Hidden Abnormality

14. His Return

Chapter Fourteen

  It was getting close to the time I had to leave. I was nervous. Not about picking up dad, but about how Jaz would react. She would be happy, right? Maybe she wouldn't want to tag along but she would be happy that he is gonna be home. Right?

  As it got even closer, I stopped procrastinating. I had to tell her. I had to stop being lazy and anxious and just tell my sister. It's not like she would be mad or anything. It was our dad finally coming home. How could that make her mad?

  I knocked on her bedroom door and entered when she answered. She was lying on her stomach on her bed, playing her blue DS.

  "Whatcha playin'?" I sat down beside her. I recognized the music instantly and knew exactly what she was playing; still, I asked anyway.

  "Harvest Moon. I almost have these two guys' flowers all the way up."

  "Whose?"

  "Hiro and Mikhail's."

  "What? How did you get Mikhail's so high? I have two."

  Jaz shrugged. "Do you search for him in the mountains? Or do you only wait to see him in the Town Hall?"

  I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not saying."

  She mocked my expression. "That's why you only have two flowers with the musical man."

  "I give him gifts!" I stated.

  "Often?"

  "No," I mumbled. Jaz smirked. "Anyway, I have something I need to tell you."

  She closed the screen and the game music stopped playing. Now it was quiet. I internally shook my own shoulders. What was wrong with me? I was an adult. I shouldn't be this anxious about telling my little sister about something. Geez.

  "I have to pick dad up at two," I blurted.

  Jaz's eyes widened and she sat up. "Oh," she stammered.

  "You don't have to come along with me. Dad wants you to. But you would have to be stuck in the vehicle with him. And I don't want to put you through that if you don't want to be in that situation at any point during the time we are picking him up."

  "Talk slower and stop rambling, Marco. You what?" She scooted closer to the edge of her bed.

  I sighed and ran my hand down my thigh. "I want you to be comfortable. And if having to be stuck in a confined space would make you uncomfortable at any point then I don't want you to go. Dad would be happy if you went, though."

  Jazzy frowned. I could tell she was considering it. She was a thoughtful person and wouldn't instantly reply negatively unless she had a good reason. Half the time she had a good reason. She was too smart and calculating for her own good.

  "I want to go. Really, I do. But I don't know if I would be comfortable sitting in the same car with a stranger who would badger me with stories of when I was two."

  I nodded. "That's okay. Do whatever you're comfortable with."

  She tapped her chin and nodded to herself. "Yeah. I'll stay at home. Are you coming back or dropping him off at mom's?"