desertion

24

"I'm just going to his house, I'm not going to hurt myself on the way there, Dad." I say. I've been wanting to go to Miles' house all day. He's having a hard time with his parents divorcing and so is Dahlia. I just want to be there for them.

"You don't know that, Lydia. You could rip your stitches out by tripping." Dad says. "You're just finding reasons for me not to go." I say. "Chris is going to Buck's and so are you. That's final. Get your things." Dad says. "I could trip there and rip my stitches out." I say, crossing my arms.

"Fine. Go to Miles' house. Don't come crying to me when you rip your stitches." Dad says with a scoff. I head to my room and grab a backpack. I put my laptop and charger inside as I text Miles.

I walk out of my room before heading towards the front door. "Lydia, I can drive you." Dad says, his angry tone still present. "It's a five minute walk. I can manage." I say. "Lyd-" Dad starts to say but I cut him off by walking out.

I walk to Miles' house, my head killing me as I walk. The sun shines brightly in my eyes and there's a loud frequency noise in my ear. Maybe I should've let Dad drive me.

I turn the corner and see the bright white roof of the Brown's house. At least it used to be.

I walk across the street and go up the stairs that lead to the porch before knocking on the door. The door opens a few seconds later, Miles stands there, his eyes red and tears streaming down his cheeks.

My face drops when I see him. He steps closer and pulls me into a hug. I hug him back, my hand going to cradle his head. "What's wrong?" I ask. "I'm failing her." Miles says. "Who?" I ask as he pulls away. "Dahlia.. Mom keeps getting mad at her. She's drunk again, Lydia. She said she was sober and she isn't!" Miles says.

"I asked Dahlia to come to the kitchen and eat dinner and she refused. I got mad at her and started yelling. I didn't mean to yell at her, I'm just stressed out. This has been a lot." Miles says. "I know. Do you want me to talk to her?" I ask. Miles just nods before stepping out of the way so I can walk inside.

I put my bag down before heading to Dahlia's room. I knock on the door before opening it slightly. Dahlia is sitting on her bed. She's crying too. I step inside and close the door before walking over to her.

"Hey." I say. "Lydia?" Dahlia says, looking up at me with teary eyes. "Yeah. It's me." I say with a small smile before sitting next to her. "Why does this happen to us?" Dahlia asks, leaning her head on my shoulder. "Why do all of us have to go through such bad things?" Dahlia asks.

"I don't know, sweet girl. But I do know that everything will be okay." I say. I hear Dahlia sigh as the room falls silent.

"Miles didn't mean to yell at you, you know that, right?" I say. "Maybe. He's been doing it a lot lately." Dahlia says. "I know. It's just because he's upset and he's worried about you. He's not meaning to hurt you." I say. "I just want him to care." Dahlia says with a shaky voice.

My heart drops as she says that. "Baby, he cares. I promise you he does. He's just really stressed out. I promise you have nothing to do with it and you are not the problem, okay?" I say. She just nods, cuddling more into my side.

"Do you want to eat dinner?" I ask. Dahlia nods before standing up. I do too and lead her to the kitchen. She sits at the table in front of a plate and immediately starts eating. Miles steps forward so he's standing beside me. "Thank you." He says, placing a kiss on the side of my head.

I smile at him before looking back over at Dahlia as she eats.