Chapter 17: Float On

Ellie's POV
I punched the power button to my CD player and nodded my head to the
beat of Modest Mouse while I ran a comb through my wet hair. This was it.
My dad was coming home this morning. I had made sure to set my alarm and
get up early enough that I could be ready on time. The plan was to take my
dad's car down to the bus station –illegally of course since I don't have a
license- and pick him up. Then we were going to come home, spend some
quality time together, and then go out to dinner with Sean later this
evening.
It felt like my heart was in my throat and, no matter how hard I
tried, I couldn't get it to go back down. Basically, I was so excited I
thought I might pass out. I French braided my hair into two buns and
checked out my work in the mirror. Pretty good. My dad loved my hair like
this. The phone ringing made me jump out of my seat and thoughts. Who could
be calling this early? I reached over for the phone.
"Ellie?" It was Marco.
"Marco? What's up?"
"Just wondering how excited you were. About your dad coming home,
that is." I could hear him smiling over the phone causing me to break out
into my five millionth grin that morning.
"I'm not that excited... Totally kidding! I'm jumping off the walls."
"I wish I could see that."
Then I remembered that Marco needed to meet my dad too. "Hey Marco,
why don't you come out to dinner with my dad, Sean, and I? I really want
you to meet him."
"I don't want to intrude on your time with him..."
"Whatev. Sean's already going to be there. That boy will do anything
for a free meal."
Marco agreed and mulled it over a bit. "Eh, I guess. If you're sure
it's okay with you."
"Definitely. My best friend, boyfriend, and dad. It's perfect. I'll
call you later, okay?"
"Yeah. Have fun, Elle."
I said good-bye and hung up. I gasped when I saw the time on the
clock. I had to hurry if I wanted to get there a little early. I reapplied
some more lip-gloss and grabbed my purse off of the bed. On the way over to
the station I'd have to think of what to tell my dad about mom. I had no
idea how I was going to handle this.
"Dad!" I waved my arm and jumped up and down so he could see me over
the crowd at the station. He heard me call his name and looked towards me.
God... He looked so... different. His face was all tan and I couldn't tell if
he looked skinnier or if he was more muscular. I almost forgot what my dad
looked like before he left.
My dad walked towards me and I couldn't stop myself from frowning at
how tired he looked. "Hey sweetie!" He pulled me into a huge hug and just
held me. We let go after a few minutes and laughed at what emotional messes
we had become.
"Wow. Canada looks so different after being over there! I could get
used to this," He commented as we walked over to get his bags.
"Well, it's too cold for us to get a nice tan like you have, but, we
make do..."
He ran a hand over his face, "Oh yeah. The sun is brutal over there.
I'm definitely spending quality time with the air conditioning!" He tossed
me a grin and I wondered if it mirrored my own. "So, when are we going to
dinner?"
"Well, I told Sean we'd pick him up at 7:00. And Marco's going to
come with us now, too." I grabbed one of my dad's bags and helped transport
it back to the car.
"Sean? Marco?" My dad asked.
"I thought mom was the absent-minded one, dad. Sean and Marco are my
friends."
"What, no girls?" He teased. He knew I had always been better friends
with guys than girls. Girls were usually too catty towards me.
"Wait until you see the precious little kittens Sean gave me, daddy.
You are going to adore them."
"Sounds like Sean is more than a friend."
"I don't think so."
My dad was so protective of me that I knew if I told him Sean was my
boyfriend he'd certainly give him the third-degree tonight at dinner. I'd
rather save Sean the humiliation. The rest of the ride home we talked about
stuff going on in my life- schoolwork, co-op, friends... I told him about the
battle of the bands and my adventures at the first Saturday detention.
"You're becoming the original renegade, huh, Ellie?" My dad turned
into our driveway and gave me a surprised look.
"Dad, you are so lame."
"Hey, I'm pretty cool for an old geezer."
"Considering you're not an old geezer..."
My dad walked into the house and made a big deal of hugging all the
furniture and kissing his precious screen TV. He grabbed a bottle of scotch
and a glass. "Now for a celebratory drink. I wish your mom was here."
Yeah. So she could get plastered and spend the rest of the night
yelling at me, telling me how worthless I was, and making me want to run
away? I shook my head hard. I knew my mom never got like that when my dad
was around. She could usually hold her own when she was drinking, except
without my dad she was out of control. My dad didn't realize how bad it
was, though. I chose not to ruin his picture-perfect impression of my mom.
I nodded in agreement and drummed my fingernails on the kitchen counter as
he looked through all the mail.
"Why are there so many bills?" He held up a stack of envelopes.
I pretended not to know why they were all there. Because I still had
to find a way to pay them. "I guess your mom forgot to send them over to
Eddie." Eddie was my dad's finance go-to guy. I wanted to smack my hand
against my forehead. Of course. Eddie. I should have remembered this. "Oh
well. I'll take them over to his office sometime this week."
My dad yawned and rubbed his eyes. "I'm tired. I think I'll go take a
nap."
As he headed up the stairs I remembered the condition of his and
mom's bedroom. Her clothes completely gone. I ran up the stairs to stop
him. "Dad! You can't go in there!"
"Why not?"
"Mom! Mom was working on it. New paint and everything. It's supposed
to be a surprise."
Okay, that lie was totally lame. I'm not used to lying to my dad
though. I usually tell him everything. My dad gave me a weird look- almost
as if he didn't buy my story (which I couldn't blame him if he didn't)- but
headed back downstairs. "I guess I'll just sleep in my chair." He took a
seat in his oversized armchair and reclined back.
I smiled. Okay, the secret was safe for now. Maybe I could pull it
off for longer than I thought. I sat on the couch with a book, wanting to
be near my dad, even if he was just sleeping. I couldn't wait until he
would come back for good and my life could go back to normal. If it had
ever been normal at all in the first place.

