I SHOULD HATE YOU - e. buckley | 2 |

011

- no specific episode
'Home For a Day"

The second Rylin got off the plane, she could immediately feel the intense heat of Texas on her skin. She was seriously starting to regret her outfit choice.

Rylin then got a call from her dad. She smiled at her phone before she answered. "Hey, Dad."

"Hey, Kiddo. Did you land yet?" her dad asked.

"I did." she said. "I forgot how hot it was here."

"Let me guess, you're wearing sweatpants right now?" her dad asked as he laughed.

"Unfortunately." Rylin sighed. She continued talking with her dad until she made her way outside of the airport.

"Oh, my uber's here." she told him. "I'll see you in a few."

As she drove through her home state, she couldn't help but smile. She was happy to be back.

"There's my girl!" Timothy smiled wide as she embraced his daughter into a tight hug. Rylin smiled at her dad. She was glad to see him again.

"If you're wondering where your mom is, don't." Timothy said, knowing Rylin was going to ask sooner or later. "She's working."

Rylin nodded as her dad continued talking. "So, why are you really here?"

"To see my awesome family, obviously." Rylin lied.

"I know I'm awesome, but you don't get along with your mother, so what's going on?" Timothy asked.

"It's stupid." she said. Her dad looked at her until she finally told him what's up. "My boyfriend. That's what's going on."

Timothy raised his eyebrow in confusion as they moved to the couch. "I met him in LA and y'know we were doing really great, but then he moved here 8 months ago for his job— he's a cop. Once he moved here, things between us got really weird and..."

"And you think he's seeing someone else." her dad finished for her. She nodded in agreement. She then filled him in on all the extra details and told him everything else that had recently happened in her life since she saw him last.

"So, why are you here with me instead of chasing him down?" he asked.

"I'm too tired." Rylin sighed as she put her head in her dad's lap, the jet lag finally getting to her.

Rylin didn't realize she fell asleep until she woke up to the smell of smoke.

"Dad?" she managed after noticing her dad was no longer sitting with her. She then moved off the couch and ran into the kitchen. She never expected to walk into the kitchen of her childhood home and see it completely engulfed in flames.

She coughed as she tried to make her way through the kitchen, trying to find her dad. She continuously shouted for him, but never got a response.

This was not how she expected her day to go.

Soon, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She felt hopeful when she assumed it had been her dad. Though, her hopes went away when she saw a firefighter where her dad should've been.