Daughter ✯ Kellic

Chapter Six

I wake up (late, might I add) to shards of sunlight fluttering into the room, broken up by the blinds covering the window. Today is going to be an odd day, I can already feel it. Odd can mean so many different things, but I like to define it simply as "out of the ordinary". Odd can also be good or bad, though I'm not sure which is going to apply to this day in particular. If I really think about it, Jaime may have good intentions, and everything will turn out fine.

On the other hand, this could absolutely fuck everything up. Perhaps he hasn't changed, and he just wants me back after the way I left. I'm sure that time I stood up for myself and put my foot down pissed him off beyond belief. After all, he always saw me as an obedient little bitch until that day when I decided to finally escape him and turn my shit life around. I made something of myself and spent more time with my brother, which helped him and me both out. Jaime may just want to ruin it for me after what I did.

Ignoring my obnoxious mix of emotions, I get my lazy ass out of bed and start my day. I clean myself up and get dressed, attempting to avoid admitting to myself that I'm kind of relieved Kellin isn't around. I mean, we may (or may not) just end up arguing if he was in this room with me. I felt as though I'm on autopilot as I walk downstairs and knock on Mike's door. After I sit waiting for a moment, he tugs the door open and questions me with lazy eyes. "Can you watch Copeland? I have a lot to do today and I don't think I can deal with anyone or anything's crying."

He answers through a yawn, "Yeah, sure." Blinking a couple times before furrowing his eyebrows and giving me a closer look. "Wait, you have something to do today?" he questions jokingly. I roll my eyes.

"Yes, my life is just as real as yours. I have to get going. Don't kill the baby, please." I reach out a hand and attempt to scruff up his hair, only for my hand to be slapped back. Maybe if I was taller than Mike I would actually be able to do things like that, but alas. "I should be home in a few hours," I inform him before turning away. With that I'm standing outside with the front door locked behind me, where the real contemplation begins.

Do I really want to do this? My phone suddenly ringing gives me a slight scare, and I fish it out of my pocket to see who's calling. I already know it's Jaime before I read the contact name, and I consider flaking on the entire plan and never rescheduling. After a few seconds, I gain back my courage and pick up, answering with a shaky "Hello?" I almost want to punch myself for how stupid I sounded just then. I know I have every right to be nervous, but not every right to be a complete idiot. Through the speaker, Jaime informs me that he's only about three minutes away before quickly hanging up. At least he's practicing somewhat safe driving.

Those three minutes felt more like three seconds, and before I knew it Jaime's same old car was sitting in the road. He waved me over and I tentatively obliged, continuing to remind myself that I don't have to do this yet seeming to also continue and ignore it. He rolls down the passenger window to reveal himself smiling in the other seat, and I can hear the radio playing...orchestral music? Very uncharacteristic for the old Jaime. "You ready to go?" he questions. I decide here and now that this is the right decision and climb into the passenger side, shutting the door behind me and then buckling myself up.

Jaime just looks at me and smiles, which I have to say is rather creepy. Eventually I look towards the house so that the back of my head is to him and watch as we slowly pull away from it. Once I'm sure his eyes must be on the road (entirely based on his driving; no one can possibly drive that well when staring at someone beside them), I turn to look out the windshield. "So, uh," I clear my throat and pray that I can start speaking a little louder as I continue, "where are we going?"

"Some Italian place I saw while driving home from work the other day," he replies. I see him look at me through my peripherals, but I don't return the gesture. Work. I always forget that he's a good ten years older than me. Maybe that should have been a sign that we were not meant to be together in the slightest, but some relationships with even bigger age gaps work out just fine. "You still watching kids for a living?" Out of all the ways he could have worded that question, he chose the one that made me feel the most pathetic.

"Not really. I'm kind of a full-time parent now." Not entirely the truth, but hopefully it conveys the message that this is really not a date and I'm in a committed relationship. Sure, Kellin and I have hit a rough patch, but I still love him the same. With time we will forgive and forget, just like I'm trying to do with Jaime now. I look over to him and see that his grip on the steering wheel is rather tight, and it makes me nervous. Maybe bringing up something such as my new relationship's success isn't a great conversational topic.

I expected more small talk on the drive there, but mostly we just sat without speaking a word to each other. Jaime told me about halfway through the ride that I could change the radio station if I so desired to, but honestly it had begun to grow on me awfully fast. I was also too scared of angering him again like when I brought up Copeland, so I kindly declined.

As we reach the restaurant, I'm immediately relieved by the fact that it doesn't appear to be over-the-top and expensive, instead looking about average. Jaime and I both get out of the car and awkwardly walk into the building after Jaime found a decent parking space. The interior of the restaurant is beautiful and puts such a shame to the outside that the little relief I felt upon seeing the place is completely gone. If Jaime took me to an expensive restaurant, I'll know there's something more to this meeting than just "catching up" like "old friends".

As we're led to our table with minimum wait time, I gaze around at some of the decorations. There's paintings of things like bread as well general scenery, and it adds to the entire atmosphere, only worrying me further. What if Jaime is using me? What if nothing has changed about him? We order our drinks and read through the menu (with rather expensive meals, as I suspected) before the dreaded chatter kicks in. There's really not much I want to talk about with Jaime; the only things that have changed since I broke things off with him are my relationship status and the health of my brother, nothing he would want to discuss. That didn't stop him from asking how things were going, though.

"Pretty well, I guess," I reply, only half listening as I try to decide between the pastas and salads, which are plentiful on their own despite the other options on the menu. "How about you?"

That began the "catching up" portion of our little lunch outing. Jaime told me all about the anger counseling with his special therapist and how much he had improved over the last year or so. I avoided talking about anything recent and instead just listened to him go on and on about his new coping mechanisms and how effective they were. Honestly, I'm happy for him; when he isn't angry, he truly is a nice guy. He also said that after we broke up, he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and placed on medication, which is a little bit personal for my taste, but I was still glad to hear that he was getting the help he needed.

All in all, the night wasn't terrible. The entire experience left with one thought the whole ride back to my place: Jaime had undoubtedly changed, and I wasn't going to hold a grudge against him any longer. Like I said, there's a point where you learn to simply forgive and forget.
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you guys should go check out my new story! there's only one chapter up right now, but I'm going to be updating it every Thursday. it's a Jalex that I'm hoping to break hearts with, and I'm oddly proud of it. it would mean the world if you guys took a few minutes to read the first chapter and tell me whatcha think. see you guys next week where our boys will continue to make terrible decisions (;