"I feel guilty now, Jacob," I said belly flopping onto his bed. After I stupidly said that Dad should stay for dinner, I immediately felt bad. "Why?" he asked sitting next to me rubbing my back. It was a simple gesture, yet it could put me to sleep in minutes.
"Because I was only thinking about myself. I didn't think that maybe our brothers wouldn't want Dad back into our lives," I said starting to tear up. After Jason told Dylan and Justin what would be happening, Dylan left and Justin locked himself into his room.
"Now they are going to be mad at me," I said sniffling a little. "Come on Lisa. Do you really think they would get mad at you over that?" Jacob asked. I shrugged lazily. "Lisa, look at me."
I got up from my position to face him. "They aren't mad at you, okay? They are mad at our Dad," he said looking at me. That, I could understand. "But I am the reason for that. If I wasn't only thinking about myself, none of this would have ever happened," I said looking down again.
Jacob tilted my chin to look at him. "Unless you have some sort of mental powers, you don't know that. They can't be mad at someone for wanting their Dad back into their lives," he said. I nodded. He was right, but I still felt bad.
"Do you?" I asked looking at Jacob.
"What?"
"Do you want Dad back into your life?"
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He seemed to have thought about a whole lifetime before he answered me. "No," he said. "It would be nice to have a Dad to get advice from, to play games with, to share jokes with, to watch football games with. Don't get me wrong Jason is doing a great job, but too much has been damaged for it to get there. A lot has already happened. That bridge has already been burned, we can't ever get to that point," he said solemnly.
I looked down pondering what he said. I never really thought about it like that. "But you guys are still young. Maybe, just maybe we can reach that point for you guys," he added. I hugged him, catching him off guard. I know he would have liked a loving Dad as well. He didn't get that when he was my age. He had to grow up too early.
"Thank you," I said to him, still hugging him. "Thank you for being an amazing brother," I finished. He wrapped his arms around me hugging back. I swear I felt something wet on my shoulder, but I dismissed it.
I would have to thank Jason as well. They both deserved so much more.
~Overprotective~
Dylans POV
I was so angry, beyond angry. He thinks he can just show up here and play Father. Yeah right. I couldn't bear to stay at that house any longer. Not with him there. I got in my car. I was going for a drive. Grayson hopped in the passenger's seat.
I don't know where I am going, I just need to go somewhere. "Dylan, you need to calm down," Grayson said looking at me. I gripped the steering wheel, making my knuckles turn white. "I can't calm down, Grayson. I wish he would just disappear."
Grayson gave me a long look. "You don't mean that."
"Of course, I mean that," I said slightly raising my voice.
"No, you don't. You're just angry. You don't mean that."
I stomped on the brakes not even caring that I was in the middle of the road. "Dylan! What the heck!" Grayson shouted rubbing his forehead. "I mean that with every fiber in my being. He might not have been doing anything to us first hand, but he might as well have been," I said tearing up.
They weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of frustration and anger. "I mean, what kind of father stands by and watches his kids get abused? And by his own wife!" I laughed bitterly. "What kind of father sees all the torment his wife puts his little girl through and still has the audacity to pretend to be her father."
"Who does that? I mean our life could have been so much different, so much better if he would have just done something about it," I finished. I was aware of the many cars honking at us but I couldn't bring myself to care.
Grayson sighed running a hand through his hair. "Look, Dylan, you have been through a lot, and I am by no means taking his side, but could it be possible that there is more to the story? Things that you don't know?" Grayson asked.
At that very point in time, I wanted to punch his head off, but he did make a valid point. "Look, man, I am only trying to look out for you. You are like a brother to me. You are a brother to me. I don't want you to do something stupid. Especially when you don't know all of the facts," he finished, looking at me.
I stayed quiet, not really knowing what to say. Even if there were more to the story, there had better have been a huge part of the story we are missing for Jonathan to watch his own kids get abused.
