Trapped in a Zoom Call ↬ Jason Waud

s i x t e e n

"I always knew he wasn't worth it." Michael sighs as he holds his daughter tightly in a hug, as she cries on his shoulder.

"Michael, it's not the time for that." Angela sighs as she puts a reassuring hand on her back.

"I hope we have a great lawyer because I'm going to murder someone." Cat says angrily, making Angela give her a look.

"I... I just don't understand why he would do this." Aurora says between heavy breaths, making Michael hold her tighter. "After two years."

"Baby, sshhh. It's okay. Let it all out." Angela hushes softly. A silence settles on the family with the only sound being the sobs of Aurora as she cries on her father's shoulder. After a while, the silence is broken with the sound of the door bell ringing.

"I'll go." Cat says, as she stands up and leaves the living room. After a while, Cat walks back into the living room with the widest grin ever. "It's for you, Rora."

"What?" The older sister asks as rhetorically as she stands up, trying to wipe a few tears away. Following Cat to the front door, her eyes widen at the sight of Jason with a comforting smile on his lips. "Jay... what... what are you doing here?"

"Cookie dough ice cream." He says as he shows the ice cream pot, making her bite her lip to try and stop herself from bursting in tears again.

"Jay... fuck 6 feet apart." She breaths out as she walks up to him and brings him into a hug. At first he's stunned, before he hugs her back. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. You deserve to be treated better." Jason breaths out as he rests his head on top of hers. After a while of letting her cry, he takes her face in between his hands and makes her look at him. His heart drops at the sight of heartbreak in her eyes. "He doesn't deserve your tears. He's an asshole."

"Yeah. He is." She chuckles softly, as she smiles weakly.

"Kids. I hope I'm not disturbing. But would you like to come in?" Angela appears after the door, a warm caring smile on her face. Aurora let's go of Jason and takes a small step back to give him space.

"I'll have to take a rain check on the offer Mrs. Wilson. I just wanted to come give this to Rory." Jason smiles softly as he shows the ice cream box. The mother's smile widens even more.

"How kind of you. I'll take that off you. Please call me Angela. Next time you come, you'll definitely have to stay." Angela says, before taking a quick look at Aurora. "Okay, I'll leave you two."

"I'm sorry about that." Aurora smiles uncomfortably as her mom leaves with the ice cream, making him shake his head.

"It's okay. Your mom is very kind." Jason says softly, as he reaches for her hand. "I won't stay much longer. But I'll call you tonight. And we can talk about everything you want. I'll even tell you embarrassing stories if you want."

"Okay, I'll hold you up to it." She giggles happily. With a deep breath she lets go of his hand. "Thank you. This means a lot to me."

"No need to thank me. Just take care, okay. And enjoy the ice cream." He leans forward and kiss her forehead, causing her eyes flutter as her whole body relaxes. "I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Stay safe." She smiles, as he mirrors her smile, before going back to his car. As she watches him drive off, a cough interrupts her silence. Turning around, her eyes widen at the sight of her parents and sister. "What?"

"So that's Jason?" Angela asks, smirking suggestively, making Aurora roll her eyes at her mother. "He's cute."

"He seems nicer than Cole. Driving all the way to just give you ice cream. Nothing else but that, after knowing you for a short time." Michael muses, they all look at him shock.

"Is did actually approving of a guy?" Cat asks, making Aurora nod in shock.

"Okay. Not the time. Come on let's go inside. Watch a movie and enjoy the ice cream, your kind friend brought." Michael says, making them all laugh.