14. Zoey
CHAPTER 14
ZOEY
I lock the front door of the main office and turn off all the lights up front. Grabbing my bag, I sling it over my shoulder and head through the shop so I can leave.
“Hey,” Cole calls out to me, wiping his hands off on a rag. “I have to finish up helping Jay and then I’m headed home too. You want to get Chinese tonight?”
My stomach rumbles and I frown. “I’d love to, but I can’t. I said I’d have dinner with my dad and his family.”
“Ah,” he nods, “I hope that goes well.”
“Thanks.”
I’ve been trying to have dinner with my dad once a week, but last week he canceled when the boys and Allison came down with a bug. Things are slowly getting better with us, but it’s still a little strained and awkward. Years of distance are to blame for that. I put up so many walls when it came to my dad. I guess it’s taken getting older, to see things in a different light, that while I wanted to believe my dad didn’t love us, that he left us, he never actually left me . People fall out of love and that’s okay, but when I was young and being sat down and told that my dad was moving out and my parents were getting a divorce, my brain translated that to dad doesn’t love me anymore . But now I see how hard he tried to always see me, to talk to me, to be there, and I pushed him away time and again. I did that. I caused my own heartbreak.
The girl I was wanted him to hurt as much as I was and I caused us both so much heartbreak.
But now, I’m not sure how to fully mend that bridge.
I get in my car and sit there, gripping the steering wheel. Tears stream down my face. I know I need to start my car, pull away and go to their house so I’m not late, but I can’t seem to move.
The back door of the garage opens and Cole’s head pokes out, his brows furrowing when he sees me still here. Worry fills his eyes when he notices my tears, no doubt they’re shining wetly on my cheeks thanks to the bright parking lot lights.
He steps outside, his long-legged stride carrying him quickly to the driver’s side. He doesn’t wait for me before opening the door, leaning down with one hand braced on the car.
“What happened?” His brows are drawn, eyes scanning the darkness like whatever, or whoever, has upset me is lurking there.
“Having a realization,” I sniffle, wiping beneath my nose. I’m sure I look like a crazed mess, but Cole doesn’t seem bothered.
“About what?”
“My dad,” I croak.
He knows bits and pieces now, that my mom’s gone and they got divorced when I was young and how we’re trying to reconnect.
“What’d he do?” There’s a protective tone to his voice, like he’s ready to jump to my defense.
“Nothing.” I wipe away tears but more replace them. “It’s me.” He waits for me to elaborate. “It’s just … he’s tried. All these years now, I see how much he’s tried to have a relationship with me, and I pushed him away over and over again. I guess I was subconsciously trying to hurt him for leaving us, but he never gave up on me. Even now, when I’m adult, and he shouldn’t have to try so hard, he’s still putting in the work.”
Cole’s eyes are full of understanding. “Sometimes we do things and later on we don’t understand why we’ve done it. You were a kid, Zoey, and you were hurt by their divorce and that’s okay. You’re allowed to feel your emotions, but now that you’ve had this realization tell him that. Be honest. Try to … rebuild, I guess.”
“Thank you,” I sniffle.
“Anytime.” He pulls something out of his pocket and hands it to me. “It’s clean, I promise. I haven’t used it for anything yet and it’s fresh out of the laundry.”
I stare down at the rag he’s given me, smiling at the gesture.
“I better get going.” I pass the rag back.
His fingers tap out a beat against the roof of my car. “I’ll see you later?”
“See you later.”
He steps back and closes my car door. Cranking the engine, I pull away from the auto shop. I’m going to show up at my dad’s house with mascara coating my cheeks no doubt, but it can’t be helped.
When I arrive, I park in the driveway and do my best to spruce up my appearance, hoping it won’t be obvious that I’ve been crying.
I can’t stall any longer, so I get out and go to the front door, ringing the bell.
My dad’s the one to answer the door this time. With a chuckle, he says, “Kiddo, I texted you the garage code weeks ago so you could use it when you come over. You don’t have to ring the doorbell like a stranger.” I don’t say anything, just dive into him. “Whoa.” He puts a hand on the back of my head to steady me.
Slowly, hesitantly, his arms wrap around me and he hugs me back.
Over his bent shoulder I see Allison walk out of the kitchen. She smiles when she sees us and immediately turns, heading back.
He holds me until I make the first move to let go. “What was that for?”
“I just … needed to hug my dad.”
“Oh.” He rubs his jaw. “Okay. Cool.”
“Cool.” I smile back at him. I hope he doesn’t notice the new tears forming in my eyes.
“Dinner’s ready!” Allison calls.
I follow my dad into the kitchen and to the table where Allison is already setting the pot roast.
“As always, this looks amazing, Allison.”
“Thank you.” She clasps my wrist briefly before going to grab a side of mashed potatoes.
I pull out the chair beside Gabriel. “How are you doing, little bro?” I ruffle his curly hair and he immediately reaches up to smooth it back down.
“Good. I got an A on my spelling test.”
“Whoa! That’s awesome, buddy. Give me some knuckles.” I hold up my fist and he bumps it with us.
“Do I get some knuckles too?” Isaac asks from across from me.
“You didn’t get an A on your spelling test,” Gabriel gripes.
“But I drew a picture and it’s awesome. I’ll show you!” Isaac says the last part to me and jumps out of his chair, running as fast as his little legs will carry him.
My dad laughs. “That boy is always on the move.”
Isaac dashes back into the room just as Allison starts putting food on the boys’ plates.
“See, Zoey,” Isaac hands me a piece of paper and I flip it over to see the drawing, “it’s our family.”
There’s my dad and Allison, Gabriel, Isaac, baby Rose and?—
“Is that me?” I point to the tall girl with wild rainbow-colored hair.
“Yep!” he says proudly.
“And what’s this?” I point at what looks like another person floating above all of us.
“Oh, that’s your mommy. Daddy said your mommy was in heaven watching over you, but I think she’s watching over all of us because we’re your family.”
Gut punch right to the feels.
My dad comes up behind me, placing a glass of water beside my plate and squeezes my shoulder. I look up at him with a watery smile, and mouth, “Thank you.”
He smiles back and takes his seat.
After dinner is done, the boys drag me to their playroom and we play with their Hotwheels for a while, zipping the cars around and around in their tracks.
It’s surprisingly fun. I never thought I’d like spending time with them, but I actually do.
An hour or so later, Allison pokes her head in the door. “Boys, say goodnight to Zoey. It’s time to get you ready for bed.”
“Aw, man!”
“Do we have to?”
“Five more minutes, Mom!”
“Nope.” She shakes her head. “March those little booties up the stairs.”
“Goodnight, Zoey.” Gabriel gives me a high-five as he walks by.
“Night-night, Zoey. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Isaac gives me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Night, boys.”
I start gathering up their toys, and Allison says, “Don’t worry about that. I’ll get it later.”
“It’s not a big deal. I promise.” Pausing with a pile of cars in my hands, I turn to her. “I was thinking … would it be okay if I took the boys to a movie one day?”
Her eyes widen with surprise, her lips parting. “Oh, of course. That would be wonderful. They’d … they’d really love that.” She gets a little choked up. “They’re really excited about the new Spiderman movie coming out.”
“Perfect. I’ll check dates and let you know?”
She nods. “Sounds good.”
When I’ve finished cleaning up, I walk out of the room and down the hall, finding my dad sitting on the couch watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
“You watch this stuff?” I ask him, settling on the opposite end of the couch.
He chuckles. “It’s my guilty pleasure, but don’t tell anyone that. I’m invested in Kourtney and Scott.”
I shake my head. “My big, tough, former NBA player father has a love for the Kardashians. Who would’ve thunk it?”
“This stays between us, missy.” His eyes narrow. “Can’t let my players learn about this or they’ll think I’m weak.”
I giggle, but quickly sober when I realize Cole is one of his players. I’ve tried my hardest not to think about that fact since I found out in the parking lot of Harvey’s but it’s difficult to ignore. I doubt he knows my father is his coach, how could he? And I’m not about to tell him or tell my dad I’m living with one of his players.
Standing after a few minutes, I say, “I better head out.” It’s getting late and I have class tomorrow, so I do need to try to get some sleep.
“All right.” He stands too, opening his arms for a hug. “I was thinking, maybe we should have lunch on campus sometime next week? Or if you didn’t want to be seen with your old man in public we could eat in my office.”
I laugh. “I’m not embarrassed. We can meet somewhere on campus. Just text me.”
“Classes are going good for you, right?”
“Everything’s great.”
“You know, my offer still stands to knock that prick Todd out.”
I shake my head. “He isn’t worth it.”
A slow smile spreads on his face. “I’m glad you see that now. Just sorry it took what happened.”
“Me too.”
I start for the door and he calls after me, “I love you, Zo.”
Turning around, I stumble awkwardly over my words. “Um … yeah, me too.”
I’ve just gotten in my car when I get a text message.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: Hey, Zoey. It’s Rory. We met at Harvey’s. I got your number from Cole. I hope that’s okay. I know this is random, but I wanted to see if you’d like to have a girl’s night with my friends and me. You met them too. Li and Kenna. We usually just order pizza and watch movies. Nothing too exciting.
Her text surprises me since I didn’t really talk to the girls much at the bar. If I’m honest with myself, I think after what happened with Liza it’s made me wary of trusting other females. But it’s wrong of me to put all girls in the same box. Not every girl is Liza. And … not every guy is Todd.
Me: Sure. That sounds fun. What day are you thinking?
Rory: Does tomorrow night work? 6pm?
Tomorrow is Thursday.
Me: That should be fine.
Rory: Cool. We’ll see you then. I’ll send you their dorm information, so you have it.
Tucking my phone away, I pull out of the driveway and head home.
Trudging up the stairs to the apartment I blow out a tired breath.
When I open the door, I nearly cry with the pure unfairness of it all over the sight of a shirtless Cole, wearing only a pair of low hanging sweatpants, standing in the kitchen.
“Are you making root beer floats?” I blurt out, locking the door behind me.
“Yeah,” he grins boyishly at me, scooping vanilla ice cream into a mug. “You want one?”
I smile back, something in my stomach spinning and dancing—and if I’m honest with myself it has nothing to do with the floats and everything to do with the maker. “Yes, absolutely.”
Cole pulls out another mug from the cabinet while I take my bag back to my room. Turning on the ceiling light, I pause when I notice something on my bed. I walk over and pick up a stuffed dog sitting next to a pack of red velvet Oreos. This has to be Cole’s doing.
But why?
“You were sad earlier, I wanted to cheer you up.” I jump at the sound of his voice, turning around to find him standing in the doorway with the two root beer floats. He strides in, handing one to me. “But I think I’m about to break your heart.”
“Why?” I ask hesitantly.
“There was only one pack of your favorite Oreos left and I asked about it…”
“Where are you going with this?”
“Turns out, they’re being discontinued.”
“What?” I shriek. “Not my favorite Oreos!”
“Yes, your favorite Oreos. I hope stuffed Teddy can help you through this difficult transition.”
“Teddy?”
He hands one of the floats to me and takes the stuffed dog, showing me the collar, he added around the neck with Teddy scrawled on it in his handwriting.
I bust out laughing, forgetting about my beloved cookies for the moment. “This is amazing.” I take my stuffed dog back from him, cuddling it. “Thank you.”
I can’t get over the thoughtfulness of my roommate. He knew I was hurting when I left work and he wanted to cheer me up, so he went out of his way to get my favorite Oreos and a cute stuffed dog that we can all laugh over. I can’t wait to introduce Teddy to, well, Teddy.
“Any time.” He puts the dog back on my bed and I follow him back to the living area, both of us sitting on the couch to enjoy our floats. “Did your dinner go okay?”
“Yeah, it was nice. I’m going to take my little brothers to the movies soon.”
Cole smiles over at me. “That’s nice of you.”
“They’re cool kids. I got a text from Rory.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, she invited me to a girl’s night tomorrow.”
“Are you going?”
“I said I would.” I stare into the depths of the mug.
“Rory’s cool. So are Li and Kenna. You’ll like them.”