I put my head in my hands. "I just don't know what to think anymore, Grayson," I sighed. "I think you should at least hear him out at dinner. I will even come if you want me to," he said. I don't know if I wanted to give him another chance. He screwed the other times up pretty bad.
"Maybe," I said finally getting out of the middle of the road. Grayson sighed of relief. I gave him a look. "Look, I'm sorry, but my Mom would kill me if I got in trouble by the police again," he said raising his hands in surrender. "Like literally. Have you never seen the way she throws anything she could find, yet it always seems to find me even if I turn a corner. Heck, it would probably find me right now, if she knew."
I chuckled a little. He wasn't lying. I drove into some random parking lot. "Thanks, man. You might have just saved me from prison," I said. "Of course. Don't even mention it," he said. I am really glad I have a best friend like Grayson.
He has been there for me more times than I could count. "Besides, if you went to prison who would I hang out with?" he asked laughing. "Yeah, you're right. I keep forgetting you have no other friends. What would you do without me?" I said.
"Oh you're very funny," he said sarcastically, pointing at me. After that, I drove him home but decided not to go home afterward. "Think about what I said okay?" he said through the passenger window. I nodded. I already knew what I would do. "See you tomorrow," I said waving at him.
He waved back and went inside his house. I wasn't ready to go home yet, so I just drove around for a little. In about half an hour I found myself in front of Eva's door. We have been talking for a while now, and I have grown to really like her.
I told her I would be coming about 15 minutes ago, so I hoped she was home. I knocked on her door and was greeted by her Dad. I hadn't met her parents yet, so this was a little weird. "Are you lost, young man?" I'm guessing her dad asked looking at me. He was a tall guy, with graying hair and brown eyes.
I shifted uncomfortably, what am I supposed to say.
"Um-"
"Dad! What are you doing?" Eva came downstairs with skinny jeans and a t-shirt. Even in simple things, she looked beautiful. "Do you know this young man, Eva?" he asked glancing towards his daughter.
Eva blushed slightly. "Yeah, this is the boy I was telling you about," she said standing beside her Dad. His face suddenly lit up in recognition. "Oh, Dixon, right?" he asked holding out his hand. "Dad," Eva groaned. "Dylan," I said shaking his hand. "I've heard all about you," he said clasping me on the back.
He did it with so much pressure, I almost fell over. I cleared my throat. "Dad, you are embarrassing," Eva whispered to her dad. "Nonsense," he said dismissing Eva with his hand.
"Well, come on in," he said moving to the side. "Actually, Dylan and I were going to go somewhere," Eva said coming outside. "I see," he said nodding. What does he see? "Well, bye Dad," Eva said kissing her Dad on the cheek. She held my hand and we started walking to the car.
"Hey, no funny business, and Eva I want to meet your boyfriend sometime," he shouted from the front porch. Eva rolled her eyes. "You just did, Dad," she shouted back. Wait! Did she just say that I am her boyfriend?
She suddenly froze what she was doing looking at me as if reading my thoughts. "I-I didn't mean it like that," she began. "It's fine," I said chuckling at her nervousness. "Besides, I don't mind at all," I said as I began backing out of her driveway.
"Well, then in that case. I guess I could say, my Dad just met my boyfriend."
"And it was a very awkward encounter," I added. She smacked my arm. "Ow! What was that for?" I asked. She hits pretty hard. "It wasn't awkward," she said. "Maybe for you. I felt like he was reading me like an open book."
"Well, that's just how my Dad is and forewarning, when you meet my parents they won't have a filter," she said slightly smirking. "Guess that makes the two of us," I said. "Your parents are like that too?" she asked bending over to tie her laces.
Shoot! I never told her about my parents. I wanted to make sure I could trust her first. I looked over at her as she blew hair out of her face. I think it would be okay to tell her now. If all continues to go well, she would be unfortunately meeting my siblings. I didn't want her to hear it from them first.
