The drive back to my apartment is quiet. As we travel the streets, I began making a list of everything I need to do. I messaged my mother earlier, to tell her that the meeting went oddly well, and I’ll update her tomorrow, so I’ll need to call her at some point. I should probably also message my father… While I’m really angry with him, I also know that it’s been a hard day for him, too.
No… Maybe I’ll just talk to him tomorrow. After all, I probably won’t be able to talk to him without snapping right now, and I’m too tired to argue.
I should probably also look over my notes. While I’m not sure if the alliance will go ahead or not, it will be good to catch up just in case everything works out.
I shake my head as Ewan slows to a stop. I still don’t know how Lyle pulled off this miracle. It’s crazy how everything just seems to have fallen into place.
“Thanks, Ewan,” I say as I open the door.
“No problem, Amanda,” Ewan says with a smile. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“You too.”
I watch him drive away and then enter the building. As I head up to the sixth floor in the elevator, I yawn. I’m suddenly incredibly tired. Maybe food and a nap should be first on my agenda.
By the time I reach my door, my yawns are huge. Nap is definitely first. I unlock my door.
And pause.
There’s a light on in my apartment. I know I turned off all my lights last night. I’m really particular about having any lights on at night, and I usually make sure the rest of the apartment is pitch black before I go to bed.
So, why is a light on? I wouldn’t have turned any lights on this morning when it was so bright out.
Cautiously, I enter. There are only two people it could be. Only two other people have the key to my house. It’s either my mother, here to find out what happened in person because she’s exasperated by how I’m dancing around her questions about Lyle and I, or it’s…
As I enter the dining room, my father turns around.
“Hello, Amanda,” he says.
What the hell is he doing here? I try to remember when my father ever used the key that I gave him over a year ago. But I think this is the first time. I snort. If he had surprised me like this a few months ago, I would have been thrilled.
Now, however, I just want him to leave. I’m definitely not ready to see him yet.
“Hello,” I say briskly. “Were you waiting long?”
He shrugs.
“It’s fine,” he says.
I glance at him. That’s not the sort of response I would have expected from him. No complaints, no demands… Nothing. I take a better look at him.
He looks oddly defeated. The expression on his face is weary and his shoulders are slumped. Despite how angry I am at him, I feel my heart soften a little.
“Would you like some coffee?” I offer.
“Yes, thank you,” he says with a small smile.
He sits at the table as I bustle around the kitchen, preparing two cups of coffee. My father is behaving very strangely.
“Something Lyle said today really caught my attention,” my father suddenly says.
I look over warily.
“What?” he said.
“When I told him I was your father, he replied by saying that he didn’t understand why I was standing in the way of you being happy, then,” my father says. He’s looking down at the table, which is another oddity; he always looks at people in the eye when he speaks.
“Lyle was pretty upset,” I say.