Chapter 7 - "Never Going Back Again"
by Fleetwood Mac
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Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the follows and favourites, I'm really glad people seem to be enjoying this. Now without further adieu, here is the next chapter of "A Strange Set of Circumstances!
Dull voices from the TV reverberated in the small lounge room of the Lowe household. It's light illuminated the figure of a man who, outwardly, looked relaxed but was actually deep in thought. His daughter had gotten home a while ago; tears had dried on her freckled face, eyes distant and slightly red. She had brushed him off and shut herself away in her room with no explanation despite his best efforts.
The man, Wyatt, sighed.
Best to leave her be for a while 'n' let her come around on her own.
A few solid thunks against the door brought him back into focus. He frowned as he looked at the glaring red numbers on the dvd player. Who the hell was knockin' on his door at 10 o'clock?
He pushed up off the lounge, his lanky yet sturdy frame lumbering over to open the door. His tired, green eyes blinked. A teenager with black hair and bright pink streaks through it stood in front of him.
"Hi!"
"...Hi. Can I... Can I help you or...?"
"Are you Carmen's Dad?" He nodded. "Oh good, finally at the right house." She threw a pointed look behind her at a large, green SUV before turning back to Wyatt. "Sorry to drop by so late, I just wanted to talk to her real quick. Don't worry, we're friends." she added at his skeptical look.
Wyatt glanced over his shoulder at the entrance to the hallway and sighed. "She's not really up for visitor's right now." At the saddened expression on her face, he thought that maybe this girl had something to do with his daughter's mood or at least knew something about it.
He wanted to help her. He needed to know.
"What happened?"
The girl waved her hand. "Just a misunderstanding with one of our friends, it's no big deal." She was trying to downplay it but he wasn't fooled.
"No big deal, huh? You're trying to tell me my little girl's been crying over 'no big deal'?" She fidgeted on the spot and after a few seconds spoke up.
"Look, just tell her that she doesn't need to get upset and that the Doc is an idiot for me, will ya?" And with that she spun around and trudged down the steps and along the path where she got into the SUV and left. Wyatt just shook his head and closed the door. He lingered there for a moment until he straightened up and carefully made his way to the hallway and to Carmen's room. He knocked softly and stuck his head around the door.
She was sitting on her bed with her knees drawn up looking out the window, her quilt wrapped around her as she gazed at the night sky. Wyatt couldn't help but marvel at how much his baby had grown and yet how she was still just his little girl: staring at the stars with those big green eyes of hers.
"Still awake, marshmallow?"
She tilted her head to look at him - her eyes were still dull, he noted - before looking down at her knees. "Yeah..."
Her Dad eased himself down next to her, his back to the window so they were facing opposite directions. He peeked at her out the corner of his eyes before gazing forward once more. "...a girl came up to talk to you." No reaction. "Said she was your friend. Black hair, crazy pink highlights-" she sagged. He glanced at her again. He could see she was hesitant to talk and conflicted. "She told me to tell you not to be upset and that some 'Doc' was an idiot." Carmen snorted and a small smile ticked up the corners of her lips.
"...y'know, you can always talk to me if you need to. Even if ya just want me to listen and not say anything. I'm here for ya, kiddo." She shuffled closer to
him and leant her head against his shoulder.
"Thanks Dad, I know I can. Love you." They stayed like that for a few minutes before sitting back up.
"So, this 'Doc' guy, do I need to go bash him up?"
"No!" she choked out. The image of her Dad trying to beat up a giant, metal alien made a grin spread across her face as she laughed. Wyatt was glad to see her mood improving and decided to leave with a "goodnight" and a reminder to get some sleep. They had a big morning ahead of them.
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The sun was beaming brightly as Jennifer, Dad, Lily and I sat on the picnic blanket in the park; It was only a few blocks down from our house. It had grass that was somewhat green and a decent playground too but not as popular as the main one closer to the centre of town so it wasn't too busy that morning. I nibbled at a piece of watermelon as Lily finished recounting her week at school to Jen.
"-and I scored the final goal!"
"That's great, Lily! Sounds like you're really improving."
Dad grinned, "You betcha! In fact, Lily's gonna be captain of the soccer team next year."
"No way!" I cried and looked at my little sister in bafflement. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because," Lily started as she pushed at Dad, "they haven't actually decided who's captain next year." Dad fell backwards with a dramatic flair and dragged her down with him, earning a loud squeal as she tried to struggle out from his muscly grip. I shook my head at their antics with a smile and Jen laughed. Getting fed up with whining for help and not getting it, Lily jabbed Dad in the side and jumped up as he let her go. She swiped up the hat that had fallen off his head and shouted "keep-away!"
