Belong To You (complete)

47. like father, like daughter

spring break

This week has been amazing. I decided to come spend my spring break with my dad and Lori at her house.

Since, Emmet is a truck driver, and Lori is divorced, he stays here with her when he comes back in town. She got to keep this nice little townhome in Far Rockaway when she got a divorce and she wanted Emmet not to waste money on a place if he was hardly there.

For me, this is strange. It was always me and my mom only. I never knew what it was like to have a family. Now here I am with a dad, an aunt and two little cousins.

Mason is nine years old. He's super smart and plays basketball. When he found out I was his uncle Emmets daughter, he was so happy for him. He told me that he always thought his uncle was sad even when he was smiling but that it all changed when I came around.

That brought so much joy to my heart.

Now Taylor, she's a force of nature. She's only six years old and full of sass. But adorable. Since I got here she's shared her room with me. We brush each other's hair and I watch her favorite movies—Mulan, Moana, Frozen and The Princess & The Frog—with her before bedtime. We've baked cookies, decorated some Easter eggs and made tie dye shirts.

A week seems like a small amount of time to get to know these people but I think that's also the reason we have learned a lot about each other.

From cooking with Lori, to watching Disney movies with Taylor, or playing a video game (that I don't understand) with Mason and finally to being outside with Emmet and helping him fix a car. They're such simple things but little by little you get to know things about a person.

Today is my official last day here. Tomorrow by noon I have to head back to school already. It's a bittersweet moment because I like...no I love being here. But I also love school and my friends and my crazy ass boyfriend.

Emmet clears his throat as we take a seat on a little table next to a giant window. We wanted to have lunch and spend some time together today. Just us. "You zoned out there." He says when I look over at him.

"I was just thinking that I have to go back to school tomorrow."

He nods. "Listen, I want to thank you for spending your free time here with us. I know that you want to be with your boyfriend and stuff like that but I cannot begin to tell you how much this means to Lori and especially me."

I take a few seconds to process his words. When he called me to invite me over here for spring break, he was all nervous and stuttering. It was so cute. It made me laugh because this grown military man was shy and nervous to ask his daughter to spend time. Then Lori was all squealing and jumping with excitement when she had called me. It was heartwarming.

I smile. "Yes, I love my boyfriend and spending time with him but I see him everyday. He knows just how important this is to me. He wanted me to be here just as much as I wanted to be." And that's the absolute truth. Jay encouraged me to come, talked me through my nerves and doubts. "And thank you...for making an effort."

"This isn't me making an effort. This is me wanting to spend all the lost time with you. With my daughter. I might sound dramatic and pathetic but I will take anything you can give me."

My heart swells at his words and a single tear falls down my cheek. I think now it's about that time to officially trademark crying as my own personal emotion since apparently this is all I do.

He let's out a breath, pinning me with a sad look. "Oh please don't cry." And reaches out to wipe my tear. "I didn't mean to make you sad, I just wanted to—" He stops his sentence abruptly, with a hard sigh. "I'm sorry, I'm an idiot and also really bad at this dad bonding stuff."

I laugh, causing more tears to come down. With my napkin I wipe them off. "Actually, I think you're doing just fine at dad bonding."

That makes him smile. "But you always end up crying."

"But not because you make me sad. It's a good feeling. Of having you in my life and learning that you want to be here."

"I do. Which is why I am moving to where you are."

It's my turn to sigh hard. "I don't wanna disrupt your life. You're used to being here with Lori and the kids. And I'll be in school for two more years."

"How can you be disrupting my life when this is my choice? I am the one wanting to make this change. I do love my sister and the kids. But this is her life. Lori has to be here with her kids, so they can be close to their dad. And I have to be with my daughter. When you need something, I will be there to help you with whatever it is."

I sigh and smile at his words. I love the way he says my daughter.

"Please, let me be there for you."

Shaking my head, I smile at him. "Not good at this dad bonding stuff, huh?"

He hasn't been a dad since I was basically a baby. I haven't been a daughter since my mom died. At first it felt slightly awkward and new. But even when he's nervous and I'm nervous—like father, like daughter, I suppose—it works. I don't know how, but it does.

And I love it.

I get to have a dad. How cool is that?