Stepbrother

25: Outside the Door

I feel like I'm back at the beginning, when I first stepped into this house in Jordan. The silent meals, the awkward interactions, and the sadness growing within me. Now, I'm sitting at the dinning table, inaudibly eating a sandwich with Jordan sitting right across with me. There would be occasional eye contact, but neither of us has said anything.

Sometimes I wonder if Kendall misses me, but sometimes I feel like she'll be better off without a friend like me. She confessed her feelings for me, then decides to never see me again. I was shocked, and I still am. I don't know how or what to think, but all I know is that I miss having my best friend by my side, someone to speak to about whatever is on my mind.

It feels like nowadays I can't say what's on my mind, especially to Sean and Jordan. Even if I could say what's on my mind, I wouldn't be able to describe it. My mind is just so jumbled up, and it really can't get any worse than this.

I take the last bite out of my sandwich and stand up to put my plate into the sink. I silently groan to myself when I realized that the sink is overflowing with dirty dishes.

"Hey, uh, are you almost done eating?" I ask Jordan.

"Yeah, hold up."

Within a couple of minutes, Jordan places the plate in the sink.

"I'll wash the dishes," Jordan offers when I grab the sponge.

I shake my head. "It's fine," I mutter.

"No, really. It's my turn anyways." I look up at Jordan, and he sends me a small smile, which lifts a heavy weight off my chest. I step away from the sink and hand him the sponge, and he starts washing the dishes.

As I am about to walk out the kitchen, I say, "Jordan?"

"Yeah?" Jordan look doesn't behind his shoulder to meet my eyes."

"I'm sorry."

This time, Jordan looks at me with slight concern on his face. Before he could respond, the doorbell rings throughout the house. Curious to know who is out the door, I leave Jordan in the kitchen and walk to the door to open it.

"Hi, um, I'm looking for..." I man at the door starts to say, but he trails off, staring at me with enlarged eyes. "Hey there," he starts again, but this time, with a smile.

"Hey, who are you?" I question the man, a look of bewilderment on my face. The older man has caramel colored hair and dark brown eyes, and he has an unshaven beard. He looks like he could be in his late forties or early fifties, but I really can't tell. 

"Maya," the man says, laughing slightly and shaking his head while looking down at the ground. "I'm not surprised that you don't recognize me. I mean, it's been thirteen years."

"What?" I raise my eyebrows at him. "Are you a distant relative? Or my mom's friend?"

The man smiles and shakes his head. "Maya, I'm your father."

***

I know this is short, but I wanted a cliffhanger :)