Chapter 18:
"Tori ….and boy that always seems to be with her" My Dad said when he saw me in Beck's arms
"And this is when I leave" He said putting me down
I smiled waving goodbye, then I turned toward my Dad
"Dad! I cant believe you actually moved out here! Rose is probably so hap…" I started but was cut off
"Daddy!" Rose screamed running across the Oliver's land. She had been at Jamie's house for a little bit after school, and I guess Beck told her there was a little surprise waiting for her.
"Rose!" My dad screamed catching her in his arms, spinning her around into a hug.
I looked behind my dad to see my Grandma and Grandpa smiling happily..and..and….that woman.
"S..?" I asked
"Oh I was just on my way out" Suzan said
I nodded, hesitantly.
"I'll be back later for you to sign the…real-estate papers" She said lifting some papers that were in her hands
My dad nodded
"All right" My Dad said
"But wait, don't you usually sign the papers before you move in?" I asked
"Yes…but I want to move in already and the owners weren't selling well" My Dad said
"That's not even possible, because I'm almost positive that the owners have to sign the contract before…" I started but was cut off
"Listen sweety, I graduated from real estate school, so I think I would know best" Suzan said, trying to sound as polite as possible
"I don't mean to be rude…but is there even a real estate school?" I asked
"Well duh, considering I went to one" Suzan said
"But something just doesn't seem….."
"Don't worry about it. I'm here now, that's all that matters" My Dad said
"Right" I said
"I best be off. I hope you enjoy your new house" Suzan said
My Dad nodded as she headed towards her car, slipping the file into her bag. Then she drove off.
"I've moved into that house. Right over there" My Dad said pointing to the house next door
"Oh that's cool" I said with a smile
"Why don't we all go inside so we can get settled. Then maybe we can have a discussion about that Beck boy….."
We all sat and talked for what seemed like hours. We went over to my Dad's new house where he had already settled in. We sat in the beautiful new kitchen. Suddenly, my Dad's phone started ringing.
"You know what, I left my phone in my office! Tori, do you think you can just go get it for me?" My dad asked
"Of course, be back in a second" I said
I went over to my Dad's new office, which was a few rooms down from the kitchen. I went inside, and found his phone lying on top of a pile of papers.
I picked the phone up. It said Suzan on the caller ID.
I don't know if it was Stella's influence on me, or my intrigue…but I answered the phone.
"Hel…" I started in my high pitched voice but then cleared my throat and went into a deep voice
"Hello" I said faking a man's voice
"Paul. They found her" Suzan said, sounding ecstatic
Found her? Found who?
"Isn't that great?" Suzan asked
"What? Oh..oh yes! That's great!" I said
"The detective said that she's okay, and we'll get her back by tomorrow" Suzan said
"Oh, that's really great! I can't wait" I said, improvising
"I know! Finally, after 6 years of constant searching, we've found her!" Suzan said
I ran my fingers through my hair, looking down at the pile of papers scattered on the desk
"Ownership of 1127 Oakhill Drive" I whispered to myself, reading the top of the page. After I read this my eyes grew wide.
But…but didn't Suzan have the contract? Why is it here? Or better yet, why has my Dad and the old owner of the house already signed it…if my Dad said he hadn't? And…why is it signed Harriet Newman under the real-estate agent? Isn't Suzan Walker supposed to be on that line?
My Dad lied to me.
"What was that Paul?" Suzan asked, snapping me out of my train of thoughts
"Oh..oh I said that you should come over for dinner tonight" I said in my deep voice
Again, I'm not sure if it was Stella or my intrigue that was talking.
"I'm not sure if that's the best idea. I don't think Tori likes me very much" Suzan said
Oh no, I never meant to come off like that!
"Are you kidding? Tori loves you! Come on over…oh and uhh…bring the paper for me to sign" I said
"Alright, I'll see you later then" Suzan said hanging up
When I hung up I smacked my forehead.
What have I done?
I picked up the paper that had the ownership on it. I took out my phone and took a picture of it. I might need that in the future.
I can't believe my Dad lied to me about Suzan! What is going on? Who were they looking for? Well…who have they found is more like it.
"Tori?" My Dad called
I quickly put down the paper and grabbed the cell phone.
"Yeah Dad, here you go" I said handing him his phone
"What took you so long?" Rose asked
"Oh, actually it was that Suzan that keeps showing up. I invited her to dinner" I said, kind of twisting the story a bit.
