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★━━─ ・‥...━━━☆
"lydia, good morning."
the jacobs girl was swarmed with the underlying scent of alcohol on her mother's tongue. the woman attempted to kiss her daughter's cheek only for the later to flinch away from the act of affection.
martha's features, however, contorted for a rather different reason. "you reek of alcohol."
it was then did the mother finally register the state of the girl. the eye makeup from the night before remained smeared, her hair disheveled from the few hours of sleep the night prior. lydia's frame was covered by a shirt martha assumed was either cal's or nate's. the true owner of the shirt resided multiple towns over attempting to piece his life back together. the last sight martha caught was the bruises littering the girl's knuckles.
lydia let out a humorless chuckle as she simply passed her mother to make a cup of coffee. "daughter like mother."
"what did you just say?"
"enough." cal jacobs forced his presence to be known by the strict tone of his voice. once upon a time, it'd strike fear in the teenager, yet now seemed humorous. "did you have a fun night, lyds?"
martha stared towards her husband in disbelief before creating a dramatic exit from the household's kitchen. the sight caused an amused expression to etch across lydia's features until the moment cal found her gaze. the girl attempted to keep her composure intact, and yet failed miserably when a hint of a laugh fell from her lips.
"to answer your question," lydia finally let out a deep breath that allowed her tranquil demeanor to return. "yes, much fun."
cal nodded towards his daughter with a grin reflecting the nostalgia in his chest. he could only meet lydia's eye for fleeting moments due to the relentless reminders of his regrets he found within her features. there was much he'd ruined with his children in consequence to his own mistakes, but none haunted his thoughts as severely as his only daughter.
cal jacobs knew there was absolutely nothing on earth he could do to rightfully earn the forgiveness of the girl.
lydia's attention had fallen to the phone in her grasp as cal remained reeling in memories lost through time. there were multiple text messages from fez, all asking her to come by the corner store whenever she had the time.
there was a shallow sigh to be heard from the jacobs girl before she was finding her father's gaze one again. "dad?"
cal hummed in response as he poured himself a cup of coffee before filling lydia's mug as well. there was a trace of innocence in the teenager's eyes, one that used to stare back at her father everyday. it caused the guilt to become nearly overwhelming, for he knew in his heart he was the one to ruin the rose-tainted view his children had of the world.