Sean's POV

I wiped the palms of my hands on the knees of my khakis for probably
the fortieth time that night. I couldn't help it. Ellie's dad was making me
nervous. He kept telling me to call him Christian, but I couldn't. It was
too weird. Of course, Marco was chatting it up with him like no one's
business. I hated how Marco could talk so easily with anyone and not get
embarrassed or nervous or anything. They acted like they were old buddies
and Ellie kept giving Marco proud little looks. I wish she'd look at me
that way.
I must have been starting my nervous habit of knocking my fist
against the table because Ellie swiftly kicked me from across the table,
despite the constant jiggling of her other leg. She gave me a look that
obviously was meant to imply that I be friendly. I was trying. He was just
intimidating.
"So Sean, what is it that you do?" Mr. Nash... Christian... asked after
he took a sip of water.
"I don't know," I mumbled. Ellie kicked me again. "I mean, um, I go
to school."
Mr. Nash laughed, "Yeah, I guess that much. But hobbies? Do you have
a job?"
"Not really-"
Ellie cut in, "Oh Sean is really good at fixing things. Like cars.
He's really into mechanics."
Mr. Nash raised his eyebrows, "Well, maybe I'll have you look at one
of my old cars. It's an old Corvette. Could use some work."
"A Corvette?!" I couldn't believe that he had a Corvette. That was
like the perfect car.
Ellie gazed adoringly up at her dad, "Yes. Daddy's into collecting
cars."
I prayed the food would hurry and get here. I just wanted to eat and
get the hell out of here. This tie was choking me. "Really, Sean?" I looked
up at Mr. Nash's voice. Really, what?
"Uhh..." I looked at Ellie and shook my head slightly.
She glowered at me, "Tell my dad that your into medicine."
I resisted the urge to scream. I was that on edge. "Yeah. Kind of."
Ellie made a big show of rolling her eyes, "Not kind of. He's really
into it. He's going to go to medical school and be a doctor."
That seemed to impress Mr. Nash. His eyes lit up and he leaned
forward. "Did Ellie tell you that both my brother and father are doctors?
Also Elisabeth's – my wife's- sister is a pediatrician. Good for you,
Sean."
I smiled tightly and grabbed a roll from the breadbasket. It crumbled
apart as I attempted to butter it and I quickly swept all the crumbs on the
floor before anyone could see what a mess I had made. "Calm down," I heard
Marco whisper to me. I wanted to punch him in the face.
Mr. Nash's cell phone rang and he excused himself to go answer it.
Ellie followed him with her eyes and snapped her head back to me as soon as
he was out of sight. "Are you trying to ruin dinner on purpose or are you
that stupid?" She hissed.
I threw down the knife I was holding and it made a loud clang on the
china. She looked at all the people staring at us and apologized. I shook
my head in disbelief. "Sean! Answer me!"
"I'm not doing anything, okay?"
"Exactly. You're being rude. You're not even talking to my dad. Marco
can find like a trillion things to say to my dad and I had to force a hello
out of you. What is your problem?"
"I'm a little nervous, okay?"
"That doesn't excuse anything. I'm surprised my dad's not bored to
tears having to watch you act like an idiot."
"Then why the hell did you invite me? You know how I get around
adults. They fucking look down on me. Meanwhile, your sitting over there
acting like I'm a little child and like I can't speak for myself. Who said
