Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"So, I don't hate you."
"Huh, that's... good?" Oswald Payton raised his eyebrows, glancing up at Lilith from the pile of paperwork on his desk.
She'd had the suspicion that he was only half listening as she tried to make ammends and, with the work he had to do, she hadn't really blamed him. It wasn't like she had picked the best time to come to the fifth floor of the Merciless Mart and clear up the air with her stepfather, but if she hadn't pushed herself to come as soon as the idea had crossed her mind, she knew that it would have never happened. And it really wasn't the best time to hold useless grudges, when the city could plunge into war at any given moment.
Lilith licked her lips, "I know I probably gave you that impression. God knows I was a brat to you, whenever you came over," she snorted. While she hadn't actively tried to sabotage her mother's relationship with the man, she'd made it extremely hard to have a good time at the Ovard house whenever Adelia invited him over. It had become so bad that Oswald eventually only made appearances to either pick up or drop off Scott, and even then Lilith hadn't acted in a pleasant manner. The brunette shrugged her shoulders, "Truth was, I blamed what happened with my dad on you. I should have seen that their marriage was disfuncional, and while that was no excuse for my mother to cheat, they were over long before you were in the picture," she paused, noticing how Oswald's attention was now fully on her. Her hands clenched themselves into fists as she forced herself to continue, "After he died, I... it just felt like my mom was trying to replace him with you, and it made me lash out. He may not have been the love of her life, but he was still my dad, you know?"
Oswald nodded once, "It was never my intention to replace Carson," he said, and Lilith's eyes drifted to the floor. Even if she'd held onto her grudge for a long time, she knew Oswald was a relatively good person, and most likely a better partner than what Adelia deserved. He was Scott's favorite individual in the entire city (coming in second place to her, obviously), and the smile her brother had whenever he spent time with his father was a special kind of pure. Oswald leaned back against his chair, "I only ever wanted to be there for your mother, and for all three of you kids. Maybe we should have given you more time to adjust, and made more of an effort to become closer. But it wasn't easy."
"I'll bet. Kids are a handful," she chuckled, remembering how lost she'd been when she'd first gotten to Amity and met her niece, Ivy. The toddler had instantly taken to her, thankfully, but Lilith wouldn't have known what to do if she'd been received with the same hostility she'd shown Oswald. Her face shifted into a more serious expression as she folded her arms over her chest, "This all to say that I'm truly grateful that you took a more active role when it came to Scott, after I left. He's been really happy about being able to spend more time with you, and his happiness is all that matters to me."
The man nodded once, "As it is to me."
A sigh left the brunette's lips, "Now that that's over and done with, hopefully things won't be as awkward next time I go over."
