Letting Him In

Chapter-15

"Is it my imagination?
Is it something that I'm taking?
All the smiles that I'm faking
"Everything is great
Everything is fucking great"
Going out every weekend
Staring at the stars on the ceiling
Hollywood friends, gotta see them
Such a good time
I believe it this time"

-Louis  Tomlinson, Miss You

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Kaeden

Sitting in Aunty Ness' café, Kaeden realized that this was becoming sort of a regular thing; in fact, it didn't even feel strange when he looked around the booth: Dean and Chris squabbling with each other over who gets the last donut; Allen looking fondly at Nate who was sitting opposite to her; next to him, Elijah looking at his coffee as if it held all the secrets of the world. It was Tuesday, and they had all decided to meet up here after school. The day before it had been at Hernandez's place, and on Friday it had been at the arcade where Elijah worked.

About a month ago, the idea of them all willingly deciding to hang out together would have seemed absurd; they ran in at least three different friend groups, and all of them didn't even attend the same school. Since a lot of students visited the café, they got quite a few surprised looks; to be fair, it was unseemly: three of the best rival football players and one of the best swimmers in town, the most bubbly, cheerful girl out there, and the sometimes quiet, sometimes outspoken boy who had disappeared for two years and then returned with no plausible explanation, knit together in a friendship which had formed over a few weeks.

But Kaeden felt a sense of relief when he was around them. He'd gotten to know Dean and Nate better; he never thought he'd trust them, but here they were. It was like none of them expected each other to be anything but themselves, and he knew that each of them was thankful for that.

And Kaeden was especially thankful for the constant hum of chatter around him. His football friends were cool, but they could never be the ones to calm his nerves; they were too loud and reckless for that. And right now, Kaeden really needed some peace, considering that his father was returning home the following day.

Home was supposed to be a place that made you feel like you belonged. He wasn't sure how long that was going to last now. And what made him feel worse was that there was a part of him, the remnants of a hopeful little boy who believed in love and miracles, that wanted to meet his father, wanted to make him proud of who he had grown into.

"You're thinking about him again," a voice whispered from beside him, and he tilted his head to look at Elijah.

Since he couldn't deny what the other boy had said, he simple smiled reassuringly, and said, "I'm fine, Lijah."

Elijah nodded reluctantly, but he didn't look satisfied with the answer, and Kaeden sighed internally. Only his mother, Elijah, and Elijah's parents knew what his father had done to end up in prison, but Kaeden knew from the furtive glances everyone, even his newfound friends, shot him every once in a while, how much of a taboo topic it may seem to them. And he also realized that he would have to acknowledge it eventually; no one was going to ignore it just because he was uncomfortable talking about it. If these guys didn't pry, then people at school would.

He turned back to Elijah, who was still looking at him patiently. "Okay, yeah, definitely not fine. My head's all messed up for tomorrow," he said softly, so as not to be overheard.

Elijah nodded. "It'll be fine Kade; you know what? Movie night tonight; you, me, Lil and Lee," he said, using the nicknames him and Kaeden had given the twins when they were younger. "And maybe these guys too if they're up for it; Star Wars should distract you well enough."