Hated (9 page)

“Ah, thanks squirts,” I replied ruffling their hair. Both of them started laugh
ing then they spotted something behind me, and stopped laughing and stared up at whatever it was. I turned around and found Antonio standing behind me.

“Wow your tall,” Anthony remarked.

“How tall are you?” Andrew questioned as craned his neck to look at Antonio.

Antonio crouched down so that he was eye to eye with Andrew and Anthony,
and he said, “I’m six foot two how tall are you?”

“I’m five foot two,” Andrew replied confidently.

“And I’m five foot two and a half,” Anthony said proudly.

“Big Sis is five foot six and a half, right Sis?” Andrew
pointed out. I smiled and nodded.

“But how tall is Big Brother?” I asked.

“Hmm, Big Brother is…five foot six and three quarters?” Anthony replied unsure.

“Yep, now come on before dinner gets cold,” Kevin said as he put the food out on the table. “I’ll save you and your friend some food for when you get back.”

“Alright thanks,” I said as I put on my coat. “I’ll see you guys in a little while.”

Anthony and Andrew gave me quick hugs and Kevin gave me a big hug. Then Antonio and I went out the door and to his motorcycle.
I looked at my watch it was 4:50 pm my shift started in about 25 minutes.

“You have a very nice family,” Antonio commented
. “You all seem very close.”

“Thanks we’ve gotten pretty close because of certain
incidents
,” I replied looking up at him. Antonio walked up to me, put an arm around my waist and pulled me close. Too close for two people who are supposed to be just friends. But I couldn’t find the strength to push him away or to tell him that we should just be friends.

I did put my head down which gave me some breathing room.
It also gave me some room to think, without my feelings interfering with my thoughts. I put my hands on Antonio’s chest and gave him a gentle push to get him to take a step back.

“I…I don’t know if I’m ready to…” I stumbled trying desperately to explain my situation to him, but coming up short. I kept my head down so I would not have to look at the expression on his face.

“Yeah sorry, I guess I jumped the gun a little on that one,” Antonio replied as if he had known what I was going to say, but I think he got the wrong impression. “Now let’s get you to work.”

I didn’t get a chance to look at his face because he had gone
to go get his helmet. As soon as he let me out of his embrace I felt the bone chilling cold hit me like a snowball to the face. Even though snow is a very rare thing to find anywhere anymore, I felt the intense bite of winter not giving up the fight yet.

Maybe I could do that to, maybe I should keep on fig
hting. Perhaps I could risk having someone close to me again. But would it really be worth it in the end? Could I really trust him to stand with me and not turn his back on me when I needed him?

I followed him over to his bike and got on the back
. He passed me his helmet and I put it on. I held on tight as we sped to the restaurant where I worked as a waitress, occasionally. It was a nice place not too fancy but not too crummy either. I hopped off his bike and passed him his helmet back.

“You know you really do look beautiful,” Antonio commented before he threw on his helmet and sped off. I didn’t get a chance to react or time to process what he had just said
, because my boss called to me from the restaurant doorway.

I smiled to myself as I hurried to the restaurant. It’s time to take a risk!

Chapter 12

Antonio Caine

Boston 5:05 pm Thursday February 15
th
2029

I can’t believe I had just acted without thinking. First I went and hugged her, even though we barely know each other. Then I went and commented on something that I had found out was a touchy subject for her. Seriously what kind of an idiot am I? I had pushed her comfort zone just by hugging her; I hope I didn’t ruin my chances to be with her by commenting on the way she looked.

I tried to focus on my driving, but Stephanie kept jumping back into my thoughts. Then a scary thought hit me
that made me head straight for home, just to be sure that it didn’t happen. My father had mentioned something earlier today about going out for dinner as a family later in the evening. Darcy had put in that she had found a very nice and small restaurant to eat at. With my luck it would probably be at the restaurant that Stephanie worked, but I hoped it wouldn’t be.

I put my bike in the garage and ran to the front door. I pulled it open and slammed it in my rush to find my father. I walked briskly to his office and found him looking over some pages and books of numbers. He looked up when he heard me
enter the room.

“Father, do you know where we are going to eat tonight?” I asked, keeping my voice and expression neutral.

“Yes, but I promised Darcy that I wouldn’t tell you where it was,” my father replied. He shrugged, then smiled and went back to his work. I hated it when my father sided with Darcy. It was like my opinion didn’t count anymore, it was just the opinion of Darcy that counted.

I ground my teeth, and I was about to head up to my room to hide when Darcy said we were leaving to go to the restaurant. I was about to refuse when I caught a look from my father that said
you are going whether you like it or not.
So I clamped my mouth shut and followed them out to the waiting limo.

