ix.

Saturday

September

Anderson Residence

Zelda

"Zelda, dear, good morning."

"Good mornimg Mr. Anderson," I replied, locking the front door behind me. "Is there anything I could help with?"

He briefly waved the egg he was holding at me before turning away and cracking it into a bowl. "Oh, no. It's fine. I'm just cooking breakfast. Where have you been this early in the morning?"

Pulling off my shoes, I casted them by the side of the door. "Oh, I was just out running. Is anyone else awake yet?"

"I'm not sure. Why don't you go and see? Breakfast should be ready any moment now."

"Sure."

I wasn't quite used to having the grown-ups in the house. It was partly due to the fact that the parents in this house were really busy with their motel a lot of the times, but I knew it was also because my own parent never bothered with me back at home. I never even knew my mum, and my dad only came home to sleep and eat.

I was good at being alone, so I didn't mind it that much, but it still ruffled my feathers sometimes. Now that the parents were at home, though, I wasn't so sure whether I liked it either.

I woke the siblings up by knocking on their doors and telling them about breakfast. I didn't check whether they actually got up, since I was more concerned about taking a nice cool shower after running. When I got to the living room again, Mrs Anderson and Chris was already there.

"We won't be home tonight, so make sure you watch over your siblings, okay?" Mrs Anderson said to her son, pecking his forehead.

Chris mumbled under his breath and pulled away, annoyed. "Okay. It's not like that I haven't been doing the same thing in the past year."

She ruffled his hair, either not caring or not knowing that she was further irritating him. "That's my boy."

Chris, I noticed over the short span of roughly a month, had this weird relationship with his parents, especially his mother. I think he missed them a lot when they were absent, but he also hated them for that. And when his parents were around, showering him with affection, he didn't even try to soak it up. In fact, he avoided doing so. I suspected it had something to do with teenage pride, but then again, what would I know?

"Breakfast is ready," Mr. Anderson announced, serving a huge plate piled with scrambled eggs, bacon, and toasts. "Chris, where is everyone else?"

"Karen is hogging the shower. William is still sleeping," Chris replied curtly. After glancing at me briefly, he looked back to his parents. "I'm gonna go check on them." And then he left.

"Breakfast looks amazing, Mr. Anderson," I complimented him to avoid falling into an awkward silence.

He was looking worried and concerned for his wife before I spoke. He smiled at me momentarily when he heard me. It didn't quite reach his eyes. "Why, thank you, Zelda. I hope the kids are treating you well?"

"They are," I reassured. "They've been showing me around and helping me a lot."

He seemed relieved to have heard that. "Good."

"I'm sorry we're so absent, Zelda," Mrs. Anderson apologized. "It's just, with the motel being so far away and so much work..."

"Oh, it's okay," I said, hesitant. "To me, at least."

She winced.

"And what do you suggest we do?" Mr. Anderson's harsh voice suddenly boomed behind me, his friendly demeanor long gone. When I turned to face him, he was glaring at me. "We are making a living to provide for our children. They should be old enough to understand why we can't babysit them 24/7-"

"Dylan-"

"No, Charlotte, they ought to know better." He shook his head. "Everything we are doing, we're doing for them. They don't get to complain and whine about us when we are the ones providing them food and money and a roof to live under."

"Dylan!" Mrs Anderson hissed, "That's enough. You don't say that about our kids, and you don't say that in front of our guest, especially not when she did nothing wrong."

"But Charlotte-"

"Go wait in the car. Now. You're sleeping on the coach tonight."

I watched with wide eyes as Mr. Anderson's hostility deflated, and he dragged footsteps towards the door.

"I'm so sorry about that, Zelda," Mrs. Amderson apologized again, suddenly looking very tired. I had always throught she looked younger than she actually was, but at that moment, she looked so... old. "This is not supposed to happen. He's just been working too much. We both have."

I bit on my lip. "It's okay. I shouldn't have-"

"No, no. You didn't do anything wrong. You were just being honest." She sighed and rubbed her cheek, exhausted. "I will talk to my husband about what just happened. I apologise on both our behalves. I know you're not here to do this, but can you please help look after my kids? They're my babies."

I didn't hesitate this time. "I would've done it even if you didn't ask. Don't worry about it."

She smiled at me gratefully. "I'll leave now. Thank you, Zelda."

She turned, ready to leave. My mind was in conflict, but i decided to give it a shot. "Mrs. Anderson?"

She turned to look at me. "Yes, dear?"

I gulped. "Maybe try calling them every now and then during work? A nice chat can do a lot of help. It's good to just hear each other's voices sometimes, if you know what I mean."

"Of course," she mumbled to herself. "Of course. You're right. Thank you, dear."

She left after that, deep in her own thoughts. Almost as soon as the car engine started, I heard footsteps down the stairs.

"Is the coast clear?" Chris hiss-whispered, loud enough for me to hear.

I walked to the counter and started eating the food Mr. Anderson made. I was so hungry. "If by that you mean your parents, then yes, they have left."

I watched in amusement as he crept down the stairs. I noticed that Karen didn't follow, nor did William. Chris inspected the house from he stairs quickly before skipping towards me, grabbing a plate for himself, and started eating. "Well that was intense."

I sent him a sideways glance. "You ran with your tail between your legs. How would you know?"

I wondered for a moment if I went too far, since his expression darkened for a second. But then he sighed defeatedly and grimaced. "I heard a brief period of shouting. What happened?"

"I accidentally pissed your dad off," I admitted awkwardly. "You probably could do without that. Sorry."

He made a gesture that looked something between meh, don't care and don't sweat it. "What happened after?"

"Your mum-"

"Mom."

It was one of the things that he just couldn't stand. I rolled my eyes. "You mum-"

"Mom."

"Yo mama told your dad to get in the car and said that he was sleeping on the couch tonight. She also apologised."

He burst out laughing at that. I rolled my eyes, but smiled a little, seeing as he seemed to be in a better mood now.

"I don't mean to intrude," I said when his laughter died down, cautious, since I didn't want to piss him off as well. "But maybe try talking your problems out? They both care about you guys."

He pressed his lips into a line. Shit. "You said you don't wanna intrude? Then don't."

Well, at least now I knew which parent he took after. Times like this, I'd feel more like Odysseus in Greek mythology than I'd like. You know, when you meant well but was kind of an insensitive asshole at the same time.

Finishing what was left on my plate, I shrugged, more to myself than to him. Well, I tried. Without saying anything else, I wished the dishes at the sink along with my plate. When I was done, I turned to said to him, "Welp, I'll be going upstairs back to my room. You good here?"

He shrugged. I let him be and left without another word.

a/n:

I would love you so much if you got that tsoa reference. Also, updating again bc school is cancelled due to heavy rain today. Life is good. c: