That Sunday afternoon, I was ready to go back to my dorm when it started raining. We thought that it would be just for a while but after hours, there was even lightning and an earsplitting boom in the sky.
"Maybe after dinner, that storm will die down." dad said, smiling and getting my bags off of my shoulders. I slumped back on the sofa with a sigh.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
By evening, the storm was still raging on so we decided to give up waiting and we ate dinner together instead. We talked over the food and mom mentioned about me being in a relationship. Dad's face was unreadable at first but later on, he was beaming.
"When are we going to meet this guy?"
"Dad!"
"What?" he said laughing, "I just wanna meet the guy who made my girl fall in love."
Mom almost choked so I gave her a glass of water and she immediately drank it. "Thanks, dear." She turned to dad, "What made you say that she loves him already?"
"That smile she has?" he gestured in my direction. "That's the kind of smile we had when we first confessed our feelings and I can still see it in your face, darling."
He reached for mom's hand and stroked his thumb over her knuckles. Mom's face flushed and she mouthed the words "I love you."
After dinner, mom insisted on washing the dishes and told me to go to sleep in my room so I could leave early in the morning. When I got to my room, I got my phone and texted Clem and Aiden telling them I miss them and I will see them soon.
___
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Hey, honey. Wake up. Are you okay?" There is a worry in dad's voice.
I sat up straight and wiped the sweat that formed on my forehead. I nodded and hugged him tightly.
"Yeah, thanks for waking me up."
He put his hand on my back and traced it up and down, trying to calm me down. That's when I noticed that my breath was labored, so I tried to stabilize it and when I pulled away, I saw my mom at the foot of my bed holding a glass of water.