“She’s the same Rory you mentioned you were interested in last year, isn’t she?” It’s not like Rory is a popular name, so I don’t imagine there are many floating around on campus.
“She is, but there’s nothing there now, and honestly there wasn’t anything there last year like I thought.” He gives a shrug, twisting his lips back and forth.
“There’s someone out there for you.”
He looks me over, a soft sigh echoing in his chest. “Yeah, for you too, Zoey.”
Silence descends between us and I don’t like it one bit.
After work I head to the apartment for a quick shower and to change my clothes before I go back to campus to Kenna and Li’s dorm. Rory, I found out, lives with her boyfriend Mascen.
I manage to get into the building behind someone else and ride the elevator up to the dorm.
Knocking on the door, I wait for barely ten seconds when it swings open revealing Rory.
“Hi, Zoey!” She beams, eyes shining with excitement behind her glasses. “Come on in.”
“We’re about to order the pizzas,” the pretty girl with dark, nearly black hair, named Kenna says from the couch where she lays on her stomach, legs in the air. “What kind do you like?”
“Uh … I can eat whatever.”
“Just tell her what you like. She ends up ordering us all separate pizzas because Kenna is extra like that.”
“No, I’m not!” She pouts, staring at her phone.
“You totally are,” Li, the gorgeous Asian girl from the other night, enters the room from a side bedroom. “Hey, Zoey. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Hi.” God, when did I become so fucking awkward?
“This is our new roommate Ophelia since Rory ditched us this year for her bad boy,” Kenna adds, wiggling her fingers at a fourth girl I didn’t notice.
“Hey.” Rory tosses a pillow at Kenna.
The pillow bounces off her and onto the floor. “I can’t blame you. I’d live with my boyfriend too if he looked like that. But alas, I’m as single as they come.”
“You can sit down, Zoey. Make yourself comfortable,” Li tells me, passing by me to the little kitchenette. “Anyone want anything to drink?”
“Do you have root beer?” Dammit Cole, stop rubbing off on me .
Rory giggles. “Cole’s rubbing off on you isn’t he?”
I sigh, sitting on the couch by Kenna. “Apparently.”
Li passes me a can, it’s not the same brand as the glass bottle kind Cole gets so I have no idea if it’ll be as good, but I’m not going to complain.
Looking around the dorm, it’s pretty nice—nicer than the one I had at my old school, anyway.
There’s an open living space with enough room for a couch and chair, TV, and coffee table. There’s a small table with two chairs tucked into a back corner near the kitchenette. There are three separate bedrooms and one shared bath. The one I had was just a room shared with me and another girl. Definitely no kitchenette and we shared a bathroom with all the other girls on our entire floor.
Fun times.
“Pizza?” Kenna asks me again.
“Uh … I like Hawaiian.”
“Ew.” Kenna wrinkles her nose. “Pineapple does not belong on pizza. Ham either.”
Ophelia laughs and leans over from the chair for a high-five. “Finally, another Hawaiian lover. I’ve been mocked for it my whole life.”
“It’s the only way to go,” I agree.
“Okay, order placed!” Kenna bounces up off the couch, spinning dramatically into the kitchen. “I got champagne!” She grabs a bottle from the fridge, fiddling with the cork. It explodes with a loud pop and I hope someone on the floor doesn’t come to investigate.
She pours the champagne into glasses and passes them around while Li brings up Netflix on the TV.
“What movie are you guys in the mood for?”
I take a sip of the champagne, trying to hide my distaste at the tang. I set the glass down on the coffee table and Ophelia giggles, her glass joining mine. I guess that makes two of us who aren’t on the champagne train.
“How about Pride and Prejudice ?” Rory suggests.
“You always say that.” Kenna plops onto the couch beside me. “Not that Matthew Macfayden isn’t nice to look at, but you have to admit that movie is kind of a bore.”
Rory gasps, her hand flying to her chest. “No, it’s not!”
“Ladies,” Li interrupts, “let’s focus. Last time it took us an entire hour to pick a movie. I think we should let Ophelia and Zoey pick since it’s their first time with us.”
“Good idea,” Kenna agrees.
