Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
I take a few deep breaths. All of the anxiety I feel has been manufactured in my head. Brick will be here any minute, and the two of us will go on a date, just like we have done several times over the last couple of months.
“Just calm down, Tammy. You’re making mountains out of molehills,” I mumble to myself. I watch the sunset. It’s dusk, so the sky is displaying a few nice shades of purple.
I hear people approaching and turn my head toward the footsteps. My entire body freezes when I see that my parents are the ones walking toward me.
MY PARENTS!
What are they doing here?! It’s not out of the ordinary for them to use a neighborhood walk as exercise. They’ve been doing so for twenty years. But they have taken the same route each time for those same twenty years, never deviating from their path. So why tonight? Why have they decided to change their routine tonight after all of these years?
They’re getting closer and closer to me, so it’s not like I have time to get these questions answered. They don’t appear to have seen me yet, so maybe I can walk to the corner in time and hide somewhere. Call Brick and tell him what’s going on before this whole plan goes off the rails.
I start to turn when I hear my mother call my name.
“Tammy?”
I stop moving. There’s no way for me to escape. My parents have seen me, and if I run away, I’m going to have to answer much worse questions later.
“Mom, Dad. Hi.” I put on a huge smile and hug my parents. I’m trying my best to remain calm, but my heart is pounding in my chest like a damn jackhammer. It feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest.
“What are you doing out here, honey? I thought you were going out tonight?”
“Yeah, I am. Just waiting for my Uber.”
“That’s a taxi thing? You call them with the app on your phone, right?” my dad asks.
“Mm-hmm,” I nod. “They’re supposed to pick me up here. It should be here soon, so you guys can continue on your walk.” I pray that they leave or that Brick keeps being delayed. Whatever needs to happen so that we can keep our secret for a little while longer.
“Oh no, we can wait with you. It’s not like we’re in a hurry.”
“Yeah, okay.” I look down the road; I don’t see Brick’s car just yet. I’ve got a little bit of time.
“Where are you going tonight? You didn’t really tell us your plans.”
“Just hanging out with friends. We’re just going to see where the night takes us, I guess.”
“That sounds like fun,” my mom nods. My dad is right there beside her, looking just as happy. I glance down the road again just in time to see a car turn the corner.
It’s Brick. Shit!
There’s no way for me tell him to stop. I want to wave my hands, to usher him away, but that would require drawing my parents’ attention to the situation. Everything seems to slow down. There’s nothing I can do about it.
Brick stops the car and rolls down the window.
“Tammy!” he yells my name.
My parents and I all turn. Whatever they were saying, they aren’t saying anymore. I see the color drain from Brick’s face when he sees what’s happening.
We all just look at one another, my eyes jumping between the three of them.
“Tammy?” my mom looks at me with a question in her eyes. I don’t know what to say. There’s nothing for me to say. They have to know what’s going on now. It’s obvious that Brick and I have been seeing one another in secret.
I stare at my parents, my heart dropping down to my feet.
“Tammy!” My dad snaps me out of my head by yelling my name. “What’s going on? Do you care to explain this?”
“Um, well. I was… Brick is… We’re…” I don’t finish any of my sentences. This isn’t how I planned on letting them know what’s going on. This is literally the worst way it could have happened.
I hear the car door open, and Brick steps out of the car.
“Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, I’m sure we can talk about this.”
“Talk about this!” My dad’s attention is now fully on Brick. My mom’s attention seems to be fully concentrated on the sobbing she’s doing. “We’re not going to talk about this! What you have done is immoral. It’s underhanded, it’s disgusting, and it’s perverted.”
My dad is going on and on, listing everything he thinks is wrong with Brick. I knew they might be a little upset, but I didn’t think they were going to be this angry.
“Dad!” I interrupt.
“No! He has taken advantage of you. You’re trusting and sweet, and it is obvious Brick has no morals. I’ve never spoken about it at home, but I’ve seen some of the tabloids. All of those women you parade around!”