I wake up Tuesday morning with a definite skip in my step. When I come downstairs my dad is smiling at me, but I swear I can see worry in his eyes too.
"Hi Dad," I say smiling.
"Hi sweetheart. Did you have fun yesterday?"
"I did. I totally hustled him at paintball. I almost feel bad for destroying him in our game, he thought I was going to be an easy target." I can't help but smile at the memory of how he looked covered in paint. My dad actually bursts out laughing.
"Oh honey, you better not have shattered that boy's ego. I don't want him being too scared to hold a gun."
"The way I see it, he slipped up not thinking you'd teach me to shoot. He definitely won't underestimate me again."
"Oh I'm sure he won't. Is he coming over for Thanksgiving?"
"He's actually going to come over Wednesday to help cook. He's got some kind of last minute meeting today so I won't be able to see him. He just found out about it this morning"
There's no mistaking it. My dad definitely has a worried look now. He knows something and I know better than to think he's going to tell me. He tries to play it off by making a joke.
"Well as long as he doesn't screw up the turkey. I've got to get to work, I'll see you later. How about we order Chinese food tonight? You always go overboard with Thanksgiving cooking, why don't we take it easy tonight?"
"You don't like Chinese food. What are you hiding from me?" He tries to act shocked at this accusation, but he can't quite manage it. He always said I inherited my mother's ability to read people, and I can tell there's something big he's hiding from me. I have a feeling it has to do with Tobias, though I can't imagine what it is, but it makes me feel very uneasy.
"I just want to make sure I continue to be the number one man in your life. If that means I have to eat Chinese, then bring on the fried rice and egg rolls."
I can't help but laugh as my dad pulls me in for a hug. "I love you, Beatrice."
"I love you too, Dad." I can't stand the look in his eyes as he walks out the door, it's definitely a sign of bad things to come.
Twenty minutes later I'm on my way to school where I'm supposed to meet Christina, Marlene and Shawna. I enjoy the ride replaying yesterday's events through my mind. It's strange to see what Tobias is like under his tough Marine exterior. It's obvious he's had very little love in life, but he's got so much to give. He's full of raw emotion and I know how hard it must have been for him to show that to another person. I can't help but smile to think about how our relationship can evolve over time.
I pull into the parking lot just as the girls are getting out of Christina's car.
"Shauna, don't you usually drive yourself?" I ask.
"Well, I was hoping you wouldn't mind bringing me back onto base when you bring Marlene. I met Zeke yesterday, and I'm anxious to see him again."
"Of course! I didn't really get to meet him yet."
"That's because someone has been spending all of her free time with Number Boy," Christina says. I roll my eyes at her nickname for him, but I don't comment. It doesn't do any good anyway.
"So what's he like?" Marlene asks.
"He's really nice, we had an amazing time yesterday." A smile automatically appears as I think about our date.
"Come on, give us some details. Where did he take you?" Christina is always the one to pry for information.
"Well, we went paintballing then went and had a picnic on the beach."
"Paintballing? Really?" Christina asks.
"Yes. It was a lot of fun so don't mock it."
"Did you kiss?" Shauna asks. I can't get myself to answer, but I'm sure they can tell by the fact that I'm smiling and the flush rushing to my cheeks. My friends exchange knowing with each other seemingly happy with my response.
"I'm glad you seem so happy, Tris," Marlene adds.
"I am. He's coming for Thanksgiving and will be coming tomorrow to help cook."
"That's adorable!" Christina exclaims. By now we're sitting in class and the teacher walks in. At least I'm done with the Spanish Inquisition for now.
A few hours later and I'm heading back towards Jacksonville with Marlene and Shauna.
"So, your guys are going to date brothers, huh?" I have to tease them a little since they usually give me such a hard time.
"Zeke is actually really nice once he can stop goofing around. He's a lot like Uriah. And we're not technically dating."
"But you sure want to be," Marlene adds. Shauna stays silent as we pull into base and head towards the barracks where the Pedrad brothers live.
Zeke is exactly like Shauna describes. He's a lot like his brother, and you can see how infatuated the two of them are with each other. It makes me happy to see the she has gotten over Eric.
The five of us hang out for quite a while, and I think about how much I wish Tobias was here too. I consider texting him since he gave me his number, but I know he said the meeting could go until late. I end up staying later than planned since my dad texted me he wouldn't be home for dinner, but he promised we'd order Chinese tomorrow.
I get home around 11 and my dad is sitting at the kitchen table, with his head in his hands looking absolutely defeated.
"Dad, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing, Tris."
"But Dad, it's obvious that..."
"Beatrice," he interrupts. It's all he says, but it's enough to remind me that he can't always tell me what's going on with his job. I sigh and start to get ready to head to bed, a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. Before I leave the kitchen I hear my phone go off and my mood immediately improves as I see its Tobias.
Tobias: hey Tris, I missed you today. What time should I come over tomorrow?
My smile comes automatically and I look up to see my dad watching me carefully. I ignore him the best I can while I answer him back, but I can still feel his eyes on me.
Tris: you can come whenever. I'm up at 7 because I need to start the pie crusts early.
Tobias: I'll see you at 7 then
Tris: you don't need to come that early, you should catch up on some sleep.
Tobias: yes I do. I need to have you in my arms again.
I can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, but I turn around too late to hide it from my dad.
"Who's that, Tris?" he asks. My phone goes off again.
Tobias: sorry if that was too much. It seems my filter doesn't work when I'm talking to you.
Tris: it wasn't. I want to be in your arms too.
"Tris?" my dad asks again.
"It's Tobias. We were planning for tomorrow. He's coming in the morning to help me cook, around 7."
"He just got back from a 6 month tour, don't you think you should let the boy get some sleep?" My dad's attitude is really starting to get to me, he's never taken his frustrations at work out on me.
"I tried, he insisted on coming. I'm going to bed since I've got a long day tomorrow." I decide it's better to walk away before I end up getting angry at him. We very rarely argue with each other and I don't want to fight now.
"Beatrice, wait." He walks over to me and pulls me in for a hug. "I love you. You know that right?" I feel bad for him, whatever is going on at work it's definitely affecting him too. I know one thing I can say that will definitely make him smile.
"I love you too, Daddy." He pulls back and as expected, gives me a big smile.
"It's been a long time since you've called me that," he says.
"I figured you needed to hear it."
"Trust me, I do. Now go get some sleep." I hug him once more, and head to bed.
A/N I want to thank everyone for their kind reviews! The more you review the faster I post the next chapter! To the guest that commented that they wanted a little jealousy, I have to say, there won't be any in here but thank you so much for the suggestion! Like I had said before, this story is already written, I'm just making a few adjustments as I post and I never wrote any characters for jealousy to occur. However, there will be some drama coming so don't worry, it won't get boring :-)