"Hey! Get back here you little munchkin!"
Lily giggled and threw the hat to me. I had to lean backwards to catch it and ended up overbalancing and falling sideways. I rolled on to my knees and looked at my Dad's outstretched hand, clearly thinking I would hand it over.
I smirked.
With a flick, I threw it to Jen and when Dad moved towards her she threw it back over his head to Lily. And thus the game of keep-away began. Our laughter filled the air and we ended up getting up and running about. Lily chucked the tattered baseball cap to Jen but Dad went and wrapped his arms around her, trapping her arms to her side so he could grab the hat. They both started to laugh and a soft smile took over my grin as I watched them. Dad placed a small peck upon her lips to which Lily cried out "Ew!". I gave her shoulder a swat and gave her a playful glare.
Lily's childish outburst only made our Dad smile wider.
He really loves her.
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"I got a pocket got a pocketful of sunshine, I got a love, and I know that it's all mine, oh. Oh whoa..."
My phone's screen showed a number but no name so it wasn't someone from my contacts. I answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey Carmen, it's Raf."
I blinked. "Raf? How'd you get my number?"
"School data-base." he chimed nonchalantly and I took a moment to just let that roll around in my mind.
"...right, yeah, of course. Uh..." I shook my head, "so, what's up?"
"We were wondering how you were and if you wanted to hang out?"
"We?" I asked with a mix of hesitation and hope, already knowing what the answer was going to be.
"Yeah, 'Bee and I."
A sigh escaped me as I started to pace my bedroom floor. "Raf-"
"Please, Carmen? I know we haven't known each other long and I know you left last night but Miko said she went to your house and told us what your Dad told her and we don't want you to stay away."
Raf's words were getting to me and a part of me wanted to just say yes and go off galavanting with them but remembering last night made my heart clench unwillingly. "My guardian certainly does."
"Carmen-"
"No, Raf," I interrupted as I ran my hand through my hair. "I appreciate the thought, I do, but I just- I can't-... I don't want to force myself into their world if they don't want me there." He went to speak up and I heard Bumblebee let out a whir but I kept on going, "And I know what you're gonna say, that you and 'Bee are okay with me, and Miko, and I really liked spending time with you guys and the Autobots but... if my guardian doesn't want me around then I'm not going to impose myself on him."
There was silence for a few seconds and I stood there, gripping my arm tightly as I slumped on to my bed, before I heard Bumblebee beeping over the line.
"'Bee said that that's just how Ratchet is and that you just need some more time to get to know each other." More beeps and whirs sounded. "Come back to base with us and try again. We'll figure it out."
I screwed my eyes shut as the different parts of my brain argued against each other. Ultimately though, Raf and 'Bee's earnest attempts got to me and I reluctantly agreed to give it another shot. They cheered and after organising to come pick me up in about 10 minutes, we hung up. I stared at the phone in my hands and gripped it tight.
Was I making the right choice? Was it stupid of me to get my hopes up?
My thoughts drifted back to last night.
Jack and I exited the ground-bridge and I clutched at my chest and stomach. My heart was pounding and I felt nauseous. So that's what it felt like to go through. Not as nice as I was expecting. I groaned and peaked over at Jack who was gripping his head. Looks like it wasn't just me.
"You ok?" I mumbled and he gave me a slow nod before straightening up. The effects were, luckily, wearing off quickly.
"Where are we?"
I looked at the concrete and brick room we were in and an awful feeling rose up in me as I recognised our surroundings.
"My garage..."
Jack looked at me questioningly for a moment before his eyes grew wide. He'd realised what I had: Ratchet had picked these coordinates before I had even said I was going. He was hoping I would go, heck, he was betting on it. Tears started to slip down my cheeks without me noticing at first but when Jack tentatively called out my name, I hurriedly palmed them away and forced out a laugh.
"I don't even know why I'm crying, we haven't even known them that long. It's stupid." I managed to get my tears under control but I couldn't help the hurt that filled me. Sure, I had barely known Ratchet but the fact that he didn't want anything to do with me, no matter how hard I tried to get him to like me, hit me deeply. Why did I have to care so much all the time? Why did I have to get so attached?
I took in a deep breath to calm down and then focused back on Jack. "I'm alright. Really." The look on his face told me he didn't believe me but I decided to get on to more important matters. "Come on, I'll give you a lift home."