Inspiration Point Page 4

  He was right. “Sounds sensible,” I said, but I didn’t let go of his hand, I just couldn’t. We walked the rest of the way to the house in silence, but I could feel his eyes on me as I opened the door and made my way up to my room.

  I stopped at my doorway still holding his hand and turned to face him leaning my back on the wall. Totally exhausted, but feeling more alive than I ever have.

  “Hayln, I know this all must be pretty confusing for you,” he said speaking softly. “I mean, I've had a lot longer to sort my feelings out and I don’t expect any answers from you right away. You can take all the time you need – no pressure, okay.”

  I was grateful for the offer, but at the same time, all I wanted to do was kiss him again. I stopped myself knowing I did need to think things through.

  “Thanks. I think what I need right now though is some sleep, it’s been an…. interesting day,” I said smiling.

  He leaned forward spreading his arms either side of me, positioning his hands on the wall near my head, and then kissed me.

  It was a different kiss altogether this time, except for the warmth that still washed through me. The only part of us touching was our lips, and it was gentle and tender. He was the one who pulled away – a little too soon for my liking. He reached for my door and opened it for me and then looked back at me.

  “Night Hayln, sweet dreams,” he said, just like the night before and then he kissed me on the cheek. The exact spot Tyler did earlier, as if he was trying to erase that kiss altogether.

  “You too,” I said as I walked into my room.

  “Oh I am pretty sure I will have good dreams,” he said with a mischievous smile. “I’ll see you in the morning”.

  “Night Zeke,” I said and then closed the door behind me.

  I knew he hadn’t moved away and that I all I would have to do was open the door again, and I could pull him into my room and kiss him the way I wanted to, but I didn’t. It took every ounce of self-control to move away and get ready for bed. As I got undressed, I looked at my emerald green top and realized the color of it didn’t do his eyes justice at all. I got into bed and started thinking through the evening.

  What the hell had happened? Yesterday morning I would have laughed at anyone who told me Zeke was interested in me that way. Not only that, but Tyler seemed to be too. If this was an experiment, what would I write as a conclusion?

  I decided it wasn’t truly fair to compare them, in a true experiment both environments should be the same, and I had kissed Zeke and not Tyler. But then again, I could have kissed Tyler if I wanted too. But I didn’t, I avoided that situation. Whereas with Zeke I don’t think I could have avoided it if I’d tried. So I suppose that's my answer for now, at least until I talk to Tyler tomorrow?

  I decided that was something to think about in the morning, so I tucked myself in bed and went to sleep.

  When I woke up I was surprised at how well I had slept. I stayed in bed a moment longer before going downstairs for breakfast. Then remembered how I’d looked yesterday morning and decided maybe I should have a shower first. After a quick shower, I grabbed my khaki pants and white tank top then went to the kitchen excited and nervous about seeing Zeke this morning. I was disappointed to find the kitchen deserted. My father is usually always the first one up so it was surprising that he wasn’t awake at the very least.

  After a minute, I started getting some things ready to cook for breakfast. I was starving since I'd missed most of my meals yesterday, so I decided to make some scrambled eggs and bacon knowing that this would soon get everyone up once it started wafting upstairs. I had just started on the eggs when I heard the voice I was waiting for behind me.

  “Morning Hayln,” Zeke said. “Did you sleep well?” He asked with a certain smugness.

  “Very well actually.” I said as I turned to face him.

  He was already dressed in his blue jeans and a grey sweat shirt that had the three top buttons undone. His hair was still damp after his shower, and his eyes were even more beautiful than I had remembered from last night. I suddenly found myself wondering whether he regretted anything and that maybe I was the only one with butterflies in my stomach at the moment.

  “What about you, how did you sleep?” I asked a little nervously.

  He moved beside me, to lean on the bench and took my hand. I knew then he hadn’t changed his mind.