I sighed parking at the beach that we first met at. "Did I say something wrong?" She asked looking at me. I shook my head. "No, I just need to tell you something," I said running a hand through my hair. I never liked talking about these things.
"What is it?" she asked placing a hand on my knee. "Truth is, I never had parents. I mean, my parents arent around. No, I said that wrong. What I mean to say is that my mom disowned us and my dad doesn't care about us," I finished.
I looked at her gauging her reaction. She might not want to be with a guy with as many problems as I have. "Dylan-"
"Look, I get it if you don't want to deal with all of that drama-" I started, but was cut off by her. "Dylan, you really think I care about that? Whether your parents are drug dealers or psychopaths I won't care. You aren't defined by your parents and your parents don't define this relationship," she said looking me in the eyes the whole time.
I thought about what she said. Now that I think about it, I don't know what I was so worried about. I sighed a little of relief. "Now, is there anything else you want to tell me mister?" she asked leaning back.
"No, I swear," I said raising my hands in surrender. She laughed and I gave her a confused look. "What's so funny?"
"I'm just kidding, I wouldn't want you to feel forced to tell me anything," she said tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. I don't know how I got so lucky with her. I smiled at her. "Wanna go swimming?" I asked.
"I didn't bring a swimsuit," she said disappointedly. "We don't need the swimsuits," I said winking at her. She smacked my arm. "Dylan!" I laughed as we both got out of the car. We spent the next 2 hours playing around and having fun.
~Overprotective~
Lisa's POV
I was a mixture of exhausted, hungry, and overly nervous. Earlier, Jason went on a drive with Dad, no doubt to have a serious talk. I was in charge of prepping everything. I wasn't that good of a cook, but Jacob did help me to prepare a really good meal of mashed potatoes and BBQ chicken with vegetables.
The smell of it alone had my mouth watering, but I think I was too nervous to pay much attention to it. I really wanted this to turn out well. I also wanted some answers. This dinner simply would not be enough time to get all of the answers I needed.
"Lisa, can you get the boys?" Jacob asked adding the final touches to the food. I nodded going up the stairs. I went to Justin's room where he was-and its not surprising- playing videogames. "Justin," I said trying to get his attention.
"Justin," I said waving a hand in front of his face. He moved to the side. "Stop, I am going to lose," he said not even taking his eyes off of the screen.
"Well, its time for dinner," I said.
"Screw dinner," he said continuing with his game. I sighed. It was understandable after all. I walked over to his TV plug and pulled it out. "Hey! Why did you do that?" he shouted putting his controller down. "Justin, can you please just try to come to dinner?" I asked.
"I would love to come to dinner, just not with him there," he said sitting on his bed. "It's only this one time, please?" I asked. I made sure to give him the puppy dog eyes.
"Have you forgotten everything that he did to us? To you?" he asked looking at me.
"He didn't do anything to us!"I found myself shouting. I didn't even mean to, it just happened.
"Exactly. He did nothing while we were both suffering from the hands of his own wife."
I didn't want to have to explain myself to him. I thought he would have understood where I was coming from.
"Fine, you don't have to come," I said turning around to leave. I heard him sigh loudly. "Wait, Lisa," he said grabbing my elbow. I turned around to face him. "I know you just want us to start over with our dad, but do you really think its that easy?" he asked pointing downstairs.
"Of course I don't think its that easy. I at least just want us to give it a shot. I mean he seems genuine enough about it, and maybe he has a good reason," I said trying to throw all of the possible ideas at him. I wanted everyone to be on board with this and not just me.
"I highly doubt that," he muttered but I heard him. "Look, if no one wants him back here after this one time, then I will drop it and forget about it. But can we please just give this one a shot?"
I was so desperate for everyone to be on board, I was just about ready to cry. Justin looked at me then looked away. I could tell he was contemplating this hard. He always hated Dad the most. Mostly because he had to witness me get abused by our Mom and our Dad just watch. Sometimes our Mom would even attack him.