“Is this really necessary?” I questioned my father. But he just shrugged and hopped into the limo.
I reluctantly followed and stared out the window at the cars passing by us as we went on our way. I started to see familiar buildings and street signs, but I didn’t think anything of it. Then I saw the sign and I knew I was screwed. We were outside of the restaurant that I had wished we wouldn’t go to. I heaved a sigh and got out as soon as the limo stopped; I swear I was starting to feel claustrophobic in there. I breathed in a big gulp of the cold night air. It felt so nice having the air come into my lungs, that I almost did it a second time…almost.

Dar
cy and my father stepped out of the limo behind me, and I had to take a couple steps forward in order to let them get out. Darcy looked beautiful, but it was more like a scary, look-at-me-or-else beautiful. My father looked rather hansom in his suit and tie, also. As for myself, well, I was forced into wearing a suit and tie. And I did not like it one bit.

We entered
the restaurant in silence. I didn’t know what to expect when I walked in the door of the restaurant, but whatever it was this place went way beyond it. The restaurant was beautiful and elegant. It was probably one of the nicest places I’ve been to in a long time. But I dared not show it on my face. We walked up to the podium a little further into the restaurant and waited. A couple seconds later a young lady walked up and smiled at us.

“For how many?” the young lady asked politely.

“For three,” Darcy stated matter-of-factly.

“Very well then, follow me,”
the young lady said and started to walk away. We followed her to a nice table in the center of the room. She set down our menus and told us that our server would be with us shortly. As I looked through the menu I could hear Darcy muttering about how there was nothing good on the menu, and about how we should’ve gone somewhere else. I was about to say that it was her fault because she picked the place, when our server appeared at our table.

“Hello, my name is Stephanie and I will be your server tonight,” Stephanie said smiling. “Can I get you anything to start off with?”

She didn’t recognize me? Or was she just playing that she didn’t know me? Women can be so confusing at times. It’s like trying to read a French dictionary when all you can read is English. Not impossible but not easy either.

“I’ll have a bottle of
your nicest red wine,” Darcy replied.

“Alright,” Stephanie said scribbling something down on her pad of paper, “and how about you sir?”

“I’ll share the wine,” replied my father without looking up at Stephanie. Stephanie nodded then turned her attention to me.

“I’ll just have some water,” I said to Stephanie in a quiet voice, so that my parents didn’t hear. She smiled and turned to go get our drinks. Once she was gone Darcy started muttering again, but this time it was about Stephanie and how she was an ugly waitress, and about how she wasn’t doing her job right.

I glared at my father and he got the message. He whispered something to Darcy and she stopped the muttering. But she was smiling, and her creepy smile was worse than the muttering, much worse. I looked at the menu and tried to decide what I wanted to eat. A couple seconds later Stephanie reappeared with our drinks in hand.

She placed the wine bottle in between my father and Darcy, and gave each a glass. Then she popped open the wine and poured a bit into each glass. She put the wine back down and handed me my water in a rum glass. I
smiled; I guess she knew what I was talking about when I whispered about the water.

“Are you guys ready to order or shall I come back in a couple minutes?” Stephanie enquired, looking around at all of us.

“No, we are ready now,” Darcy replied with disdain. Why does her voice sound so…hate filled? Stephanie has done nothing wrong.

“Alright,” Stephanie said her smile returning, but it seemed a bit strained. “So what will it be?”

“I’ll have the Roman Garden Salad, but with no onions, garlic or olives,” Darcy stated. Stephanie started to write something down, but Darcy wasn’t done yet. “I would like the Parmesan Vinaigrette instead of the usual dressing. Also I want the dressing on the side so that I may pour it myself.”

Then Darcy closed the menu and lifted it to Stephanie. Stephanie gave a tight smile and nodded, taking the menu from Darcy and jotting down something. My father’s
order was also a complicated one. Mine was the only one that actually came from the menu itself. It was a seafood platter, with crab, lobster and shrimp.

Seafood was probably one of my favourite things to eat. But the top one would have to be
spicy curry with chicken. It always lit a fire in my mouth and the taste was phenomenal.

Darcy and my father had started talking, so I looked around the room while I occasionally eavesdropped in on their conversation. The place was very nice, but it had a certain subtlety that made it kind of homey too. My eyes wondered until I found Stephanie. She was waiting another table a little further away. She was bent over listening to the elderly couple order.

She was smiling a real smile, not like the strained one she had on when she waited on us (well Darcy and my father). When she wasn’t smiling she looked like someone who had taken a beating more than once. But that all changed when she smiled. She seemed like such a caring person, someone who would nurse even her worst enemy back to health if need be.

