Maybe You'll Live For Me Sometimes- Adopted by the Killjoys

Part Six

Adeline's POV

A sense of normalcy finally came in my life after BLI was defeated. It took a bit of time to get used to how Mikes does things as a dad, but I got used to it easily nonetheless. A few days after we moved into our apartment and got settled down, I asked to take a nap. I needed one after those busy days of moving, busy months of fighting BLI, and busy life of fighting you-know-who.
          "You don't need permission to take a nap, Adeline," Dad replied. "You can go right ahead."
          "I don't need permission for that?"
          "Of course not. You don't need permission for self-care."
          A revelation. "Thank you. This is so refreshing." I sighed happily then yawned.
          "I can tell. It's no problem, kiddo. Have a good nap."

I happily fell asleep and woke up about two hours later knowing that I can peacefully sleep in my own bedroom, finally, and live in a safe, welcoming home. I walked out of my room to Dad walking to my room. "Hey Addy! I was just coming to check on you, and tell you that I have food here ready if you want it."
          I saw the dining room table with two large platters of food I had never seen before. See, just after BLI was defeated, us Killjoys were able to finally eat good food that the company had previously hidden from us for themselves. It was never food that I had seen before; colorful fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and chips. I looked mesmerized at it. "This is so pretty!"
          "I knew you would like it. We deserve good food after months and years of bad food," he laughed.
          I nodded and laughed along. "But is it bad to say that a lot of these things, I had never had before?"
          "Really? You've never had some of these?"
          "No," I sighed with a chuckle.
          "That's okay. But I have a feeling you will love it. Welcome to a new life."
          I smiled at him. "Thank you." Then I sat down, enjoying the food and light conversation.

Dad took time each day to teach me how to play music and write songs, which I eventually excelled at on my own. I had a bunch of old journal entries from my dark times which I turned into song, and I also wrote new lyrics which I made to be on the happier side because I can't only talk about my past.
          In between, I had been talking to a therapist once a week to heal more. Dad had been extremely helpful, but he acknowledged that he can't do everything. So he found someone for me to talk to to work through my intrusive thoughts and CPTSD, who's trained right to talk about those things with clients like me.
          Every time Dad went to the store to buy food for us, I went with him. Simply for the experience of normalcy, being a normal teen.

There was one day, however, when I got kind of bored. I enjoy the peaceful quiet in this place, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I need to get out and have some fun. So I walked out of my room from listening to music while drawing shapes on the sides of my song journal. Dad was in the kitchen, taking a tray of cookies out of the oven.
          "Hey Dad!" I greeted him.
          He looked over, excited. "Hey Addy! I was just gonna call you in to try these cookies I made. It's been a while since I last made them."
          "Cool, but first I'd like to ask you something."
          "What's going on?"
          I breathed in. "To be honest, I get kind of bored when we're just inside the house a lot."
          Dad looked curious. "You do?"
          "Yeah, I do. Now don't get me wrong. I love it here, and I love the peace and quiet. But I think maybe that I want to get out more often. And maybe make some friends my age."
          He nodded. "Of course! Why didn't I think about that sooner?"
          "I don't know, you tell me." I was just playing at this point, as I sassily put my hand on my hip.
          He looked at me with a smirk. "You learned a lot from your Uncle Gee, didn't ya?"
          "Yup," I nodded, emphasizing the "p" at the end.
          "Mmhm," he giggled. Then he held the cookie tray out to me. "Try one first?"
          I reached onto the tray for one, being careful not to burn my hand. Then I took a bite. Oh. My. God. I smiled and looked up at the ceiling. It was a familiar, sweet taste. The chocolate chips were melty. "This is so good! I haven't had one of these in about ten years."
          Dad's face lit up. "You like them?"
          "Yes! I do! I haven't had a chocolate chip cookie since one kid's mom brought them in for snack time way back in pre-K before the world went to shit!" We both laughed.

After the moment, Dad drove me to the city park. First, though, he made a stop at the new tech shop next to the multipurpose building. "Why are we stopping here?" I asked.
          "You'll see," Dad replied. We then walked in to the small store with big shelves of phones and techy stuff I didn't recognize or understand. The salesperson was standing enthusiastically at the desk, and she smiled and waved at us. "Hello, I'm Kristin. How can I help you guys today?"
          "I will be buying two cell phones. One for me and one for my daughter, Addy," answered Dad.
          Kristin smiled at us and nodded. "Awesome- let me direct you guys to the best we have." She led us to the shelf on the left side wall, where there was a table of some of the phones out so we could try them out.
          Dad ended up buying two of the same kind, small ones with screens and various buttons. I played a little bit with mine, figuring out myself what the different buttons do. I feel like I should have known this, should have seen it before. But here I am now. Dad turned to me. "The reason I'm getting us each one," he said, "is so we can communicate while we're away from one another. So if you're ever out somewhere with a friend and something happens or you simply need something, you can call me."
          I nodded. "I like that."
          "Is this your first phone, Addy?" asked Kristin.
          "Yeah," I nodded. "I'm going to the park after this to make friends my age finally."
          "Good! You guys have fun," she said as Dad and I left, waving "bye" with a smile. Dad and I exchanged numbers real quick after we got the phones, then we drove off.
          I like Kristin a lot... and holy hell did sparks fly when she and Dad talked to and looked at one another.

We arrived at the city park soon after, and we got out of the car. I immediately saw a girl there who looked to be about my age, with short wavy light brown hair and what looked like an old Killjoy outfit: a blue jacket with black jeans and boots. She was holding a ball as if she was also looking for someone to play with.
          The girl waved and smiled at me, directing me to come over. So I did, and we started throwing and catching the ball. "Hey Addy?" addressed Dad.
          I looked over at him quickly. "Yeah?"
          "I'm gonna go to the store while you're here. Will you be alright?"
          "Yeah, I found someone to play with!" I exclaimed with a smile.
          "Good, just call me when you're ready to come home. See you soon!"
          "See you soon, Dad!"
          The girl and I stopped playing catch for a minute to talk. "Kobra Kid is your dad!?" she asked excitedly.
          I nodded with the same excitement. "Yeah. Not my birth dad though."
          "You are so lucky to have him as a dad!"
          "I know, right?" I gushed. "Anyways, I'm Adeline, but you can call me Addy."
          "I'm Vada. Thanks for coming to play with me."

Vada and I continued our on-and-off game for a while, as we made small talk and got to know one another. We connected as friends nearly right away; she would start singing a song, and I knew it so I started to sing with her.
          Our time at the park ended with me and her exchanging numbers and in a friendship that I knew was going to last forever. Is this what a normal teenhood is supposed to look like? this must be me healing my inner child by living the good young childhood I never got.