"Fine," he mumbled but I barely heard him. I sighed of relief and hugged him. "Thank you," I said releasing from the hug. He mumbled something then went downstairs. Very dramatically might I add.
Now for Dylan. I went a couple of doors down and knocked on his. He shouted for me to come in so I did. He was sat on his bed scrolling through his phone. He smiled up at me when I walked in. He seemed to be in a much better mood since he heard Dad was staying for dinner.
"You seem...in a better mood?" I said more like a question. I expected him to pretty much be just like Justin. "Well, I am not exactly. I thought about it a lot, and I think this would be a great opportunity to get some answers," he said putting his phone down.
I nodded. I agreed with him. I wanted answers as much as I wanted this dinner to go well. "Um, Dylan?" I asked. I wanted to know how he would feel if all went okay. He nodded in acknowledgment for me to go on. I started twirling a strand of hair around my finger.
"How would you feel...if...maybe things worked out?" I asked. He patted the spot next to him and I sat down. "Honestly, Lisa, if things were to work out," he paused looking at the ground. "I don't know how it would be. I mean, I still hold a lot of negative feelings towards him and they won't go away overnight, but maybe over time if things went well and that's a big if-maybe then things can go to somewhat normal," he finished rubbing my back.
I thought about what he said. My brothers have given me alot to think about lately. "But just know, no matter how good things may get, you can't ever fully trust him."
I cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" I asked. "What I mean is that he may still be the man he used to be, and he could be hiding a lot of secrets. After all, we barely know him as a man. And I would hate if you got hurt in the process."
I nodded thinking of what he said. "I just want you to be aware of that before you get attached to him. I have also been your age and longed for a caring father so I know what its like, just be careful okay?" he said looking at me. I nodded again. "Promise me."
"I promise," I said. After a couple of seconds I starting laughing. "Whats so funny?"
"For someone with as little brain cells as you, you have a lot of wise words," I said in between giggles. He gasped. "What?" My eyes widened as I realized what he was about to do. "Take it back."
"Nope."
"Lisa."
I shook my head. He then pinned my arms above my head with one arm and started to tickle me with the other. "Take it back," he said still tickling me. I squirmed around laughing as he kept tickling me. "Fine, I take it back. You have a lot of brain cells," I said. He tickled me a little more and then stopped tickling me.
I just laid there gasping for air. "That's what I thought," he said smirking. "That's not fair, you know tickling is my weakness," I whined sitting up. "Duh, that's why I used it," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Whatever," I mumbled. "That's why you have no brain cells," I mumbled but he heard me. He looked at me and I ran out of his room before he starts tickling me. While running I bumped into someone falling on my butt.
I looked up to see it was my dad. I quickly got up and gave him a small smile. "Um, are you lost?" Dylan asked harshly from behind me. "No, I was just looking for the bathroom," Dad answered. Dylan slung an arm around my shoulder.
"Well, its that way," he said pointing in the opposite direction.
"Thanks," Dad said quietly before going the next direction. "Come on," Dylan said leading me downstairs towards the dining room. Jacob and Justin were already down here on their phone. Justin must have found his.
I sat next to Jacob and Dylan sat on my right. Justin was across from Jacob. The other two seats on Justins left were for Dad and Jason. The table was already set and we were just waiting. I was starving just smelling the aroma of deliciousness. If this dinner happened to go sideways for some reason, I was at least going to eat.
Jason and Dad came downstairs and Jason sat next to Justin and Dad sat on the end. Just as we were about to start there was a knock on the door.
~Overprotective~
Here is another chapter for you lovely people. I hope you enjoy it.
What do you think about Dylan and Eva?
What about their Dad?
Do you think they should give him another chance?
I was also wondering if you guys would rather shorter chapters and quicker updates, or longer chapters but slightly slower updates.
I usually write about 5k words per chapter, but depending on what you guys want then I can definitely adjust. That will be all for now and until next time...
xoxopeacefulwriting101