"Oh my word, Iona I'm so happy I found you here. I've been looking for you everywhere." Mike says not sitting down but not moving back for her to stand up yet either.
Jack scoffs sitting back and rolling his eyes, 'I knew it. Here comes the part about her parents calling, and how worried he's been.'
"Your mom called me and said she had been trying to get a hold of you for the past two hours, but your phone was off." Now dear reader if you remember Iona checked her phone not too long ago and there wasn't a single message from anyone. Let's see what else Mike here has to say, "She said she phoned the school and they said that you went home because you fainted in class. When I remembered you'd been on the beach I rushed off to try to find you. When I saw you weren't there...everyone's been worried about you. I've been worried about you." You have to give it to him he sounds pretty convincing but Jack isn't buying it. He remembers the scowl he saw on his face when he was walking back to the desk while Jack slipped out with Iona who appeared to be avoiding Mike.
Jack knows he saw them leave together and he'd seen him watching them from the other side of the road as he made a phone call about a half-hour ago before he walked off again. What Jack doesn't know is that Iona saw him there too. Right now, he's screaming inside about how Mike is a liar. He's standing there lying to her. Right to her face! But part of him believes that she won't even give him the chance to hear him out. To explain what he saw, and why she should let him take her home.
"Come on Iona." Mike offers her his hand, which she silently takes. "I'll get you home quickly. My car is just outside. I'll explain everything to your parents, and maybe I can help get you out of this mess." Being oh so helpful he picks up her bag and pulls her lightly to her feet. She sends Jack an apologetic look that he doesn't understand 'but then again why would he?' She thinks as she tries one last time to let him know that she's sorry.
Mike turns around again as he gets to the front door to see Jack close behind them. "Oh and Jack, was it, I already got her stuff out of the locker so you don't have to worry about that. You can just drop the key off at the desk," he says over his shoulder as he leads Iona out the door, and possibly out of Jack's life.
Iona not having much of a choice walks out with Mike. He's holding her hand tightly adding more to his story. Telling her about how worried he's been that she might have had another fainting spell while she was swimming. About how he was running up and down the beach looking for her until he saw her sitting in the cafe. Iona having seen him calmly watch her leave with Jack out the side door, isn't buying any of it, but there's the fact that he knows she got out of school after having "fainted" in class. She slides her phone out of her pocket with her free hand and checks her locked screen. Nothing. No missed call notification. Just her daisy wallpaper staring back at her from behind the clock. No missed calls from her mom spread over the past two hours like he claimed. She quickly unlocks her phone and checks her connection. It's perfectly fine...and still nothing.
Mike drops her hand and opens the car door. He tells her that her things are already in the car. She looks back towards the cafe one last time before climbing in the car. She thanks him as he closes the door for her. He walks around the front and Jack watches them drive off.
"Shit," Jack mutters under his breath sinking back in the chair.
"Well, aren't you going to go after her?" the owner they now know as Angela asks, and Jack suddenly notices that she's seen everything and came over to the table.
Jack stacks up the plates looking sad for himself for letting Mike leave with her, and because he's convinced himself that it's maybe better this way. This way he won't fall in love, he won't pull her down with him, and he can maybe save one person in his life, or well sort of in his life, from getting hurt. "I don't think I should..."
"Why not? You a nice boy, you like her, she like you. Why not go after her?" She challenges.
"But what can I do for her? I made her skip school. I'm the reason she's in trouble now."
"With that boy?"
"Yes. No. Her parents too probably. I think I saw him making a call before he came in."
"If it's your fault then own up for it." She moves the stacked plates and wipes the table as she reasons with him. "Are you a man, or a boy? Go after her. If you can't own up then at least be there for her."
It's almost enough to convince him that he should, "I should go after her."
It almost sounds like a question, as if he's asking Angela if he really should. Now our outspoken shop owner who most certainly never had any ties to the mafia sees his lack of conviction and rolls her eyes and she picks up the dishes, "Yes, you should. I know what I saw today and trust me it takes something to keep two people talking and laughing all afternoon the way you two did. So I suggest that you go after her quickly and make up for whatever trouble you just got her into. Go fix whatever you've broke by skipping school with her. Make things right and then both of you come back here. Outside of school though. No more cutting classes," She adds like a true mom and he wonders if she has children of her own. "Now move. I have customers coming."
