The Lost and The Found

Chapter 23: Daddy

Between the short span of time waiting for dad and the time it took to finally get a hold of mom, my anxiety had built up.

I was nervous and anxious to tell my parents the good news. But their reaction seems to be unfathomable to me. I'm honestly not sure how they will take it.

I pace the living room as my thoughts collide inside my brain. Everything seems so confusing. My thoughts are rattled and my heart is pounding out of my chest.

I hear a car pull into the drive way. My body immediately stops and tightens. I walk over to my brother and wrap my arm around his. He turns to me with a weak smile.

"It's gonna be okay. Don't worry." He simply says.

I muster up a hint of a small smile on my lips and turn towards the door. The door knob turns and dad walks through the door. He looks scared and nervous but he doesn't hesitate to walk into the house. He softly shuts the door behind him. His hands fall to his front pockets as his lips shift up.

"Hi Daddy" I muster with a weak voice.

My father just smiles at me. All the weight and anxiety of seeing my father just disappears. I pick up my feet and shuffle into his arms carefully. He welcomes me with his warm embrace. We hold each other in silence for what feels like forever. Finally, we let go in sync. I step back as my brother takes my place stepping forward into our father's arms for a brief moment.

After they step away from each other I ask, "do you want anything to drink?"

"Sure." Dad replies with a nod. He shoves his hands back into his front pockets. I drag my body to the kitchen while my dad and my brother follow behind me. Their footsteps stop at the island but I continue to the fridge. The chairs scrap against the floor as they are dragged out to be sat on. I wrap my right hand around the door and open it.

"What would you like?" I ask as I pear out of the fridge.

"Waters good."

I reach for the water and pop one out.

"Tyler?"

He answers the question I didn't even have to ask, "coke."

I shift on my tip-toes and grab a coke from the top shelf. I lean back and close the fridge door with my elbows seeing as my hands are occupied. I slide the drinks across the table as if I am a hot-shot bartender. Yet again, silence consumes me. I shift in discomfort as the uncontrollable nervous-thumb-tapping begins. My teeth chew on the inside of my lip and my eyes dart to my mobile thumb. Before I can even think of something to say, the sound of the front door opening echoes through the house.

"I'm home!" My mother yells.

"We're in the kitchen." I state flatly although loud enough so she can hear me.

Her shoes click on the floor boards as she approaches the kitchen. I watch carefully as mom walks past dad without realizing it. She empties the bags in her hands onto the counter top. Finally, mom turns on her heels. Her reaction is blank when she catches sight of our father.

"Hello, Alexis."

My mother's face changes from blank to confused. "John. I- what are you doing here?"

"Well, Tyler shot me a message saying it was important, that I needed to come over immediately. So I did." He states.

Mom shoots Tyler a hard glare. "What's this about Ty?"

Tyler's eyes glisten as he gazes at me.

I guess it's my turn to speak now.

"Actually, this is about me. I didn't have the guts to text dad after everything, so I asked Tyler to." I move the strand of hair dangling in my face behind my ear, "..uh, yeah." I start to mumble.