Forgotten

Not Welcome

I ran out of my room, and down the stairs. When I reached the living room, though, I had to stop. I was getting a little lightheaded. I had sat down on the couch when I heard the back door open. I was too far away to hear anything but mumbling, but I could tell that the person was a friend to them. When I was feeling better, I walked in without knocking.

At first, no one noticed me. But I noticed everyone else. My mom, Bennet, Tyler, Chloe, Stan, and Karl Fink. I was immediately filled with disgust. The jerk was sitting in the chair that I usually sat in for dinner. Stan was at his feet, and was wagging his tail. 

Karl was wearing a white button up shirt, and a light jacket. His dark blue pants were a different style from what I remember him wearing. His tennis shoes were blue and white. His hair, usually held in a perfect style, was now allowed to go everywhere. 

Stan whimpered quietly from his spot at Karl's feet, and Karl immediately leaned down to scratch behind his ears. Stan rewarded this behavior with heavy tail wagging and panting. Then Karl began scratching his back, somehow knowing immediately where Stan's sweet spot was. Stan arched his back into Karl's hand. I decided to make my presence known.

"What are you doing here, Karl?" I asked, making no attempt to cover my distaste.

Everyone immediately turned to look at me. Karl stopped petting Stan, and looked me in the eyes. I saw a flicker of an emotion pass through his eyes, but it was gone before I could determine what it was.

"Hello to you too, Avery." 

"Why are you here?" I repeated.

"I stopped by to say hello to your family and ask them how they were doing." Karl betrayed no emotion as he answer my questions.

"Well, you've been here long enough to have said it about fifteen times to everyone, so, goodbye." I wasn't even going to try to be subtle asking him to leave.

Karl stood up, and for the first time, I noticed that he was now about 6 feet tall. "Goodbye, James-Jennings family. It was lovely to see you all again." Karl gave Stan one last pat on the head for a  goodbye, then was out the door.

"So, what're we having for dinner?" I asked.

"Tacos." Mom answered. 

I smiled. Mom may not be that good of a cook, but her tacos were always the best. "How much longer?"

"Half an hour." Mom replied, already starting to work again in the kitchen. I went back into the living room to get away from my family. I love them, but I was starting to get creeped out by the way they kept staring at me.

I sat down on the couch, and leaned back, just thinking. I thought back to before anyone noticed me in the kitchen. Karl looked at ease, and everyone else looked happy. 

My thoughts were interrupted by Stan walking into the room. I made no attempt to greet him. He jumped up next to me. "Avery, I'm sorry we forgot to warn you about Karl. He comes over a lot more than he used to. It just felt so natural to have him there, that i didn't notice you."

I looked back at Stan and smiled. "That's ok. Hey, do you know what was with that limp, and the cast on his left hand?"

Stan seemed to think for a second. "Yeah, he was in a car accident awhile ago."