chapter 32: reno panics

~reno~

       I scan the shelves for something, anything, that I can use as a gift for Weisz but so far, I'm coming up empty. I've never been the best at buying gifts and now that I have a boyfriend, it still hasn't changed. Not that I expected to magically be better at buying gifts. I just hoped that exploring the store would give me an idea. Something. Anything.

       I look at Dad. "Any idea what I can get Weisz?"

       "Unfortunately, no," Dad says. "I don't know him as well as you do."

       I sigh heavily. "Yeah, but even though I know him extremely well, I can't think of anything. My mind is just... empty on ideas. Maybe I should just get him a gift card so he could buy what he wants."

       "That's an idea," Dad says.

       I huff. "It's an idea I don't like. I want to get him something I thought of. Not just a gift card."

       "There's nothing wrong with a gift card."

       I pick up a wallet and look at it before putting it back down. "Maybe I should get him a bong."

       Dad laughed. "Part of me wants to say go ahead, but the fatherly side of me wants to say that's probably not the best idea to give Weisz when you don't know if his parents are okay with him smoking."

       "He took medicinal marijuana so maybe?" I ask. I shake my head. "Who am I kidding? That's a horrible gift idea. Dad, please help me. I'm useless."

       "Just ask him to send you a wish list," Dad says. "There's nothing wrong with using a wish list to help guide your decision."

       "I tried asking him. But you know what he said? He gave me the cheesy thing of 'I don't need gifts when I have you'."

       "That's sweet."

       "Yeah, it's sweet, but I still want to buy him something. It's our first Christmas as a couple. I want to get him something so he remembers our time together. I want to get him something he enjoys. But I am the worst at buying gifts. I might as well give up."

       "Maybe there's someone you can ask for ideas. A sibling. A friend."

       "That's... Actually a good idea." I do have his friends' numbers and if anyone had any gift ideas, it would be them. They've known him for years and would know anything he would like. I quickly make a group chat for the five of us so they can bounce ideas off of each other.

       As I wait for any of their replies, Dad and I continue our shopping trip around the store. Christmas has always been just the two of us, and it's still going to be. He's fine with me visiting Weisz for a bit but for dinner, we're going to do what we always do. Just make our favourite foods and have our own little buffet while we watch an abundance of movies. Since the holidays is just around the corner, we're preparing to get food now so we're not at the store when everyone is getting last minutes stuff.

       It's actually not long before I get a reply. Amelia is the first, giving me a... not so censored gift idea that I immediately decline. Adam and Marcel agree with her, so they're no help either. Jane, thankfully, gives me an idea. She doesn't exactly give me something I can gift him, but she pushes me in the right direction.

       "One of Weisz's friends says that he really likes dolphins," I tell Dad. "So anything dolphin related, Weisz will love. I don't know if we'll find anything like that in the store, though..."

       "We never know unless we look," Dad says. "Now that we know what to look for, we'll surely find something."

       I hope so.

       As Dad and I continue to wander through the stores, I think I catch of glimpse of someone I never wanted to see ever again. I hope I'm wrong, but as I turn to see if it really is him, I see him, clear as day.

       My heart starts to beat rapidly as my chest clenches tightly. My breathing becomes hitched in my throat and I can't get it under control no matter how hard I tried.

       Dad notices my panic almost immediately. He rests his hand on my shoulder. "Reno? Are you okay? What's going on?"

       I try to get even one word out to tell Dad what's causing my panic, but I can't. Everything is too intense for me. I can't breathe. I can't focus. Everything hurts.

       Dad pulls me into the aisle since no one else is in it yet. "Hey, you're okay. Everything's okay. Nothing's going to happen to you, okay? I'm here with you. You know I'm not going to let anything happen."

       Even though I know Dad's right, I know that no one will ever attempt anything if my dad is by my side, it doesn't stop my panic right away. It takes a few minutes, but Dad is with me the whole time, trying to help me control my breathing once again.

       As soon as I feel like I can get some words out, I say, "I, uh... I saw one of them. Th-The guys who..."

       I don't have to finish my sentence for Dad to understand what I'm trying to get at. He doesn't look happy at all once he realizes it. "What? They should still be in prison. Who exactly did you see?"

       "Uh..." I have to take a few more deep breaths. "K-Kieran."

       "Kieran?" Dad asks. "He got the longer sentence. There's no way he should have been left out." He has to take a deep breath himself to calm down. "Okay. Alright, we'll just pay for everything we have. We'll come back tomorrow to finish shopping. I'll also see if I can figure out why he was released already."

       I nod. Dad starts to head to the checkout, so I follow him, keeping my gaze low so I don't end up looking at Kieran and panicking again.

       We're able to make it out of the store without me seeing him, thankfully. We bring the shopping cart to the parking lot, and Dad lets me sit in the car to relax as he puts all the stuff in the back of the car.

       I lean back in the seat, taking some more deep breaths. I hate that things were suddenly going well in my life, then suddenly, it starts going downhill. I was doing so well. I didn't have to think about what happened. I didn't have to worry about seeing them.

       Now, I'm probably going to be panicking all the time. What a way to spend winter break.

__________________

reno's dad needs all the restraint he has so he doesn't get arrested for murdering those guys :D

if anything, he'll put a hit on them so he doesn't get his hands dirty

i mean what?