A wonderful kind of misery

Chapter 70

"I'm moving in with dad." Alex told Margaret the next day.

After collapsing on the bench the day before, she zoned out for what seemed like a split second until Nikolas found her. He must have been the one to follow her out of her house and found her with not much difficulty. They had been to that park a few times and Alex had described that's where she took walks to clear her head. A predictable move. He had held her tight, while she cried like he should have done all those years and she let him carry her home a while later.

She didn't come out of her room once after their fight. She couldn't face her mother. She hadn't eaten, nor had she studied for school but her bag was packed and she was ready to leave.

Margaret's eyes filled with tears.

"You can't do this!" she protested, retreating.

"Legally, I can't. But I will do it anyways and I'd rather have your consent." Alex stated determined.

"Don't do this to me!" Margaret raged and approached Alex. She retreated. It was all too much to take in.

"I called dad, he's coming to get me. Maybe it's for the best. "

"For how long." said Margaret dryly, powerless.

"As long as it takes for me to get things right. And oh, I'm done with therapy, I'm done with everything. " she said and walked out of the room. A packed bag and Margaret's pleads as she walked out of the front door and to her dad's car. In reality her heart broke hearing her mum scream for her to come back, helpless. She didn't want to make a messed up situation even worse but she was in desperate need for a change of scenery and her suffocating house wasn't going to help. She only looked back as the car was pulling out of the driveway, to see a crying Margaret, trying to run behind the car, gasping for air.

Her dad had moved to a rental studio for as long as he stayed there. He was working remotely for a bank and that looked like it was a job good enough to allow him to afford that place even for the few weeks he had been there. She didn't know how long he was going to stay for, nor did she want to bring up the subject. On the other hand she didn't know how long her and Margaret would last before they had to move again. Move... now that the secrets had been revealed, did that mean that they wouldn't have to move again? If it had been Nikolas that ignited her mum's will to move and not a lost job, surely there was no reason for them to leave again. Alex couldn't help but wonder if Margaret even tried to make them move when her dad located them again this time.

Her questions paused to shift her focus to the apartment. It was small but nonetheless a lot brighter and it's design made it look a lot more spacious than her mum's house which was only an underground hole compared to this place, on the top of a flat with a view to the whole city.

Her dad was still awkward around her. As if he was scared she would disappear if he did something wrong. Alex on her side, felt exposed. Now that she knew her dad was aware of her mental state, she felt like she was missing a layer of skin, nothing to hide behind and that made her uncomfortable but somehow relieved. Good, no more secrets she thought.

She skipped school on Friday. Her dad insisted she took his bed, which was not in a bedroom but rather, concealed by a big wooden partition that made up a bookcase separating it from the rest of the living space. It was definitely a lot more private than the couch that could be seen straight from the entrance and was located right next to the kitchen. Her and her dad spent the day at home. Not talking much yet being safe in each other's company for a while, getting used to each other.

"Why don't we go out for dinner tonight?" he suggested but Alex wasn't interested. The thought of leaving the house or even talking brought her immense discomfort.