Chapter 10

Frankie laid her stomach on Pickle's floorboard to hide her whereabouts. Her nose was in the carpet, and she was thankful Faith was meticulous about keeping her baby bus spotless. She heard her mom yelling for her as she passed on the sidewalk searching for her daughter. Frankie had nothing to say to her mother then and chose to stay hidden.

“I’ll drive around the block and look for her,” she overheard Faith reassure Rachel. “She couldn’t have gotten far.”

“Thank you so much, Faith. Call me if you find her.”

“Will do,” She hugged Rachel and hopped behind the wheel. With a crank of the engine, she slowly pulled away from the curb.

“Oh, Frank, where are you?” Faith asked the empty passenger seat beside her.

“I’m right here, ding-a-ling,” Frankie barked as she popped up behind the second row bench seat.

“Oh, my gosh,” Faith yelped in surprise. and had to wrench the steering wheel to the left to avoid sideswiping a parked car. “What are you doing in here? You scared me half to death!” she placed her hand over her heart, trying to recover from the shock.

“Hiding, Duh.”

“You could have told me you were back there.”

“I just did.”

Faith cut her eyes toward Frankie, “I meant without scaring the crap out of me.”

“Sorry.”

“So why did you take off?” Faith started with the inquisition. “Why didn’t you ask what in the heck your mom was doing with Mr. Winters? and why they were sneaking out of town to meet?”

“Because…”

“And what did she tell him? Did she tell him he is your dad? Did she tell him you know the secret?” the questions tumbled so quickly out of her mouth that Frankie didn’t have time to respond.

“Faith!” she smacked her best friend on the shoulder, “I am the one freaking out here…remember?” Frankie climbed into the front seat. “Geesh.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“I panicked, okay?”

“Okay, but I need to call your mom and tell her I found you. I promised.”

“Just text her, please.” Frankie pleaded. “I don’t want to talk to her right now, and you know she will make you put me on the phone.”

Faith pulled into the Pick-and-Save parking lot and texted Rachel quickly. “I told her you will call her in a bit. Don’t make a liar out of me.” she gave Frankie a mock warning glare.

“Thanks. I owe you one.”

“One? How about a hundred!” Faith giggled, “and I plan to collect someday.”

‘Let’s head back to Holly Springs. I will talk to Mom at home.”

“You got it, Chickadee!” Faith did a 15-point turn in the middle of the road and headed toward home.

“You can’t drive, you know that?” Frankie teased.

“I can drive. I just can’t park or do a three-point turn!”

Thirty minutes later, they pulled into a parking space near Frankie’s building. “I would come in, but I need to get home. Hunter is coming over to watch a movie tonight.”

“No, that’s ok. Tell Hunter I said hi.” Frankie jumped out of Pickle and watched as Faith pulled away. She dashed around the building once Faith was out of sight and hid in the shadows. Her mom’s car wasn’t in the parking lot, and she couldn’t risk being spotted if her mom pulled in. Frankie wasn’t in the mood to play nice with her mom. Not right now.

Frankie: Wanna hang out?

Steve: Sure. Let me get a quick shower, and I will be over.

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Frankie: Just meet me by the lake in Veteran’s Park.

Steve: Uhm, okay…what’s going on, Babe?

Frankie: Nothing, I’m fine. See you there.

Steve: Be there in 30 minutes.

Frankie sat on a table under the picnic shelter. The sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the lake. The longer she waited on Steve, the darker the sky got, and the blacker her mood grew. When Steve arrived, she was deep in thought, twisting a strand of hair in her fingers. He startled her when he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the top of her head.

“What the hell?!” she jumped off the table and turned around with fists raised.

“Whoa,” Steve’s flinched. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry.”

Frankie lowered her fists and cast her gaze downward, slowing her breath. “It’s ok. I didn’t hear you coming.”

Steve grabbed her hands and pulled her close, engulfing her in a warm hug. She loved his arms around her. She felt safe and secure. The smell of his cologne intoxicated her.

“I am definitely getting you more Drakkar for Christmas,” she inhaled deeply and felt a chuckle rise in his chest.

“So, what are we doing here so late?” He asked. “It’s not that I don’t love spending time alone with you, but isn’t it Golden Girls time with your mom?” he glanced at his watch.

“It was a rough day. That’s all.”

