Life: the unpredictable roller coaster of existence.
After a year of defeats and victories, Dean and Blake are about to take yet another year, now as third-year university students.
As if that alone wasn't bound to be a challenge, their world is t...
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Blake opened a pack of four cookies, setting it on the large table composed of desks. He motioned for Finn, Collin and Dean to suit themselves. Collin was the first to reach for it, followed by the other two.
"So..." Collin looked between him and Finn, taking a bite from the cookie. "Are you going to tell him to leave?"
Blake glimpsed at Finn, waiting for a reaction. His brother didn't look up from the cookie, only pausing for a fraction of a moment before biting into it.
As promised, their mother had told them about the conversation, and Blake's head was still in a knot. Learning so much about their estranged father all at once had been way too much information. In the end, their mother had told them they would have the last word about the situation and that they were completely justified if they chose to send that man away.
She had also made it clear that they didn't have to reach a decision right away and that they could always change their mind, regardless of their choice. Blake appreciated it, but it was obvious that a part of her hoped they would give their father a chance.
Blake knew their mother would never blame them if they didn't wish to have him near their family, but he also knew how much it would pain her to leave someone in a situation where they could be hungry, especially someone who had once been special to her. Although he and Finn had never gone to bed hungry, Blake vividly remembered his mother constantly saying she wasn't hungry to justify why she wouldn't eat with them. Only as he grew up had he realized the reality of the situation.
Blake and his brother had gotten the chance to talk as they prepared to open the restaurant, but there hadn't been much of a conversation. Finn had never been talkative, but he had stayed particularly quiet, only nodding along as Blake spoke. When asked for his opinion, Finn had only told him that he would agree with whatever Blake wanted.
As stoic as his brother was, he couldn't hide from Blake how he actually felt about it. Their mother wished for them to let their father eat at the restaurant, Finn wanted him to disappear from their lives and both of them wanted to make Blake happy. Blake just wanted them to be happy.
"Not sure..." he told Collin. "We haven't had the chance to think about it, the restaurant was hectic yesterday. Apparently, multiple hockey teams were staying at a motel we have a deal with."
"I know," Collin groaned. "May texted me. I should have shown up too."
"You wanted to help wait tables?"
"I could give moral support if you had called me as well."
"We didn't ask her to come help," Blake replied. "May said she went to buy a new dobok nearby and decided to drop by the restaurant."
