Rusty's Secret

2. Homecoming

Friday, December 19th, 2025

The sun had just rissen in the sky. Rusty peacefully slept in his bed. Digger stood outside his bedroom door. "Rusty! Wake up!" He shouted as he knocked. Dusty walked over to him. "Move over!" She pushed Digger to the side. She quickly swung open Rusty's door and jumped onto his bed. "Rusty! Wake up!" She squealed. Rusty screamed as he fell out of his bed. He hit his head on the floor. "Dusty! W-What, what do you want!" Rusty yelled. "Dad's taking us to the flower field! Come on!" She shouted as she ran out of his room.

Rusty's eyes widened as he watched his sister leave the room. He ran out of his room. His dad hadn't taken him to the field since he was seven years old. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw his dad sitting at the table while his mum made breakfast. "Good morning, kid!" His dad said as he read the newspaper. Just the sight of his dad makes Rusty smile. "Hi, dad!" He said excitedly as he sat next to him.

"You ready to hit the field?" He asked his son as he patted him on the head. "Yeah" Rusty said with a smile.

A couple of minutes later, they prepared to leave. "Alright, call me when you get there" Their mum explained as she gave their dad a kiss. "Alright, we'll be back later!" Their dad shouted as they left the house. "Bye, mum!" Dusty said happily as she shut the door behind her

Everyone got in the car in front of the house. "Alright, field, here we come!" Their dad yelled as he beeped the car horn.

Rusty stared out the window as the drive began. "So first I'm gonna pick the lilys and put them in my hair, then I'm roll down the hill and then play cricket with you" Dusty blabbered on. Rusty wasn't listening. Rusty looked down as his phone got a notification. "That's probably your boyfriend" Dusty teased. Rusty blushed as he read the text from Jack. "Why aren't you two dating?" Dusty questioned. "Shh! Dad will hear!" Rusty whisper-shouted. "He has the AC blasting he can't hear anything, and Digger's listening to music in his headphones. Now answer my question" Dusty said sternly. "Well, I don't know, I don't think he likes me like that...." Rusty sighed. "Well, you'll never know until you ask him!" Dusty yelled. "But, what if he frienzones me?" Rusty panicked. "Oh, come on" Dusty said. "I-I, just shut up!" Rusty shouted.

Rusty looked out the window as they drove past his school. "We're here!" Their dad said loudly as he parked in the school parking lot.

They took all the cricket equipment out of the trunk as they began to walk towards the forest. "Watch out for the tree roots" Their dad warned as they walked through the trees. Rusty saw a clearing in the trees nearby. He began to run towards it as a smile creeped across his face. "Rusty! Slow down!" His dad yelled as he watched Rusty disappear into the woods.

Rusty made it to the field. He looked down at the white lilys blowing in the wind as they clouds slowly passed by. They eventually caught up with Rusty. "Don't run off like that again, okay?" His dad said tiredly. "Sorry, dad" Rusty laughed. He pat Rusty's head as he walked into the lily field.

"Come on, Digger!" His dad shouted as he set the cricket equipment on the ground. Digger took out his earbuds as he walked over to him.

Rusty watched them play cricket from on top of the hill. He looked at Dusty, picking the lilys and putting them in her hair just like she said she'd do. He inhaled, and a big smile grew on his face as he breathed out. "Come play with us, Rusty!" Digger shouted from below. "Coming!" Rusty yelled back as he walked down the hill towards them. Digger handed him a cricket bat. He watched Dusty roll down the hill. The flowers in her hair fell out as she rolled. His smile got bigger as he prepared to hit the cricket ball. Now that his dad was home, for once, in a long time, he felt happy.