Seaside Entries - 9. You remember Leo?

As soon as I heard a car pull up in front of the house, I knew what was coming. The reckoning.

I steeled myself and got up off the couch, taking a deep breath to calm myself down. My steps felt heavy as I headed towards the door, dreading the encounter.

I was already in a lousy mood that day. Aside from a few texts, Leo hasn't really been keen on talking to me ever since that day we went to the escape room. He was mad even though he said he wasn't, that much was obvious. Or maybe—and this was something I didn't want to even think about—he was disappointed in me. Was I supposed to call him or let him cool off and wait for him to be ready to call me? It was frustrating as hell. The last thing I needed was for my parents to come visit.

When I opened the front door, the two of them were there in front of the taxi; dad was unloading their luggage and mom stood in the front, paying the driver.

The wheels of the last suitcase hit the ground and the car drove off, leaving us alone.

“There he is!” Dad called out as they both grinned, watching me as I walked down the pathway towards them. “Ahh, look at him!”

“Come here, sweetie!”

Mom was the first to get to me, pulling me in for a hug, drowning me in her sickly sweet perfume. “That's a new shirt, right?”

“Um, I guess?” We haven't seen each other in eight months, and I didn't exactly keep track of my purchases. “It's good to see you, guys.”

“You too, sweetheart,” she cooed as she held my hand and gave it a squeeze. “We missed you so much. Let me just look at you! I almost forgot what you looked like.”

“Then give him a video call from time to time,” dad said with a smile as he came over. It was his turn for a bear hug. “Come here, big guy! How have you been?”

“Good, good. Everything's fine,” I found myself actually smiling. It felt good to see them again, even though I was afraid the feeling wouldn't last long. “How are you two?”

“Well, your dad almost forgot his passport, and we could barely find a dog sitter, but…”

“We're fine, we got here, didn't we?” Dad cut her off. “Come on, let's get this stuff inside.

We each grabbed a pair of suitcases and headed toward the house.

“Ooh, careful. Go this way, you're going to knock over all those trash cans,” mom made a big turn to avoid the bins as if they were full of radioactive waste. “Goodness, they're about to burst.”

“Trash pickup is on Fridays.” I rolled my eyes. “They'll be fine.”

“Let's go inside. I need a shower after that flight. I hope there's hot water.” She kept on walking, pointedly ignoring my reply. I had half a mind telling her there's no water and that she'd have to wash herself in the sea, but trying to have a sense of humor with mom was pointless.

A shower and a change of clothes later and they were back down in the dining room. I had just set the table for lunch since I figured they'd be hungry. I was correct. Dad insisted I sat in between them so they could both look at me while we ate. Such joy.

“Are you still at the souvenir shop?” he asked.

“Uh-huh.” I nodded.

“I'm surprised Penelope’s managing to keep it open. Can't imagine there's much profit, especially out of season,” he added as if he was talking to himself. “And she's paying you on top of it all. You do get a salary, I hope?”

“Well, I don't get paid in exposure,” I replied dryly. “Of course I get paid.”

“Can't imagine it's much. We should look into getting you a proper job while we're here. I can check with Douglas, he's got a new business.”

“Doing what?”

“Import and export. You could advance in a place like that.” He went on for several minutes about supply chains and logistics. I rushed through my meal just so I could leave the table as quickly as possible. “We should go visit Douglas together while we're here. It's best if we ask him in person.”

“Dad, I don't need another job. I already have one,” I insisted.

“But that's not a real job. Sure, it's fine for now, but you have to find something you can make a career out of.”

“Sweetie, I'll just leave the dishes here,” mom cut in, putting the washed plates on the drying rack. “I don't want to mess with your little… system. It seems you've moved things around. I guess whatever works for you…”

“Carmen, forget about the dishes now.” Dad sighed in frustration. “Noah, what do you say? You know you could do so many different things. You could even go back to school. Why not? It's not too late.”

“No, I have to… I have to do something.” I shook my head and practically ran up the stairs to my room. If I had stayed, I would have probably screamed in their faces. I slammed the door behind me and dropped to the floor, stretching my back on the soft carpet. The silence of my bedroom was a relief—a sanctuary from the noise and the questions my parents always brought along. It was only their first day back home and I was already exhausted. Two whole weeks… How the hell was I supposed to get through that?

~~

It seemed a change of scenery and a good night's sleep had done my parents some good. They both seemed in a great mood the next morning, and I would be too if they hadn't woken me up at eight.

“Come on, we don't get to have breakfast together every day,” mom shouted from the hallway after knocking on my door. “Pete's already starting without us.”