I was going to medical school, huh? You won't even let me answer his
questions. You keep butting in trying to make me look like I'm some
perfect, straight-A... male form of Liberty."
"Guys..." Marco tried to calm us down.
"Ugh!" Ellie grabbed a roll from the basket and threw it at my head
before leaving the table for the "powder room" as she put it. Who the hell
says powder room anyway? Only some pretentious, stuck up snob does.
Ten minutes later she returned and grabbed my hand from across the
table. "I'm sorry. I'm nervous too, okay? I really want you to impress my
dad."
"I want to, too. Don't think you're the only one."
She took a deep breath, "Okay. From now on, you say what you want. I
won't butt in. Except... don't tell him we're dating yet, okay? I want to see
what he thinks of you first."
Oh okay. So first we're going to see if her dad likes me before she
tells him that I'm her boyfriend. Whatever. I'd let it go. I could tell she
was really trying here to be nice. We stopped talking as Mr. Nash sat back
down at the table, just as the food arrived.
I studied his face. He kept glancing nervously at Ellie before going
back to eating his dinner. Ellie didn't even notice. She just kept right on
cutting her chicken and chattering about the homecoming dance and
everything else. Finally Mr. Nash set his fork down and sighed. "Elle, I
got some bad news."
She stopped mid-chew and swallowed. "What?"
"That phone call was from Peter and Damien. Supposedly there's some
trouble going on at the branch back in Montreal. I'm going to have to go
and settle things out."
Ellie looked at the family eating next to us. "That's cool. When will
you be back?"
"That's the thing. I have to go there, and who knows how long that'll
take, but then there's also some marketing strategies and about a dozen
contracts I need to go over with Terrence."
"Terrence? So, you're telling me you're going to Montreal tonight and
then Tokyo when you're finished?"
Mr. Nash put his fingers to his temples and leaned on the table.
"Yeah," he murmured, not even having the decency to look at her.
I could see tears starting to form in Ellie's eyes and I wanted to
shake her dad and make him look at her. She hadn't seen him in over a month
and here he was, giving her one day before wasting the rest of his two
weeks on business. What the hell did he do anyway that was so damn
important?
"Why do you even bother having partners or letting other people run
your companies if they can't even do it without you? That's fucking
ridiculous," She threw her napkin onto the table.
"Watch it, Ellie. I can't help it, okay? This stuff is too important.
You wouldn't understand," He looked at his watch. "I have to finish up here
in the next twenty minutes. I have a plane to catch. I'm doing this for
you, sweetie. You know that."
"Yeah, I know that. Excuse me..." I watched as Ellie headed in the
direction of the restrooms. I shook my head with disgust at her dad's
attitude as I cut the steak in front of me. Marco tried to lower the
tension in the air by stupidly asking, "So how 'bout them Maple Leafs?" I
glared at him and he shrugged. What a moron. I glanced at Ellie's barely
touched dinner and wondered if she'd want me to get it to go. Then I
realized that I had worse things to worry about. Ellie's cutting knife
wasn't on her plate. I laughed in disbelief quietly to myself. I wondered
how many times Ellie was going to cut herself in the bathroom. I pushed my
plate away from me. Suddenly, I had lost my appetite.

