A Better Boyfriend (GirlxGirl)

Fifty- Destiny

"What's for dinner, dad?" I asked him, as I joined him in the kitchen later that day.

Scarlet and I had an eventful and long day out together. I was now both hungry and tired. I needed a proper meal to get my energy levels up, even though the cookies and milk had been incredibly wonderful.

"Chicken and potatoes," my dad replied. "Sorry it's so basic."

I shook my head.

"It's not basic at all. Thank you for cooking so much for Scarlet and me. Dad...I wanted to talk to you about something. I know I could be such an ungrateful brat when I was growing up. I want you to know that I am so entirely grateful for you and everything that you have done for me. The truth is, I love you, dad. Mum would have been so proud of you. I want to be a better person because I have you in my life, supporting me, listening to me, looking out for me. Thank you," I said and rushed over to him to wind my arms around him, pressing my head into his chest. I felt my eyes prick with tears. God, my period must have been due. I felt entirely too emotional recently.

My dad pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.

He wasn't too keen on affection, but this was different.

We both needed this.

My mum was gone, but we had each other.

In being a real family, in looking out for one another, I had a good feeling that we could keep her memory alive.

My dad added some seasonings to the chicken so it would be flavourful.

"Will Scarlet be joining us?" he asked me.

Scarlet was currently passed out on my bed, but I had planned to go and wake her up once I knew dinner was ready.

"Yeah," I smiled. "She'll be there."

We would all eat together, just like a family.

Scarlet had been in my life for a long time. She was essentially a part of the family now. I couldn't imagine the house without her in it. I hoped I would never have to face a reality where she wasn't around.

We were a small group- the three of us, but we were close. That was the important thing.

"Hey," Scarlet said, from the doorway of the kitchen.

I turned to her and smiled at first. However, that smile started to fade when I realised how serious the expression on Scarlet's face was.

"What's up?" I asked her.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" she said.

I nodded and made my way out of the kitchen to join her.

"What's going on, Scarlet?" I spoke.

She took a deep breath before she replied.

"My dad's back in town. He...he wants to talk to me. he apologised for everything. He wants me to move back in with him," she said.

I called bullshit.

I didn't trust him.

Nevertheless, I'd be lying if I said that was mostly down to the matter of me not wanting Scarlet to leave.

You know what they say, if you truly love something or someone, in this case, then you should set it free.

"Ah, I understand," I started to say. "I'm happy for you, Scarlet. Really."

Her eyes lightened slightly then with an emotion I couldn't recognise but she swallowed and folded her arms in front of her chest.

"Yeah," she said.

I pulled her into a hug.

"You going to go and speak to him?" I whispered.

"I think so," she said.

If this was what she wanted, then I couldn't stop her from going and getting it.

Usually I fought conflict head on, but when it came to Scarlet, I had learnt to start to be more accepting.

I couldn't fight anymore.

Whatever or whoever was meant to stay in my life would stay.

There was no point in worrying about it all.

That being said, my heart was racing.

I wanted to speak to Scarlet's father and give him a piece of my own mind, but I knew I needed to hold my tongue and give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe there was a chance he would be better than I thought.

"I have a lot of work to be getting on with. Can you call me when dinner's ready?" I asked my father.

He nodded and smiled.

"Destiny, is everything alright?" Scarlet asked me.

No.

"Yeah," I said and made my way upstairs.

I switched on my computer once I reached my bedroom.

When it was turned on, I started to type away on my next magazine article.

It was good, being distracted. I didn't need to think about Scarlet all the time.

It was unhealthy. It had started to cause me to become unproductive and distracted.

I had more to my life than her.

I then felt something wet when I pressed the next key on the keyboard, and I quickly realised that I was crying.

God. What a mess...

What was I going to do?

I was twenty-six years old, and I was crying about my best friend moving away.

That was just the thing, though, wasn't it?

Scarlet was no ordinary best friend.

She meant the entire world to me.

I couldn't imagine a world where she moved away.

Nonetheless, I couldn't hold her back if that was what she ended up wanting.

Closing my laptop, I decided that I was going to need to do something else to distract my overactive mind.

So, I reached under the bed to grab my sketchbook and began work on a new landscape. It helped, doing something I loved.

Eventually, it was dinner time.

I only hoped I could make it through the dinner without my heart aching too much.

I closed my sketchbook and made my way downstairs, taking a deep breath before I entered the kitchen.

I went to sit down with Scarlet and my father.

We soon started to eat.