  “Well it took me a little while to get to sleep. I was a little um….. over stimulated. But once I got to sleep I managed to have some seriously good dreams,” he said. “Thanks to you”.

  We both smiled at each other and then he said, “this looks good, what can I do to help?”

  “Well, you could start on some toast if you like,” I said as I turned the bacon.

  We worked together, side by side not saying anything else but occasionally looking at each other to smile as we got breakfast ready. I had just finished setting the table when Emin came into the kitchen looking like death warmed up.

  “Whoa, who looks like a wreck this morning? Did you have a hard night?” I said laughing.

  “That’s enough from you,” he grumbled. “And you,” he pointed to Zeke “don’t you start either.”

  Zeke raised his hands surrendering, but he was laughing too.

  “I am sooo hungry – I hoped you cooked enough,” Emin said. I placed a plate in front of him and Zeke, and I both joined him to eat.

  “So, who was the girl?” I asked after a while not wanting to let a moment pass where I got to turn the tables on him and make him feel a little uncomfortable for a change.

  “Tasma, now shut up I want to eat,” Emin said. I was satisfied watching him squirm.

  “You have been seeing quite a bit of Tasma lately haven’t you?” Said Zeke with a massive grin knowing he had given a secret away.

  “Shut up, Ezekiel. Just because I'm interested in someone, there is no need for you to be jealous,” he said as he started piling his plate with seconds. Zeke and I glanced at each other and smiled.

  “What now?” Emin said, thinking we were still teasing him.

  “Nothing,” I said as I got up. “I think I better go wake Dad otherwise there will be nothing left for him to eat.”

  I left the table and went upstairs to knock on his door. There was no answer so I peeked in to find his bed made and no sign of him. I headed to his office to let him know that he'd better hurry up if he wanted any breakfast, but he wasn’t there either. I paused to consider where he could be and then I noticed a letter sitting on his chair addressed to me. I opened it quickly, knowing in the pit of my stomach this was not going to be good.

  Dear Hayln,

  I've had to go away for a bit to see my old friend that I mentioned to you. It is nothing to worry about, but you probably won’t be able to contact me where I am going.

  I will call you when I can, but I should be home Sunday night in any case. Please don’t let this ruin your night tonight, go and have a fabulous time – I will be home soon and try not to worry.

  Love Dad.

  He'd obviously left this for me yesterday, before I went out, so he had been gone all night! I reread the letter and hurried downstairs to tell the boys and regardless what the letter said, I was worried – very worried.

  Missing

  I grabbed my mobile to call him on the way downstairs, but as I thought it went straight to message bank. I hung up without leaving a message because I was in the kitchen now, and Zeke was watching me confused about my mood.

  “Hayln, what’s wrong?” He asked as he stood up. He had a worried look on his face, probably reflecting the expression on mine.

  “Dad’s gone,” I said. This got Emin’s attention immediately.

  “What do you mean he’s gone?”

  “He left yesterday afternoon without telling us, he just left us this note,” I threw it on the table and Emin picked it up straight away, Zeke walked around to read the letter over his shoulder.

  “This doesn’t sound too bad,” Emin s
aid. “He'll be home tonight Hayl’s.”

  “It’s not just this letter though Emin.” I was annoyed he was brushing me off.

  So I explained about when I was in his office on Friday, the sleepless night he said he had, the phone call and of course the lies.

  “This is not like him Emin.” I said, getting upset now, I needed them to understand that I wasn’t over reacting about this.

  “You’ve got to admit mate, it’s kind of strange that he lied to Hayln and then left this note. Why not just tell us himself?” Zeke said.

  “Yeah, but he said in the note not to worry about him – twice,” Emin said still not convinced.

  “Why can’t we contact him then?” I fired back quickly.

  “I don’t know,” Emin said rubbing his temples.

  “And what about that phone call, he must have been talking about me when he said keep an eye on her. You didn’t hear how he sounded.”

  “How did he sound then?” Emin asked.

