Half a World Away // Vinnie Hacker

*30*

It's been about three weeks since Vinnie and I made our relationship official. We've gone out a number of times and Everything has been going really great. I really like how our relationship is right now and I really don't want to tell the whole world about it, although that would stop us from having to sneak around. I'm worried about the hate that will come with us going public because when people found out I was even friends with Vinnie the hate was really bad.

I was lying in bed overthinking all of this stuff as I had for the past few days. It hadn't really crossed my mind in the first two or so weeks of our relationship, or maybe I just didn't want to think about it, but now my mind is constantly busy and filled with thoughts about all of this stuff. I'm sure everyone knows couples that broke up once they went public and that scares me insanely. What if we end up as one of those couples?

There was a knock on my door, breaking me out of my thoughts. I got up and walked to the door, opening it and revealing Vinnie. He smiled and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead before walking into my apartment. "Hey," I said, wrapping my arm around his side. "Hey," he replied, chewing on his bottom lip. He looked nervous but I couldn't figure out why. "Are you ok? You look nervous," I asked. He sat down on my bed and I sat down next to him. "Um, yeah. I just wanted to ask you something," He started. I nodded, showing I was listening and grabbed his hand, playing with his rings; a habit that I've noticed calms us both down. "Well, you know how I was thinking of going back home?" I nodded, "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me? You don't have to, of course. I know you have school and we haven't been dating very long so meeting my parents might not be something you're up for so, you decide if you want to come," he rambled nervously. "Of course I'll come," I said as I placed my head on his shoulder. 

"You will?" He asked, almost shocked. I nodded, "Why wouldn't I? I mean I am kind of terrified of meeting your parents but it'll be nothing compared to you meeting my parents whenever that comes around, not to scare you or anything but good luck," I joked even though I knew that my parents would not like him at all. "Wait, what do you mean?" He asked, looking more concerned than before. "Nothing really, I've told you a little about my parents, haven't I? Well, they hate tattoos and influencers, actually, anything to do with social media and I can almost tell that they wouldn't like you which I think is what makes you all the more appealing but you don't need to worry about any of that. I don't really care what they think if I'm honest, I mean I will get mad if they don't like you but who cares what they think? As long as I like you I don't care," I said, continuing to fiddle with Vinnie's hand. "Are you sure? You aren't just saying that?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. My parents have been feeling less and less like family as I've gotten older so their good opinion isn't really a priority or anything. Jess' opinion is the only opinion that matters anymore and she really likes you," I replied, looking up at him. He had a smile on his face again and looked down at me, "And you don't need to worry about my parents' liking you because they like pretty much everyone."

"What if I'm in the small percentage of people that they don't like?" I asked, now worried that if I fit into the group of people they didn't like that I'd have no chance with him. "Hey, stop worrying so much. If they like Tana I'm sure they'll like you," he joked. "Yeah, ok. It's just, I don't want them to not like me because I like you so much and I don't want that to ruin anything," I sighed. I was really starting to like Vinnie a lot, or at least notice how much I liked him and I didn't want anything to ruin it. "I like you a lot too and even in the very unlikely event that my parents didn't like you, that wouldn't ruin anything," Vinnie said making me feel much more comfortable with meeting his parents.

"When are we going?" I asked, looking up at Vinnie. "Is next week too soon?" he asked. I shook my head 'no' and Vinnie started talking about what he had been thinking for the trip. He talked for twenty minutes explaining everything and I could tell he was excited to go home for a bit. It made me wish that I was that excited to go home. Vinnie kept talking about how he missed his parents and his brother and his friends but the only person that would come to mind when I thought of home was Jess. I dreaded the idea of bumping into Jake or one of his friends and I didn't really like the idea of being with my parents again, under their controlling rule. Vinnie pulled his phone out of his pocket and booked two flights to Seattle for next Tuesday. He then called his mum to tell her that we were coming and I could hear her excitement through the phone. "Are you ok?" Vinnie asked as he hung up the phone.

"Yeah, just thinking about my family," I huffed. I moved up to the top of the bed and leaned against the headboard. Vinnie joined me and I could see how concerned he looked. My family is always a touchy subject not because of anything too dramatic but more just the fact that the whole thing is a bunch of strained relationships. "You know, I haven't spoken to either of my sisters since I came here and even before I left I would only talk to them when one of them needed something or we were arguing. And I haven't spoken to my parents since about two weeks after I moved here either. It's been almost two months and I haven't spoken to anyone in my family. And I know one of my sisters is planning on moving out as soon as she can and the other, I'm not too sure about her but I'm sure she won't be staying in that house too much longer. When I have a family of my own I hope I never get like this with my kids. I want a family like yours not like mine," I sighed.

"And you will have a family like that someday. I can tell you are going to be a great mum, easy-going but not too easygoing that your kids could be drug addicts and you'd be ok with it," He joked, "No, but I'm serious. You're going to take all of your experiences and make sure your kids never have to feel the way you felt, you feel. If there's one thing I can guarantee it's that you and your kids will never have a strained relationship like the one with you and your parents," Vinnie said, making me feel better already.