The Rebound Agreement ✔

twenty-six

[unedited;
please leave comments as you read!!]

Despite how slowly time seems to move, summer comes. Somehow, even though I can't honestly say that all my feelings for Liam are gone, the sting and ache of it is replaced with peace as the months pass by.

I accept what happened as what it is, the past, and the weight on my chest slowly lifts. Admittedly, I still steer clear of boys like they're poison and I find myself avoiding happy couples like Amanda and Owen, but everything gets easier and I rediscover what being happy is like.

I quickly realize how many of my most important relationships I had destroyed while I had been moping around waiting for my life to play out as perfectly as the movies, and repairing those relationships is perhaps one of the harder parts of returning my life back to normal.

After avoiding my parents like the plague for a couple of months post Liam, I thought my mom might fall over when I asked her if I could come home for a week or two in June. She hastily agreed as if she was afraid I would change my mind if I thought about it for any longer.

At first, she somehow manages to play the perfect role of the smothering, helicopter mother while at the same time tiptoeing around me. Likewise, my dad watches me like a hawk the first few days.

But, perhaps I don't realize how truly worried they were about me until I tiptoe into the living room one night and curl up against my dad as he watches baseball.

After a few moments of watching T.V. in silence, he says softly, "I'm glad your back." I get the impression that he is talking about much more than me being back home again.

"Me too," I whisper as I lean over and rest my cheek on his shoulder.

One of the players hits the ball, and the roar and clatter of the fans on the screen intensifies. Much to our disappointment, we watch an outfielder catch the fly ball with his back against the fence.

"It's not good for a dad to see his baby hurting," my dad says as the next batter steps in the box.

I sigh. "I know. I'm sorry for worrying you and mom."

He looks over at me, his pale brown eyes piercing into mine. "You don't need to worry about worrying your mom and I. We're parents; it's what we're supposed to do."

I sigh. "I know, but still. I could have handled things better."

He turns away and returns his focus to the T.V. screen, and I almost think that he is done with our conversation before he speaks again a few moments later. "People hurt in their own ways. You don't ever need to apologize for how you're hurting."

I don't have anything to say to this, so I stay silent, turning my attention to the pitcher as he prepares to pitch.

"Do you need me to find this boy and knock some sense into him?" my dad asks, a spark flickering in his eyes.

The corners of my lips lift. "No. Please don't."

"Hmm," he huffs, seeming unconvinced. "Just know that if you ever get any wild ideas of seeing this boy again, he better have learned how to treat my girl right and have a good explanation for his actions next time he sees me."