A Family Affair

8

It had been an hour since Jay had opened the door, and the family get together was not going well at all. In the first ten minutes, Macie had managed to knock the six-pack of beer Will had brought off the counter, breaking every one of the glasses and causing a massive spill on the kitchen floor and Olivia had already began asking when they were going back home. After both Nat and Will individually told her three times each that they hadn't even eaten yet, Jay decided to put the food on and he had been hiding out in the garden since.

He had managed to stay alone for the most part, Mae had found him very shortly after he went out there, but she only waved enthusiastically to him through the sliding door before running off away from the door.

He was almost finished when he heard the door slide open again, making him look up to see Hailey stepping out into the garden, bringing an unconscious smile on his face.

She makes a brief gesture toward the sky before she crosses her arms over her chest. "Those black clouds are getting a bit close for comfort don't you think?" She questions.

Jay had picked up on that a few minutes ago, when he felt a turn in the wind chill, it becoming just a little more crisp and sharp than it was earlier this afternoon. He turns his head to look up into the sky, seeing the cluster of clouds drawing closer before he shrugs. "Well that would just be the perfect end to the perfect day." He replies sarcastically.

Hailey tilts her head to the side, moving closer toward her husband. "It hasn't been that bad."

He scoffs a little. "Hailey, she's asked when she's leaving maybe a dozen times and she's only been here an hour."

"But you haven't made any effort in trying to talk to her," Hailey says, making Jay's face drop slightly, "She's not just gonna stop and wait for you to talk, you've got to start the conversation."

Jay sighs, knowing she had a very valid point. He put the lid to the grill down, placing the tongs on the side as he walked back into the house, nodding as he went.

With Hailey close behind him, Jay made his way back into the living room, sitting on the arm of one of the couches. He narrows his eyes, looking around the room. "Where are the girls?" He asks.

Natalie points toward the stairs just outside in the hall. "Macie took Liv upstairs to show her something."

Jay looks over his shoulder before standing back up from the couch and going toward the stairs. As he left he saw Will giving him a reassuring nod from the living room in the corner of his eye, Hailey doing the same from where she sat down on the couch. He doesn't look back as he tries to enthusiastically go up, but in reality his heart was pounding.

This was his last possible chance to set things right, and he was running what he was gonna say to her over and over in his head, making sure there isn't anything in there that would make this worse - if it could actually get worse.

He stops on the middle floor of the house, travelling down the corridor and into Mae's room. He remains in the doorway, watching the two girls go on about... something. He didn't pay attention to what they were talking about, all he could focus on was their interactions, the fact Olivia was willingly taking part in the conversation.

Olivia and Macie had never been close. They always seemed to bicker over the smallest things, and Jay never wanted to think about how maybe they would have more of a cousin relationship if the fight hadn't happened, but just maybe. However it was moments like these that washed those thoughts, the guilt of straining the two girls' relationship, away in seconds.

He felt bad when he interrupted, calling out Olivia's name to get her attention. He can't help but notice the small shift in her position when she hears his voice, the slight tension that went over her entire frame. She looked up at him, trying to give him as natural a look as possible. "Yeah?" She responds.