Forbidden Fruit (gxg)

Part 11

When I was younger, on the outside looking in, my home life looked perfect to others.

My dad owns a successful landscaping company and does very well for himself. Due to this, my mom was able to stay at home and not work and raise me and my sisters.

Growing up, I lived in a nice-sized, beautifully decorated home. It was beautifully decorated on the inside because of my mother's taste, and on the outside due to my father's landscaping.

Everything truly seemed perfect.

However, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Which is why it always bothers me when my parents try and act like things were all fine and dandy growing up.

They took me out to a really nice restaurant that Sunday night called Terrain, it was my mom, dad, Addison, and I.

My dad, who still has his successful business, said we could all order whatever we wanted on the menu.

Things are fine when we talk about light topics, such as what we are going to order off said menu, but when anything from my childhood gets brought up, it immediately strikes a chord.

"I think I'm going to get the filet," Addison said, looking at the menu, "Sounds delicious."

My mom smiled at Addison. My mom, who is 54 years old, does not look 54 due to all of the Botox and fillers she gets. I have her blue eyes, and she has light blonde hair and also tries to dress like she is fairly young.

"I remember when we went to Disney World when you girls were young," my mom started to say, "Addie, maybe you remember it, you had to be around eight years old, Ash had to be 9. We were out to dinner, and you wanted the filet on the menu so badly."

Addison chuckled, "What did I wind up getting, chicken fingers?"

"That's exactly what you got," my dad nodded.

My dad, who is 56 years old, looks more around his age, mostly due to the excessive drinking over the years. However, he does look healthier since he sobered up. He has hazel eyes and light brown hair and stands at around 6'1.

"I remember the whole ride back to the hotel, you wouldn't stop talking about how when you got older, you were going to get a filet every time you went out to dinner," my dad chuckled, looking at Addison.

Want to know what I remember about that drive back to the hotel, dad?

You swerving the car so much that I was terrified every second we were going to crash.

"When we got to the hotel room, Addie, you made sure to tell your sisters as well that you were going to one day be a grown up and order steak every chance you got," my mom looked at Addison fondly.

Yet all I can remember is my dad slapping me across the face for "giggling too loudly with my sisters."

I can still feel how much it stung.

I had to change the subject. I couldn't handle talking about childhood memories anymore.

"Addie, are you still seeing that guy you met from Hinge, what's his name, Drew?" I asked my sister.

I could tell that she knew I just wanted to change the subject, but she didn't make it obvious.

"I am," Addison smiled, "We've hung out maybe 5 times now? He's really great."

"He's the one that's a bit older than you, right?" my dad asked.

Well, that immediately makes me think of Kori.