That One Girl #Wattys2017

Chapter 15: Dad is back

I entered my house, slipping my converse off with some difficulty. I slapped my feet on the carpet while walking to where I could hear my mom and a man's voice.

I tip-toed into the kitchen, cautiously opening the fridge as my mom politely argued with the man. He was about 5'7 with bright red hair and blue eyes. He was sporting black trousers and a white button-up shirt, squinting his eyes at my mom.

"I'm sorry Richard, but the place was already booked. The second place is open though, so I can book that up for you." My mom informed him, breathing deeply and forcing a smile and the frustrated gentleman.

"I want the absolute best for my little girl. Not whatever is left!" Richard argued and waved his hand in the air, dangerously close to my mom's face.

"Yes I know, sir. But the place is booked and we can't do anything about it. Unless you want to postpone the event." My mom repeated, moving to the door.

I slipped out with the chocolate pudding in my hand, hearing the client repeat his words determinedly. I peeled the top off as I walked into my room, throwing the wrapper away.

I sunk my index finger into the gooey chocolate and cleaned the pudding off, moaning at the taste. I set the container down and pulled my laptop towards me, opening Google. I ate the pudding as I searched up the information and pictures I needed for my science presentation.

We were each given an animal cell that we had to research and talk about in class. We had two days and I had forgotten about it until my teacher reminded us at the end of class. I typed up the two bullet points and was adjusting the picture to fill the rest of the space when I heard someone enter my room.

"Hey sweetie. How was school today?" My mom asked, seating herself at the foot of my bed and giving me a tired smile.

"It was good. You should take a nap, you look tired." I looked up from my screen, studying the dark circles under her eyes.

"I'm fine. Your dad should be finally home from his trip tonight though." She told me, leaning against the wall with her feet stretched out.

"Dad was on a trip?" I asked, pursing my lips and trying to remember anything about him and a business trip.

"Yeah. We didn't tell you since he was only gone for a day and a half." She laughed, squeezing my knee in affection.

I pouted and returned to my powerpoint, letting my mom rest against the wall.
***
I heard the door click open and slid out of bed, checking that my mom was still sleeping before meeting my dad at the door.

I hugged him tightly and he wrapped his arms around me, chuckling and kissing the top of my head. He rolled his suitcase to the sofa and sat down, sighing in content as he relaxed.

"Where's your mom?" He asked, sipping from the glass of water I had given him.

"She's sleeping." I told him, pointing in the direction of the stairs.

"Good. She hasn't been getting sleep lately." He smiled, closing his eyes as he drank the remaining water and placed it on the coffee table.

I frowned at that and watched as he called someone. He furrowed his eyebrows and I tried to listen to what the phone was saying but I only heard an automated voice. He removed the phone from his ear and cut the call, turning to me with worried eyes.

"Are you getting bullied?" He questioned, a glimmer of hope shining beneath the curtain of concern.

"No, why?" I replied, frowning as well when he put his phone down and took my hands in his.

"You don't have to lie to me Alyssa. You know you can come to me for anything right? I will always love you and never judge you." He squeezed my hands and gave me an assuring smile while I continued to frown at him.

"I know. I love you too. What happened, dad?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in confusion when hurt passed through his eyes.

"You can't keep running every time you have a problem, Alyssa. Your mom and I can't keep switching jobs. If anything is bothering you, talk to us. And if you don't feel comfortable then please talk to someone. A teacher or an adult. You have to face the music alright, sweetheart? You can't keep hiding." My dad told me, pulling me closer and planting a kiss to my temple.

I was stunned and numbly nodded, still seated and in the warm embrace of my father. My dad got up, giving me another hug and kiss before leaving me in the dim living room.

My father's words registered in my brain, and I felt my heart swell with happiness and emotion. I had always never paid any special attention to my parents, knowing that they'd be there when I needed them. I never thought twice when my mom asked how my day was everyday. Or my dad always checking on me when he came back from work, even if it was past midnight.

I felt tears building behind my eyes and cuddled the pillow closer, and got comfortable on the two seater. I buried my face into the pillow and felt a few tears leak out and wet the small pillow. I shut my eyes tighter and breathed deeply to try to stop the tears.

I blinked away the tears and close my eyes, focusing on the tick-tock of the living room clock that sounded in the quiet house, my breathing accompanying it to make a soft lullaby that let me fall asleep.
***
#DadGoals. I love Alyssa's dad, you can see he cares so much about her and only wants the best for her. I personally think what her Dad said was very true because Alyssa always ran away from her problems instead of facing them in the past. I think the next chapter will be the last one!

I'm not ready for this book to end but I feel like if I write more, I'll just be dragging the story out with pointless events. I'm actually going to start on another book but it won't be out for a while because I want to write a few chapters before publishing it, so I won't have what happened in this book repeat. Which is the month gaps of updates btw.

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you're enjoying the story! If you liked this chapter then please vote and comment! :)