Page 12 of Bullet
Part of me was hoping that the late hour would save me as I pulled up to my godfather’s house, but pulling into the driveway, I could see the lights were on and the television was flickering in the living room. I let out a sigh and slowly crawled my car into the garage. I turned the car off before dropping my head to the steering wheel in frustration.
“Sorry, Daddy,” I said out loud.
There was nothing to be gained from continuing to linger in the car. He heard the garage door open; he knew I was home.
It was time to just face facts.
I climbed out of the car and made my way through the door that led from the garage into the kitchen. I hung my keys on the hooks next to the door and waited to see if I heard any sounds.
“Celia?”
I dropped my head. “Yeah, it’s me.”
The next thing I heard was the sound of wheels squeaking their way across the carpet. It wouldn’t help to move or run, so I just waited and eventually, my godfather, Darrien, entered the kitchen in his wheelchair. His curly, brown hair was a mess and there was already a look of fervent disappointment in his green eyes.
“I didn’t expect you home tonight,” he said in a tone that was as judgmental as it was accusatory. “I thought you were going out with Harry again.”
“Yeah, uh, things didn’t quite go as I expected them to,” I explained.
“What do you mean?”
“I think I may have waited a little too long to strike again. He was… less than thrilled to see me.”
At this, Darrien rolled over to the fridge where he kept an article about his accident hanging. He smoothed a finger along the edge of it, brushing specifically over the words “paralyzed” and “dead”. “Well that’s unfortunate. Isn’t there anything a smart girl like you can do?”
“He was pretty pissed off,” I replied. “I told him I was just trying to be coy, but he wasn’t going for it.”
“That doesn’t surprise me, knowing him. Still, it’s nothing a little hounding can’t fix. You said he seemed to really enjoy himself. Surely, if you continue to dangle the fruit, he’ll take a bite at some point.”
“Dangle it how?” I asked.
He looked up at me. “Don’t let him loose so easily. Call him. Text him. Contact him on social media. Tell him you just want a chance to explain yourself and lay it on thick that you’re still really interested. Eventually, he’ll take the bait, if for no other reason than to get you to leave him alone, and in that moment, you reel him back in.”
Darrien’s finger on the article on the fridge glided under the image of my dad. One of the last smiling pictures he took before he died. “You owe this to your dad, don’t you think?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t just want him to get away with what he did to us, do you?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t.”
“Good. So, figure it out. You can do this.”
“Yeah. I’ll figure it out. I promise.”
“Good.” He wheeled back a little and opened the fridge and I could see that the dinner I’d made him was still inside. I glanced over and saw the pills he was supposed to take were still on the counter as well.
“Why haven’t you done any of this yet? It’s after midnight,” I asked. “You’ll be uncomfortable all night now.”
He waved his hand in my face. “Don’t worry about me. You just worry about how you’re going to get back in Harry’s good graces. We’re not messing up this opportunity.”
“Fine.”
With that, I stepped around Darrien and made my way up the stairs to the second floor. I spent some time prepping his bed, including powering the machines which would help get him from his wheelchair into his bed, and then I went into my bedroom and changed into more comfortable clothes. I climbed into bed and pulled out my phone and navigated to Harry’s number. Now having to beg him to see me again left a sour taste in my mouth. I didn’t want to have to beg anyone for anything, and I could only imagine my dad wouldn’t want that either.
Still.
My dad would still be with me if it weren’t for Harry. Darrien was right. I couldn’t waste the opportunity I had. So, I swallowed my pride and pressed the button to call him, my skin sizzling with anger when it only rang once before going to voicemail, but I took a deep breath and tried again.
