Chapter 213

Tessa’s POV

My heart had officially stopped beating when my father told me that he and Penny were going to be here in the morning. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was just past 1 am. They were driving overnight, and they were going to be here in about 5 or so hours if I’m hearing him correctly.

“What do you mean you’ll be here in the morning?” I asked, finally finding my voice after what felt like an eternity of awkward silence.

“We're in the car and heading there right now,” he explained, and I heard the engine roaring to life. “Just finished up at the gas station.”

I could hardly believe the words I heard from the other end of the phone. Was my father serious? Was he honestly coming to the city without even telling me beforehand?

My father hated the city more than anything. He wouldn’t even come here with me when I went to check out the campus after I got my acceptance letter. My father has never been to the city, and I honestly wasn’t even expecting him to actually come to my graduation.

“My graduation isn’t until Thursday night,” I breathed, my voice coming out as a squeak. “It’s only Tuesday. Why are you coming here so early? And why didn’t you tell me?”

The questions poured out of my mouth before I could stop them.

He sighed.

“I was worried you’d tell me not to come if I told you beforehand. Figured you can’t say no when we’re already on the road,” my father said simply.

My mouth fell open from his words.

Was he serious?

“I can certainly still say no,” I muttered, rolling my eyes at the audacity. But then I sighed; I knew my father was trying to make an effort. Him coming to the city was a huge deal and I should be happy that I have him in my life. I should be happy that he cared about me enough to attend my graduation.

But I still couldn’t help the jab of pain I get whenever I think about my father keeping this huge secret from me.

I tried hard not to be annoyed, but it couldn’t be helped.

“We will get a hotel room. You don’t have to worry about seeing us until your graduation. I just wanted to get used to the city is all,” my father went on to say, rambling a bit. I knew this conversation was hard for him. He was nervous and I wasn’t helping the situation. “There was some stuff Penny wanted to do as well and I thought we could make a little vacation out of it. So don’t feel like we are trying to—”

“Dad, it’s fine,” I said, cutting off his words, having heard enough of that ramble. “I don’t mind you staying with me.”

He was quiet for a moment.

“Are you sure, Tess?”

Yeah, of course,” I said quickly. “I have another bedroom, so I’ll set it up for you both. I can’t wait to see you.”

I hung up before he could say another word. Then, I threw my phone at the end of Ruby’s bed and flopped back down. I was exhausted and after the day I had, I deserved to sleep for a few hours.

……

I was startled awake by the bedroom door swinging open and Ruby walking in like a zombie.

“I feel like death,” she murmured as she walked toward her closet. “Why did you let me drink that much?”

“Would you have stopped if I asked?”

She thought about it for a moment and then shook her head.

“Probably not,” she murmured as she grabbed a clean pair of clothes from her closet. “I’m going to take a shower and try to feel more alive. We still have a few hours before we have to be at the school. Maybe we can grab some breakfast.”

I sat up in bed quickly, the memory of last night rushing back to my mind.

“What time is it?” I asked, desperately looking for my phone in the bed.

“Just after 5,” she answered, walking toward the bathroom door.

“Oh, my god,” I said, quickly getting out of bed and grabbing my clothes that I threw on the floor last night. “I have to go.”

“Go? Go where?”

“My dad and Penny will be at my apartment soon,” I explained as I pulled on my jeans.

Ruby raised her brows.

“They are here early. I thought they weren’t coming in until tomorrow,” she said, furrowing her brows together.

“Yeah, they decided to come early,” I muttered.

“Oh jeez. Give me a few minutes and I’ll give you a ride,” she said, rushing into the bathroom.

By the time I finished dressing, Ruby was running out of the bathroom. She put her hair in a messy bun, and she wasn’t wearing any makeup, but her face was clearly freshly washed.

It took us no time to get to my apartment and I was glad to see that my father wasn’t there yet. That gave me a little time to clean my apartment, get the guest room situated, and maybe even take a shower.

“Mind if I shower while I’m here?” Ruby asked, yawning.

