Chapter six

I flutter my eyes open. The night pills make me so weak early in the morning. I rub my eyes and sit up, knowing that I can't miss school at any cost. My bed is empty. I hope my dad doesn't find out about anything.

I sigh and walk downstairs, trying to get a clue if they both are fighting or what. It leaves me surprised when I find my mom alone in the kitchen talking on the phone. Looking closely, I realise that it was indeed my phone. My mom huffs and slams the phone on the counter.

"Mom! What the hell are you doing?" I yell and snatch my phone away. She scowls at me and tells, "Your dad came across an accident! Now I'll have to miss my fucking office days and look after him."

What the heck? Dad...oh no.

"Where is he? Let's go!" I say and rush in my bedroom to quickly change. I don't even take a bath. I see my mom waiting near the door with a frustrated look. Does she really not care about him?

Thirty minutes later, I find myself waiting outside the operation theatre. My dad was hit by a drunk driver. He lost a lot of his blood and no one came to rescue on time. He lied there from 2:00 a.m. to 5 a.m. The cops haven't found anything yet. The doctor comes out and sighs. Mom and I rush toward him.

"What happened, doctor? Is he alright?" I ask hurriedly. He pulls his white gloves and mask away.

"He'll be fine in a week. He did hit pretty bad but, he is okay." He turns to my mom and says, "I'll prescribe some medicines for an entire month...." my mom and the doctor walk away while discussing those medications and the diet that he has to follow. I tentatively walk inside. The temperature in the room suddenly drops.

I gasp at the sight. I start to choke on my breath but, still, walk toward him. This sudden feeling of deja vu is worse than what I had expected. He was practically wrapped with gauze. The sight was terrifying.

"Dad," I call out, know that he is not conscious right now. I sit on the small stool and watch him without saying a word. What could I possibly say? Apologise or blame myself for everything? None of it will make any difference. My mom barges inside the theatre while making a loud noise of her heels.

"You look terrible right now. Go home, freshen up, and attend school. I'll be here till then," she orders me. I nod.

"How are you?" I ask. She looks at me, confused. She was wasted yesterday. I am sure her head hurts like hell but, still here she is, making sure that I go to school while she stays with my dad. Maybe, they do care for each other and even me.

"Why do you ask? Not that you care," she replies harshly. Okay, I take my words back. She is doing all this just for show. My dad is a businessman and if he loses his reputation then who'll buy her makeup and expensive dresses?

"I do care about you, mom. If I didn't then I would leave you there on the couch with your crinkled clothes while you were muttering how good that man made you feel and how much you wanted him more!" I raise my voice at her and walk away, not ready to face her reaction.

I reach my school at lunch break. My phone is filled with a number of texts for Wes, Selena, and Charles. I walk to the table where Charles, Wes, Ellie, and Selena are sitting. As their eyes meet mine, they pounce on me with questions.

"Calm down, guys! Let her speak," Selena finally says something sensible. I sigh. Should I tell them? Maybe, I should but, they don't have any clue about my parents and I definitely don't wish to gain any sympathy.

"Woke up late. Nothing much," I lie. They nod their head, convinced by my excuse. My mind travels back to my dad. Did he wake up? Is mom taking proper care of him? Probably not. I just came here a moment ago and I already feel like going. Suddenly, my subconscious reminds me of Caleb.

"Hey, Charles. Can I borrow your car?" I ask with pleading eyes. He nods a yes and tosses me his car keys. I get up enthusiastically.

"I'll see you guys later. Wes, text me Caleb's address," I say and turn around to walk away. "Where are you going?" I hear Ellie yell at me.

"Something important!" I say back and rush to our locker. I open it and find those papers which he wanted. I close it shut and decide to skip school. Charles jeep is huge. I hope I don't crash. Wes has already texted me Caleb's address which is not far from my house.

Thirty minutes later, I stand in front of huge white wide doors. Wow. Caleb is damn rich. I ring the doorbell and he opens the door. My breath hitches when I see him shirtless. I suddenly feel an electrifying sensation around us. His brown hair is a little damp. He furrows his eyes.

"Amber, what are you going here?" He asks softly. I take out those papers from my bag and hand it to him.

"But you didn't have to miss school for this," he objects. Seeing him shirtless is a major distraction. As suspected he does go to the gym. His abs are so fucking hot.

"Ye-yeah, I know. I wanted to skip school," I say since I am going to see my dad right now.

"Something is wrong. You're hiding something." he looks at me with suspicion. Before I could say anything, he grabs my arm and drags me inside. I hear some clatter of dishes when Caleb goes up and comes back wearing a sweatshirt. I frown which doesn't go unnoticed by him. He smirks but broaches.

"What's wrong?" I shrug and deny to reply.

"We're friends, Amber. Don't friends share everything with each other?" My heart warms at his sentence but immediately tightens.

Not everything.

"My dad came across an accident," I say bitterly and sit on the couch. He sits beside me as his gaze softens.

"Hey, it is okay. He'll be fine," he soothes me. "My mom hates me. My dad hates me. Why? Because they are holding on for me. Because no one is ready to take my custody. Because I bring trouble, problems, and a psychopath!" Tears pool in my eyes. Caleb narrows his eyes when I use the word psychopath but he doesn't press it. Ugh, why do I do that? Why am I so open to him?

"Hey, hon-" I hear a chirpy girly voice. I quickly wipe my tears and we both turn around to see Caleb's...mom or sister? She is a slender figure with brown hair just like Caleb's.

"Hi, darling. I didn't know you invited a friend. I would be more presentable otherwise," she laughs. She is his mother. She was wearing an apron covered with flour.

"I'm Caleb's mom. Call me, Laura," she informs and I introduce myself. She turns to Caleb. "Caleb, would you please crack the eggs for me?" She asks him.

"Mom, I'm bu-" I intervene him. "I'll do that," I chime in. I loved baking when I was a kid. Maybe, I could help her just like I once baked with my mom.

We three walk inside the kitchen which was in a huge mess. I crack two eggs for her and she smiles at me. She whisks the batter while I stand beside her and watch carefully. I advise her to put some more flour in it. She nods and stands on a stool to take out a box of flour from the upper section. Caleb is filling a glass of water for himself when Laura loses her balance and is about to fall when Caleb catches her.

As for me, the glass full of water directly splashes on me. Ugh! I just had a bath. Laura carefully gets down from Caleb's arm.

"Oh, God, Caleb! What did you do to our guest!" Laura yells and brings tissue papers for me. It is of no use. Apparently, the whole of my turtleneck t-shirt is wet.

"Ahh, sorry. Come to my room. I'll give you my t-shirt for a day," he says and brushes a hand through his damp hair. I nod and follow him upstairs. His room is quite big and neat. He tosses me a grey hoodie since all of his t-shirts are dirty.

"A little privacy?" I raise my eyebrow at him when he doesn't leave the room.

"It's not like I'm going to watch the show," he smirks. "Unless you want me to." I smack his chest playfully. We laugh and he exits the room. I quickly wear his hoodie which is extremely comfortable and smells exactly like him.

The room barges open. "Now, tell-" he pauses. His eyes travel down to my neck. My eyes widen and I quickly try to hide my scar by wearing the hood.

"What the hell is that?" He walks closer to me and pulls the hood down.

(Who is excited about the next chapter?)