Chapter 8: Injured

It was hard to focus on the drive back home when all she kept repeating in her mind was Scott’s shocked face when she asked why he wanted to go out with her again.

He seemed genuinely surprised as if she had asked something out of this world.

“Why wouldn’t I? We had a great night, hadn’t we?” he asked then, and she found herself unable to give him an answer other than just a nod.

She had an amazing night actually. The best she ever had in a very long time. But she wasn’t really sure if he had felt the same, so she was caught off guard when he said that he wanted to go on a second date.

Florence then told him she’d think of something and text him, but her brain has been malfunctioning ever since.

"Are you alright?” Scott asked, turning away from the road in front of them and analyzing her for a brief second.

“Yes, everything’s great,” Florence said, realizing that they were approaching her house. Surprisingly, she found herself not wanting the night to end.

She had such an amazing time with Scott that she didn’t feel like going back to her reality. The last few hours felt like she was living in a fairytale.

“Thank you so much for dinner,” she said while unfastening her seat belt.

Scott gave her a warm smile and shook his head.

“I should be the one thanking you for accepting my invitation in the first place. I had a lot of fun.”

Florence wanted to pinch herself. He sounded so genuine. Was she really that lucky?

Scott opened the driver’s door and left the car, walking around it and opening the door for Florence afterward.

“Thank you,” she murmured, tucking a strand of her long hair behind her ear. She knew what this moment meant, but she wasn’t sure they were in that place yet. She also didn’t want to assume anything, so she simply stood there, waiting for him to make the next move.

But he didn’t. And she wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

“I guess I’ll wait for your text then,” he said with a kind smile on his face. “I’m eager to see where you’ll take me. Hopefully, a place where I can see you being yourself.”

“I was myself tonight,” she pretended to be offended, but her smile probably gave her away. “But please, wait anxiously for it. I’ll make sure to beat your amazing dinner.”

And with that, she waved him goodbye and got inside the house, praying that her parents weren’t awake, and saw her getting a ride from a man. The number of questions she’d get, she didn’t even want to think about it.

As she closed the door, Florence reflected on how easy it would be for her to fall for a man like Scott. She wasn’t wrong when she tried to be cautious about accepting his invitation for dinner. She knew why she wanted to reject him at first.

Scott was a man that she could easily see herself falling deeply in love with, but she knew her place and it wasn’t by his side. They belonged to different worlds and she wouldn’t be able to fit into his.

Florence was still in the hall taking her coat off when she heard her mother’s voice coming from the living room.

“You shouldn’t take so many risks, Liam,” she said, scolding Florence’s father lightly. “It’s not worth it. You could be seriously hurt.”

Florence’s heart stopped. Was her father hurt? What happened?

“You already said this several times tonight. It was nothing, Isabella. It’s just a sprained wrist, it’ll be good as new in a few days,” Florence heard him say, but she didn’t move. By the way they were speaking, they didn’t know she was already at home.

“Still, I don’t think you should take risks anymore. You’re not as young as you used to be. Flo is making enough money to help us, so please, don’t make any more stupid choices,” Isabella continued, and Florence felt her blood freeze inside her veins.

“Can you keep it down? I told you not to tell Florence and she could be home any minute, so don’t mention it anymore. It’ll be ok, honey. It was just an accident. It won’t happen again.”

“You can’t make that promise,” her mother continued, sounding more annoyed than before. “Liam, no matter how good the money was, it’s not worth it. And Florence wouldn’t like to know that you’re doing this while she’s working day and night to help us.”

“She doesn’t need to know,” he continued, being as stubborn as always. But this time, Florence wouldn’t pretend she didn’t hear it.

If her parents wanted to keep things from her, she would not accept it. She was doing everything she could to help them, but apparently, it wasn’t enough.

“You should feel embarrassed for suggesting something like this, dad,” she saw herself saying while walking into the living room and catching both her parents’ shocked expressions at her sudden arrival. “We used to tell each other everything.”

Florence ignored her subconscious telling her she was hiding Scott from them, but she forgave herself. After all, it wasn’t something she could consider concrete yet, so she could wait a bit longer before sharing that information with her family.

It wasn’t the same with her father’s injury, however.

“Flo, I didn’t know you were home,” Isabella murmured, looking guiltily at her daughter.

“It was nothing,” Liam repeated, avoiding eye contact with Florence.

“It doesn’t seem like nothing,” Florence added, lowering her eyes to her father’s wrist and seeing it swollen with dark bruises.

He tried to hide it with his other hand, but it was useless.

Florence felt her heart shrinking and her mouth getting dry. She didn’t want to feel guilty or responsible for it, but she did. It wasn’t her fault that she couldn’t control her parents, but she still thought she could do more to help. She just didn’t know what or how.

She was working as many hours as she could, she took extra chores to make more money, but it still wasn’t enough. And seeing her parents putting themselves at risk made her nauseated.

“You shouldn’t put yourself at risk, dad. I thought we had agreed on that,” she said, swallowing her sorrows and regrets. “I told you I was going to find a way to pay our debts, so please trust me. Just this once,” she begged.

“This isn’t your burden to carry, my daughter,” he stated, looking down. “You shouldn’t have to worry about this. It is my fault that our family was ruined and I should be the one to fix it.”

“We're a family, so you should allow me to help. You’re not helping me by causing yourself more harm. What would I do if I had to take you to the hospital and pay for more bills?” She was being harsh, but if that’s what it took to make him come to his senses, so be it. “Then please, just stay healthy and do your job without taking any risks.”

She turned to her bedroom without saying goodnight, trying hard not to let her tears escape.

The night had been so perfect and to think it ended that way made her feel sorry for herself. Of course it was too much to ask to have a nice and unforgettable night.

Being with Scott was like a dream, but she had to keep it real, to keep her feet on the ground. She couldn’t allow herself to be distracted by him. She had bills to pay, a family to help, and as much as she knew that life was supposed to be more than that, she wasn’t sure she could manage all of it.