I Had A Little Help

6. Change

"So, who was that this morning? The kid with no decency." My father asked over diner. I knew he'd be here, because he took the day off, yet for some reason I was still hopeful that it'd just be my mom and I for dinner, or better yet, just myself. I looked out the window, avoiding his judgemental eyes, thinking about what to say. Should I just rip the bandaid off the wound? Or should I peel it back carefully? Well, I suppose it was best to just get it over with.

"That was our neighbour, Reed. We started dating recently." I revealed, just waiting for the storm that would follow after. Both my parents dropped their cutlery, putting a halt to their eating. I would have told them it was all for show, but I knew they wouldn't find my actions very noble. It was a bit deceitful, and I couldn't stand for them to think I'd even consider braking apart a relationship for my own selfish desires. This wasn't an ideal trade off, but I figured it was better than the former. Besides, once it was all over the whole family could look back on this and laugh. And hopefully, after this mess, Carter would look like a major improvement.

"You're...not serious, are you?" My mother asked, slightly on edge. She knew it wasn't a joke, but you could tell she was still hoping to hear it was. "I mean, the Paxton boy? I didn't even think you knew him."

"We talk a lot at school." I said, reversing the lie Reed told his friend group. I kept it simple, knowing I couldn't fabricate a genius tale or anything.

"Well, forgive me, but I'm rather stunned. He really doesn't seem like he'd be your type." She persisted, really laying on the disappointed maternal tone. With that, I felt a bit ashamed, but I kept up with the act.

"He has more merits than you'd think." I told her, trying to think about the actual positive attributes Reed had. I'm afraid there weren't too many. It's not as if he was some horrid creature, but my mother was right, he wasn't my usual type of person.

"He certainly didn't show us them this morning." My father interrupted, folding his napkin. I looked down at my lap, wishing for nothing more than to escape.

"He can be a bit too bold at times, and I scolded him for his behaviour when we were in the car. I know he isn't perfect..." I trailed off, thinking for something to say in his defence. "But he offered me a helping hand when I was at one of my lowest times. For that, I'm extremely grateful."

"Well," My mom said, trying to clear the tension, "we can discuss this some other time. We rarely ever have a nice family dinner where all of us are present, so let's enjoy it."

"Yes, I suppose you are right, but don't think I'll just let this drop." My father warned with a heavy sigh. We returned to our meal, being unnervingly quiet. I wasn't sure this was much of an improvement, it only made things more awkward because now we were out of topics. Of course, I was used to silence though. It just felt... a bit more unsettling that night.

~~~

I was sitting at the desk in my room, looking over my biology notes. There weren't too many yet, since we only had two days of class, but more was sure to pile on throughout the year. I wasn't very invested in it, so my focus was easily shifted once my phone lit up with a new text message. I looked down at the screen to see it was from Reed, obviously. I had given him my number earlier in the day, knowing that it'd be smart to be able to exchange information. The plan relied on both our cooperation after all.

'What are your plans this weekend?' It read.

'Nothing. Why?' I replied, waiting for the next message. I often enjoyed my freedom in solitude on the weekends, but it never hurt to have something going on.