Home alone with father's friend 1

Jennifer could hear her parents talking on the patio in the back when she got home from school. It was a gorgeous day in August, the kind that made her extra glad to be done school for the day, and made her just want to drop her books into a corner somewhere and sit outside next to the pool, enjoying the unusually warm spring day.

 However, for some reason, both her parents were in the house, so it looked like she would spend most of the evening studying for her final exams, the first one being the next week.

She was almost done her final year of school, and she was itching to get out of it. She had already decided what she wanted to do next year, and she had earned enough credits and all her requirements by the first semester. she didn't need any of the classes she was taking, but her parents were insistent that she finish the school year.

Even though she had turned eighteen in February and could have just gone against them and left school, she wanted live at home until she got on her feet so that she would never have to deal with loans or anything during university. If she left high school early, her parents wouldn't let her do that.

"Is that you, Jennifer?" her mom called.

"Yeah," she answered, kicking her shoes off and walking through the kitchen to talk to her. She could see her and her dad sitting on the patio, and she was surprised to see her dad's best friend, Mr. Harrison, sitting with them. "Hi, Mr. Harrison," she said. "I didn't know you were here." She was pretty happy to see him. Mr. Harrison was a great guy. He was always so nice to her, and he wasn't bad to look at, either. You couldn't tell he was even close to the same age as her dad, except for the fact that his hair was starting to grey.

 He was recently single, too, which had triggered a fantasy or two for her in the past as she ignored the fact that he was old enough to be her father, and would never think of her as anything more than his friend's daughter.

"Can you come out here and sit with us for a few minutes, honey?" her mom asked. She froze, her hand resting on the handle of the refrigerator. Her tone sounded nervous, and she immediately assumed the worst.

"What's wrong?" she asked, turning around quickly and opening the patio door. she stepped out, standing in front of her parents. "Did something happen?"

Her mom glanced at her dad, and he rolled his eyes at her. "Jesus, Jenny, you sound like someone died." He looked back at her. "Jennifer, your mom and I are going on a cruise."

Jennifer smiled, relieved that no one had, in fact, died, but also happy for them. "That's great!" She said, "Is Mr. Harrison going with you?"

Her mom looked at her dad again. "Well, actually, honey," she said. "Harrison is going to stay here with you."

Her smile faded and she paused. "I don't think there is any need for that. I'm old enough to stay home by myself," she said. she tried not to get angry, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Mr. Harrison.

"We know you are," her dad said. "But we don't want to leave you by yourself for a whole week, and..."

"You just don't trust me. Don't bother making excuses." she could feel her face flushing a little bit as she tried to swallow her anger. "What do you think I'll do, trash the house?"

"It's not you we don't trust," her mom said. "But if someone found out you were here by yourself..."

"If it makes you feel better," Mr. Harrison suddenly said as she opened her mouth to retort, "I would really appreciate it. I've been pretty lonely since Mark moved out after college and Kelly left." She shut her mouth. Kelly was Mr. Harrison's ex-wife, and though she didn't know the details, she knew Kelly had left him and that he was living by himself in their old house.

"It's only for a week," her mom said. "We thought you could use the company, and if you need help studying for your finals, he can help you."

There were a thousand things she wanted to say to them -- that she wasn't a kid, that she didn't need supervision, that her finals were stupid anyways -- but she kept her mouth shut. His dad had the look in his eyes that this was a final decision, and Mr. Harrison was sitting right there. She didn't want to offend him.

"Fine," she said dejectedly. she turned around, starting to go back into the house. she didn't want to talk to them anymore, but both her parents stood up.

"Honey..." her mom said. she stopped, not turning to look back at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Well... Mr. Harrison is going to drive us to the airport now."

she whirled around. "You're leaving tonight?!" she blurted.

"We just decided to go a couple days ago, and we didn't know for sure if Mr. Harrison could stay with you until earlier today," she answered.

Jennifer took a deep breath, trying not to freak out. Her parents hadn't even told her they were leaving, and they were just springing it on her right before they left. She was so angry with them, she didn't want to even say goodbye.

"I'm going to Stella's," She said, slamming the patio doors behind her.

"Jennifer!" her dad shouted. "You're staying here. You have an exam to study for!"

"It's Friday dad!" she shouted back.

His parents and Mr. Harrison came into the house behind her. "Jennifer, don't be like that," her mom said. "Look, we don't expect you to be home all the time, but Harrison is here to make sure you study for your exams, and you have one on Monday. You're not going out this weekend."

"Monday is the last day of class, mom. My test is on Thursday, and I'm ready enough as it is!" she protested.

"You're staying home, and that's final. While we're gone, Harrison is your guardian, and you are going to do what he says, do you understand?" her dad said.

"He didn't say I couldn't go out," she argued.

"We're not gone yet," her dad said.

She almost screamed in frustration and ran up to her room. "Jennifer, please..." her mom called after her. "We don't want to leave on bad terms!"

She slamherd the door to her bedroom and threw herself on her bed. She couldn't believe they were doing this to her, treating her like an absolute child. Her parents had always been a little strict with her, but this was ridiculous. Her heart was pounding and she was almost shaking. She couldn't believe that she was eighteen and being restricted to her house with a babysitter for the week. A couple minutes later, her mom knocked on the door.

"Honey, I know you're mad. We're just trying to do what's best for you," she said, standing in the doorway. She didn't reply. "Could you at least hug me goodbye? I know you're mad but I'm still going to miss you."

She debated just staying on her bed, but it was her mom. She got up reluctantly and she entered her room, hugging her tightly. "I'll call if we get a chance once we're on the boat. Try to be nice to Mr. Harrison, he's here because we asked him, it's not his fault."

"Whatever, Mom," she answered.

She squeezed her once more. "I love you, honey. Are you going to come down and say goodbye to your father?"

She shrugged. "Send my regards," she said sarcastically.

Her mom sighed and left the room. she sat back down on her bed, glaring at the wall in front of her. A few moments later, there was another knock on her door.

"Can she come in?" she glanced up, expecting her dad, but it was Mr. Harrison.