Ellie's POV

I couldn't tear my eyes away from the cuts I had made. It was like I
was mesmerized by the line of blood creeping down my arm onto the floor.
This was so stupid. Why should I feel like a failure because my dad would
rather spend his vacation time with his business buddies? I tore a piece of
toilet paper off of the roll and wiped at my arm carefully. I switched my
gaze to the knife that was lying on the floor. I didn't want to risk being
caught with it when I went back. I'd just leave it here.
I stood up and smoothed the wrinkles out of my skirt. What a waste-
wearing a brand new outfit, cleaning the entire house, worrying the entire
night of what I'd say about mom... All this for only a eleven hours with my
dad. Just thinking of that brought along a whole new wave of feeling
desperate and unwanted. I darted back into the stall and picked the knife
up again. I just had to do one more cut. That's it. Then I'd be satisfied.
I drug the sharp blade across a closed up wound. Angry tears stung the
corners of my eyes.
I rolled down the sleeve of my top and looked at my face in the
mirror. Not bad. My eyes were a little red, but nothing noticeable. As soon
as I walked out of the door, I ran into Sean. "You okay?" He asked. I
didn't say anything, but just walked past him. He followed me and put a
comforting hand on the small of my back.
"Where's my dad?" I asked Marco when I got back to the table.
Marco looked at me nervously, "He had to go. The plane was ready. He
said he'd call you tomorrow morning."
"Whatever..." I mumbled and grabbed my purse. "It's not like I care
anyway, right?"
Marco stood up and pushed his chair in. "Right..." He echoed
unconvincingly.
"So boys. What do you want to do now?" I decided I was going to hold
my head high. Who cared? I'd gotten by without my dad just fine for a month
now. It's not like I needed him or anything. I knew how to take care of
myself. "How about we rent movies and watch them at my place. Just us
three. It'll be fun. You guys can bond."
Sean let out a laugh and then stopped when I looked at him. Marco
shrugged. "Well... don't look too excited, guys." I grabbed both of their
arms and pulled them out of the restaurant.
We took a taxi to the local video rental store and fought over what
movies to rent. Or should I say Marco and I fought against Sean.
"I'm telling you, Ellie. I have a feeling you'll like this one," He
held up a DVD cover that featured an alien holding a machine gun.
"Yeeeah... How about this?" I picked up Hitchcock's Rear Window.
"Oh yeah. That one is good," Marco agreed.
"You're such a girl," Sean replied before trying to convince me to
rent another cheesy action film.
Finally, I laid my foot down. "Okay, we're getting Rear Window,
Legends of the Fall, and Toy Soldiers."
Sean gave me a blank look. "Those sound so lame."
"No, listen. Rear Window will allow Marco and I some intellectual
stimulation. You can take a nap or whatever during it, okay? Legends of the
Fall gives Marco and I yummy Brad Pitt and you some fighting. Toy Soldiers
will turn me into an emotional mess, Marco can dream of attending an all
boys school, and you will appreciate the use of guns and other techniques
of violence. Got it?"
Marco had pretty much zoned out at the mention of Brad Pitt's name
and Sean tried to resist a little more before finally giving in and
agreeing. I marched up to the front of the store and grabbed a two bottles
of Dr. Pepper and Cherry Coke each. "Pick out what you guys want."
"I'll just drink one of those," Marco replied.
"Uh, these are for me. Pick out your own." I called out over my
shoulder as I went to the register.

