Free Watch Over Me by Tara Sivec

things I should do, but right now I can't do anything but slowly nod my head in response to his words.
    "Okay," I reply softly.
    He slowly moves his face toward mine, and I close my eyes, the anticipation of feeling
     his lips on mine too much to take with my eyes open. I can feel his breath on my face
     and the first tentative touch of his lips. A shiver runs up my spine. His lips are
     soft and warm as he presses them against mine, and I let out a sigh against his mouth
     when he wraps his other arm around my waist and slides me across the floor closer
     to him. All the bad thoughts fly from my mind, and nothing consumes me right now except
     Zander: Zander's touch, Zander's lips, Zander's hands… He surrounds me and makes all
     of the bad things disappear. He deepens the kiss with a groan and tightens his hold
     around my waist. My arms tangle around his neck, and I kiss him back with everything
     in me. Every feeling, every thought, every emotion—I pour it all into this kiss.
    "Addison! What the hell is going on?"
    The angry sound of my dad's voice cuts through the haze of pleasure that envelops
     me, as Zander and I quickly break apart.
    I stare at my father in shock as he stands in the doorway of the kitchen, looking
     down at Zander and me in irritation. He wasn't supposed to be out of rehab for another
     two weeks, and I feel a wave of fury wash over me when I realize that he most likely
     skipped out on it again.
    Zander's words from earlier in the evening suddenly pop into my mind at that moment.
     When he said, "This is not going to end well," I wonder if he had any idea just how
     true that statement would turn out to be.

 
     
    " Maybe he really is turning over a new leaf this time, Addison."
    I roll my eyes at Dr. Thompson and cross my arms over my chest.
    "You don't think people can change?" she asks softly, seeing the irritation on my
     face.
    "Who knows? It's not like I've had much experience lately with people changing for
     the better. No one does what they say they will, and no one lives up to their promises."
    I pick at some imaginary pieces of lint on my shirt while Dr. Thompson writes on her
     notepad. One of these days I should just get up and grab that thing from her to see
     if she's actually writing down things about me or playing tic-tac-toe with herself.
    "That's true. Not everyone in your life will always do what you expect of them. Sometimes
     they'll let you down, and sometimes, even though they tell you that they love you,
     they do things that prove otherwise. You just have to decide whether or not you have
     enough room left in your heart for them. Enough space to let them in and show them
     what you need from them. As much as we want them to, our loved ones can't read our
     minds. If they don't know what we want from them or what we need from them, they are
     never going to be able to give it to us."
    I already know what I want from my father. I want him to man up and make himself accountable
     for his actions. I want him to be able to go back in time and erase all of the bad
     decisions he's made and take away the hurtful things he's said to me that caused me
     to turn into the person I am today.
    I know that's not possible though. And frankly, I don't know if I have the strength
     to move things around in my life to make that extra space for him that I filled with
     responsibilities since he hit rock bottom.
     

     
    Zander quickly gets up from the floor and reaches down to grab me under my arm and
     help me to my feet. My dad stands by the door looking back and forth between us. His
     head suddenly jerks to Zander's face, and he stares at him for a moment in confusion,
     squinting his eyes and studying his face for so long that Zander finally looks away
     uncomfortably.
    "Do I know you from somewhere?" my dad asks, breaking the awkward silence in the room.
    Zander laughs uneasily and doesn't make eye contact with him while he busies himself
     trying to brush off some of the cake