“Yeah, go for it,” I said, rummaging in the kitchen for cleaning supplies. “I’ll be out here cleaning if you need anything.”

Once I got all the supplies, I went into the guest room, cleaned literally everything, and completed it by making the bed. I put the pillows, from the closet, on the bed and put fresh sheets over the mattress, along with a quilted comforter. Once the guest room was cleaned, I went back into the kitchen and started to clean that as well. I also swept the floor and washed the dishes. Then I went into the living room and cleaned everything there.

It didn’t take long for the lemony scent of the Pinsol to invade my senses. It was a calming scent and made my little apartment feel clean.

Once Ruby was done in the bathroom, I cleaned that as well, making sure to put away all my girly products and my birth control.

When I finished, it was almost 6 am. I had a few minutes to take a quick shower and freshen up.

I grabbed a fresh pair of clothes and went into the bathroom while Ruby sprawled out on the couch with her phone and a water bottle. I turned on the shower while I waited for the water to heat, I stripped off my clothes. Then, I stepped into the shower, sighing as the hot water warmed my cold flesh.

I closed my eyes and allowed the water to soothe away my stresses. I washed my hair, my face, and my body. Once I was done, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my hair and another around my body.

Knock knock knock!

My heart dropped into my stomach.

“Shit,” I muttered. “Here we go.”

I heard the front door opening and then Ruby greeting my father and Penny. I heard some cooing as Penny hugged Ruby and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes a little.

I quickly got dressed and threw my hair into a low ponytail at the nape of my neck before leaving the bathroom. My father was bringing in a couple of suitcases while Penny was already curled up on the couch with Ruby and talking her ear off.

“I absolutely love the city,” I heard Penny breathing. “It’s so beautiful here. I can’t wait to see everything.”

“There’s a couple of really nice boutiques close by here. We will have to go shopping while you are visiting,” Ruby said in return, both of them chuckling.

Don’t get me wrong; I was glad Ruby was getting along with Penny, I just really didn’t want them here.

“Hey, Tessa,” my father said, walking toward me.

I forced a smile on my lips and closed the gap between us, hugging him.

“Hey, how was the drive?” I lamely asked.

My father shrugged.

“Tiring,” he admitted. “It’s hard to drive overnight. I’m exhausted.”

I nodded.

“Well, the guest room is this way,” I said motioning for the nearby door.

I opened the door and stepped inside, waving inside for him to enter. He brought the bags in and sat them on the bed.

Penny jumped up from the couch and followed us into the room; she smiled brightly as she took a look at our surroundings.

“It’s gorgeous. Thanks for letting us stay here, Tess,” she said, giving me a quick side hug before joining my father in the room.

“Of course,” I said in return, trying to sound casual.

“Are we still going to the school today?” Ruby asked from behind me.

I almost completely forgot that we had to help with graduation preparations today.

“You have school today?” My father asked, raising his brows.

I shook my head.

“We volunteered to help with graduation preparations,” I explained.

“More like Tessa volunteered and dragged me into it,” Ruby said, rolling her eyes.

“It was a favor the Dean asked,” I said, shrugging.

“Oh, fun!” Penny breathed. “I’d love to see your school.”

My heart fell into my stomach.

“Oh… uh…” I stammered, trying to come up with any excuse to keep them from coming with us.

But then my father stepped in, placing a hand on Penny’s shoulder.

“Maybe we can go tomorrow?” My father asked. “I think for right now we should rest. I’m exhausted and I know you are too, Pen.”

She sighed and then she nodded.

“Probably a good idea,” she agreed, giving him a small smile.

“Okay, well we can meet up for dinner tonight. I’ll be home in a few hours,” I told them.

They both nodded.

“Sounds great, Hun,” my dad said, smiling at me.

I forced a smile at him too and then turned to leave the room, but then he called my name, making me freeze.

“Hey, Tess…. Thanks for letting us stay with you. It really means a lot.”

I didn’t turn back around when I said, “No problem, Dad.”