Steve grabbed her hand, and they strolled along the water’s edge. “Wanna talk about it?”

“I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact that my dad is alive. Whenever my mom told me that my dad was ‘gone,’ I assumed she meant dead. Not ‘gone’ as in she had a one-night stand with a frat boy and didn’t know his name!” The more she talked, the louder her voice rose. “I mean, she lied to me my entire life! And NOW, this dude shows up as my English teacher, and it’s him! This is like an awful Hallmark movie.” a tear trickled down her cheek. “And on top of that, Mom says he doesn’t even know I am his daughter. I still don’t know if I believe that. I mean, of all places in the world, he shows up in Holly Springs, North Carolina, and they met in Tulsa!” Steve didn’t speak. He patiently let Frankie vent. “Oklahoma! That is the other side of the country.”

“Oh, and get this” she took a deep breath. "Faith and I went to that new place, Jitter Bean in Chandler, today when we left your practice to get a coffee. Guess who was sitting all cozy at a table when we walked in? Mom and Mr. Winters! I mean, what the hell?” Frankie was full-blown ugly crying now.

Frankie’s phone rang in her back pocket. She hit ignore on the screen and slid it back into her pocket again. Within seconds, it was ringing again. It was her mom calling for the second time.

“You’d better get that. She’s probably worried.” Steve suggested.

“I don’t care.”

“Of course, you care, Frankie.”

“No, I don’t,” she stomped her foot in the dirt. “She doesn’t care about me. She has been lying to me my entire life!” the tears began to fall again. Steve wiped a few from her cheek and pulled her closer.

“You know she loves you, Frankie. You are her world. She was trying to protect you.”

“A lot of fat good that did.” she sniffled snot on his hoodie,

“Come on; I will take you home.”

“NO!” she demanded. “I don’t want to see her!” her phone buzzed again with a text.

Mom: Sweetheart, are you ok?

Frankie didn’t respond.

Mom: Frankie, Faith said she dropped you off a couple of hours ago. Where are you?

Frankie still didn’t respond. Seconds later, there was another text

Mom: Frances Montgomery, either reply and let me know you are alive, or I am calling the police!

With pursed her lips and pounded out a text in response:

Frankie: Why don’t you go be with DAD and don’t worry about me! Not point in starting now!

Frankie threw her phone to the ground, collapsed into Steve’s chest, and continued to sob.

“Shhh, my silver-haired angel,” he whispered, softly stroking her hair. “It will be ok.”

“I hate them!” she cried, “I hate them both!”

Steve walked Frankie to his truck and grabbed a blanket from behind the seat. "It’s a nice night; wanna look for shooting stars?"

Frankie sniffled a little and nodded her head in agreement. Steve climbed into the back of his truck and spread the blanket in the bed.

"Come here," he extended his hand to her and helped her climb in.

Frankie curled into Steve's arms with their backs against the cab, and quickly fell asleep.

Two hours later, Frankie awoke with a start. "Steve, wake up," she shook him from his slumber. "We fell asleep. I gotta get home,"

Steve lept over the tailgate and lifted Frankie out. "Shit! I'm sorry. Practice was rough today. Let's go."

The engine was running before Frankie could get her door closed. They left the park and headed in the direction of Frankie's place.

☙☙☙

“Do you want me to go in with you? I'll tell your mom it was my fault that we fell asleep." Steve said as he pulled his truck into a parking spot outside of Frankie's apartment.

“No. That’s okay. The apartment looks dark. She must be asleep.” the clock on the dash flashed 1:23 A.M.

“Okay, if you are sure.” he leaned over and kissed her sweetly. “Text me before you go to sleep.”

“I will.”

She waved goodbye as she walked through the breezeway and headed up the stairs to her apartment. Quietly, she turned the key in the lock and slipped inside. She didn’t want her mom to know what time she got in.

Frankie tiptoed down the hallway to her bedroom and softly closed her door once inside. She had successfully avoided her mom. She was exhausted from crying all evening and wanted to sleep.

To her surprise, the bedside lamp flipped on, flooding her room with bright light. Her mom had been sitting in the dark waiting for her.

“It’s nice of you to come home,” Rachel said coldly. There was an edge to her voice that Frankie hadn’t heard before. “We need to talk, young lady.” Rachel pointed at a chair in the corner of Frankie’s room, “Sit!”