Riptide (An Emblem3 Fanfic)

Chapter 31

You could say that breakfast the next morning was freaking awkward. My mom had slept over at a hotel nearby and was completely refreshed when she came home at 6 AM. I had to sneak Wesley out the window. Who knows what would be going through my mother's mind if she saw Wesley traipsing down the hallway before breakfast. Anyway, considering what happened at breakfast, I'm glad she didn't catch Wes. She was on the warpath.

There was a knock on the door as I picked up a waffle and slapped it on my plate. I immediately froze. Last night actually happened, it wasn't a dream. My mom hasn't seen my dad since he left, and I knew that he was on the other side of the door. This was going to go well. I made an effort to get up from the table but my mom waved me off.

"It's okay, I'm up. I'll get it." My mom said smiling. She opened the door and I swear I saw her eyes turn back in her head. "What the hell are you doing here?" She said crossing her arms across her chest. Yup, it's my dad.

"It's great to see you too Tess, can I come in?" I heard my dad's voice from the porch.

"Are you serious right now!?" I looked at my mom. Is this what I looked like last night? I glanced my mother up and down. She made no point to hide her feelings. I could see the hurt in her eyes and hear the anger in her voice. My dad looked at her directly in the eyes and I saw her shy away. She loved him, and he abandoned her. I suddenly felt a surge of rage course through my veins. My anger towards him was one thing, but what he made my mom go through was so much worse.

"Please Tess, I just want to talk." My mom saw me staring from the kitchen. She turned back to my dad.

"I don't think that's a good idea Rick." She said keeping me locked in the corner of her gaze. My dad popped his head inside.

"Averanda's fine with it. I talked to her last night." Bad move Rick.

"YOU WHAT!?" My mother's voice was a mixture of shock and anger. "You can't just stroll on over and pop into her life when ever you want!" She yelled at him. After a while she ushered him in to the living room. She shot me a glare that was a mixture of 'how could you talk to him' and 'you got us into this mess, you have to get us out'. I took a deep breath and made my way over to my parents. I stopped breathing for a second. This is the first time I've seen them together in years, they looked so different. Instead of love, they were radiating hate and loathing towards each other. The scene tugged at my heartstrings a little.

"Let's get this over with." I said plopping down next to my mom. Half an hour later I was staring at my dad. His proposition was kind of shocking actually.

"So what you're saying is that you want to be a part of Avery's life again." My mom stated. Rick nodded.

"I live in Huntington, so while you guys are here I would like to spend some time with her, maybe grab lunch or something." He said. Fair enough, ill give him another shot at this whole dad thing. I don't think he'll be able to fix everything with a couple of cheeseburgers. My mom nodded and agreed that if I wanted, I could go and have lunch with him tomorrow. I didn't say anything. It was kind of awkward; I didn't really know what to do, so I just nodded.

My mom was showing him the door when I heard someone running down the stairs. "Avery, you better not have eaten all my cereal!" I heard the voice say. Sam. He strolled into the living room. My mom snapped her head over to me and we both exchanged horrified glances. Oh shit. Oh shit. My panicked thoughts were interrupted when I saw Sam walk up to us. "Who's this?" He asked, pointing at our dad.

No one said anything for a long time. Mom looked over at my dad and the look on his face was heart breaking. He was looking at the son he had left behind seven years ago, the son he didn't get to see grow up. The little boy he never taught to swim or ride a bike... Rick looked like someone had slammed their fist into his gut. I'm glad he was upset. He never wanted to know Sam; if he did he wouldn't have left.

"Uhm Sam, this is Daddy." My mom said cautiously. I could tell she had no idea how Sam would react to this news. Being an eight year old made him overly dramatic, and I didn't have any idea on how he would react either. He glanced over at our dad who gave him a small smile.

Sam ran up and jumped on him. "Daddy!" He said happily throwing his arms around his neck. Rick grinned and hugged him back. Sam never really met our dad, he left when Sam was only one year old. But, that didn't stop Sam from attacking him. If only it was that easy for me.

"Hey Sammy, I've missed you." I heard Rick say. After our little family reunion, I remembered something.

"Oh wait! Uh Dad- Rick? I just remembered that I have something going on tomorrow. Do you mind if we switch lunch to today?" I asked. My mom cocked her head at me.

"What's tomorrow?" She asked. I guess she forgot too.

"The boys have their AGT audition tomorrow, and I promised Wes I'd be there." I said. My mom smacked her forehead.

"Oh yes! That's right. Of course. Rick is that okay with you?"

My dad nodded. "Yeah sure that's fine. Is Wes part of the band you were playing with last night?" He asked. I nodded. "We'll they seem like nice guys. Why don't you invite them to lunch? I'd love to meet some of your friends." I breathed a sigh of relief. I need them to get me through this.

"Really? You wouldn't mind?" I asked him.

"Not at all!" He replied like it was no big deal. I smiled at him genuinely and shot off a text to Wes, Drew, and Keaton.

"Okay. So I'll see you at 12?" I asked him he smiled at me and walked out the door. He shouted to me on his way out the door:

"See you then! Good bye Avery!"

"Bye Daddy!" Sam shouted from behind me.

"See you soon Sam."

My mother closed the door faster than I could blink she turned to me. "I need a glass of wine." She said rubbing her head. My dad can have that kind of effect on people. Even at ten in the morning.

Yay! I just wanted to take a moment to thank you guys for reading! :) I love you all! Please make sure to vote and comment :) The next chapter will be up soon!