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Angela!" He calls as she heads behind the counter. He grabs his things and runs across the street.
He rushes into the locker room and pulls his thing out and gears up faster and with more determination than he ever has before. He drops the key off with the lifeguard on duty. 'Mike will have nothing on me. Not now not ever!' He thinks as he sprints to his bike.
He jumps on his bike and flies down the highway to get back home. 'Back to her. Angela's right I like her and she likes me. Why shouldn't I at least have a shot? I need to get back home. I need to be there for her.' His thoughts spin and swirl as he dodges cars. Something stronger than anything he's ever known is pulling him towards her, and nothing can stop him now. Nothing's going to take her away from him again now. Not after he's just found her, and with her something that finally feels like home. Feeling more like home than anything he's felt or known before.
Iona looks out an open window letting the cool air blow on her face. Mike isn't over-explaining, or even talking anymore. She's hardly said a word to him the whole drive. Something inside of her doesn't feel right. Like one of her organs has been taken out. Her mind is running circles around her replaying flashes of the day. Of being with Jack. Of how there were moments when she wanted to reach out and kiss him. The realisation that she did want to kiss him...that maybe she still wants to kiss him makes her pull back. She forces herself to think about how he convinced her to go to the beach on a school day. To remember why that's a bad thing. She tries to think about how Mike's lying to her, but it's no use. She keeps coming back to the feeling of him carrying her deeper into the sea, or bringing her hot chocolate after leaving the cold water. She's replaying their conversations in the cafe with each other, and with Angela who was kind enough to spare them having to lie about why they were there.
She feels the car slow to a stop pulling her back to the here and now. Mike turns the engine off and they sit there for a minute before he breaks the silence, "I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry? I'm the one who skipped school."
"I know...but I'm sorry."
They let the car fall quiet again. They watch as a lone cloud is joined by another and another. Iona then reaches for her bag and helmet off the back seat, "Thanks for bringing me home."
She then opens the car door. A cold wind rushes into her lungs and her ears are filled with the sounds of a busy street. Moms and dads and children returning home. She stands with her back against the car door, riding the calm before the storm. No more fun memories floating her far away. Here and now is all that exists. Here right before she has to go in and explain where she's been all day. She knows what's coming and welcomes a moment longer before she shatters what's otherwise been a perfect day.
The sound of a bike races down the road long before you can see it. It's Jack. She doesn't move as he pulls into his driveway. He pulls his helmet off before he's even off his bike. He's made it just in time to see a car that he recognizes from yesterday as her fathers pull up next to Mike's car. Mike gets out from behind the wheel and greets a very angry-looking man with a solemn smile. He sees David and Iona's brother get out of the car. Iona scans Jack's face, doing her best to save it. 'I'm sorry if I got you into trouble too.'
'I'm sorry I got you into this' He thinks as her eyes meet his, and he's almost sure he hears her say, 'I'm sorry if I've gotten you into trouble too.' Maybe not though. Maybe it's just the look in her eyes, but he can swear that he hears her, and that excites and scares him.
Mike comes around to her and puts his arm around her. She greets Nick and her Dad, who says they should all go inside. David runs over to his own front door after saying goodbye to his friend.
Mike leads her up to the door, but not before she steals one last glance of Jack. The look on her face sends ice down his spine, and he swears that Mike will pay for whatever he said to her to make her look so afraid. 'I can't wait to punch that perfect pretty face of his. He took her away, ruined our date, and upset her. Do I need any other reason?'
What he doesn't know is that Mike isn't the reason why she's worried about walking through the door. She knows she's broken her parents trust, disappointed them, and that's worse than any punishment they'll deal out. She knows that convinced or not she's the one who made the choice to leave with Jack.
The front door closes behind them and he's left on the other side cursing.