“OK, I'm coming,” I yelled back just to get her to stop. I could hardly blame mom for wanting to share a meal together, but did it have to be this early? I can't remember when I actually fell asleep last night, but it was late. As much as I tried, sleep just wouldn't come. I kept tossing and turning, and that damn dog kept barking somewhere down the street. My phone stayed silent the whole time, though. No calls, no texts.

After a quick breakfast, I got up, itching to leave the house. It was one of those bright, sunny days, with not a single cloud in the sky. I put on my shades before going to the hallway to find my flip-flops.

“You guys ready? Come on, let's go,” I called out as I opened the front door, waiting for my parents. They seemed eager to take a walk around town and ‘see what's changed’, as though they'd been away for a decade. As much as I didn't want to go along with mom's plan of me being their tour guide, it beat sitting at home and waiting for Leo to call.

“Let's go! Your dad promised he's buying us ice cream,” mom announced proudly as she walked out the door.

“Unless I forgot my wallet.” Dad shrugged.

It was a good thing mom could talk enough for the three of us so I didn't have to contribute much. Especially since there was nothing new to show them. Still, that didn't stop her from pointing at every store and coffee shop and asking if the same people were still running them. On the other hand, dad was busy comparing everything to how things were in London. I was already considering slipping out and leaving them when mom's scream almost left me deaf in one ear.

“Oh, look who it is!!”

My heart seemed to drop to my stomach when I saw Leo walking down the street toward us. He stopped when he noticed us, then put on a smile and kept on walking.

Mom wasted no time in waving him over and pulling him in for a hug when he finally approached us.

“How are you, darling? Look at you, you've gotten so tall!” She gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning to dad. “Honey, you remember Leo?”

“Of course I remember Noah's best friend,” dad said, patting him on the back.

Leo threw me a glance as he returned the hug. I stayed silent, watching as he faked a smile and looked away.

“Yeah… I guess that's me,” he nodded as he spoke. It felt like being punched in the gut.

“How are you doing, sweetie?” mom asked.

“I'm doing good, thanks. Are you enjoying your vacation?”

“We are. It's good to be back for a while. Have you been taking care of Noah while we were away?”

I could do nothing but cringe as I stood there uselessly, watching Leo chuckle awkwardly at my mom.

“Heh, he doesn't need that.”

“Oh, you'd be surprised.”

“Your parents doing alright?” dad asked. “Still running the restaurant?”

“Yeah. I'm a chef there now. You should come have dinner while you're here. On the house,” Leo offered. He couldn't help but be polite.

“We will, we have to see your folks too,” mom said. “Now, why don't you come with us and we'll all go and have ice cream?”

“Ah, thanks, but I'm busy. Maybe next time. Nice seeing ya again,” Leo excused himself and left as quickly as he could, while I stood and watched. He barely even looked at me. Being ignored felt even worse than when we argued the other day.

“You two go, I need to talk to Leo.” Before I could stop to think, I ran after him, leaving mom and dad behind. I think I could hear mom's voice call out after me, but I was in no mood to stay and listen. Instead, I picked up the pace and turned the corner where he had gone.

“Leo, wait!”

I finally caught up with him, forcing him to stop as I ran in front of him.

“Can we talk?”

“About what?” he asked. He didn't shout, he never did. But that distant, cold look in his eyes cut straight through me.

“Mom and dad. I'm sorry I… I just didn't expect it,” I fumbled for words. Even if deep down my heart knew what I wanted to say, it seemed my brain and mouth couldn't cooperate long enough to make it happen.

“No need to apologize. We're just best friends, right?” The words felt like a knife twisting inside me.

“Come on, you know it's not like that.” I grabbed him by the arm, but he shook me off, stepping back.

“Then what? What's the problem?” he hissed, looking at the people passing by. They were watching us, but I didn't care. “Have you even thought about telling them?”

“It just… It didn't come up.”

“Yeah, right. Was it ever gonna come up?”

“Fuck, this so fucking…” I shook my head, more frustrated than I've ever been in my life. “See, this is exactly what I said would happen. I knew something was gonna happen and ruin things between us!”

“Yes, because you ruined things! You're the one who had to go and fuck it up! So yeah, congrats on your fucking prediction.”

“Leo, come on… Don’t go,” I sounded pathetic as I called out after him, but he didn’t turn around.

“I’m done. Don’t follow me.”

I couldn't say anything. I felt like the biggest idiot in the world, standing there and not being able to fix things even if I had known how. I couldn't even defend myself. Instead, all I did was stare blankly as he walked away.