Stephanie straightened her back and walked off. She was different from any girl I have ever met in my entire life of traveling the world with my father. She was gentle with
the wounded and tough when it came to fighting for her life, or someone else’s. She didn’t throw herself at every cute guy that walked through the door. In fact she won’t let guys try to get to know her anymore than what she wants them to know. And her beauty wasn’t overpowering but it wasn’t undermining either.

I turned back around to my father and Darcy who were still stuck in their conversation. They finally remember that I was at the table too and my father tried to bring me into the conversation. I didn’t even bother to try to fit in with their conversation because it always came back to talking about the two of them, dissing the waitress (Stephanie) or t
alking bad about the restaurant or something else that I didn’t want to listen to.

When the food came a couple minutes later, Darcy and my father were stunned into silence. I guess they didn’t believe that their orders could be done. Stephanie winked to me as she set my plate down in front
of me, then she left. I was about to start eating, when I noticed a corner of a piece of paper sticking out from under my plate. I carefully slipped the piece of paper out from under my plate and put it into my pocket.

Darcy and my father got out of their shocked states and started to eat their dinner. I looked to the kitchen and saw Stephanie high-five one of the chefs in the back. I smiled, and then started eating my own dinner. Once my father and Darcy had finished eating they sat around looking miserable. I had finally had it with their attitudes and told them to head home without me.

Darcy got up and walked out the door without saying a word and my father laid out some money to pay for dinner. He didn’t even bother looking at me. And I was glad he didn’t because I was very close to smacking him upside the head. He followed Darcy out to the limo then they were gone and I was alone. I sighed and tried to relax the knot of nerves that had started to form in between my shoulder blades.

I heard the ruffle of paper and remembered the letter in my pocket. I reached into my pocket and pulled it out to examine the writing on it. The letter said:

Do you want to stay the night at my place, to get away from THEM for a little while? P.S. I do not mean it in the sexual way if that’s what you were thinking.

I chuckled, than thought about how I could reply to her request. It would be nice to get out of the house for a little while. To get away from all the stress a
nd lectures, which I knew, were going to happen as soon as I walked in the front door. Maybe I could get to know Stephanie a little better, too. I read the rest of the note:

If you want to then meet me at the front door at 8 pm. I will wait 5
minutes; if you aren’t there I will leave without you.

Okay, I have a little time to think about this.
I could go with her and have a little freedom from the witch and my father. Or I could just go home and deal with the two of them, barking and screaming at me for the whole night. I kind of preferred the alternative, which hopefully would involve a bit of peace and maybe quiet. If not, it’s still better than being home with my father and Darcy.

I put the note back into my pocket, got up and headed for the door.
Once I was outside I took a deep breath of the cold, crisp air. The rush of the cold air felt nice, compared to being in the stuffy restaurant. I walked until I came to a little shop called Maria’s Bouquets & Flower Arrangements.

When I entered the shop I was hit by
the intoxicating smell of many different kinds of flowers. When I was younger my mother used to take me with her when she went to her work at the flower shop, I loved helping her make different kinds of arrangements. And I loved all the different fragrances and colours that came from the flowers.

At the counter was an older lady, with
wire framed glasses, a floral printed dress and a little pink sweater. Her body seemed frail but her voice when she spoke was anything but.

“Can I help you?”
she asked, looking up from her book.

“Actually yes, do you have any
white roses?” I asked as I approached the counter.

“Why yes, I believe I ju
st got an order of them in this week,” the lady replied, coming around from behind the counter and going over to a small refrigerated box. “But I’m not sure if we have any left.”

She opened the refrigerated box and inside was a lone white rose. The lady carefully took it out and handed it to me.

“This is your lucky day, this is the last white rose until next week,” the older lady replied. “Will there be anything else?”

“Do you have any red roses?” I asked. I would use the red rose for a memorial of my mother and the white rose I might give to Stephanie. The lady reached back in the box and came out with a red rose.

“Anything else?” the older lady asked going back towards the counter.

“No that will be all, thank you,” I told her and went up to the counter to pay. After I had paid I check
ed my phone to see what time it was. It was almost 8 o’clock; I would have to hurry a little if I want to get there on time.

“Are you giving the flowers to a special young lady?” the older lady asked smiling.

I half smiled and said, “Something like that.”

The older lady grinned and it made her look
10 years younger. I left the store and, putting the roses in my jacket pocket, went down to meet Stephanie at the restaurant. But first I had to burn the red rose for my mother. I burned the red rose in an empty trash can on my way to the restaurant. As I looked at the white rose one last time before I put it away, I saw something in the centre of the rose but I couldn’t tell what it was.