Obsessed with a Daddy

“I bet you wouldn’t.” I gave her a nudge. “Okay, what are we going to do today? We need to make one more memory to hold us over until Thanksgiving.”

“Well, I’m out of weed, so we can’t get high…” Amelia raised her eyebrows. “What about your dad’s liquor cabinet?”

“Not that kind of memory.” I shook my head and laughed. “Something we’ll actually remember…”

“We could go to the beach.” Amelia looked out the window. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to rain…”

“When was the last time it rained in Los Angeles during the summer?” I rolled my eyes. “The beach could be fun. Let’s do it.”

Amelia and I were almost the same size, so I loaned her one of my swimsuits, and then we were on our way. It was supposed to be fun, but as soon as my toes hit the sand, I was filled with a sense of melancholy. There was plenty of sand in Arizona, but no beaches with an ocean as far as the eyes could see. I was going to miss that sight—just like I was going to miss Amelia. Luckily, the hint of sadness passed once we made it to the ocean and started letting the waves carry us around while we stayed afloat. There was no reason for our last day together to be miserable. I wanted to have fun with my best friend.

There will be plenty of time to be miserable once I’m all alone in Arizona.

Later that day

“That was fun.” Amelia looked over at me and smiled as I parked my car in the driveway at my house.

“Yes, it was.” I nodded quickly. “Can you stay for dinner, or do you have to meet up with your parents again?’

“They’ve got something planned.” She sighed. “I don’t even know what it is—mom said it’s a surprise.”

“Sounds like fun.” I turned off the ignition and opened my door. “At least come inside so that you can change out of my bathing suit—otherwise I’ll never get it back.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “It looks like your neighbor’s girlfriend is already gone—she must not be the type that stays the night.”

“Who knows.” I shrugged and stepped out of my car.

She might not even be the only one if he was about to kiss me yesterday…

Our bathing suits were mostly dry after laying on the beach for a couple of hours after our swim in the ocean, so I tossed both of them in the dirty clothes hamper after we changed. Amelia and I said our last goodbye, and then I watched her drive away. I was glad that she didn’t cry—there’s no way I would have been able to hold back my tears if she did. I watched some television until it was dark outside and decided to make dinner. We had a snack at the beach, but it wasn’t going to be enough to hold me over for the entire night. My options were pretty limited, and I didn’t want another frozen pizza, so I settled for a TV dinner—that I ate alone at the dining room table—just like I would be doing every night once I got to Arizona.

Maybe I should have gone with the cheaper dorm room—having a roommate might not be that bad…

It was dark outside by the time I finished eating dinner. I started cleaning up the kitchen and noticed that Amelia had never picked up her pack of Camel Crush cigarettes from the counter. Apparently, she was serious about quitting—I hadn’t seen her light up at all since she stayed over at my house. I definitely couldn’t leave them there if my parents were coming home, and I couldn’t just toss them in the garbage can in the kitchen—especially since the roach from our joint was still in the pack. My parents would probably believe me if I told them the cigarettes weren’t mine, but I preferred to avoid the conversation completely if possible. I didn’t need one more lecture from them before I left for college, which I was sure to get if they found cigarettes in the trash—they might even call Amelia’s parents if they opened the pack and saw the roach.

I definitely won’t miss those lectures once I’m finally on my own…

I decided to take the pack of cigarettes outside and put it in one of the bags that were already in the trash can. That’s how I always got rid of stuff I wanted to throw away without them knowing it was in the house, to begin with. I walked outside, opened the big trash can sitting next to the driveway, and leaned over so that I could grab the bag that I took out that morning. The smell was fairly unpleasant, but I held my breath and jerked it free so I could start untying the top—while silently cursing myself for tying the knot so tight, to begin with. That was almost impossible with one hand, and I dropped the pack of cigarettes while I was trying, so I had to practically climb into the trash can to retrieve the evidence of my weekend debauchery—another shower was definitely in my future.

“Are you dumpster diving?” A voice interrupted me, and I immediately hopped back from the trash can.

“Everette! Hey!” I looked down at the ground. “No, I’m just—sorting through the trash.”

Well that sounded stupid…

“Interesting.” He raised an eyebrow and then he looked down at the pack of cigarettes I was holding. “Those things will kill you…”

“Yes, that’s why I’m throwing them away.” I nodded quickly and dropped them into the trash can. “My friend left them at my house.”

Now I’ll have to make another trip out here to make sure they’re hidden, but I’m not going to do that while he’s staring at me.

“Ah, hiding them in the trash can so that your parents won’t see them?” He chuckled under his breath. “I remember those days…”

“Yeah…” I grimaced.

“Here, let me help.” Everette walked over and easily reached into the trash can to retrieve them—he was tall enough to do it without going in headfirst. “There’s still a few in here. Are you sure you want to throw them away?”

“They really aren’t mine; I swear.” I shook my head back and forth. “I just don’t want to get lectured if my parents see them.”