you were… my d-dad.” James’ eyes widened in shock and confusion. 

“Honey, why would that scare you?” 

The question scared me almost just as much as my dad did. I wasn’t ready to tell him, I wasn’t ready for him to know how damaged I was. So my only response was to cry harder and shake my head rapidly repeating, “No, no, no.” 

Through my panic, I could see that James was starting to get really worried. He quickly pulled me back into his arms and started running his hand over my hair. 

“Hey...shhh, you don’t have to tell me. Just focus on breathing.” 

It took several long moments before my sobs died down to hiccups and then small sniffles. My eyes were puffy and sore and I couldn’t keep them open. My throat hurt as well. We stood in silence for another moment before James finally pulled back. 

“Let’s get you to bed, alright?” I nodded, still rubbing my eyes. I went to get the dishes I had used and put them in the sink, but James stopped me. 

“Hey, I’ll take care of that later.” So, I silently followed him up the stairs to my room, where he tucked me in like you would a child. He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on my forehead, before heading towards the door. 

“Goodnight, Sera.” 

“Goodnight.”