affection

seventeen

tuesday

kai wakes from his sleep to a muffled buzz, he pulls his phone from hiding beneath the covers somewhere. it's a text from elliot.

'can't hang today, last day w mom before she's back to work'

kai replies, 'tell her i said bye love u.'

'she says she misses you alr.'

'lmaoo ask her if she's free tonight.'

elliot dislikes his message, 'she says no but offers her son instead.'

kai grins, 'hm ok, heard he's a cutie.'

'he is.' elliot responds immediately.

'ok lemme text him rq.'

fingers swipe across the screen and onto jake's. he types a message laughing to himself.

'ur cute let's make out.'

jake reads the message and there's no reply for a short while. 'i think u sent this to the wrong sibling my guy.'

then, a message pops up on his screen from elliot.

'I SAW THAT DO ONT EVER DO THAT AGAIN.'

'<3' he responds, still laughing.

hours have passed and the sun begins to set, sinking down out of view. blues turn into oranges, those turn into hues of purple and darker blues. his skateboard clanks as it hits the ground, the rubber on his sneakers meet concrete briefly, and then again as he skates across the park. the air is warm still, kai huffs.

he fished his phone from his pocket when it suddenly begins ringing, he looks at the contact and frowns.

"kai, i need you back home now honey." she pauses, someone speaks in the background but it's too muffled to hear, "please come home."

his heart starts to race, he assumes what has happened, and it only beats faster. nausea bubbles in his stomach, he feels anxious and sick.

"well who even is this new guy? he's not good enough for you."

he hears his father's voice through his closed door, and swallows hard as he pulls it open.

"all i've wanted is us to be a happy family, lin."

his mom looks at the ground, refusing to meet his eyes. "this isn't fair, he loves me in ways you never did."

"linda please," his eyes soften, "we have so much history, can we just start again? start all over, i have money now, we can leave this all behind us."

"no, please. i can't do this, i waited years for you and you never came. you fell in love with someone else too, now it's my turn to be happy."

his father falters, "i'll wait then."

"what?"

"i'll wait, for you. when he breaks your heart, i'll be here. we can fix all this, and just start over. you, me, kai..."

it's all kai ever wanted, a real happy family. it's all he ever wished for, he'd wish upon dandelions, put it on his christmas list, this is it.

"get out, dad." he's not angry, or upset. he's just exhausted.

as he's leaving, he whispers to kai, "i'll be here waiting for you, too."

without missing a beat, he responds. "close the door behind you."

the door slams, kai stares into nothing and a silence washes over the two. a minute passes, then another. it's not awkward but there's something hanging in the air, a sense of sadness and relief tied together.

"where's eric." kai asks simply, there's not even a hint of any emotion in his voice.

she sighs and her shoulders drop, as if a thousand weights have been removed, and only half remain in their place. "at his friend's. i don't know."

"friends?" kai questions.

"one of his teacher friends or something," she shrugs, finally looking at him. "robert, i think."

kai smiles, "hill?"

"yes?" she frowns.

there's a knowing look on his face, he knows that eric isn't lying about where he's going, he's not like his father. robert and eric are good friends, they're always talking in school.

"layla?"

now, it's his mother's turn to smile. "her room. be nice."

kai shakes his head, metaphorically rolling his eyes with a laugh. he makes his way up to her room and knocks on her door. she mumbles for him to enter, and he does, this time not to insult or accuse.

causally, he sits on the end of her bed, she sits at her desk listening to music and doing some homework. they sit in the quiet, not saying a word. simply enjoying the company and listening to random songs she puts on. he hears a car outside, and sits up straight to partly see the ground below. he watches his fathers car finally pull away, driving out of sight and he exhales a breath he'd been holding.

...
wc: 775
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family drama gets resolved kindaaa