dove street
○ the best way to keep something bad from happening is to see it ahead of time... and you can't see it if you refuse to face the possibility. ~ william s. burroughs ○
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"So, what's the game plan?"
"Please, stop talking like that." Amber sounded more exasperated than when we were going over the journal, glaring at Dad as if he had personally attacked her. "It's irritating."
Dad turned to me, a cheeky grin on his face. Although I knew his childish actions were his coping mechanism for anxiety, I was starting to feel the same annoyance Amber was.
A few tense exchanges later, I felt the buzz of confrontation in the room grow dangerously close to the point of no return. I stomped over to the two grown adults and stepped between them, my gaze hardening as I looked at their surprised faces. "Okay, can we just do this and stop fighting, for once? My God, you two are acting like children."
We continued to plan our trip to the address in Rainbow throughout the rest of the day. I had to stand in the middle of Amber and Dad so that they didn't fight over which of their ideas was better, but it turned out alright in the end.
"I think this might actually work," Amber commented, her hands resting on her hips.
Dad opened his mouth to say something, but I stopped him before he could get a word out. Somehow I knew that whatever would come out of his mouth next would cause World War III between him and Amber.
"Yeah, I think we should all head in for the night. We have an early start tomorrow, so let's get our beauty rest. I'm sure we could all use it." For the first time all day, Amber and Dad agreed, the former heading to her room, leaving me alone in the living room with my dad.
"Do you care which couch I take? I've been sleeping on this one, so..." Dad trailed off, sitting on one of the cushions. I shook my head, moving to the opposite one to get settled in.
It was hard to explain the awkward silence that fell between us. It was almost like both of us had something to say, but just couldn't bring ourselves to say anything aloud. I had so many questions to ask him, but I didn't want to bring it up so late at night. I understood enough about this new world that the questions I had in mind would take much longer than we had to explain.
Dad's snores shook me from my thoughts, making me smile at the way he hugged the pillow under his head. His legs were a little too long for him to fit on the couch without his feet hanging off the end, but he looked comfortable to me.
I got up, pulling a blanket over him. He snuggled into the warmth like a puppy, his breathing slowing down even more as he fell into a deeper sleep.
I sat awake for about an hour before I decided to go out to the balcony and get some air. My head was swarming with too many thoughts for me to fall asleep, leaving me staring into space as I tried to clear it.
I leaned against the railing of the balcony, the wind whipping through my loose hair. I closed my eyes, letting the breeze cool me off. I couldn't explain it, but Amber's apartment always made me feel so... trapped and stuffy- like I couldn't breathe.
At that thought, I unconsciously took a deep breath in, relishing in the beautiful taste of clean air. You didn't get much of that nowadays, so it was refreshing to be able to inhale air so clear.