Marco's POV
I suddenly turned off Rear Window and turned on the couch so I was
facing Ellie. Sean had fallen asleep on her shoulder after we finished the
other two movies. Ellie gave me a weird face. "Why'd you turn it off? I was
ready for the climax."
"Okay. There's no way that you can be all fine and okay after what
just happened."
She shifted in the seat and crossed her arms. "What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean, Ellie. You've been waiting for your
dad to come home forever. And he let you down."
She laughed dryly, "Everyone lets me down. I'm used to it."
I closed my eyes and tried to think of something I could say to try
and make her feel better. But I didn't know what to say. I've never been in
this situation before. My family has always been around, my parents are
constantly bugging me, and that used to piss me off. Now, after meeting
Ellie and guessing what it must be like for her, I'm starting to like the
fact that my family is borderline annoying. "Well... I don't know what to
say."
Ellie put a hand on my knee and squeezed, "Listen pal. I'm okay.
Seriously. I know how to handle this!" She smiled hugely to show me she was
okay and that made me feel a little better.
I gestured towards Sean, "Are you going to get him to bed?"
Ellie made a face and stuck her tongue out. "I'm too tired to lug him
up to my room. I'll just... wake him up!" She jumped on him and started to
tickle his sides.
Sean jumped off the couch and glared at her before heading on
upstairs. Ellie gave me a scared look and burst out laughing. "He can be so
touchy sometimes!" She whispered to me so he couldn't hear her.
I heard Sean mutter a "screw you" from up the stairs and I started
laughing too. "Okay, let's finish the movie. I can now fully concentrate on
the genius that is Hitchcock."
Ellie snuggled up against my side and we finished the movie. This
reminded me of old times at my house- watching movies and then discussing...
okay gossiping about people at school. I smiled to myself. I just really
hoped that no one else in Ellie's life let her down.

Sean's POV

I woke up to the sound of someone coughing and gagging. I opened my
eyes and, at first, didn't recognize where I was until I saw Ellie's
artwork framed on the wall opposite the bed. I yawned and wiped at my eyes.
Was Marco or Ellie sick? I glanced at the clock next to the bed and
realized it was past three in the morning.
My feet touched the carpet and I started to follow the sound. It was
coming from a bathroom down the hall. I knocked on the door, "Ellie?"
The coughing stopped and it was silent. I knocked again, "Ellie?"
"Yeah?" She answered.
"Are you okay?"
I heard her sigh and move around the bathroom, "Yeah. I think I have
a bug or something. I feel like shit."
I could hear her brushing her teeth. I leaned against the wall, my
eyes threatening to close and fall asleep, until she came out a few minutes
later. She did look sick. Her pupils were dilated and there was sheen of
sweat covering her forehead. She rested her head against the wall next to
mine and smiled. "Let's go do something."
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't know. Let's just go. Let's take one of my dad's cars and
just... go."
I laughed, thinking she was just joking around and started to pull
her towards her bedroom, but she grabbed her hand back. "I'm serious!" She
insisted.
"Ellie, you're sick. It's three in the morning. I'm tired. I'm going
to bed. Come on."
"No!" She banged her fist against the wall.
"Are you drunk or something?" I squinted at her face. She was acting
weird.
She giggled and whispered in my ear, "Or something..."
I raised an eyebrow and caught both of her wrists, "Yeah, you're
drunk. Come on. Let's get you to bed."
Ellie resisted a bit more before finally relaxing and getting into
bed. As soon as I crawled in next to her, she rolled over on top of me and
started to kiss my neck. I enjoyed it for awhile before stopping her, "So
the plan is to get me throwing up?"
"I'm not sick. I'll be fine." She smiled against my lips and then
kissed me.
"At least we'll be sick together."
She touched my forehead with hers. "Yeah," She whispered.

I think I have a tendency to make everyone act like jerks. First Ashley,
now Ellie's dad. Oh well. He means well. I'll redeem everyone later, as I said before. So sorry if the chapter sucked. I wasn't too happy with it. Look forward to a few tiffs between Ashley and Ellie in the next chapter and showing a more competitive side to Ellie. Thanks for the awesome reviews. I apologize for the suckiness of this chapter.