𝚃𝚘𝚛𝚗- ᑕ0ᗰᑭᒪᗴ丅ᗴ

ch 33: sunny

"That's not fair. You-- you have Mariah."

As I turned and left Nate standing next to my locker, I let out a deep breath, feeling my chin begin to tremble.

I knew Nate wasn't going to follow after to stop me; why would he?

I screwed up any chance there was for an 'us'.

✨

The second I got home, I turned my phone on 'Do Not Disturb' and locked myself in my studio, finished what little homework I had, then jammed on my keyboard until about eight that evening, when I started to get hungry.

When I got to the kitchen, I immediately headed towards our large oven, opening it to find two wrapped plates being kept heated, like usual.

Because of my dad's evening practices and my mom's random hours at her art gallery, we usually had a family dinner together once a week; since my mom left for New York this morning, the plates were for me and Dad, who showed up a few minutes later.

"Hey, Sunflower."

"Hi, Daddy."

He kissed my forehead and picked at a piece of broccoli from my plate, nodding in satisfaction at our chef's skills.

"How was your day, kid?"

I shrugged and scrunched my nose, watching as he grabbed his plate from the oven and took a seat across from me at the kitchen island.

"Okay, I guess."

I paused for a minute, thinking about what happened with Nate earlier, then shook my head, trying to shake the memory free.

I smiled back at my dad, trying to bury the ache I felt in my heart.

"I'm filming the music video this week."

"That's awesome, kid. Which song are you doing?"

"Diplomatic."

"What's that one about?"

I slightly shrugged and looked off to the side for a second, making a face before looking back at my dad.

"I don't know...  I guess it's about letting someone move on willingly. Like, you know they deserve to and you're not gonna be selfish about it anymore. They deserve better than you so you're gonna be diplomatic about it."

My dad's eyes stayed laser-focused on me before his head cocked back and his eyes widened a little.

"Wow, kid. That's... that's big."

I could tell he was looking for the right word, and I nodded, feeling like 'big' fit.

I knew Nate deserved better and I just wish that I could've seen it before I let him slip away.

If I had, I would have never let him go.

"Yeah, I have no clue what concept they've got planned for it, but I do know we're filming on a boat this Friday."

"Wait, Homecoming? Isn't Nate supposed to be getting some big award that night?"

I bit my lip and nodded, before looking down at my plate.

I didn't want to miss the game and the moment Nate got his 'Player of the Decade' award, but a huge selfish part of me didn't wanna have to watch from the sidelines as he celebrated with Mariah.

"Yeah, I already told him I couldn't make it. He... it didn't go over well."

"Did you really think it would?"

I looked up at my dad in slight disbelief, then sighing, realizing he was right.

"No, but-- I don't know. It's complicated."

"Only if you make it that way."

I shook my head, knowing it was never going to be that simple.

"Well, what would you do? Watch Mom throw herself in some other guy's arms?"

"Baby girl, these are the only arms she throws herself into."

He flexed both arms for a moment, curling his wrists close to his head as his biceps popped.

"Dad, come on...this is important... seriously."

He looked at me for a second, nodding intently as he sat back and setting aside his discarded plate.

"Alright. What's up?"

I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, thinking about all the things that had happened recently. To keep myself slightly distracted, I stacked our plates together before hopping off my seat and loading everything into the dishwasher.

"If Mom had moved on-- like, really moved on back then-- what would you have done?"

He had a weird look on his face for a second when I finally turned back, and it wasn't like one I had ever seen before. He was far away-- almost in another world-- and when he finally looked back at me, he almost looked relieved.

"You know about that?"

"Barely... not really. Mom kinda told me a little bit about it."

It was quiet again and I knew the only way I'd get him to talk was to bug him, so with a smirk on my face I asked him something that I knew was sure to get his attention.

"Was Connor cute?"

My dad's brown eyes lingered on me warningly for a moment, and he tilted his head, letting me know he knew I was messing with him.

"Little girl, go to bed..."

I sarcastically scoffed and let out a chuckle before realizing that my dad was serious.

"Dad, I--"

"To your room, Sunny Jaymes..."

He got up from the couch first, walking over to leave a kiss on my forehead before retreating down the hall to his and my mom's room.

"Dad."

"Go to sleep, little girl!"

He yelled over his shoulder as he walked down the hall, causing a small giggle to escape my lips.

🖤