Riptide (An Emblem3 Fanfic)

Chapter 30

They knocked again. I ran over to the window, but couldn't see anything. There was a large bush blocking my view of the front porch. I looked back at Adrianna quizzically. "Who do you think it is?" I asked. Adrianna shrugged her shoulders as Owen got off the couch. He gave me a warning look.

"No worries. I got it." He said calmly. I was pretty freaked out though. The only people that come and knock on your front door at one in the morning are usually psychotic murderers. We all watched as Owen twisted the brass knob. The door creaked open and Wes motioned for me to come back to the couch. I sat right next to him as Owen dealt with the guy at the door. A few seconds later Owen came over to us. "Uh Avery, some guy's here to see you."

Me? Who would come to see me? I don't know anyone here. Oh god it is a psychotic murderer.

"Who is it?" I asked him nervously.

"He uh didn't say."

"And you want me to talk to him. Are you crazy!?" I yelled. Owen had closed the door, so I assume Owen told the guy to wait on the porch.

"Just go talk to him Avery. It's kind of important." Owen said like he wasn't telling me the entire truth. He knew more than he was letting on. I was actually pretty curious now.

"Okay fine." I said sighing and rising to my feet.

"Are you fucking crazy!? No way." Wes said grabbing my arm. Instead of stopping I dragged Wes over into the foyer. I motioned for him to stay behind the door so my possible kidnapper couldn't see him.

"I'm just going to talk to him. You can jump in and save me if he tries anything." His expression was conflicted. I could tell Wes didn't want me to go out there; he didn't want to see me get hurt. But something in my gut told me I had to see who it was. I placed my arms around his next. He leaned in and kissed me.

"Okay. I'll be right inside. If you need me, I'll be there." He unraveled my arms from around his neck and locked his fingers with mine. As I reached the door our hands lightly slipped apart. I reached the doorknob and took a deep breath. Slowly I stepped out onto the deck.

Nothing could prepare me for what I saw at that moment.

I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times. That couldn't be right. I'm just seeing things; it must just be from the couple of shots I took beforehand. When my eyes opened again he was still there. He was dressed in a crisp white shirt and a dark brown suede jacket. Please let this be some sort of nightmare. He stood up when he saw me.

"Averanda, it's so nice to see you." He said showing of a set of pearly whites that matched his shirt perfectly. I was still in shock.

"I go by Avery now." I said lamely. All of the things I ever wanted to say to him vanished in the last thirty seconds. I, Avery Brayden was at a loss for words.

"Well then Avery, how about a hug for your father huh?" He said stretching out his arms. Thank god my common sense had returned.

"I don't see a father. Just some guy that left his kids seven years ago." I said angrily. He started to speak up in his defense.

"Averanda, please. You have to understand-" I cut him off.

"I have to understand!? I don't want to understand! You never even bothered to talk to me after you left. No letters, no emails... Nothing! And now you show up seven years later at my friend's door asking for me to listen to you?! I don't think so. I don't care what you have to say. I don't care about you." The tears were rolling down my cheeks before I even finished talking. He looked quite shocked actually, but he didn't give up.

"Really? You don't care?" He said daringly. The nerve.

"That's right. I don't." I crossed my arms to distract him from looking at me in the eyes. Gratefully he didn't because if he had, he would know I was lying. Instead he glanced down at the Ramones tee I was wearing.

"You kept that after all these years." He said pointing at my shirt. I ripped the shirt off my body so I was awkwardly standing on the Fisher's front deck in just a sports bra. I tossed the shirt to him.

"Is that why you came back? Then here. Take it." I said angrily. He tried to avert his gaze.

"Avery put your shirt back on please." He stretched out his arm to me. The rage had worn off and I was starting to feel kind of embarrassed. I threw the familiar cotton over my head. I waited for him to look back at me.

"How did you even know where I was?" I asked him in disbelief.

"I saw you on the news earlier tonight." He said referring to the battle of the bands music special. "I couldn't believe it, but in the interview at the end when you said your name was Avery Brayden I had to find you." He said sincerely.

"Why now? You've always known where to find me. Why tonight?" I said sitting down on the wicker chair.

"I thought it was fate, the way that you just appeared on the news. Like I was meant to get a second chance." I sat there in silence trying to contemplate everything that had just happened. He sat down across from me. "I know what you're thinking, but I thought it was for the best when I left." I snorted. Yes, actual snortage. "I wasn't a very good dad to you, and then when Sam was born I just couldn't do it. I couldn't handle all the pressure. I thought it would just be easier on everyone, even your mother, if I just left." I stood up and turned in the direction of the door.

Before I could walk anywhere he lightly grabbed my shoulder. I felt like crying again. "I'd really like to see you tomorrow, come by when your mother's home." He said seriously. How dare he refer to her like that. "Your mother". He was married to her. She wasn't just my mother; she was his wife for years. I shrugged my shoulder so he would release his grip on me.

"Yeah, fine. See you tomorrow Rick." I said coldly. I caught a glimpse of his hurt expression in the glass of the window but I didn't apologize. No way did he deserve to be called dad. Before he could say anything else I ran inside and fell into Wesley's arms.

Wes stayed with me for the rest of the night. With the arrival of my dad the party went downhill pretty quickly. Drew and Keaton helped clean up and then headed home to give me some space. Owen and Adrianna tried cheering me up, but all I really wanted to do was go to bed. A huge part of me wished that I would wake up the next morning realizing that to UGHH was actually a dream.

I crawled into my bed and lifted the covers up over my face. I felt Wes slip in beside me and I immediately cuddled up to him.

"Well that sucked." He said trying to be serious. I couldn't help it, I laughed. Wes always knew what to say to me. He always found a way to make me laugh.