He got up and walked back to the truck, climbing in and slamming the door. He slammed his hands on the wheel several times before sobbing. He sat there for a while before wiping his eyes and driving off. He drove home and sat on the brown soft-leather couch. He turns on the Tv and flips through channels, but eventually gives up and turns the Tv off. He walks outside seeing the dark grey clouds and listening to the deafening sound of silence. He sits at the edge of his wooden porch looking out at the water of the pond he owns. He looks up as it starts thundering and sprinkling. He leans his head down and stands up, walking in to go grab his hoodie and hat. He grabs his key and makes his way to his truck, then he gets in and turns it on.
He turns the radio up all the way on his favorite station. He rolls all the windows down and starts driving back to the school. When he pulls up, he turns the radio down and rolls the windows up. He waits for them to be let out. The weather is getting worse, it's officially pouring and the wind is picking up heavily. He looks around. Only a few more minutes. He checks his phone, then looks up. As Maggie runs out to the truck , he got out and opened her door. She leaped in. He got back in and looked at her through the rear view, he teeth chatter together and she has goosebumps all over. He takes off his hoodie and hands it to her. "Here, it's not as wet." He says and smiles at her. She takes it and covers up quickly.
He turns the radio up slightly as he drives off. She sings every time she hears a good song, even if she doesn't know the lyrics, she just goes with it. He pulls up in the driveway and turns off the engine. He looks back at her, then opens the door and picks her up, so she doesn't get her shoes soaked. He takes her backpack in the other hand and shuts the doors to the truck. He walks up to the porch, then sets her down and grabs his keys, opening the door to the house and letting her in. "Go get a shower and warmer clothes, I don't want you to get sick." He said sternly. She listened, then after came back to the living room, where he was watching Tv. She sat next to him. "So what's for dinner?" She asks with a smile. "Hmm... how would you feel about making a homemade pizza?" He asks, standing up quickly.
She shrieks. "YAY!" She jumps up and runs to the fridge, grabbing the pepperonis and cheese. He grabs the dough and sauce, along with a roller. He grabs a pan and sets it on the stove. He grabs a bowl and starts mixing the dough. Then he sets some flower on the counter and sets the dough over it. She pushes him out of the way slightly. "Lemme do it!" She says excitedly. He laughs and grabs a chair for her to stand on, then hands her the roller, she tries pressing it down, but she can't press enough. He smiles and takes it, rolling out the dough. She pouts. "You wanna put the dough in the pan?" He asks her and she smiles and nods. She grabs the dough and pesses it into the pan. He then grabs the sauce and a spoon, he pours a little of the sauce. ."Alright Mag, spread out the sauce, evenly." She takes the spoon and spreads out the sauce. He continues pouring a little at a time until it covers all the dough.
Then time for the cheese, he grabs it and pours the cheese on there, spreading it out. Then he hands her the pepperonis, she dumps the whole bag in one spot. He laughs. "I don't think that's how you do it." He says and she laughs, spreading them out, doing a terrible job. "Are you trying to keep them all on your side?" He asks with a brow raised. She gives puppy dog eyes and says "I want them." He spreads them out evenly and she pouts more. "I'm sure there will be enough pepperonis for you, Maggie." He says and turns the stove to 400 degrees. He puts the pan in the stove then walks back to the living room. "What do you wanna watch?" He asks and grabs the remote, sitting down on the couch. "Disney Channel!" She practically screams.
He turns it on and some new show is on. He leans back and watches quietly. She looks over at him. "Don't fall asleep." She says. He smiles and looks over. "You're not the boss of me." He chuckles. 'How was school?" He adds. She lit up. "Good! I made new friends! They're so nice, I really like them." He smiled and raised his brows. "So I'll take it you had a good day, huh?" She nodded. "Hey, dad?" She said quietly. "Yeah?" He asked concerned. "Do you think I could start riding the bus? All the other kids do." He looks down. "Yeah, of course. I'll talk to the school tomorrow." He said and looked over at her. "Thanks." She said. He stood up to go check on the pizza. She followed him. "Just a few more minutes." He said and went to the fridge. "Just for today, want a soda?" He asked. She nodded and he handed her a Pepsi. Then he grabbed one for himself. He grabbed the ranch out of the fridge and put it on the table. He went and got the pizza out of the stove.
He grabbed the pizza cutter and cut the pizza into squares, put on piece on his plate, and one on hers. "Want some ranch?" He asked quietly. She shook her head. He put some on his plate. They ate in silence. After dinner he washed the dishes and she went to watch Tv. He put the rest of the pizza up for tomorrow. He cleaned the whole kitchen then went to the living room and turned off the Tv. "Why!?" She screamed. He glared at her. She pouted. "Bedtime, Maggie. Goodnight." She stomped up the stairs and got into her bed. He walked up and kissed her forehead. "I love you." He said and turned out the light. She didn't respond. He closed the door and went to turn out all the lights. He then walked into his room and took off his flannel and put on a plain white T shirt. The took off his boots and jeans, then put on some sweats. He then turned off the light and climbed into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.
