Unveil (8 page)

A couple of hours later Grandma called. She told me all about her day with her sister and we made promises to spend next Christmas together. Haley sent me a text in the evening with a list of all the fabulous presents from her parents. They always went overboard. It was a regular spending spree at her house.

Carol stopped by with scented lotions for Mom and me. She also brought dinner for us. It was Indian take-out since that was all that was open, but I loved Indian food so it was great.

As I slipped into bed late that I night, I realized my day would have been perfect, except for one thing.

Tanner had never called.

I always hated going back to school after Christmas break. Kids were always bragging about the fun time they’d had over vacation and all the presents they got on Christmas Day. As a child I would make things up. Like I would tell them I went to the snow with Mom and we sledded and built snowmen. The reality was that I’d never done that, but I’d watched enough movies to make it sound believable. I would also lie about the presents I received. Even the years that I got nothing, I would make up a list a mile long and always out-do other students’ gifts.

The only person that ever knew I was lying was Haley, but she never told. She knew how badly I wished it were true.

This year I didn’t feel the need to lie. Things had gone exactly as I desired. Or so I thought, until I overheard Scarlet bragging about Tanner bringing her a present on Christmas Day. Then envy burned me up from the inside out. I imagined smoke seeping out of me like a chimney. I imagined that everyone could see it written all over my face.

It made me so angry I wanted to scream. When Tanner sat behind me in class, I could barely stand it. I hunched over my notebook and attempted to focus on the lecture. But despite my best efforts, I felt every movement he made. I heard the scraping of his chair on the ground every time he shifted, heard every scrawl of his pencil as he wrote. I couldn’t shake him and that angered me more.

Why was it so hard to let him go?

I wanted to do what Isaac asked, but it wasn’t that easy. No matter how hard I tried to erase my feelings for Tanner they always reappeared.

I wondered why it was so hard for me, when it had been so simple for Tanner. He had turned from me and never looked back.

Maybe that was what made it so difficult for me – the fact that it was so simple for him.

I had been back in school for a week when he showed up again. As I unlocked my car after school, I felt his eyes on me. Squinting, I glanced across the lot and spotted him. He was across the street, leaning against his pick-up truck and staring in my direction.

A shiver ran through me. I brushed it away. There was nothing to fear. It was my dad and he was making a change in his life. He’d told me so himself.

I lifted my hand in a wave to show him I’d seen him. Then I got in my car and sped in his direction. My heart pounded in my chest. I hoped he didn’t take off before I could reach him.

After parking behind his vehicle, I got out of my car. He looked just like the last time I’d seen him. It made me wonder if he owned any other clothes. When I approached, he flashed me a toothless grin. The scent of smoke and alcohol permeated off of him.

“Dad.” I breathed out the word. It felt so foreign and exciting to use it. Deep down I knew he didn’t look like other dads or behave like other dads, but it didn’t matter. Before he unexpectedly showed up I never had a dad at all. I did glance around to make sure none of the other students had noticed him. To my relief, no one looked in our direction. They were all in a hurry to get home. Not that I was embarrassed by him exactly. It was just that I hadn’t told anyone about his return. Not even Haley. It felt good to have my own secret - something just between him and me.

Of course Mom knew about his return, but I didn’t think she had told anyone either. It was what Mom did – she hid things, hoping to make them disappear. I kept it secret for the opposite reason. My fear was that if I talked about it, it would be like giving it away. Like letting it go.

“Hey, Kenzie.” He grinned as if no time had passed at all since we had last seen each other.

Anger at his neglect rose to the surface. Had he not realized that more than a week had passed? Even Christmas had come and gone.

“Where have you been?”

He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “I’m sorry. I wanted to come. I just got detained.”

It was a flimsy, fake excuse, but I just nodded as if I bought it. What other choice did I have? Besides, he was here now. Didn’t that count for something?

“But I thought about you all the time.” He ran a trembling hand over his face. “Just like I’ve thought about you for years.”

My heart skipped a beat. Did I dare believe him?

