Moved In

Chapter 18 : "It's about you."

Chapter 18

Later...    

Riker POV

I woke up to dad gently shaking my shoulder. I'd fallen asleep on the couch, waiting for him to get back. And to my surprise, mom was here with a suitcase.

"Did you stay down here waiting for me to get home?" Dad asked.

I nodded and rubbed my eyes, still feeling half asleep.

"Why don't you head up to bed? But I wanted to let you know that your mom will be staying in our guest bedroom for a little while, ok?"

I nodded again. Dad left, but mom sat down on the couch next to me.

"Riker, I want to apologize for what happened when you came to visit me."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not fine. I shouldn't have been drunk. I should've picked you up and made sure my boyfriend wasn't over while you were visiting."

"It's ok, mom. Really. I'm fine."

"Ok. Well maybe tomorrow we can go out for lunch and try to get to know each other a little better."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Ok. Get some sleep, Riker."

"Ok. Night, mom."

I went up to my room and got ready for bed. I waited for dad to come in. But he was taking forever and I was literally going to fall back asleep if he didn't come in soon. So I went to his room. He was typing something on his phone.

"So what happened tonight?" I asked.

"Riker, it's late. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

"Mom wants to take me out to lunch tomorrow. We need to talk about it now. Why did you bring her here? I thought she was going to stay in a hotel."

I sat down next to him. I looked at his phone. He was texting Stormie that we couldn't come over for dinner still because we were having a family emergency.

"Well... She was going to stay in a hotel, but she's basically broke. I know I'm not married to her anymore, but that doesn't mean I can't help her out. And you seemed like you really wanted to spend some time with her. And the only way I'm comfortable with you spending time with her is if I can supervise you, so this seemed like a good solution."

"Can I go out to lunch with her tomorrow?"

"I think that would be fine."

"Ok, so tell me about tonight."

"Well... What do you want to know?"

He sighed and put his arm around me. I snuggled into his side and shut my eyes. He pulled the covers over us.

"I want to know what she said about being sober."

Dad took a deep breath.

"She said ever since you came to visit, she couldn't stop thinking about what happened. And I honestly don't even think she knows what really happened. I think she was too drunk to remember. I called her after I found out you were hurt and left her a very angry voicemail. But I don't think she actually knows what happened to you while you were there."

"So what did she say?"

"She said that she's been taking a lot of time to reflect on her life. I guess she broke up with her boyfriend. She's managed to get sober. Although I don't know if I believe her. So since she'll be staying here for a little while, this will be a great opportunity to see if she really is sober or not."

"What about getting back together with you? Did she say anything about that?"

"She said she wishes she had better control over herself when we were still together and that she wishes she had actually tried to get help for her addiction."

"I thought you tried to get her help."

"I did, but she wasn't serious about wanting to stop drinking. So it never worked."

"So... What do you think?"

"About?"

"How tonight went?"

"I don't know."

"Well what do you think about getting back together with her?"

"I really want to see if she's sober or not before I make any judgements."

"Dad?"

"What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You know you can always ask me anything."

"Are you still in love with her?"

Dad sighed.

"It's complicated."

"How?"

"It's not really... about being in love. It's about you."

"What do you mean?"

"When I married her, yes I was in love with her. But when she started being so drunk that she started neglecting you and I had to worry about your safety, it didn't matter if I loved her anymore. The only thing that mattered was you."

I smiled a little.

"Really?" I asked.

"That's why we got a divorce. I couldn't be worried every day that something would happen to you while I was at work. I needed to know you were safe. And divorcing her was the only way because she wouldn't get help."

"Ok, but what about now? Do you still love her now?"

"Yes, I still love her now. But you're still a kid, Riker. It's still about you. You come first."

I sighed and laid my hand on his chest. I buried my face in his side. I never really knew how much he gave up for me.

"I'm falling asleep," I mumbled into his side.

"It's ok. Get some rest, Riker," he said, wrapping his arm around me tighter.