kaitlynn rose // h.s

family meeting

"Hey, dad."

"Hey, sunshine," my dad smiles at me, opening his arms for me. I stumble over to him, Harry following close behind. He stops by me as I hug my dad, hovering for my comfort I assume. As I back away from my dad, my hand finds his again.

"Uh, this is my boyfriend, Harry," I motion towards him awkwardly. My dad shakes his hand and Harry smiles at him, telling him that it was nice to meet him.

"Where is Aiden?"

"Well, Madison is out here with us so I'm guessing he's in their room."

I nod, telling him I'm going to go say hi to him. Harry follows me silently, still holding my hand loosely. I knock on the door of their bedroom and Aiden yells for me to come in. When I walk in, I see that not much has changed. There's a large curtain hung in the middle to give them each their space. Aiden stands up when he sees it's me, coming over and hugging me. Maddy wasn't kidding, this boy is so much taller than last time I saw him.

I introduce Harry to him and Aiden gives Harry a nod of acknowledgment. I roll my eyes and laugh lightly. We wander back to the living room and I tug Harry to the couch to sit across from where my dad is sitting in a recliner. The place hasn't changed much since I was here in August. It looks a little messier.

"How are things, Kaitlynn?" My dad asks.

"They're okay," I sigh. "School has been stressful, but fun. How are things here?"

"Pretty awful most days. I just can't control this family anymore, it seems."

I stay quiet as he stares me down. I could tell he was trying to sugar coat it since Harry was sitting next to me.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," I mumble. "Have you asked grandma to help? Or aunt Rose?"

"There's only so much your grandmother can do anymore, and Rose has a family of her own. It's very frustrating to be raising these two kids on my own."

I see Maddy disappear down the hall out of my corner of my eye. Good. Avoid this while you still can.

"I don't understand why you're ignoring me for asking for your help, Kaitlynn. This is your family, and you need to help."

I take a deep breath and Harry squeezes my hand. "Dad, I know that this is my family. Obviously I want to help you. But I'm not just going to drop my life to move back home. I can't do that. It doesn't make sense to do that."

"It's not forever, just until they're a little older."

"Do you realize what you're asking me to do right now?"

"It's not that big of a deal, sunshine," he glares. "Your older brother is supporting us still by serving the country. Why can't you help in your own way?"

"Because I'm not going to drop out of school! I can't just leave. I have a life there, I have work to do, and if I leave I lose my scholarship. You know that."

"The degree you're working on can be done from here," he argues.

"That's not the point! The point is that I'm going to one of my dream schools, I'm living in California like I've always wanted, I'm making friends, and I'm living my college life like every other 20 year old. I can't just stop my life for you!"

"Your mother would want this from you," he sighs. "You'd do it for her if that was the situation, too. You've never cared for me like you did for her. If she was in this position you'd be moving home."

I stare at him in awe, my jaw nearly on the floor. I stand, not able to sit because of the amount of anger flowing through me.

"How fucking dare you say that to me. How dare you tell me what would be happening if she was here. She's not here anymore and you have zero right to speak like that. Get that through your fucking skull."