Fixing The Scatter [boyxboy]

Fixing The Scatter {15}

I walked downstairs, feeling tired after little sleep. Dad looked up at me from the stove, where he was cooking eggs.

"Hey! I made you breakfast," he said, sliding the eggs onto a plate and setting them down for me.

I dropped into a chair at the table, checking the time. I had enough time to eat, so that was good. Then I had to go to school. Damn.

Dad sat down across from me with a mug of coffee, watching me as I started to eat. I knew he was about to talk to me. Man, it was too early to be dealing with this.

"Listen, Jude, I know things have been tense around you and your mom lately," he started nervously. "I talked to her about your math grades. Math is a rough subject for some people. I was never very good at it until college. It's okay if you hit a unit you don't understand and you get a few lower grades. Your mom, she just wants the best for you."

"I just woke up, and I don't want to hear it," I said.

"Jude, please, you need to hear it," he said, frowning. "She's hard on you because she loves you and she wants you to be successful."

"I can be successful on my own," I said in annoyance. "I'm trying to eat, dad. Shut up and leave me alone."

He stood up and moved around the table, bending down and kissing my head. "I just want you to know that we love you, Jude. I know she's hard on you. I know she doesn't always word things right. But you're a good man and we're proud of you."

He left the kitchen and threw down my fork. I stood up and went up to my room, gathering my stuff. I left the house, going out to my car and cranking my music as I pulled out of the driveway. I let the music drown out the silence of the morning.

"I can see anxiety in your eyes, I can hear panic in your voice. I can't always be frozen to this point, caught in the wasteland. We can dream this nightmare over, we can dream this nightmare away." I reached out and turned the volume down a little, enough to let my thoughts peek through.

I had to tell Staz off today. His drawings were tucked away in my bag securely. I would tear them up in front of him if it helped get the point across.

I gripped the steering wheel tighter. I couldn't even picture myself dating anyone. Not after falling in love with Gideon and losing him.

After parking my car and making my way up the damn hill to the school, I went to my locker, exchanging my things. I shut it and turned, scanning the halls for any sign of Nate or Landon.

"Jude!"

I turned as Landon came over to me, mentally groaning as I saw his younger sister trailing behind him. She noticed me and grinned a little, eyeing me.

"Meghan, go away," Landon said in annoyance.

"I just wanted to say hi to Jude," she said innocently.

"Hey Meg," Nate said, coming up next to me. "Why are you over here?"

"I was saying hi!" she said, eyes falling back to me.

"Hey, Meg, you want to hear a joke?" I asked her with a smile.

"Go for it kid," she said.