Let's Not Talk About Tomorow

Jake

As quietly as possible, I tip-toed into the house. Dad was probably asleep and I didn't want to wake him, he had enough on his plate without me disturbing him. I slotted my shoes on the rack and slipped into the living-room. Luckily, Dad was awake, idly picking at the sofa cushion as the TV played in the background. His beanie, which he wore to cover his baldness, was lopsided due to his horizontal positioning on the sofa.

"Hey, Dad" I greeted, his eyes glanced upwards to look at me, a small smile appeared.

"Hey" He croaked "How was school?"

"Pretty good" I smiled, a small blush arising in my cheeks

"Who did you meet?" He grinned

"Just some girl..." I said vaguely

Dad sat up and straightened his hat, patting the seat beside him. I snuggled up to him as he put his arm around me, he placed a kiss on my temple. I explained about Gabrielle, she was beautiful. I remember how her crazy curls bounced as she walked, how her mixed race skin tone glowed in the sunlight, how big and bright her chocolate brown eyes were, how her pearly white teeth contrasted with her dark skin, how her lips were the perfect pink, and how long her eyelashes were.I remember how contagious her laugh was, how her smile made me feel like I was floating.

"You like her!" He exclaimed "Ask her out"

"But what if she says no?" I mumbled

"But what is she says yes?" Dad counter-argued "You'll never know unless you ask"

I jumped as the kitchen door opened and Papa entered with a handful of different medications, he handed them to Dad along with a glass of water before flopping down beside me.

"Hello, Jake" He kissed my cheek "Did you have a good day at school?"

"Jake fancies a new girl at his school" Dad announced, I flushed even harder "She's called Gabrielle, I think he should ask her out"

"Got a little crush, Jake?" Papa grinned, playfully elbowing me

"Shut up" I muttered "She doesn't like me"

"How do you know that? Ask her to hangout, grab lunch or coffee sometime. She'll say yes"

"After all, who could resist little Jakey here" Papa teasingly pinched the tip of my nose and ruffled my hair. I groaned and buried my head in Dad's chest. "If she says no, bug her til she says yes"

"Don't stress it too much, Jake" Dad gave me a light squeeze "Got any homework?"

"No" I lied, the pile of homework in my drawer was overflowing, I had detentions most days of the week and my grades were slipping.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Dad asked as he twirled my hair around his finger

"Sure"

"There's some food in the fridge you can heat up"

The quality of food had gone down massively since Dad got sick, he was the only person who cooked and now he seemed unable of the most simple things. Walking up and down the stairs was a challenge and required assistance most of the time. He was constantly throwing up,so he rarely moved from one position to try and prevent that. I wandered into the kitchen, ignoring what Dad had said and shoved a slice of bread in the toaster. I turned around to catch Papa scooping a lump of Nutella out of the jar with his finger.

"Don't tell your dad" He said guiltily

"Don't tell me what?" Dad yelled from the living-room "What have you done?"