Laundry Boy (Currently Editing)

Chapter Seventeen

Hey guys, here's another update. Enjoy(;

~Please excuse any and all mistakes~

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After the terrifying -yet, still oddly romantic- experience that was the Skyfari, I was famished. When I suggested we get something to eat, Raegan readily agreed. Walking around for a while we came to the conclusion that most of the Zoo's restaurants were already closed, so we decided to just find somewhere to eat outside of the zoo. We'd eat in San Diego and then head back home.

We drove for about ten minutes before Raegan spotted an Applebees. She eagerly stated that it was her all time favorite restaurant so, I pulled into the parking lot and found a spot to park. We walked into the restaurant and they had us seated within minutes.

Within in seconds Raegan was already ready to order. She practically had the whole menu memorized. It was actually kind of amusing to see to the overly enthusiastic smile on her face. Just to tease, her I took a little longer then necessary to order. When I finally decided on a cheesy looking pasta, we ordered.

Raegan stirred her lemonade gently with her straw. She looked deep in thought. I furrowed my eyebrows and took a drink of my orange soda as we waited for our food.

"Everything all right?" I asked a little worried at the sudden change of mood. Her eyes shot up to meet mine and, then she quickly looked away.

"I've actually been meaning to talk to you about something." She stated nervously, biting her lip gently. I raised an eyebrow and felt my stomach clench with anticipation.

"Did I uhm, do something?" I asked hesitantly. Her eyes widened and she quickly shook she head, causing her curls to bounce around.

"No," She started, "You didn't do anything." She reassured me. I nodded my head and relaxed a little.

"Alright what's up then?" I questioned curiously.

"I, uh, was video chatting with my dad yesterday. It didn't go so well." She muttered, going back to stirring her drink absent-mindedly. Crap. She wasn't leaving right? He couldn't make her go back, could he?

"What happened?" I asked softly, an inkling of worry worming it's way into my words.

"We got into a huge argument," She started, "when I told him that I'm going to pursue a career in art, he freaked out. He said a lot of...things in anger. He tired telling me that since he was my guardian, he could force me to come back home." She laughed humorlessly. "I guess he forgot that I turn eighteen before school starts, so I'm free to do whatever I want. When I reminded him of that, he looked like he might explode. He told me that I was throwing my life away with 'this silly fantasy of mine', and that 'my aunt is filling my head with poisonous thoughts'." She explained quietly.

"I told him that I'm old enough to make my own decisions, that I don't want to do medicine, and that I don't want to be miserable doing something I hate." She continued, unshed tears filling her eyes. "I tried explaining to him how much I love art, and that I'm actually good at it but, he wouldn't listen." Her voice started to tremble a little and she was trying hard not to let her tears overflow. Instinctively, I reached over and intertwined our fingers, she shot me a wobbly smile. "He said that if I continued with these childish notions, that he'll no longer consider me a daughter, and that I'll no longer be a part of his family. He said and I quote, 'When you fail, don't come crying to me because, I won't accept you with open arms.' Then he ended the call." She finished softly.