There's a Playground

Alright. So while Ronnie and my father were being all buddy-buddy on my porch, I was standing there with a rather dumb-founded look on my face.

It figured…

It was just my damned luck that Ronnie would know my father. Sighing, I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for the two to finish.

After a few more moments of continued chatter, my father seemed to remember where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. Taking me to dinner. He smiled sheepishly, cutting off in the middle of a sentence and looking over at me. He reached a hand behind his head and scratched the back of it, ruffling his short hair. “Sorry, Wednesday. I guess we should go now, huh?” my dad asked and I nodded quietly, still frowning as Ronnie turned back to me, glaring at me slightly.

I felt like slapping him right now.

“Well, Ronnie, I guess I’ll see you and your mom later, yeah?” Derek said, grinning again and giving a little wave to the scruffy kid. Said scruffy kid nodded and looped an arm around my shoulders.

“You have fun with your daddy now, Wendy.” He cooed at me and I glared over at him, frowning a little more with every word he said.

I can now legitimately say that I held absolutely no compassion for Ronald Radke. Nor will I ever hold any compassion for that boy.

He walked away and my eyes followed him next door over to Max’s house. “Oh that’s right. Max lives right next door, doesn’t he?” Wait, what!? My dad knew Max Gre…oh wait. Duh, of course he knew Max! Kid was kinda my best friend all through elementary school! I’m a dumb ass…

I nodded, running a hand through my hair and then unfolding my arms. “Yeah. Can we go now? Sorry, I’m kinda hungry…” I stated, lying through my teeth. But I honestly just didn’t want Max to come over here with Ronnie and start reminiscing on memories with my dad and making me look like a complete and total idiot in front of Ronnie.

Not that I cared what that ass hole thought of me. It was the concept of that happening that mattered more to me.

“Oh yeah, sorry.” I followed him back to his truck and climbed into the passenger side, twirling the ends of my hair in my fingers as we began driving down the road.

“Where’re we going?” I asked, turning to look from out the window to my driving father. He grinned at me.

“Applebee’s okay?” I nodded at that, smiling softly. “Good. How have you been?” he asked and I sighed, shrugging.

How the hell was I supposed to sum up nine years of how I’d been feeling. “Fine. I don’t know. It’s…yeah…” I shrugged, not really sure what to say.

“I know it’s been a really long time, and I’m sorry. But…after the divorce, I didn’t think…” He sighed and I looked over at him, a brow raised in question. “I didn’t think you’d want to talk to me.” I sighed back at him, rolling my eyes and leaning back in the truck’s passenger seat.

“You were wrong…” I muttered, frowning.

“I know. I’m sorry. I wish I could make it up to you…”

‘Unless you can give me back nine years of having you in my life, that won’t happen, Daddy Dear.’ I thought to myself, shrugging at his offer of making it up to me. We stopped and it was then that I noticed we had pulled up to the Applebee’s parking lot.

“I got you something, though. I hope that’s alright…?” Derek said and I turned to look at him, shrugging and smiling at him softly. I’d take free shit… Besides, knowing him it was just going to be a retarded stuffed animal or a pair of socks.

I was having a hard time admitting to myself that, no matter how shitty a gift he was about to give me, it would mean more than anything in the world to get something from my father… “Yeah, that’s fine. Um…thanks?” I said as I watched him rummage around in the space of back seat behind my seat. He sat back, holding a little dark blue box in his hands.

“I know I haven’t really gotten you anything for your birthday or Christmas or anything like that in the last nine years,” he said, sounding more apologetic than I think I’d ever heard him. More sorry and sincere than he was when my mom was signing the divorce papers and he was begging her not to take me away to Denver… “But I got this for you on your sixteenth birthday. I know I’m over a year late, but I didn’t know where you guys were, so I didn’t really have a choice…” He handed it to me awkwardly, smiling and watching as I smiled sadly at him.

He didn’t seem to catch the sadness in my eyes, though. I was glad that he didn’t know me all that well anymore…

“I really am sorry, Wens. Don‘t…don’t look so sad, please?” Okay, so I was wrong on that. I felt tears pricking the back of my eyes as I opened up the little box. Inside was just a simple silver chain, glimmering with a little gold heart dangling off of one end of it. It was…well, it was beautiful. I felt the tears fill up my eyes and I sighed, frustrated that I was getting so emotional. I hated crying in front of people…

And my father? That was almost worse…

“Oh god. I’m sorry, Wednesday, if I would have known it was going to make you…”

“De…Dad, stop. It’s gorgeous. I love it,” I cut him off, looking up at him and smiling as I wiped away the tears on my cheeks. Great way to start off our first father-daughter time in a little over nine years. Go me. “Thank you, Dad. Could we go get food now? I really am hungry…” I tried shoving the subject away from my being an emotional girl as I dabbed at my eyes with my hand, careful not to remove too much of my eyeliner. I took the necklace out of the box as my dad climbed out of the cab. I clasped it around my neck and centered the heart just below my collar bone, smiling at myself softly before climbing out of the truck myself.

