Olivia pulled her father’s car into my parent’s driveway. It was dark, but the snow had finally stopped falling.
“Are you going to be able to make it back downtown on your own?” I asked.
Olivia nodded. “Of course. Besides if I get lost this car has a built in GPS.” She placed her hand on the dashboard. “I have absolutely no idea how to use it… but its there.” She smiled.
I laughed. “Well, that’s not exactly reassuring.”
I glanced toward the house. The curtains were all closed, but the lights were all on.
“I would invite you in, but I’m pretty sure my parents would never let you leave.”
Olivia laughed softly. “That’s not very promising. I don’t know if I want to come over for dinner tomorrow night. Your parents might chain me up in the basement by the sounds of it.” She laughed softly.
“I kind of hope so. My room is in the basement.” I smirked.
Olivia laughed. “I thought you shared a room with your brothers.”
“Well, I did. Up until I started at PCA. I guess my parents decided that I was a bad influence on my brothers, so they cleaned out the storage room in the basement and gave it a new paint job.”
Olivia frowned, “I don’t think you’re a bad influence at all. I think everyone makes mistakes and you’ve made yours and you’re learning from it.” She shrugged lightly. “I think if anything that makes you a role model. You’ve turned a negative into a positive and have completely turned your life around.”
I sighed, resting my head against the seat. “What would I do without you, Liv? You always know the right things to say to make any situation turn from shitty to decent.”
Olivia laughed softly. “How poetic.” She teased.
I shrugged. “I try.” I sighed. “It’s getting late. You probably want to get home before it gets any later. You don’t want your dad to freak out that his car isn’t back yet.”
Olivia shrugged lightly. “I’ m sure he won’t notice. He is usually pretty late when he comes back. Although I would absolutely love to get these boots off and get into a nice hot bath.” She sighed softly. “My toes are frozen.”
I frowned. “Really? You don’t have anything warmer?”
“Not anything that looks this good.” She smiled lightly.
“Oh, right.” I mused.
“Are we still on for Christmas shopping tomorrow?” Olivia asked.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind. I’ve got a few gifts left to get.”
Olivia nodded. “And then dinner here, right?”
“Yeah, if we make it that far. You might meet my parents and after five minutes we might both be running for the hills.” I teased.
Olivia laughed softly. “I highly doubt that.”
“Well, these are my parents and my family, and I’ve been sitting in your car for fifteen minutes longer than I need to just because I don’t want to go in.” I shrugged.
“They can’t be that bad.” She insisted. “Besides, don’t you have a curfew?”
“Yeah, in five minutes.” I mused. “I guess I should go in before my dad calls the cops on me and has my ass thrown in jail.” I mused.
Olivia frowned. “He’d really do that?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it’s one of those tough love things. They tell me they love me and they support me no matter what, and they’ll stand behind me whenever I need it. But the second I mess up they’re the first ones ratting me out.” I sighed.
Olivia frowned. “I don’t get that.” She replied.
“Me either.” I sighed. I watched the digital clock turn over. I had three minutes to get into the house. “I guess I should go.” I sighed. “What time are we meeting?”
“I can pick you up around nine or so. If that’s okay.”
“That’s perfect. Are you sure you want to drive all the way out here? Why don’t I take a bus into town?”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind the drive.” She shrugged lightly. “Besides, my dad is paying for the gas. It’s the least he could do.”
“Right.” I mused. “I really need to go.” I leaned across the front seat and kissed her gently.
Olivia smiled happily.
“I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
“Okay.” She smiled. “Good night.”
“Night, Liv.” I smiled, climbing out of her car. I trod up the stairs and into the house, my feet crunching on the freshly fallen snow.
I let myself into the house and found my dad sitting in the living room. “Hi, son.” He said. It seemed as though he didn’t even notice that I was just barely making it home in time for my curfew.
“Hey,” I replied, removing my coat and hanging it in the closet.
“How was your date with Olivia?” He asked.
I shrugged. I didn’t want to go into too much detail. “Yeah, it was great. Dinner and a movie… nothing spectacular.”
“How was work?” Dad asked.
“Alright. Charlie paid me in cash again, and he’s offered to call if he can get any more shifts for me to pick up.”
“Well that’s good. What are your plans for tomorrow?” Dad asked.
“Uh… Olivia and I are going Christmas shopping. I have to get her something, although I have no idea what yet. And then we’re coming back here for dinner. Why?”
“Well, I was planning on taking your brother’s to the new indoor paintball arena that opened up in Jenks. I thought you might want to come along…” He offered.
I shrugged. “Sorry, maybe another time. I don’t have a lot of time left for Christmas shopping. And besides, I really would like to spend time with Olivia. I mean, she came all this way…”
“Right, of course. I just thought that if you didn’t have plans…” Dad offered.
I knew what this meant. Dad was only asking me to go along to make my mom happy. She would have insisted that my dad include me even though I was sure neither he nor my two brothers wanted to be seen in public with them.
“Well, we can always do something another day if you want.” He offered.
“We’ll see.” I mused.
I mustered up a fake yawn. “Well, I think I’ll get to bed. I have an early day. Olivia is picking me up at nine tomorrow morning.” I mused.
“Alright, sleep well.” Dad said.
I moved through the house and opened the door to the basement. I carefully descended the steep stairs and opened my bedroom door.
I dropped my backpack full of work clothes on my bedroom floor and sat down on the edge of my bed. I ran my hands through my hair and sighed heavily.
It was starting to get to me; it was harder and harder to pretend not to care. But I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stand being an outsider in my own family. It was getting harder and harder to stay away from temptation. I didn’t want to drink or do drugs or even smoke, but at times like this all I wanted was something to take the edge off. Even just for a few minutes. I didn’t know what to do during times like this.
I yanked off my t-shirt and jeans, climbing into bed in my boxers. This room was cool, especially at night. I clicked off the lamp next to my bed and dropped back against the pillows with a heavy sigh. I hoped I could fall asleep quickly, just to get my mind off the overwhelming urge to relapse.
I wondered if my parents had any alcohol. I knew they kept everything locked upstairs in the dining room. It had double locks on it now, because with one lock, it was all too easy for me to pick the lock and steal the contents of the liquor cabinet with only one lock on it.
I sighed, squeezing my eyes tightly, hoping I could bring on the peaceful rest of sleep sooner.
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