“Hey, you want to go somewhere?” he asked. “I could buy you a coffee?”

Coffee with my dad was tempting but also scary. As I contemplated his offer, I heard a car pull up behind us. A door opened and closed. When I whipped around, Tanner was walking toward us.

“What’s going on?” He looked from my dad to me, as if he had every right to know my business.

“Don’t worry about it, Tanner.” I glared at him.

His eyes narrowed as they traveled up and down my dad’s body. I recognized the concerned look. There was a time when I liked it. At that moment, I didn’t.

“It’s okay. You have fun with your friend. I’ll be back.” Dad scurried into his pick-up. I opened my mouth to stop him but it was too late. The engine roared to life and he peeled away. But not before I saw the same man in the passenger’s seat as before. Who was he and how come I hadn’t noticed him earlier?

“Who was that, Kenzie?”

I spun to face Tanner. “It’s none of your business.”

He threw me an exasperated look. “C’mon, just tell me.”

“You don’t talk to me for weeks and now all of the sudden I’m supposed to tell you all of my secrets? I don’t think so.”

Tanner pursed his lips and cocked one of his brows in confusion. “That old man is one of your secrets?”

I felt close to tears. If Tanner hadn’t shown up when he did I might have gotten to go out with my dad. It was something I’d dreamt about since childhood.

Tanner’s eyes widened as if a light bulb went off. “Kenzie, is that man your dad?”

Tanner was always so perceptive. I should have known he’d figure it out. Turning from him, I was determined not to give him the satisfaction of an answer. He’d stolen my secret, and in that moment I hated him for it.

He reached for me, his fingers brushing my arm and causing a chill to break out over my skin.

“Whoever he is, I can tell he’s bad news. You need to stay away from him.”

I remembered Tanner’s horrible words to me when I tried to warn him about Scarlet. For weeks I’d endured his silence and mean looks. In that time I would have given anything for one conversation with him.

Why now?

It was more than I could bear. I shook his arm off.

“Hey, I feel bad about our last conversation. I just want you to know that Scarlet and I are not together,” he said.

Ignoring the urge to turn around and hear him out, I slipped into my car. Without a response or backward glance, I drove away.

When I got home, Mom’s car was parked out front. I was starting to think she didn’t work anymore. Ever since Dad showed up she was home most afternoons. Years ago I would have given anything for this, now it just annoyed me. It was nearly impossible to process all the things going on in my life with her breathing down my neck.

As I dropped my backpack on the ground, I heard voices. I stopped, listened.

“Where was he?” Mom said, then paused.

“What time was this?” she asked.

My chest tightened. Who was she on the phone with and what were they talking about? Was it about my meeting with Dad? If Mom found out she’d put a stop to it for sure. Then I’d never see him again.

“Okay, thanks for telling me. I’ll take care of it.”

I followed her voice into the kitchen. She sat at the table, her shoulders hunched over and the phone pressed to her ear. Her head snapped up when my feet hit the linoleum.

“I better go. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Who was that?” I asked, the minute she clicked off.

“Just a friend.” She stood. “Wanna snack?”

When did my mom turn into Suzy Homemaker?

I shook my head. “Nah. I’m gonna do my homework.” As I trudged into my room, I wished I could call Isaac and talk to him about everything. He’d know exactly what to do.

The next few weeks went by without incident. In fact, they were downright boring. Tanner kept ignoring me, Isaac didn’t call and there was no trace of my dad. Even Mom seemed to relax and settle back into her normal routine. She must have assumed Dad had vanished like all the other times. There were moments when I wondered if he had taken off too, but I didn’t want to believe it. I held out hope of seeing him again.

That day arrived at the end of January. It was a Saturday morning and we were out of coffee beans at home, so I headed to a coffee shop to pick up a mocha. My hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and I didn’t have on any makeup. It was the kind of morning that I prayed I wouldn’t run into anyone. So, of course I saw everyone I knew.

Worse yet, Tanner was one of them. The minute I spotted him standing in line a few people in front of me, I groaned. I thought about slipping out unnoticed but it was too late. He’d already seen me.

