You Deserve to Thrive: A Dan Avidan Fic

Chapter 3: Lakeside Ponderance

"Christ, Rosalie," I hear Dan's voice say on the other end after a long silence. "Yeah, please don't worry about the money. Do you have a place to stay?"

I roll my eyes and eat another chip from the bag I'd grabbed from the cabinet while explaining my situation over the phone. "Hardly, but I'll manage."

"Listen, I know I'm basically a stranger, but we'll be in Chicago this weekend for some work stuff," he tells me. "If you wanna drive up and like...I don't know, I'm sure Arin and I could help you figure something out. I can tell you what hotel we're in and convince them to give you the family discount or like, I've got travel points or whatever they're called."

"Dude," I say with a snort, "that's not necessary. I just need a new job and a place to live. Maybe a storage unit. The hotel in Chicago would be a temporary fix at best, and it's dangerous as hell up there. I'd like to survive my twenties."

"Well, yeah, but we could help you out. We have connections in a lot of really great places."

His voice is followed by a call-waiting beep, and I glance at the screen to see my brother's name. "Shit, Dan, I'm gonna have to call you back. I have to get my brother from school."

"No worries, keep me updated, alright?"

"Yeah, for sure. Talk later."

I answer my brother and immediately burst into apologies. "Hey bud, I'm so sorry, I lost track of time. I'm on my way out now." I grab my keys and reach for the door, but my brother doesn't say anything back. It sounded like my mother on the other end.

"And you can tell her that if she wants her shit, the house will be empty tomorrow between eight and two."

"'Kay," my brother says softly. My jaw drops as I listen.

"If she wants to be an ungrateful little bitch, then she can stay away from us. I don't need her trying to ruin my life and break up my marriage. If you see her, tell her she's not welcome in my house anymore."

My breathing picks up and the room starts spinning. I lean against the kitchen table, still holding the phone to my ear. What else did she tell my brother? What does he think happened?

Michael speaks up again and says, "Mom, before we go to Dad's, we have to get Cass from the library."

"Where do you think I'm going?"

A text comes through during the call from my sister asking if I'm coming to pick her up, and I can't even bring myself to text back.

"God, I just...can you believe her? I provide food, water, shelter, and clothes; and she up and leaves when I need her most. And she'd better not be there when I drop you off or I'm going to be pissed."

I hang up. I can't stand to listen to any more shit. I leave the house, my keys and phone already in hand, locking the door behind me. If she doesn't want to see me, then she won't. I hop in my car and drive. I avoid areas I know she'll be in and I don't stop driving for a good while.

Eventually, I end up at our lakeside beach area. No one is here, but I don't need them to be. I just need to sit by the water, so I get out and walk down the dock. I take off my shoes and socks and dip my feet into the water, letting the cooling sensation calm me down as much as possible. I send my sister a text, telling her to let me know when Mom has dropped them off at Darren's, then check any missed messages I have.

Surprisingly, there's one from Dan.

Dan: Hey, I talked to Arin and he said he's more than happy to give you an interview for the position of one of our video editors. Send your resume to grumpbiz@gmail.com