𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 ~ 𝒛𝒅𝒉

Chapter Twenty-Four: Don't make the mistake I made

"Ready to talk with your dad? And remember, no running this time. Be honest, vulnerable, and real."

Paige and I are walking home, as I'm gathering all the confidence I can find to finally fix things with Dad. My hands are sweaty and my stomach's turning, but I know I have to do this. It's time.

As we get closer to my house, I notice from afar there's someone standing in the doorway, talking to Dad. I freeze when I recognise his familiar face.

"Is that..," Paige starts, disbelief in her voice.

"Zach," I finish her thought, my jaw almost dropping to the floor. "It's Zach, talking to my dad. What is he doing here?"

I turn my head to look at Paige. "Did you tell him to do so?"

She shakes her head, looking as shocked as I'm feeling. "No, I told him to give it time. But I guess he didn't listen."

I don't know whether I should be furious he didn't listen to Paige and respect my boundaries, or over the moon he's not giving up on me and even making the effort to take to my dad, but the next thing I know I'm rushing to my house.

"I'll wait here!" Paige calls after me, sitting down at the sidewalk.

Zach turns around as soon as he hears my footsteps behind him, an astonished but hopeful look in his eyes when he sees me. Dad notices me as well, looking at me with that same hopeful look, probably surprised I even bothered to come back home.

"What are you doing here, Zach?" My voice sounds shaky. I'm surprised he even knew where I lived.

Before Zach can respond, Dad clears his throat. "I'm gonna go inside for a minute, so you guys have some privacy. After that, Harley, could we, uhm, maybe talk for a minute?"

I smile hesitatingly. "Yeah, just give me a second. I'll be there."

The nervous look on his face makes place for a relieved one. "Sounds great." Then Dad turns to Zach. "It was nice to meet you, Zach. I'll hope to see you again some time."

Zach smiled widely. "Nice to meet you too, Mr Wilson."

Dad disappears inside, until it's just Zach and I who are left.

I ask my question again. "What are you doing here, Zach?" My voice sounds like nothing more than just a whisper.

"You didn't seriously think I was just gonna let you run away from me, did you?" With a grin on his face he takes a step closer to me, reducing the space between us.

I gulp, my heart pounding faster every second.

An enormous smile appears on his face. "I'm gonna fight for you, Harley. No matter how hard you push me away, no matter how difficult it'll be to win your trust and make you believe I would never, ever judge you. I'll fight for you until you realise we're meant to be together." Softly his thumb rubs over my cheek, as my heart almost bursts from just seeing the look in his eyes.

I can't hold back a smile from appearing on my lips. "Can you wait here for a moment? There's some things I need to clear up with Dad first." Even though all I want is to talk to Zach, I have to fix things with Dad first. I can't run.

"Of course. I'll wait forever, Harley." And then he puts a soft kiss on my cheek, and walks away. With my face burning from his sudden touch I watch him walk to Paige, sitting down next to her on the sidewalk.

I turn back around, now facing the front door again. I guess it's time to go inside, and talk to Dad. Taking a deep breath, I walk in and go to the living room, where Dad's sitting at the table.

His eyes light up with relief when he sees me coming in, and sitting down on the other side of the table.

I clear my throat, desperately trying to ignore the uncomfortable tension. "So I guess it's time for us to talk," I whisper.

"No, I think it's time for me to talk." His eyebrows furrow, a frown appearing on his forehead. "I believe I have a few things to make up."

The frown gets even deeper, like he's sunk in his thoughts. "First of all, I'm sorry. Sorry for making you feel like I abandoned you, sorry for ignoring you and your feelings, sorry for not being the dad I was supposed to be. The truth is, I had no idea what to do with my grief, so I think I was afraid to handle yours as well."

He sighs deeply. "But that was wrong. I'm your dad, I should be there for you whenever you need me, even though it's painful. Because that's the thing. It was painful for the both of us, and instead of me pushing you away, we should've dealt with out grief together."

It's then and there I realise Dad did the exact same thing as me. pushing others away, and running when things are too painful. It's what I've been doing for the last two years, so I understand.

And that's what I tell him. "Dad, it's okay. I understand. Sometimes it's hard to face the truth, but that doesn't mean you don't have to do it." A lesson I learned today.

"Exactly, so that's what I have to do. I'm gonna make an appointment with a therapist, so I know better how to handle this grief." Suddenly he paused and looked nervous again. "Maybe you could join me sometime? But only if you want to, no pressure."

Softly smiling I take his hand that's laying of the table. "Of course, Dad. I'll be there."

His face then gets a serious look again. "But now, about those things you told me before, about an account and vandalism, what's that about? Do I need to step in?"

My heart almost bursts out of my chest hearing him say those words. Words an actual, protective dad would say. "No, I don't think so. I'm gonna fix everything, the whole mess I made. But I promise if it doesn't work out the way it needs to, I'll ask you for help," I smile softly.

"Good. I'm here for you, little one. No matter how bad your problems seem, I'm here to help you fix them. That's the least I owe you." He squeezed my hand.

I jump up from my chair and walk around the table to hug him. "I missed you, Dad," I whisper as I wrap my arms around him and bury my nose in his neck. "I missed you so much."

I hear him smiling, as he pulls me close. "I missed you too, little one. So much." Then he lets go of me to look me in the face. "Now I believe someone's waiting for you outside."

I smile softly. "Yeah, I suppose I have to talk to him as well."

"Yeah, go do that." Dad smiled as well.

I give him a last hug, and then make my way to the front door again. But before I can step outside, Dad calls my name, making me turn back around.

"Harley? Don't make the mistake I made. Don't push away the people who love you the most," he whispered.

"I won't. He means too much to me to do that."