I reached the bottom of the stairs and made my way to the kitchen. My dad looked at me as he was washing his hands in the kitchen sink.
"Take a seat Justin." His voice was calm but in his eyes he was warning me. I knew that. I slowly took a seat as my mom put a plate of roast and potatoes in front of me. She ran her hand down the back of my head, a comforting motion she'd always done since I was a little boy. Jaxon and jazzy were at a friends house and I was Greatful for that so my dad wouldn't start in on them
"Did you want something to drink sweetheart?"
I glanced up at her and gave her a small smile "Just some water."
"No. He can get it himself." My dad said as he turned off the water and dried his hands. "Can't you Justin?"
I slowly nodded. "Yeah." I got up and poured myself a glass if clean water from the fridge and sat back down at the table. As usual my dad took the head of the table and my mom sat across from me.
"How's school sweetheart?" She asked as she poured gravy over her potatoes.
"It's good. Playing basketball a lot. I really like it."
"That's good maybe you can play for the New York Knicks one day?" She said trying to be encouraging. But her and I both knew I would never play pro. I was too short, hitting at about 5'5 right now. Unless by some miracle in the next two years I got a growth spirt. But I was pretty good for being this height so I stayed positive.
"Maybe." I said taking a bite. My dad ate in silence. Not even bothering to look up or join the conversation, which was fine by me.
"So how's that little girlfriend of yours? Jaymie is it?" She said smiling at me from across the table.
I couldn't help but smile back by the sound of her name. "Yeah. She's great. She's a freshman. Just started but she is really into painting. She's really good too."
"That's cool. She's fourteen then. A little young for you isn't she. You're sixteen."
I frowned. "No. It's two years mom. It's fine. I've known her for years so It doesn't matter to me."
"You spend an awful lot of time over there at her house." My dad finally spoke up.
I looked at him and shrugged. "Her dad loves me. Treats me like family. He doesn't mind."
Right away I knew I said the wrong thing, cause his head shot up from his plate and his eyes bore into mine with fury. I saw it but my mom didn't. She was too busy tossing the salad on the table to put some on our plates.
"Oh does he?" He said.
I nodded slowly.
"Well that's good honey." My mom said. "That's always good to have your inlaws like you. When you get married one day it won't be a problem."
I chuckled as my cheeks grew red at the thought of us getting married. "Yeah."
That seemed to shut my dad up cause went back to his food and eating in silence.
My mom put some salad on my plate but froze and stared at me. "Baby what happened to your face?"
My dad glared up at me and I looked back at him. I knew better than to say anything or give any kind of hints of what he did. "I was rough housing with Jaxon and he punched me a little too hard. No biggy."
My mom frowned and began to put salad on her plate. "Oh. Well, you two need to be careful. Cause that's a nasty bruise."
"We will mom." I said and finished my food quickly. After I was finished, I got and put the plate in the sink. I ran toward the closet, opened it, and put my coat on.