“All right,” Rory pipes in. “It’s up to you guys then.”
Li hands me the remote and I pass it to Ophelia. “Whatever you pick will be fine.”
Ophelia’s eyes widen like a deer in headlights. “Don’t put all this pressure on me.”
“You’ll be fine,” I assure her.
She flicks through the options, settling on What A Girl Wants .
“Ooh I loved this movie when I was little.” Kenna claps her hands gleefully. “Don’t laugh, but I had the biggest crush on Colin Firth.”
“Me too,” Rory sighs dreamily.
Li gives them a funny look. “You guys are weird.”
The movie starts and we maybe get twenty minutes into it when the pizzas arrive, and Kenna runs downstairs to get them.
My phone vibrates in the pocket of my jeans and I pull it out, smiling when I see a text from Cole.
Cole: How’s it going with the girls? Teddy showed up and won’t leave me alone.
Me: So far so good. Be nice to Teddy I like him.
Cole: You like him? Interesting.
Me: As a friend, nothing more. He’s funny and sweet.
Cole: I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call Teddy sweet before.
Me: I kind of feel bad for him.
Cole: You do? Why?
Me: He seems lonely.
Cole: I’ll be nice.
Me: Good. Kenna’s back with the pizzas. I’ll see you later.
I put my phone away, my stomach growling at the scent of the pies. I haven’t eaten since a very early lunch around eleven and it’s nearly seven now. She sets the boxes down on the coffee table and we figure out everyone’s, settling back to focus on the movie.
When it ends, I stand up and stretch. “This was fun, guys. Thanks for inviting me.”
“Any time. We try to do this at least once a month.” Li smiles at me, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
“It was really nice to meet you,” Ophelia says with a slight blush. I’ve gotten the impression tonight that she’s fairly shy, but she’s putting in effort with her roommates and with Rory and me as well. I have a feeling I could be really good friends with her if I give her a chance. It’s just difficult after my falling out with Liza to trust again.
Saying my goodbyes, I take what’s left of my pizza home with me. When I get back to the apartment, I swing the door open and nearly drop to my knees at the shrill scream.
“You scared me!” Teddy accuses me. Cole looks ready to punch him in the face.
“Why are you screaming at me?” I grumble, shutting the door and locking up behind me.
“No more scary movies for you.” Cole changes the channel on whatever they were watching.
“Hey, I wanted to keep watching that.”
“Spoiler alert, more people die and you’ll scream every time it happens.”
“Don’t ruin my fun.” Teddy tries to wrestle the remote back.
Setting my pizza box in the refrigerator I stifle a yawn. “Have fun boys. I’m going to bed.”
“What? You just got here! You’re way more fun than this dude.” Teddy playfully pushes Cole’s shoulder.
“Sorry. I’m tired.”
“Party pooper.” Snapping his fingers, he says, “Cree, you remember him, right?” He doesn’t give me a chance to answer. “He’s having a party at his place this weekend after the first home game. I don’t really know why since the dude plays hockey not football, but hey, a party is a party. You guys want to go?”
“I don’t kn—” Cole starts.
I shrug. “Sure, why not?” I’m not a big party girl, but I need a break in the monotony.
Cole clears his throat. “Yeah, we’ll be there.”
“Bring your own beer.” Teddy crinkles his nose. “Or in your case root beer, I guess.”
I can’t believe I’ve agreed to go to a party with a bunch of jocks.
It’s ironic, really, since I always swore to stay away from that type, especially basketball players because of my dad. But now here I am living with one and becoming friends with other guys in sports. Todd was the complete opposite. He was the tall skinny, nerd. Cute in his own right, but he wasn’t showy. He wasn’t a king on campus like I’m gathering these guys are. I thought he was safe. But he broke my heart.
Did he really, though? My thought stops me in my tracks. You can’t break something if it was never yours to begin with.
And if I’m honest with myself, despite agreeing to marry him, Todd wasn’t some great love and therefore he’s not the great loss I’ve made him out to be either.
I glance over my shoulder, barely catching a glimpse of the two guys before I walk into my room.
I think I’ve been looking at things all wrong.