Unexpected

[28] Catch-22

Thank you everyone for reading! I know I say that a lot, but I feel like I can never tell you guys how grateful I am for your support. Hope you like the chapter! If you do, please leave a comment or vote! Any little bit helps.

Dedication to Evelyn for the amazing comment on the last chapter and generally being awesome! Thank you! :)

Clara.

..................................................

The concept of time seemed to completely disappear as I talked with Jake. I didn’t know how long we spoke, but when he finally had to go I didn’t feel much better. Wiping a few stray tears from my cheeks, I sat up and twisted my hair into a loose bun. I refused to just lie around and cry. No matter how much it hurt. My mind was already running through a list of things we had in the house and what I could possibly make with those ingredients. The house was quiet when I came downstairs. I found a note on the kitchen counter from Dean, saying he was going to Travis’ house.

     When Dad came home, he paused a moment to frown at me in the kitchen. After a brief stop in his office he walked into the kitchen and took a water bottle from the fridge before sitting down at the breakfast bar.

    “Something wrong, kiddo?” Dad twisted the lid back on his bottle after a long drink, gesturing to the mess I’d made around the kitchen. I just shrugged and continued to mash the potatoes irritably.

    “I take it you’re making dinner?”

    “Yeah.” I replied shortly.

    “There a reason?”

    I felt tears spike at my eyes and I mentally swore, biting my lip to fight them. Opening my mouth, I made to reply, but nothing came out.

    “Kodi?” He stood up, looking concerned as he walked over to me. It was probably the first time he hadn’t used my full name when talking to me, but my mind was too preoccupied for me to even care. “Does it have to do with Ryan?”

    For a moment I considered saying I was fine, that I didn’t want to talk about it, but that would have been a lie. I finally nodded and dropped the masher with a sigh. Suddenly, the whole story was spilling out. The last person I ever imagined I would be seeking relationship advice from was my father, but here I was.

    “I just don’t know what to do.” I shook my head, wiping away a few stray tears that had escaped.

    “It sounds to me like you’ve got it figured out pretty well.”

    “I guess.” Picking up the masher, I hit it against the pot a few times before adding some cheese and herbs to the smooth mixture. “I know that I can’t be with him if he can’t be honest with me… I just wish it wouldn’t hurt so much.”

    Dad nodded, leaning against the counter thoughtfully. “Did your mother ever talk about what happened? With the divorce, I mean.”

    Surprised, I shook my head. “No. She didn’t like to. I think she missed you too much, but at the same time, she didn’t want to see you. Sometimes, though, I’d catch her looking through the old photo album. I think mostly she just regretted how things turned out.”

    “She wasn’t the only one.”

    “What do you mean?” I frowned, checking the ham in the oven. Dad had always held the majority of the blame in my mind. But after the past six months, getting to know him more, I wondered if maybe Mom had played a bigger part than I thought.