I grinned up at my dad as he rested an arm around my shoulders and began walking with me into the restaurant.

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Max’s p.o.v.

After Wednesday had turned me away, I’d resorted to playing my bass. It gave me something to do and I also needed to practice when I was sober anyway. Ugh…having nothing to do for the next two or three hours and not being able to get high was going to be hell and a half.

Not that I needed drugs to stay functioning, it just gave me something to do, honestly… Though I will admit that I sometimes regret giving in to the peer pressure that Ronnie put on me to start doing the more hard core drugs that weren’t pot. I’d smoked pot forever before he got me into drinking and doing the slightly more than occasional line with him.

For the most part, I stuck with pot. But you know, whatever. Ronnie was my best friend. He had been ever since that girl next door had pretty much deserted me and he moved into town a year later. Ronnie was the one that did the more hardcore drugs. And despite what he said, he was also the bigger man whore of the two of us. I was pissed yesterday on Wednesday’s first day of school when he’d commented that he’d get her in bed within a week.

I was really glad that she didn’t hear that. I…yeah. I can’t really say what would have happened if she’d caught that entire conversation.

There was a knock on my bedroom door and I paused at my plucking on the strings of my bass to look up at the door. My best friend walked in, grinning wildly. “Dude! Wednesday’s dad is dating my mom!” Oh, that’s right. I’d forgotten than Derek was Wednesday’s dad. Well…okay, so I didn’t forget. I just didn’t really connect the two. I smirked and grinned at him as he came over to plop down on my bed next to me.

“Um…cool?” I wasn’t sure what to say to that. He kept grinning, so I was kind of hoping that he wasn’t about to come up with some master plan to get into my friend’s pants.

But, knowing Ronnie, that was exactly what he was doing. “I got us some more shit, by the way bro.” He stated, grinning at me and I got excited before remembering the promise that I’d made to Wendy earlier. I did actually want to talk to her tonight and spend some time with her since I didn’t really get the chance to the other night. Ronnie and I had band practice and then the two of us ended up getting more than a little high.

And I didn’t want to see her end up with Craig… Dear god, if that happened, I might end up killing the kid.

I mean, Craig’s a nice kid and everything. Real sweet and real genuine. Smokes and drinks, but doesn’t do drugs. Unlike me. I hit up all three of those bad boys. But Craig…well…I don’t know. I just don’t think I wanted to see her with him…

I’d rather see her with me. But that’s beside the point…

I shook my head, biting on the inside of my cheek and filling my head with Wednesday’s face when she told me not to get high or anything like that. “Can’t, dude.”

Ronnie looked at me like I’d just grown three more heads and was spitting fire. And then he burst out into laughter, reaching into his back pocket for the little brown paper baggie. “Haha! Good one, Maxwell. What the fuck are you thinking kid? ‘Course you can get high! Your mom still has no i-fucking-dea, does she?” I shook my head and sighed as I realized how ridiculous me staying sober tonight for a girl that I’d just gotten back in touch with after nine years was going to sound to my best friend. “Then come on, put that bass of your away and let’s get this party started!”

I sighed as I stood up and placed my bass back onto it’s stand with loving care. Shit, if anything happened to that damn thing, I think I’d probably end up shooting someone. Or myself…

When I went back to go sit on my bed, Ronnie was starting to grab things from the box under my bed that I kept all my drug paraphernalia in. “Ronnie, I’m serious. I…I can’t do anything tonight,” I said, causing Ronnie to look up at me in disbelief.

“Dude! I got the sickest shit right here! Smoking a joint won’t hurt you! Why the fuck are you denying this grade a shit, anyway?” he asked, sounding suspicious at the end. Great. Yeah, I was definitely feeling foolish right now…

“…Because Wednesday won’t talk to me if I’m high or drunk…” I muttered, staring at the floor as I scuffed up my hair in the back. Ronnie scoffed and began laughing, abandoning the set up process in favor of laughing at me. I felt color rise to my cheeks as I frowned and clenched my fists slightly. “I’m serious, Ronnie! It’s not fucking funny!”

“Oh what? You’re gonna waltz over there completely sober and try to get her to talk to you!? Bull fucking shit, Max Green! Sleeping with a slut is easier and better when you’re high to do it.”

“Shut up. Get out if you’re gonna talk about her like that,” I growled, causing my best friend to stop laughing and glare at me. He rolled his eyes and stood, kicking my box back under my bed and grabbing his stash.

“What the fuck ever, Maxwell. I’ll be getting high. Don’t come running to me when you need this shit ‘cause she won’t love you.” Ronnie said before walking out of my room and, a few seconds later, out of my house. I sighed in relief as both he and the temptation to get high were gone. Actually, the temptation was still there, just not quite as strong. Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair and shook my head. I couldn’t believe that I’d just done that…

With a sigh, I walked out of my room and out of the house, not bothering to lock it. It wasn’t like we had any valuable shit, anyways. I made my way over to Wednesday’s window, sitting down in the sand against her wall and staring up at the sky as it grew steadily darker.