Abstinence

Chapter 20.

The days seemed to be flying by and I've developed a routine that I never had before. I go to work, come home, cook dinner, clean the house, and then go to sleep. Hayden has been going to work at his office instead of staying home. I think the second morning he stayed in he realized the cartoons Luke watched were too much of a distraction for him.

Erika has been staying at the house alone with Luke while Hayden and I both leave for work. It is strange having someone we don't entirely trust yet to be there alone, especially when Wade and Geoff aren't there to watch her. Even though I keep telling him to, Hayden still hasn't told Wesley about her. He says he wants time before he tells him about her. Time to do what? I don't have a clue, he won't tell me what "time" is supposed to mean.

Despite everything and everyone around us, my relationship with Hayden has grown drastically. We make love more than we fight, even with the extra guest in our house. I don't think we have ever been in a better state.

Instead of driving straight home after work, I make a stop at my dad's hoping to run into him. Even though there were no cars parked in the driveway, I still knocked on the front door awaiting my permission to enter. Without hearing anything from the other side of the door, it gradually creaks open until my mother reveals herself from behind the door. "Alice, I'm surprised to see you here. Is everything okay?"

I haven't seen either of my parents since the afternoon of my birthday, the day Hayden got arrested. I know they saw what happened but I haven't talked with either of them about it. My father didn't call me, Mr. Alexander didn't call me, and my mother certainly hadn't called. Not that I would have wanted them to, I wasn't ready to hear what they had to say about Hayden, especially when I didn't know the truth of his innocence myself.

I know my mother already doesn't like Hayden, I'm sure since seeing the media she hates for the two of us to be together even more so now. I wish she could have seen him in the light that I have before this whole situation played out. I want her to love him as a future son-in-law, I want her to accept him and everything that comes with him and not to judge him based off of a short drunken conversation they had in a bar one night.

"Everything is fine. I just came to see Dad. Is he here?"

"Yes he's here." She closes the front door after letting me in. Knowing the place well enough I make my way to the living room to take a seat on the black and pink floral sofa I picked out when I was eleven. My dad hated the sofa when I first forced him to buy it but when I grew older I tried to convince him to get rid of it he refused. "Stephen! Alice is here to see you!"

"Alice?" His voice loud as he yells my name from upstairs. His tone shocked, as if he doesn't believe that I'm really here. Has it been that long?

"Dad!" I call back to him.

At the sound of my voice I hear his heavy footsteps rushing down the steps. He stops at the last step staring at me in disbelief, "I didn't think you would come around anymore."

"Dad, really?" He's always been the one to overreact, I'm not at all surprised.

"I went from seeing you every day to once a month, if that, so excuse me if I'm being a little melodramatic." I use to be home all the time and he would try to force me to leave the house for a few hours to get fresh air. Now that I'm gone all of the time, he fears that I'm never ever going to come back.

I melt into his arms when he pulls me into his warm embrace. I do sometimes miss being home. I was so carefree here. There was no drama in my life until after I met Hayden and my mother rose from the dead. The longer I stayed in his arms, the greater chance there was of me falling apart.

I pull away from him first, "Well, how are you?" I genuinely wanted to know. Afterall, my father's health and well-being is still very important to me. I want him to be happy and healthy, lately with my mother back around he's been anything but.