  “Like he was desperate,” I spat out. “And what about when he said - it’s too late for that now. What the hell does that mean?”

  “Look, I don’t know Hayln, just give me a minute okay and stop yelling, please,” he said putting his head in his hands.

  I walked over to the window hoping my father would just be outside. Then I could get my answers and be sure he was safe. But of course, he wasn’t. Zeke joined me there and put his hand on my back in a comforting way.

  “We’ll work this out Hayln, I promise,” he said with such belief that it was hard to imagine otherwise.

  I found myself to be wanting so badly for him to take me in his arms and make this okay, but I knew that wouldn’t happen. Emin was in the room for one and I knew he would wait for me to make the next move after last night. A buzzing interrupted the silence, and I grabbed my phone, but it wasn’t mine.

  “Well, I might have an answer to one of your questions.” Emin said sounding wary. “Mum just text me. She's coming over to spend some time here today, so I’d say it was her Dad was talking to on the phone.”

  “Why?” I said still not making a connection.

  “Come on Hayln, I don’t think she has stepped one foot in this house since the divorce and she wouldn’t be coming unless she knew Dad wouldn’t be here, so obviously it was her he asked to keep an eye on you.”

  It made sense I thought to myself, “Do you think, she knows who the old friend might be?” I questioned.

  “Maybe, I guess we'll ask her when she gets here,” he said as he stood up. “But right now I'm going to have a shower,” and he left the room.

  “It will be okay you know Hayl’s, your Dad will be fine,” Zeke said reassuring me.

  “I know, it’s just that there is more to this than we know about – I can feel it,” I said looking at him. He looked so concerned about me that I had to try and change the subject.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” I said, and it was true. I knew l would be going out of my mind if I was here on my own.

  “I’m glad too,” he said smiling softly. “I don’t want to be anywhere else, and I will stay as long as you need.” I felt more at ease immediately.

  I started to clear the table and wash up, Zeke helped me. I washed, he wiped. We talked about stuff we did when we were kids, and before I knew it, we were both laughing. It felt good to laugh and then he stopped and started playing with a strand of my hair.

  “What are you thinking about?” I asked, wondering why he was concentrating so hard.

  “Actually, I wanted to ask you a question if that’s alright?” he said sounding apprehensive.

  “I don’t know, you look kind of serious,” I teased.

  “It’s not serious, and I guess you don’t have too if you don’t want to. But if you do answer I want you to be honest okay.” He said commanding my attention.

  “Alright,” I said as I took a deep breath not knowing what to expect.

  “Well, I was wondering about your dreams last night actually,” he said sounding a little embarrassed. “You know that you featured in mine, and I guess I would like to know if you dreamt about me too?”

  I felt myself blush before I answered “Yes, you were in my dreams.”

  “In a good way?” He continued.

  “Yes, in a very good way,” I said wanting to put him at ease. I wasn’t used to seeing him this way. He smiled then and tossed the hair away from his eyes quickly, to look at me.

  “Could I ask one more question, and remember you promised you would be honest.” He said sounding serious again.

  “Of course,” I said. Wondering what he was going to say next.

  “Did you dream about Tyler too?”

  Crap, I certainly didn’t expect that, and now I had to answer – honestly.

  “Yes, I dreamt of Tyler,” I said knowing this would hurt him on some level.

  “Okay,” he said. “Thanks for being honest.”

  “Are you alright?” I asked not knowing what else to say.

  “I guess I was hoping that you would forget all about him after I kissed you. I mustn’t be as good a kisser as I thought.” He said trying to lighten the mood.

  “I didn’t dream about him the way I did you,” I said wanting to tell him the truth. “When I dreamt about Tyler it was strange, we kept getting interrupted, kept going in circles and I couldn’t hear what he was trying to say. That’s all I promise, but I do need to talk to him today.” I said, hoping that I had made some sense or at least made him feel a little better.

