better off without you

5

a knock on the door breaks the silence in the room
i look at owen and he has no expression
"i'll get it" he finally says
moments later he walks back in the room holding a baby
"hello my sweet girl" wendy says taking the baby from owen
"half sister" owen says quietly while sitting back down

i nod my head and go back to coloring with jack
"i love your car jack it's so cool!" i say
"yours is pretty cool too" he answers
"dinner will be ready in five minutes why don't you all go wash your hands" wendy says
"owen take ellie" his dad says

owen rolls his eyes and takes the baby upstairs with jack and i.
"can you hold her for a second?" owen asks
"oh ya sure" i hold ellie while owen helps jack wash his hands
"for being mr tough guy at school your pretty good with kids"
"ya well-"
"mr tough guy" jack giggles
owen looks at me as i'm trying not to laugh
"as i was trying to say, when neither parents are home i'm usually left with them so i kinda have to get used to it"

once i wash my hands i go downstairs with jack while owen and ellie are a few steps behind
"perfect timing!"wendy says as she places the last dish on the table
"sit! please" she says

i sit next to owen and across from wendy
"so how come we haven't see you until now?" owens dad asks
"oh well i just moved here about a month ago with my mom and siblings" i smile
"from where?" wendy asks
"texas"
"so how do you like it here?"
"i miss all my old friend but this town is really beautiful and i've made a few good friends"

"how did you and owen meet?" wendy asks
"we have some classes together"
"can we stop grilling her with questions?"owen rolls his eyes
"it's fine, seriously" i say
"were just trying to learn more about your girlfriend owen, you shouldn't be mad about that" wendy says
"i'm not-" i start
"she not my girlfriend"owen cuts me off

"oh i'm sorry honey!" she says looking at me apologetically 
"don't worry about it"
after some time we get finished with dinner and i'm on the couch with jack and owen
"can we watch a movie" jack says looking at me
"you're gonna have to ask owen"
jack looks at him
"what time do you need to be home?"owen asks

"whenever your ready"
"owen do you mind watching the kids while wendy and i run out for a an hour or two" his dad says
"do i really have a choice" owen scoffs
"sara should be here in about 10 minutes!"wendy says
"we'll be home later" he says as the two of them walk out the door

"looks like we can watch a movie after all"owen sighs
"cars cars cars"
"is sarah another sibling?"you ask
"sadly"
"is there any more"
"no just us" jack answers
"sara's 15 but she'sprobably at her friends house, she's also a bit-" he starts
"i'm guessing she gets it from you" i cut him off.

"can we watch cars" jack asks again
"ya i guess"
ellie starts crying in her rocker and owen and i look at eachother
"i can get her if you want"
"ya i'll get this movie thing set up" he says
i walk over to ellie's rocker and slowly pick her up and walk back to the couch
she eventually stops crying

"i didn't know you were good with kids"
"i have a younger sister" i tell him
"how old" he asks
"three"
"any other siblings?"
"older brother"
"oh ok"
"hey jack how old are you?" i ask
"6"
"jacks six, sara's 15 and ellie's?"
"almost one and a half" owen says
i smile as jacks eyes light up when he sees lightening mcqueen

moments later the front door opens
"wheres wendy" a girls yells from the front room
"nice to see you too" owen says as the girl walks in the room
"who are you" she asks
"i'm alana, owens friend"
"why"
"hmm?"
"why are you friends with him"
i let out a small laugh and sara joins as owen just stares at us

"well i think you two will get along perfectly fine" he rolls his eyes
"im sara"
"it's nice to meet you"
"were watching a movie if you wanna stay down here" owen sighs
"ya i guess what are you watching"
"cars" i quickly say
"again? great" she says sarcastically and sits down

it's now around 8:45 jack and ellie have both fallen asleep

"i can put them to bed now" owen says yawning
"i'll be surprised if you make it upstairs without falling asleep"sara says with a laugh and i join her
"you two are annoying"
he takes ellie and jack upstairs while sara and i talk for a bit

"are you guys dating?"she asks
"oh me and owen? god no"
"you guys just seem so natural around eachother"
"believe it or not we really don't get along in school"
"is it cause he's a jerk?"
"something like that"
"talking about me?" owen says coming down the stairs
"not at all" sara and i say at the same time
"mhm"

"i'm gonna head up to my room and finish my homework, it was nice meeting you alana" sara says walking up the stairs
"you too" i smile

once she gone u turn to owen
"time to explain" i say
he sighs
"i don't know what you're talking about"
"why did i need to stay for dinner owen"
"if you weren't there it wouldn't have ended well that's all" he rolls his eyes
"why"
"i'll drive you back to the school and explain on the way"

before we could leave the front door opens
"oh darling where are you going?"wendy asks owen
"i'm driving her home" he says with an annoyed tone
"watch your tone with wendy" his dad says
"whatever" he laughs
"thank you so much for dinner" i say before grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the house

"i was fine" he says in a angry tone
"i'm so sorry i didn't wanna whiteness a fight" i  say sarcastically
"well now you know why i wanted you at dinner" he mumbles
"you wouldn't"
"wouldn't be the first time"
"so wendy's clearly not your mom"
"what gave it away"
"she's pretty and you're just...well" i laugh
"hey watch yourself"

"but you call her wendy so obviously she's not your mom"
"my dads girlfriend, she's eli and jacks mom, but he doesn't deserve her"
"why"
"he's an asshole i'll be surprised if they last another month"
"what about your biological mom" you ask
"mom? back in New Hampshire across the country"
"i'm sorry"
"don't worry about it, not your fault"

"so how about you?" he breaks the silence
"huh?"
"you said you moved here with your siblings and mom...dad not in the picture"
"he left us years ago"i say
"oh i'm sorry"
"it's alright, we're fine without him"

we finally get to the school parking lot
"thanks for the ride"
"thanks for saving me today"
i laugh and get out of the car then drive home