Falling For Mr. Perfect (Daily Updates)

14 The Things I Did

"THE THINGS I DID"

"Dad? Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked through a yawn as I came down.

It was nearly lunch time. We usually got up early to make breakfast together. My dad sat at the kitchen table, staring blankly at the wall with a cup of coffee in front of him that looked untouched.

"Dad?" I touched his shoulder, finally snapping him out of his head.

"Oh. Hey, kiddo," he touched my hand that was still on his shoulder. Slowly, he zoned out again.

"Dad, you're freaking me out," I said, pulling out the chair next to him and sitting down. "What is it? Is it mom?"

She seemed to be the only thing to put him in a state like this. Even though she hasn't talked to me, she has still gone to counseling with my dad. This time around, the separation had been hard on him. I couldn't imagine how jarring it was to wake up one day to see that the woman you married was someone else entirely.

"Yes. I mean no. Nothing happened to her," he stumbled over his words. "She wants come back."

I reeled back. "Why?"

My dad turned to me, brows creased. "This is still her home, Faye."

He said it so matter-of-factly. It made me wonder...

"Do you want her to come back?"

He ran a hand over his face, resting it on his chin. "It's complicated."

"Yes and no are pretty straightforward answers." Even as I said it, I knew how hypocritical I was being.

Peter asked me a simple question days ago and I still hadn't answered him. That was going to change today, though. I was going to tell him that we needed to start thinking about a pretend break up.

And the situation with my mom was different. It was about my well being. I didn't want to think about what she'd put me through after my dad chose me over her.

My dad sighed, holding his coffee cup between his hands. "Now that I know her behavior and I know what to look for, I can do better at keeping her from making the same mistakes."

I huffed a humorless laugh. "You think you can fix her? People don't change, Dad."

"People can surprise you if you give them the grace and patience to realize their mistakes."

I ran my finger over the design carved around the edge of the table. "Is that something the marriage therapist told you?"

My dad looked so run down. Worry lines creased his forehead. His salt-and-pepper hair was more salt than pepper. "We have to figure this out, kiddo. We can only do that if we discuss it as a family."

I felt like I already knew what would happen. My mom will fool us into thinking she's nice now and after a few weeks, she'll be shutting the power off in my room because I don't conform to her insane rules.

If that happened, maybe I could move in my grandma. Even though that meant not living next door to Peter.

Not that it mattered, I reminded myself. After today, Peter and I will go back to being small blips on each other's radars. Just like before he walked into that detention room.