Lowering my head down, I held a hand over my face and waited for him to order his drink and leave. I didn’t dare look up until it was my turn to order.

Before I could open my mouth the perky girl behind the counter said, “We already have your mocha right over there.” She pointed to the pick-up counter where a large white cup sat.

I furrowed my brows in confusion.

“The gentleman over there bought it for you.”

I didn’t even have to follow her finger to know who she referred to. It was just like Tanner to do something like that. As sweet as it was, it was also misleading. The whole wishy-washy act was really getting old. I plucked the cup off the counter and mulled over how to respond.

In the end, I decided to just say thank you and leave. I needed to be polite but I didn’t need to stay and hang out with him. When I turned, I almost dropped my hot coffee.

My assumption had been incorrect. It wasn’t Tanner who had bought my coffee, it was Dad. He looked so different from the previous times I’d seen him. He was clean-shaven and had on a crisp pair of jeans. Glancing around the bustling coffee shop, I didn’t see Tanner at all. He must have raced out the minute he got his drink.

My heart hurt at the realization.

“Thank you,” I said to the strange man who had my same eyes and nose. It had always been funny to me that I didn’t resemble Mom that much. In the one picture I’d seen of my dad I couldn’t quite see how much we looked alike. But now that we stood face-to-face, I knew who I favored in the looks department.

“I told you I’d take you to coffee.” He smiled and held out his arm. “It’s our first father-daughter date.”

Tentatively, I crooked my arm through his. He led me outside into the cold morning air. His truck was parked out front and he led me to it. When we approached, I glanced inside and was grateful to see that it was empty.

“I’d like to take you somewhere.”

My stomach twisted. “Where?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“I don’t know. I kinda need to get home.”

“It won’t take long, I promise.”

No, Mackenzie. Don’t go with him.
Whispers of warning floated through my mind, telling me not to trust him.

“Please?” He looked so desperate for me to go. I couldn’t stand the thought of hurting his feelings. He had come all this way for me. He’d been making changes in his life for me. Didn’t I owe this to him? Ignoring the still, small voice, I nodded and got into his truck.

My first indication that something was wrong was that he drove way too fast. His earlier ease had dissipated and he seemed on edge. His hands trembled as he white-knuckled the steering wheel. I fought to keep my nerves steady as we barreled down the street. Colors blurred past, making me dizzy.

“Where are we going?” My voice sounded frightened and I scolded myself. So much for keeping my anxiety under wraps. The coffee wasn’t helping, so I set it down in a cup holder. When Dad took a turn too sharply, liquid splashed out of cup, coating the lid in chocolate.

“You’ll see.” Even though he attempted a smile it came off looking creepy. Something was off, I could tell.

Why had I trusted him in the first place? I was always doing stupid things. When would I learn?

I reached into the pocket of my sweat pants but my phone wasn’t inside. Then I remembered leaving my purse and phone at home and only grabbing my wallet and keys as I headed out the door that morning. Cursing myself, I started plotting my escape. The car door was unlocked so maybe I could open it and spring out. Only Dad was driving so fast, I’d probably kill myself on impact. All I needed was for him to slow down, then I would make a run for it.

Glancing up at the rearview mirror, my heart stopped. It was him. The man who was with Dad the last two times I’d seen him. He sat behind us. How had I missed him earlier? The man leaned toward me and I gasped, clutching my chest.

“What’s wrong?” Dad asked.

“Who is he?”

“Who?” Dad’s eyes shifted back and forth.

“The guy in the back seat.”

“There’s no one in the back seat.” Dad looked over at me like I was crazy. “It’s just you and me.”

Maybe I was hallucinating. Perhaps the stress of the situation was causing me to imagine things. I closed my eyes and took deep, cleansing my breaths. I needed to calm down. When I re-opened them the man was still there. He flashed me a grotesque smile. Goosebumps covered my neck, broke out all over my back. Cold sweat formed under my armpits.

A shrill ringing startled me. Dad shoved his fingers into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a phone.