Smoke And Steel

• Twelve - On Another Note of Crazy •

Ebony

It was lunch time on Saturday, not even a day and a half since Avery freaking Steel kissed me.  Insert fifty billion smiley face emojis. I'm still buzzing from it,  even though I know it didn't mean anything romantic. I ran my fingers over my lips for what seemed like the millionth time since. Plus, I had this stupid grin plastered on my face which made me look evermore the love struck teenager. I was still at Tate's family's house and they'd been nothing but amazing to me since I'd arrived.

"Ebony?" My father's erratic voice on the other line snaps me out of my day dream. He's acting like I've ran away to become a prostitute, or something, "why didn't you come home last night?"

"Oh, I stayed with a friend," I said nonchalantly, hoping he wouldn't pry. Of course he doesn't know that I also didn't come home on Thursday, but let's not worry him even more.

"And you didn't bother to tell your mother or I? We've been worried sick. What happened to our dinner?"

I sighed, "I'm sorry, it was a last minute thing. I'll be home before dinner but before then I think  you need to ask mom what's going on."

"Going on with what?"

"Just ask her, dad." I said before hanging up. I wasn't going to be the one to tell him, it was her wrong doing.

"Everything alright?" Avery asks from beside me. He's been a constant presence in these last couple days and I'm starting to like it.  

"Yeah, just my dad asking where I was. I have to go home soon."

"I'll drop you off if you want. It would save your dad having to pick you up. Plus it means we can watch a movie that I want to this time."

"Pssh, you totally enjoyed that movie though!"

"Yeah, but I prefer movies with monsters and machines," he said as he stuck Pacific Rim into the DVD player.

"That sounds like my type of movie," Tash said as her and Tate plonked themselves down on the sofa next to us. We all settled down, gummy bears at the ready, and prepared ourselves for over two hours of action packed fun. This felt awesome.

I'd had so much fun with the Roux's these past days and despite how much I didn't want to go home, three hours later I was standing on my front doorstep, waving goodbye to my motorbike driving saviour. It has only been two days since I was here last, but I felt like a stranger somehow, as if I didn't belong here or anywhere.

My mother's car was gone from the driveway, leaving only my father's there. When he opened the door I could see the hurt in his puffy, red eyes. "Ebony," he said in a cracked voice, "you're home."

He looked defeated. His shoulders were slumped and his features looked perpetually sad, as if he hadn't smiled in years. I had never seen him like this. Doing the only thing I knew I could do, I hugged him. His strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me close. Tears started streaming down my face, soaking his Red Sox shirt. I felt his body shake and before I knew it the pair of us were stood in the doorway crying. My chest hurt from crying and in the end I didn't know which of us was holding the other up more. I didn't realize just how much I needed this until now. Every little niggle that had been playing on my mind was finally gone. We were there for each other in a way that we hadn't been for a while now.

"I'm sorry, Ebs" he said into my hair, "I'm sorry you had to know before me."

"I'm sorry it had to end this way for you guys," I sobbed back.

"Shh, sweetie... In all honesty it's probably been over for a while now. Nothing's been the same since Jacob."

My heart physically hurt at the sound of his name. Why did everything always come back to him? I cried harder into my dad's shoulder, it wasn't fair for him to bring him up again. I was trying to forget the sadness. "Don't , dad."