My Dad's eyes grew big, but soon got smaller
"Alright, why I call in some pizza" My Dad said
I smiled nodding.
What really hurts is the fact that he's still lying to me.
"Yay! Pizza!" Rose said smiling
My Grandmother smiled
"Why don't we go back to the house" My Grandpa said
"Good idea, we should probably put on something nice since she's coming over" I told them
We headed back to the house where I showered and put on dark blue jeans and blue and gray striped shirt, with a white scarf, and black ballet flats. I put my hair down, clipping my bangs back.
My grandparents, Rose, and I went back to my Dad's house. In the front saw Suzan's car was already parked in the front. Alright Tori, no dilly dallying! You're here for 1 thing, and 1 thing only. I have to figure out what the file that Suzan had REALLY was.
When we got to the door, Rose jumped as high as she could hitting the doorbell. My Dad came and opened the door, Suzan next to him.
"Suzan, so nice to see you again" I said politely
"Likewise. Now, you must tell me, who is that boy that's always with you and Rose?" Suzan asked
"Beck!" Rose said
"Beck? Now..is that your boyfriend or…."Suzan began
"Neighbor" I said
"Fiancé" Rose said
Every head snapped to her
"Neighbor" I repeated
"You promised you would marry him! Remember, on the first day of school" Rose said
"Tori?" My Dad screamed
"Dad, I'm not engaged! Rose, we'll finish this conversation afterwards…." I mumbled picking her up and bringing her inside.
"I'd say they're set for life, the way those 2 always flirt" My Grandmother mumbled to everyone, but I was too far away to hear
"Yeah, I'm going to need to have a conversation with this Beck boy" My Dad said
During dinner, I had my eyes focused on Suzan's bag the whole time. Whatever it is that I'm desperately searching for, is in that bag!
"This pizza is great" Suzan said
"Well I do shop at the finest pizza stores" My Dad said
We all started laughing
I like Suzan, I actually like her a lot. She's nice, and intelligent, and funny…and she makes my Dad happy.
If only she and my Dad didn't have this whole big secret!
Suddenly, an idea reached my head.
"Oh Suzan, why don't I take your bag into the other room for you? We want you to feel at home" I said
"Please Tori, sit and enjoy" Suzan said with a warm smile
I smiled back.
"So Suzan, how did you find this house? It's really a miracle because it's just perfect for Paul to live right here" My Grandpa said
"It's a gift. I just have a knack for Real-Estate!" Suzan said
"Yes you do" My Grandma agreed
Suddenly we heard some thunder outside, making Rose jump.
"Uh oh, looks like the big rainstorm is starting" My Dad said
"The news station said it wouldn't start till 10" Suzan said
"Well it is coming down out there" I said
"I have an idea! How about we go play the thunder game! I made it up!" Rose said
"That sounds great" Suzan said
Rose took her hand and lead everyone into the living room.
I looked both ways. This is my chance!
I went toward Suzan's bag, opening it up. I feel so dirty doing this. I feel like a fugitive.
I went through all of her stuff…but I couldn't find the file.
Hold on a second…this isn't the purse from this morning! The purse from this morning is in her….car.
I quickly shut the purse, and it's a good thing I did because just as I shut it, Suzan came in.
"Woops, forgot my purse. Oh and by the way, your father wanted me to tell you that I'm going to be staying over tonight. The news said to absolutely not go out in the rain storm" Suzan said
"That's great!" I said
After we played Rose's game, which actually ended up being fun, we went back to my Grandparents house. We literally ran for dear life.
I got into my pajamas, shorts and a tank top, then sat in my bed.
What if..what if she's like my Dad's doctor or something. That could totally make sense! But then why would he lie about it? Unless….unless…maybe he has cancer or something serious like that! Oh I have to know! I wont let the same thing that happened to my mother happen to him! I've got to do something!
I got up out of my bed, then quietly opened up my window. I climbed out, hastily climbing up my tree then sliding onto Beck's ledge. I began knocking on the window, a bit harder than normal. What can I say? This is urgent! I felt the rain drenching me, soaking my hair and clothes.
Beck pulled back the curtains, clutching a metal bat in his hands. His hair was a little messy, and he was wearing a t-shirt and pajama pants.
Helia took a breath when he saw it was me, but then had a concerned look replace it.
He quickly opened the window letting me in.
"What are you…?"