  “I know, and I meant what I said last night Hayln, no pressure – take as much time as you need,” he said, and he did look at little more at ease.

  “I think I better go check on your brother, if he hasn’t cleaned himself up before your mother arrives we will all hear about it,” he said and then he went to find Emin.

  I left the kitchen as well, and before too long, I found myself in the lab downstairs. It was the perfect spot for me to think, to try and make sense of my father’s behavior. It was no use though – this was completely out of character for him. I tried to think if I have ever met any of his old friends or colleagues but no-one came to mind. Then I remembered the folder I found in his study the other night and thought maybe that might give me some insight to what this might be about.

  I went to the study, but the folder was gone, he must have taken it with him. I slumped in his chair frustrated that I couldn’t figure any of this out. I would have to wait until my mother arrived. But somehow I knew she wouldn’t want to reveal much to me, even if she did know something that might help. My hand reached for a piece of paper on the desk, the same one that had been stuck to the folder I came to here to find. My father had scribbled times on it before he left, but he didn’t take it. I looked at it again and noticed that 19.30 was circled – I am sure it wasn’t like this on Friday night when I was in here. I thought about this, and it dawned on me that maybe it could be a flight time. I quickly turned on the computer and found the Cape Airport website and checked what flights left at seven thirty last night – there were only two. I then cross checked these locations with the other times on the piece of paper and found something. All times on the paper related to one location – Kings Valley, a city a little bigger than Cape about 5 hours’ drive from here. I googled Kings Valley but couldn’t find anything that might send Dad there, but I was sure I was right about this.

  I heard someone coming up the hall and waited to see who it was. It was Zeke, “hey come and check this out,” I said sounding excited.

  “There you are, I have been looking for you,” he said. He had Emin’s van keys in his hand.

  I felt a little uneasy with the thought of him going. “Are you going somewhere?”

  “Yeah, I thought I would go home for a bit and grab some more clothes in case I stay the night again. I shouldn’t be long though, I’ll be back after lunch,” he said.

  “I'm sure Emin could lend you something if you wanted.” I felt a little foolish suggestin
g it – he was going to be back in a few hours after all.

  “It’s not just that Hayl’s, I think you guys will need some space when your Mum arrives, I get the feeling you might need to talk about some family stuff.”

  “You’re practically family,” I said still arguing.

  “Even so, I think it might go better if I disappeared for a while – I promise I’ll come back,” he said smiling. “Didn’t you want to show me something?”

  I had almost forgotten. “Yeah, look at this,” and I turned the computer screen so he could see.

  “I saw this bit of paper on a folder of his old research work the other night with times on it, see,” I showed him the paper. “When I found it again today it had a time circled so I checked the airport for flights leaving at this time and once I cross checked it with the other times here, I found that they were all times for flights to Kings Valley.” I was speaking quickly now hoping he was keeping up with me.

  “What’s at Kings Valley?” He asked obviously understanding what I had just explained.

  “I have no idea,” I said. “He’s never mentioned that he knows anyone there, and I searched on the web, but nothings jumping out at me. It makes sense though don’t you think, I mean the timing is right and everything.”

  “Yeah, the timing’s right,” he agreed. “Maybe you should ask Emin, now that he is a bit more coherent he might know or even your mother.”

  “That’s a terrific idea.” I got up from the chair and walked out of the study with him. “So I guess I will see you later then?” I asked hopefully.

  “I won’t be long,” he said as he lightly brushed some hair off my face.

  I smiled nervously not knowing whether I should kiss him goodbye.

  He ran his finger across my cheek and teased me. “You know that’s the smile that got me into this trouble.”

  “Oh, I'm trouble now am I?” I questioned.

  “Not you so much, but when your brother finds out about this I am definitely in trouble!” He laughed and then smiled at me one more time before he left.

  Emin, I thought to myself, is the last of my problems at the moment, but I want his take on the flight to Kings Valley so I called out to him.