"You've got to help me! My Dad…and Suzan has this…and they lied….and, and, and" I stuttered, feeling flustered
He placed his hands on my shoulders, giving me shivers….good shivers.
"Calm down. Now what in the world is going on? You scared the living hell out of me" He said
"Just look" I said taking out my phone and holding it up, showing him the picture I snapped of the document on my Father's desk.
"What's this?" He asked
He sat on his bed, and I sat on his desk chair.
I explained the whole story to him, from start to finish.
"So, what you're saying is, we have to go out, in the rain and get this document from Suzan's car and you have absolutely no idea what it is?" He asked
"Yeah" I said in a soft voice
I knew this was crazy. He probably thinks I'm some kind of a…..
"Alright, but first take one of my sweatshirts because you look freezing" He said pulling a sweatshirt out of his closet
I smiled, placing my phone on his counter, and pulling it over my head. It was baggy on me, and it went down to my knees, due to our height difference.
"First we have to go into my Dad's house and get the keys to Suzan's car" I told him
"So…what are we going to break into your Dad's house too?" He asked
I pulled a key out of my pocket
"I have a key" I told him
"Alright, let's go" Beck said
We jumped out the window, going to my Dad's house. Quietly, we snuck in. I went to Suzan's purse and pulled out her keys
"Bingo" I whispered, holding it up for Him to see. We lightly high fived, walking back outside. He took the keys and unlocked it.
"Here, put this in your pocket, let's go check it out" He said
We went to the front seat and opened the door, getting inside, and shutting the door behind us.
"Where is it?" I asked looking around
"Is that it? In the back seat?" Helia asked pointing to the trunk
"Yes! Good one Beck!" I screamed high fiving him
We scurried to the back seat, tripping over our own feet. We laughed as Beck fell over the seat.
I grabbed the purse, searching through it. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a sheet of paper.
"I found it!" I screamed lifting it up into the air like a trophy
"Let's see it" He said, sitting next to me
We sat pretzel legged in the trunk, looking over the document.
I read the title.
"Adoption papers?" I asked, dumbfounded
He flipped the page over.
"Your Dad's and Suzan's names are signed at the bottom. You don't think…" He started, but I cut him off
"They're adopting a child?" I asked, my eyes growing wide
"Come on Tori, we don't know that for sure. Maybe, maybe they're adopting a child for someone else?" He asked, although we both knew it couldn't be right
"Thank you for your optimism Beck" I said, looking down sadly
He put his hand on my shoulder…and then his hand slowly slid down and grasped my hand. I looked up at his face, feeling a blush come to my cheeks. Kiss me. Kiss me. Please, please, kiss me.
"Why don't you take a picture of it, then we'll get out of here" He asked, a half smile on his face
I was so mesmerized by his eyes, I felt myself nodding my head. I felt around my pocket for my phone…but it wasn't there.
"I left it on your counter!" I said
"Then we'll just use mine" He said digging into his pocket.
"Crap, 1 bar. Better take this picture fast before it dies" He said
I held it up, and he snapped the picture.
"Good, now let's put this down and get the heck out of here" I said putting it back in the purse, in exactly the way I found it.
"I second that. Don't you feel kind of weird breaking into some stranger's car like this" He said
"Yes. I feel strange about this whole thing! I feel like I've just lied to my Dad into the next century, and I don't like to lie. Because 1 lie turns into another, then another, then another, and next thing you know everything is just a whole big mess" I said
We crawled up to the front seat, and I placed my hand on the door handle, pushing it…but it didn't open.
"…where are the keys?" I asked
"I gave them to you" He said, concern in his voice
I looked out the window and sure enough there they were lying on the street.
"They must have fallen out of my pocket!" I screamed warily
"We're locked in?" He asked
We both looked at each other, our eyes growing wide. All we could hear was the sound of thunder, and the sound of our hearts beating wildly inside our chests.
A/N: i swear if any1 sayz "update fast" or "Plz we jst want u to update cuz we love this story" or anything like dat, im gnna delete this cuz c'mon ppl, tomorrow's my first exam, nd im busy i HATE THOSE TYPES OF REVIEWS! soo plzz plzzz plzzzzzzzzzzz review sme ideas or sumthing ok f9 say "i luv it or i like it or watever" but plzzz dont use the word update.
this is it fr now...maybe another chappy tomorrow...byee fr noww ;)
love
stella